- 2 days ago
Mavs TV play-by-play announcer Mark Followill joined The K&C Masterpiece in studio. Followill discussed the expectations for the season, roster depth, Cooper Flagg's ceiling, and more.
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00:00Fan, right now in studio, we bring to you Dallas Mavericks TV play-by-play man and fella who used
00:07to love professional wrestling.
00:10It is Mark Folliwell. How are you, sir?
00:13Hello, hello. Well, thanks for the nice highlight.
00:16Now, of course, you will hear better highlights than that this year when Chuck Cooperstein and Brian DeMaris are calling
00:21games here on 105.3 Defense.
00:23And when Cooper's putting up 30 points a game, I hear you're saying.
00:26There you go. So really excited to be with you guys and great to have Cooper and Brian and all
00:30the Mavericks games on the fan.
00:33You know, I've listened to a lot of Eric and Matt over the years on Ranger games.
00:38Of course, Thursday night, I was driving around and listening to Brad and Brad and the way that only Brad
00:44can do can call a game.
00:46But also, you know that what's going on in the game is a source of frustration for him.
00:53And he finds that perfect balance of being able to be true to his audience and the broadcast, but also
00:59convey that, man, what's happening on the field right now is really frustrating.
01:05I used to feel that exact same way about Dave South with Texas A&M.
01:09He didn't even need to hear the score.
01:11The eggs.
01:12Yeah, you could just hear the inflection and you're like, all right, we're down by probably about 13.
01:16Just by that inflection.
01:19Now, we're all excited about the season to come.
01:22We're all excited about it.
01:24Feels like you have the next big thing in basketball.
01:26But before we get too far down the line, the national media is not excited about this team.
01:32They're like, this team is not going to be good.
01:35Now, ESPN in their, you know, analytic rankings, they have them 22nd.
01:41The over-under on the Mavericks wins this year is 33 and a half.
01:45Why do you think there's not just a disconnect, but seemingly such a giant disconnect between national expectations and just
01:53general excitement in the Metroplex?
01:55Because it feels like people are excited.
01:58Yes, I think nationally that whenever you're coming off a 26-56 season, then I just think it's going to
02:04be hard to generate a whole lot of interest before the season started and before people can realize,
02:11okay, what kind of growth is Cooper going to take?
02:14How much of an impact is Kyrie Irving going to have?
02:17How are all of these new pieces to the puzzle that have been added are going to fit?
02:21And when you've been in a really rough patch of wins and losses, as the Mavericks have been for 18
02:26months,
02:27I mean, I think I totally understand why, from a national perspective, there's just not going to be a lot
02:32of,
02:33you're going to have to show it to me before we're going to believe it.
02:37And I don't think that there's anything unfair at all about that.
02:40I think the reason why there's so much excitement here is when you're living it and seeing it every day,
02:44and you see how much Cooper improved last year, and you realize that we all understand this and know this
02:52about him,
02:52and it's been conveyed through whether it's Maasai, Dusty, people who observe Cooper,
02:57that he's an incredibly hard worker, and is going to make a jump from year one to year two.
03:02And then we love Kyrie around here, and everyone's super excited to see him back.
03:07And so there's hope.
03:08And I think that hope creates, obviously, a lot of excitement and expectation for people around here.
03:13Can you explain the, we love Kyrie around here, how he won over the Dallas fan base and the people
03:20around here?
03:21Because it seemed like, I mean, the story is everybody was terrified of him coming here.
03:25And like, oh no, what could possibly happen?
03:28But he got here, and everybody fell in love with him.
03:31Well, he came in here, and I think that he embraced everything about the Mavericks
03:35from the standpoint of the culture to blending in to the passionate fan base.
03:40And then, of course, he came in, and after some bumps in the road that first year,
03:45then had a lot of success, and the team went to the finals.
03:48So, I mean, nothing succeeds like success, and nothing endears you to a fan base like having success.
