Luka Doncic he started the season at MVP level, noting as the leading scorer in the NBA with 33.1 points average. But the more time passes, the more the Dallas Mavericks’ opponents are finding a way to stop either him (with systematic doubles) or his teammates, unable to create something when they have the ball in their hands. Because of this the Texan franchise has decided to run for cover: According to reporter Marc Stein, the Mavs they will cut Facundo Campazzo’s unsecured contract to free up a roster spot they intend offer to veteran Kemba Walker. The four-time All-Star, who went out of contract after being cut by the Detroit Pistons in mid-October, played 37 games last year for the New York Knicks averaging 11.6ppg and 3.5apg, also thanks to the condition of a knee that has deteriorated in recent seasons. The Mavs, however, after three consecutive defeats need a perimeter creation injection so as not to depend too much on Doncic, with the hope that Walker — net of his defensive shortcomings and age advancing at 32 — still has something in the tank (at Christmas 2021 he made a triple double against Atlanta, and it’s been less than a year even if it seems like a century) to help a team that slumps to rock bottom in attack whenever Doncic isn’t on the pitch (from 117.6 points scored on 100 carries, equal to the second best offense in the league, to 105.1, worse than the last Charlotte Hornets).
deepening
Walker: “Nobody called me, I’m still waiting”
Walkerwho has been training in Florida for the last few months while awaiting a call from the NBA, he had already been close to the Mavericks in the summer of 2019, when he accepted an identical contract offer from the Boston Celtics. To him the task of keeping up a team that has a record of zero wins and six losses when Doncic does not score at least 30 pointsand that with the last knockouts with Denver, Boston, Toronto and Milwaukee he slipped out of the play-in zone to eleventh place in the Western Conference. A performance that is simply unacceptable considering the level at which Doncic has played so far: a remedy is urgently needed, and while waiting for the trade market to open on December 15th (when most of the contracts signed in the summer can be traded), Dallas is trying the low-cost move.
