Mavs' newcomers hoping to bring trophy back to Big D
Earl K. Sneed writes that the additions of the Dallas Mavericks' five veteran newcomers could renew the franchise's hunger for a championship.
Mavs' newcomers hoping to bring trophy back to Big D
DALLAS – Collectively, all five of the Dallas Mavericks’ veteran off-season signees share one common desire to claim an elusive title.
From the 24-year-old O.J. Mayo to the 33-year-old Elton Brand, the five newcomers total zero NBA championships. And while the Mavericks’ winning culture and tradition are what attracted them to the franchise this offseason, helping the organization return to that championship form displayed during 2010-11 is the only thing on all of their minds heading into the ‘12-13 season.
“Well, I think just knowing the fan base, with [the fans] supporting us, we want to make [them] proud,” Brand explained earlier this month during the team’s introductory press conference of the new additions.
“We kind of cherish that little underdog role. Nothing has ever been given to this organization,” he added. “[The Mavericks] are always one of the elite teams, culminating with a championship two years ago. … We definitely want to bring another back to this city, for sure. So, we like our chances against any team, even the upper-echelon teams. We feel we can play with any team out there.”
The No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 Draft isn’t alone, as Mayo, Darren Collison, Dahntay Jones and Chris Kaman all come to Big D looking to add another championship banner to the American Airlines Center rafters. Motivated by the franchise’s past success, the group of new Mavs will also try to jell on the fly and lift a squad that was swept out of the first round of the playoffs, looking to repeat the events of two years ago in order to capture the organization’s second and their first Larry O’Brien Trophy.
“You know, coming into the league, every time I go into an arena, the first thing I do is look up top and count banners,” Mayo said. “Coming to Dallas and you have one. It was a lot of hard work the first time (the organization advanced to the NBA Finals in 2006) and you came up short. The second time you got it done. And after seeing them [the Mavericks] last year, you were just a play or two away from advancing. And I think bringing us in here, I think we can definitely make that happen and get back to that point to win a championship.”
But the influx of veteran talent knows that it will take much more than just their contributions in order to put the Mavs over the top, joining a team that still features 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, four-time All-Star Shawn Marion, three-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois and two-year pro Dominique Jones, who are the only carryovers remaining from the championship team.
And with a renewed sense of hunger permeating throughout the entire organization, don’t be surprised if the Mavs are again in the championship discussion by season’s end.
“Guys are still hungry. They like the way that championship felt. Hopefully we can get up to compete at that level,” Brand foreshadowed.