03:52So I think when he did that, and there was such a genuineness and openness and exuded body language
04:03and warmth that just through every time that he had a media availability and talked about the team
04:08and talked about the fans, I mean, you just can't fake that stuff.
04:11You know, I think that his demeanor exuded everything that you would want in a superstar player
04:17that's connecting with the fan base.
04:18So I think everything that he did from how he played on the court to how he acted off the
04:25court,
04:25of course, just, you know, and his interviews and such just generated this immediate connection.
04:31And look, this is a fan base that wants to connect.
04:33Yeah.
04:33I mean, you know, I've mentioned this before, that when I would do Dirk interviews,
04:39especially late in his career, and it would be reflective interviews.
04:43I mean, to me, I always felt like that Dirk came here, and Dirk said this himself.
04:48Number one, he had, like, the perfect coach for him, and Don Nelson, who was, you know,
04:52the late Don Nelson, who was way ahead of his time on how he wanted to use big men
04:56and the kind of system and the kind of basketball that he wanted to play.
04:59And Dirk came here, and it's not an intense media market in terms of the kind of questions that you
05:08get
05:08in a press conference and the fishbowl effect and the caustic nature of how the media covers
05:17and looks at its sports teams.
05:19I mean, culturally, we're just different here in Texas and in the southern part of the country
05:23than what you would experience in the northeast.
05:25So Dirk came into a place that was very welcoming for him, and I always said I felt like that
05:30Dirk,
05:30the Mavericks franchise, and the Mavericks fans, it was just this incredible fit,
05:37and it made Dirk become the best version of himself that he possibly could be,
05:41and I don't think that that happens without the support that he got.
05:44And so Dirk always said there was so much support, so much loyalty, even when I was struggling,
05:49that I wanted to be good because I wanted to show the fans and repay them for the loyalty
05:54and love that they showed me when I first arrived here.
05:56So I think that speaks to generally what kind of fan base that the Mavericks have,
06:01that they are welcoming to new individuals.
06:04I mean, look, this fan base wanted to give Rajon Rondo and Lamar Odom and those guys a chance
06:10when they came in, even though it didn't work out very well, as we know.
06:13But this is, I think, a fan base that always has erred on the side of,
06:18well, when somebody comes here, we're going to welcome you with open arms,
06:21and if you are the kind of player and person that Kyrie has been and that Dirk was,
06:27then obviously that thing is going to flourish, then that relationship is going to flourish.
06:30Yeah, I think you can make a strong argument. Kyrie Irving is pretty much the prototypical point guard
06:34to help anybody out, but especially feels like his game could potentially mesh oh so well with Cooper
06:42and help advance his development as well.
06:45Do you see that potentially being the case?
06:48Sure.
06:48Health not withstand.
06:50Of course, absolutely, because I think what's exciting about it is that he takes some of the workload off of
06:55Cooper.
06:55I mean, you guys watched the games last year. We all did. We all know what an enormous load Cooper
07:01had on his shoulders
07:03for any player, let alone someone who came into the league at 18 years old.
07:07I mean, remember that.
07:08A year ahead.
07:09Yeah, I remember. I was about to say that, that everything with Coop is on an accelerated timeline.
07:14Coop won.
07:15Now, remember Chuck Cooperstein, voice of the Mavs, Michael Finley, he's, you know,
07:18Michael Finley gave him the new nickname last year.
07:20He said in training camp, we're going to have to make you Coop 2 now.
07:25So Cooper Flagg is Coop 1, or Coop. Chuck Cooperstein, radio voice of the Mavs, is Coop 2.
07:31But, you know, there was obviously, or I was saying, remember that everything's on an accelerated timeline with him.
07:36He reclassified, so after his junior year at Montfaird Academy, he then moved on to Duke.
07:41He didn't have a, quote-unquote, senior year, a fourth year of high school basketball.
07:46So when he played at Duke, he was the age of what a senior in high school should be.
07:50And then when he played his first year in the NBA, he was the age of what a college freshman
07:54should be.
07:55So everything's on an accelerated timeline with Cooper, and he still made history because he is the first player to
08:01ever win
08:02one of the prestigious High School Player of the Year awards.
08:07And he won the Gatorade and the Naismith Prep Player of the Year.
08:09And those have been the longest standing.
08:11I think they both have about a 40-year history of being the High School Player of the Year.
08:16So he's the first guy to win High School Player of the Year, College Player of the Year,
08:20because he was the Consensus NCAA Player of the Year, and then win Rookie of the Year.
08:25Wow.
08:25Now, granted, there was a window of time that we all know that there are probably players
08:30who would have gone to college and probably would have won College Player of the Year.
08:33Yeah, sure.
08:34You know, so I don't want to say there's an asterisk with that because it's a huge piece of history.
08:40But, you know, just so anybody's saying at the radio, yeah, what about LeBron James if he'd had to go
08:44play in college?
08:45Obviously, LeBron James would have surely been NCAA Player of the Year, which, of course, we all acknowledge that.
08:50But the situation is what it is.
08:52And, yeah, Coop's the only guy to ever win all three of those.
08:55And, you know, we'll see what more awards and accolades are out there for him this year.
08:59And I also think about it from the perspective, okay, if you're telling me you're going to slot him right
09:03behind LeBron, okay, deal.
09:05That's all right.
09:05I accept that.
09:06That's okay.
09:07I accept that.
09:07Now, we can handle that.
09:08I think it's cool that Chuck Cooperstein said, I'm okay with being Coop 2.
09:13Yeah, Coop 1.
09:14Because remember when Bassett, when McCarthy got here, he was like, I am Mike.
09:17He is Mike McCarthy.
09:19Because Bassett was like, I've been here longer than Mike McCarthy.
09:22So, I'm Mike.
09:23We got some give.
09:24Yeah, we got some give on that.
09:25We'll bounce that out a little bit.
09:26There was not one iota of pushback from Coop 2 about that.
09:30So, Coop 1 wins National High School Player of the Year as a junior.
09:35He is the unanimous college player of the year when he should have been a senior in high school.
09:40And then he is the NBA Rookie of the Year when he should have been a freshman in college.
09:47If Cooper Flagg, because you saw this a lot in the second half of his season at Duke, if he
09:53develops even an average, let alone above average, three-point consistency, what is the ceiling for him?
10:02Oh, I mean, the ceiling is one of the best players in the league.
10:05The ceiling is the cornerstone of a championship-caliber team.
10:10I don't think there's any doubt about that, that that's Coop's ceiling.
10:13He's the guy.
10:14I mean, that's the hardest part of the equation.
10:17And thankfully for the Mavs, they had the guy with Dirk.
10:20They had the guy with Luka.
10:22And then, of course, you know, unfortunately, things worked and turned and the decisions were made in that regard.
10:28But the Mavs had an incredible moment of good fortune, 1.8% in May of 2025, and they were
10:34able to quickly get the guy again.
10:36And, yeah, as far as I'm concerned, they've got the guy that is the centerpiece component of a team that
10:43you would put into the championship conversation once he reaches that level.
10:48And then once you're able to fill in the pieces around him.
10:51In terms of some of those other pieces, for Risa Shea, do you envision, is he just a stout, versatile,
11:00defensive piece?
11:01Could he, in a new role, kind of break back out since he was, I mean, it's only two years
11:07removed from him being the number one overall pick, and he was a disposable piece.
11:10What do you see as his usage here?
11:13Oh, I think that he is more of a get-in-where-you-fit-in sort of guy.
11:17You know, I mean, I figured that you would appreciate that, the usage of that phrase.
11:23I do, I do.
11:24I think that, look, this is a great situation for Risa Shea because he's out of Atlanta, where he was
11:33tied down to the expectations of being the number one overall pick in the draft.
11:37He's free of that burden here with the Mavs.
11:41And clearly, when you watch him, I mean, you see talent.
11:44I think he's going to be a very nice complementary piece as a transition player, someone who has shown he's
11:53the capability of, at a minimum, being a league-average three-point shooter.
11:57And if he can develop that and bump that number up a few percentage points above league-average, great.
12:02He's got the length to defend.
12:04He can handle the ball.
12:06So I think that he can do a lot of things that make him a very nice complementary piece around
12:11a duo of superstar players.
12:14Now, you just, when you were talking about that defensive versatility, we have talked about this with Risa Shea, obviously
12:20with Cooper, to a certain extent, Maurice Johnson as well.
12:24How much do you like that they seem to be building, like, a group of very defensively versatile pieces?
12:31I think it's really important because the league is in a place where defending's harder than it's ever been.
12:37There's challenges because of the spacing on the floor and the way that offenses and the way that players' skill
12:45level is able to, and the way, you know, smart coaches are able to design offensive schemes to attack weak
12:52points in your defense.
12:53So when you're constructing a team, you need to have that in mind that if you've got a weak link
12:59defensively on your team, then other teams are going to go with that.
13:03So I love the, you just absolutely have to have a defensive component to your roster because, look, the best
13:12teams, the teams that year in, year out compete for a championship.
13:16It doesn't always work out this way. There are exceptions to the rule. You can have certain elements of your
13:23team that can maybe offset, but generally speaking, the characteristics of a championship team are that you are in the
13:31top 10 in offensive efficiency, and you're also in the top 10 in defensive efficiency.
13:36It doesn't happen that way every year. Sure, it's possible that one year you might get a team that's 12th
13:42or 13th or 14th in defensive efficiency, but they're super efficient.
13:46They're one or two level offense, or there's been cases where you would have a one or two level defense,
13:51and maybe, I think, you know, this is a long time ago, so maybe this isn't even applicable anymore, but
13:56I think the last Pistons team that won the title had like the 19th ranked efficiency on offense, but they
14:02were number one on defense, and I don't know.
14:03Maybe that's not even attainable to do that anymore. Maybe offense is so important to the game now that you
14:09can't be below average.
14:10You can be average-ish or hovering just above average, and maybe, again, you know, none of these things are
14:17100% totally like mathematical formulas that are going to hold every time, but generally speaking, you need to be
14:23a top 10 offense and a top 10 defense to put yourself in position to compete to win at the
14:27highest level.
14:27Yeah, that feeling is, I mean, the Knicks, I always go back to the Dirk championship team, and they could
14:35get the points that they needed from Dirk or from Jed or from whoever when they needed them down that
14:40run, but they also, if you were down 15, you felt like you could get a run of stops.
14:45Yes, because you had Jason Kidd defending, you had Sean Marion defending, you had Tyson Chandler as an anchor.
14:50Yeah, that's what this Knicks team felt like also, watching them, even against the Spurs, was like, they could get
14:56stops when they needed them, but they also were able to get some, I mean, some very fortunate tip-ins.
15:00Sure.
15:01But also, you know that.
15:01And some fortunate mistakes by San Antonio, some fortunate errors in judgment in late-game situations.
15:06Yeah, and those things are going to happen, yeah.
15:08That's absolutely part of it. There's always an element of luck that's involved in this, of course.
15:12That trio that I really, I mean, I know Max Christie was kind of a throw-in name in the
15:18conversation, but he's blossomed into a really interesting player for us.
15:21That trio of him, Najee, and PJ are very fascinating when it comes to that Swiss Army knife kind of
15:27defensive, offensive players, too.
15:29Can you kind of define that group for us?
15:31Well, I think it's all to be determined, if I were going to define that.
15:35I mean, it sounds like Dusty has been pretty forthcoming, and, you know, we haven't settled on a starting lineup.
15:41We don't know what that's going to look like.
15:44But the talent of those guys, I mean, I think we all understand that when PJ is at his best,
15:49he provides the ability to score some inside.
15:53He's an acceptable floor spacer.
15:55He's obviously going to compete and provide toughness on the defensive end of the floor, and he's a good rebounder.
16:01So I think he is, I think you used the term Swiss Army knife.
16:03But Najee Marshall, we know that he can create shots for himself.
16:08He's come here and been a far better shot creator and ball handler than we ever expected.
16:15Obviously, the three-point shot hasn't been what he had hoped that it was going to be in his time
16:20since coming here for the Pelicans.
16:21But hopefully there's a jump there.
16:23And then in the case of Max Christie, look, you've got to have shooters.
16:26And I've noticed, and it's preseason games, so, of course, we always judge that with a huge grain of salt.
16:32But, you know, it doesn't matter until the real games get going next week.
16:37But I liked how aggressive that he's been looking for a shot because sometimes last year there would be an
16:42ebb and flow in his level of aggressiveness that is looking for a shot.
16:46So not just three-pointers, but also when the opportunity was there to attack a closeout or when a defender
16:53was respecting his three-point shot and was up on him,
16:55he could put the ball down and get around someone.
16:57So, you know, primarily I look at Max's role as a floor spacer, as someone who shot just over 40
17:04% from the three-point line on a pretty good volume of three-point attempts last year.
17:10But one of the components I think you'll see of the team this year is he and others clearly are
17:15being encouraged to shoot more threes.
17:17And that's certainly something that we're going to see, I think, that is, if you were to ask, well, what's
17:22going to look different about this year's team compared to last year's team?
17:25I mean, the first thing I would point to is clearly there's an emphasis on shooting more threes.
17:30And the reality is, and I'm the first person to say that, of course, I understand three is better than
17:36two.
17:37Two is also better than zero.
17:38So there's a place for two-point shots.
17:40But the math is what the math is.
17:43And in the iteration of today's NBA, you just are going to have a very, very difficult time being a
17:51successful team if you aren't willing to put up a significant number of threes and obviously make a significant number
17:58of threes.
17:58And last year, the Mavericks were in the bottom five of the league in not just attempts but also percentage.
18:04So, I mean, it's clear as day that that is an area that has to improve.
18:09And Max is a component of that.
18:11But it stretches far beyond him, of course.
18:13Even as much as Max wants to be a dunk machine.
18:16You know, after last year, he was like, yeah, we were talking with him last year.
18:20So I was fascinated by that back and forth because you're talking about the guards and the wings.
18:24And you're talking about Mark Falwell, in case you didn't notice those golden pipes right here, on 105.3 The
18:31Fan.
18:32That's how you were introduced to me, by the way.
18:34Like, I'd heard Mark Falwell.
18:36I'd seen you on TV.
18:37I actually knew you from whenever I was running a bar down in Uptown.
18:40Yes, sir.
18:41But then I'm in Hank Dickinson's class.
18:43And you come in to speak.
18:45And he goes, the man with the golden pipes.
18:47And that's the first time I'd ever heard that.
18:48And I was just like, I guess I better listen to this guy.
18:51Well, Hank is a great supporter of mine.
18:53And for those who don't know who Corey's talking about, Hank teaches the sports broadcasting class at North Texas.
18:59I do have, for those that have got the visual portion of the show today, the two things I love
19:04the most.
19:04I've got my Mavs hat and my North Texas shirt on.
19:07So I'm representing as much as I can today.
19:09But yeah, Hank's a great dude.
19:12Yeah, a great class, man.
19:13And obviously a lot of people who are in this market and other markets have benefited from the radio, TV,
19:20media arts, journalism program in North Texas.
19:22So while y'all are talking about the guards and the wings, I was immediately thinking, like, when you go
19:28back to when either they picked up Aldama or they draft Merez, I did not believe that both PJ and
19:36Gafford would remain on this team.
19:37I thought the way the roster was constructed, even in an era of positionless basketball, was somewhat odd.
19:43And I assumed a big would be shipped out for more shooting.
19:46Now, that has not happened.
19:48And what do you think about the roster construction and, I realize, more of a green light, but still a
19:54lack of proven shooting and a whole lot of big men on the roster as well?
20:00Well, I think that's a fair question about the lack of proven shooting.
20:03Now, I think we'll see how it all looks once the season gets started and hopefully Aldama is ready to
20:09go.
20:09You know, he's coming back from a surgery that he had late last year, but that's going to be a
20:15big who can space the floor.
20:16So Kyrie is obviously going to help this team from a shooting standpoint.
20:21I think Risa Shea, as we said earlier, he's demonstrated at a minimum league average capability on shooting threes.
20:27And again, we're all talking about it from the framework of last year's team was in the bottom five in
20:35the league and three-point percentage.
20:37So when you bring up the idea of somebody shooting league average on threes, then that's a good thing.
20:42Right, right.
20:42You know, we're talking about taking steps here.
20:44So when I look at the team this year and you're talking about roster construction, look, they're deep.
20:50Now, that's going to pose challenges.
20:52There are going to be individuals who probably are going to have to make sacrifices.
20:57Maybe there's the benefit, of course, of being versatile and you can use it a lot of different lineups.
21:02But the reality is, you know, if you look at a healthy roster, I mean, there's like 12 or 13
21:08guys that you would pencil into a rotation.
21:10And we all know the reality of the league is that you can't have a 12-man rotation.
21:14So, you know, they're going to have to sort all of that out.
21:18Some of that will take care of itself with health along the way and how they're going to manage minutes.
21:22You know, who knows what's going to happen with how they're going to approach the minutes and the back-to
21:27-backs with Kyrie.
21:28We'll start learning some answers to those questions once the first back-to-back rolls around here in just over
21:33a week and a half.
21:34We'll see what the approach is there.
21:36But, you know, to your point, there are still a lot of things to sort out with what the roster
21:41is going to look like,
21:42what the lineup is going to look like, what the rotation is going to look like.
21:44But I certainly like, and we've learned the lessons the hard way over the last two years,
21:50that you can think you have a deep roster and then you can get hammered by injuries.
21:53Very true.
21:53And so it's good to have the depth, and then, you know, that's going to be one of the challenges
21:57for Dusty's first year here
21:59is to figure out how you use all of that depth to maximize it.
22:04And then we get to the question of one Derek Lively.
22:08Now, Derek Lively, he's in Macau.
22:11He's giving out Lego sets to kids, which is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
22:15He's like, I'm going to buy all the Legos.
22:17And if I see kids, here's a Lego set for you, for you, for you.
22:20That's awesome.
22:20It's a good thing.
22:21It does feel like a lot of this recovery has been very secretive, which is probably not a bad idea.
22:26But how far away are we actually from seeing Derek Lively as a usable piece back out on the court?
22:34I wish I had a good answer for you to that.
22:36But I think, as you just said, Kevin, you know, a lot of this has been secretive.
22:39And I think that's totally understandable.
22:41I think it's a long road back.
22:43I'm sure that the approach has been, nobody has said this, but I think we all understand that when you
22:50start putting timetables on things, because, look, they approached it the same way from the Kyrie perspective.
22:56There was never, until it was announced last February, there was never really a timetable on when he's going to
23:01be back, and is he going to be back this year, and what's going to happen.
23:04And things happened last year that obviously changed the decision-making calculus of what they wanted to do with the
23:10idea of bringing him back.
23:12And, excuse me, as he talked about himself last week in Macau, there was obviously a setback that happened in
23:18his rehab as well with the calf strain, that calf strain that is, that put him off a few weeks
23:22in his rehab.
23:23So I think that to not create undue pressure and expectations, you know, there hasn't been a timetable established on
23:30that.
23:31And so, you know, I'm not trying to dodge the question.
23:34I know as much as you guys know about it.
23:36I don't know what the timetable is on it.
23:39Obviously, you know, there's incremental progress being made, but how close are we to him getting on the floor?
23:46I just simply don't have an answer for you.
23:47At 22 years old, is it still the mindset of, well, with bigger guys, give them more time and they'll
23:53eventually come around, or the health problems?
23:56Well, with bigger guys and feet.
23:59Yeah.
23:59Yeah, when you're talking bigger guys and foot injuries and leg injuries and things like that, absolutely.
24:04That is certainly a very fair point, Corey.
24:08And, you know, look, a comp, I think a lot of people gravitate towards, well, when a big guy starts
24:14having foot injuries, it's awfully hard to come back from that.
24:18You know, Zirunas Ilkowskis is the best case of someone who had early portions of their career wiped out, like
24:24full seasons.
24:25Yeah.
24:25I would say if you looked at his basketball reference page, and I don't have, like, my notes in front
24:29of me on this, but if you looked at the first five years of his career, there's, like, a season
24:34where he played five games, a season where he didn't play, a season where he only played 20 games.
24:39Oh, yeah.
24:39But then after, like, five years, after about a sixth season, then he hit this stride where, for the remainder
24:46of his career, he was always, like, a 70-plus per game, 70-game per season guy.
24:52Hold on, I've got to pause you there.
24:53I'm obviously putting out a best-case scenario on that, of course.
24:57But I just want to show, he said he didn't have his notes or basketball reference in front of him,
25:02Ilkowskis, rookie year, does not play, foot injury.
25:05Next year, plays all the games.
25:07Yeah.
25:07The year after, five games.
25:09Okay.
25:10The year after, no games.
25:11All right.
25:12Foot injury.
25:13The year after, 24 games.
25:15So in the span of three years, he played 29 games.
25:17And then 62, 81, 81, 78, 78, 78.
25:20And the 62, the 62 year was.
25:23That was a shortened season.
25:24No, it wasn't a shortened season.
25:25It was a year where the 24-game season, he played early in the year.
25:30Then he got hurt or whatever it was that happened, happened in December.
25:35And so that carried all the way over into the next season.
25:38So the 62-game season, is that 0-3-0-4?
25:42What is it?
25:42I think that was 0-1-0-2.
25:440-1-0-2.
25:44Okay, so that 62-game season is a not even get off the ground until December season and
25:50then play the vast majority of the remainder of the year.
25:53Obviously.
25:54Have a little patience is what I'm saying, Kevin.
25:55Okay, fair.
25:56Obviously, you don't have to speculate or anything like that.
25:59But my worrisome nature has led me to believe that part of the reason it's so secretive is
26:04just because, and you use the word incremental, is the recovery process is going very slowly.
26:08Do you think that is a fair hypothesis?
26:12Not knowing the answer, is that a fair potential guess?
26:16Well, I would probably, because I'm a glass-half-full guy, I would defer to Corey's theory, which is
26:24be patient with somebody who's young and a building block and an important piece of the franchise.
26:29And obviously, it's much better to err on the side of caution with foot injuries.
26:33There's no reason to rush it now.
26:35Because while, of course, we're super excited, and this is an important time in the life cycle
26:40of the franchise and in the building process, the most important times are the years down
26:45the road.
26:46That doesn't, you know, that's not to discount what's important for this year.
26:50I'm really excited about what's out there this year and what the possibilities are.
26:54But to your point, patience is probably the more important virtue to have right now.
26:59I think I'm overly invested in Derek Lively.
27:01You are.
27:02Which is okay.
27:02A, he went to Duke.
27:04B, he loves sports cards and is always at the Dallas Card Show.
27:07And C, he loves Legos.
27:08He loves Legos.
27:09And so all of these things really appeal to me as a human being.
27:13Well, he's obviously someone who's a great guy, who is fit in great from a culture perspective.
27:21And obviously, there's an element of, I think, that we gravitate towards him and want to
27:26see success because we know that he's endured a lot of difficulties early in his life.
27:30So, you know, with the tragic passing of his mom a couple of years ago as well and what
27:34she battled through and what he's overcome.
27:37So, of course, it makes whole sense in the world beyond Legos that you would gravitate
27:42towards him.
27:42They do say time flies when you're having fun.
27:45I didn't realize where we were with this.
27:47Up against it.
27:47Like, it's awesome.
27:49I feel like there's so much more we can get to with you.
27:51The last thing I did want to ask, though, we were spoiled with Dirk's personality as
27:55he grew and what he is now.
27:57Luka, you felt like you could connect with him on the court like so easily.
28:01All of his emotions were right there.
28:03With Cooper, what is the connection?
28:05Where are they going to connect with the personality of this kid?
28:08Well, I think the connection is, number one, he's a hard worker.
28:12Number two, he's somebody who's always going to be an individual who understands the role
28:18of a great player in the community to whom much is given, much is expected.
28:23I think he certainly, you know, if you've ever met his parents or read much about his
28:29upbringing, I think he clearly understands that.
28:31And look, at the end of the day, you're mostly going to connect with someone if they're going
28:37to go out and hoop.
28:38And, I mean, that's what's going to make you connect to someone is the dude's a hooper.
28:43And he's going to go out and he's going to continue to play at a high level.
28:46And he plays a game that's just really appealing because he's got the ability to attack.
28:53And he's going to, he's a highlight reel dunker.
28:56He's going to play hard on both ends of the floor.
28:58He's going to make impact defensive plays.
29:00Obviously, we love threes.
29:02And that's an element of his game that we hope to see make a pretty big stair-step jump this
29:06year.
29:06So, I mean, ultimately, you connect with people because they can play well.
29:10And he does all the right things off the court.
29:13And, you know, he plays the game the right way and all of those sorts of cliches.
29:18But he plays the game really well.
29:20And that's going to be the thing, of course.
29:21That's going to be the biggest part of the connection in the years to come.
29:25I mean, those first two guys that I mentioned played the game pretty well, too.
29:28That's why we connected with them, Kevin.
29:29Absolutely.
29:30There are ways to connect with you also, the Take That Witch You podcast.
29:33Yes, yes.
29:34Brian Damaris, who is one half of the Outstanding Radio team here on The Fan.
29:38Brian and I will get our podcast for the season up and going next week, which is available
29:43on the Mavs YouTube channel or audio platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts and things of
29:49that nature.
29:49So we'll be talking Mavs every week.
29:52And I'm going to take you guys up on your magnanimous offer of, you know, call in or come by
29:58anytime.
29:58Oh, that's right.
29:59You know, obviously, you know, Coop's the guy.
30:02Coop 2 is the guy here.
30:03You know, he's the guy that's on the station all the time broadcasting the games.
30:07But, you know, you guys are welcome to reach out anytime.
30:09It's a big Mavs family.
30:11Yeah, it is.
30:11Awesome stuff.
30:12And I'm glad that we're part of the family.
30:14Absolutely.
30:15Officially.
30:15Yeah, no, welcome.
30:16And we're glad you guys are part of it.
30:20I mean, in all seriousness, you guys do such a wonderful job of, again, I'm a radio guy.
30:26That's how I got my start in my career.
30:28I listen to Brad and Babe and Eric and Matt on Cowboys and Rangers broadcasts, respectively.
30:33You know, Craig Way and Texas broadcasts are on here.
30:36So you guys do a great job with play-by-play.
30:38And it's a no-brainer, an easy call, and it's a home run or a slam dunk.
30:43Let me use the right sports metaphor.
30:45Thank you very much, because that's the only way you're allowed to do it.
30:49Mark Valoel right here on 105.3 The Fan.