Perhaps no fan base in NBA history has gone through a worse one-month stretch than the Mavericks, who only weeks ago saw their front office trade away Luka Doncic and have since been dealt three major injury blows.
Still, that isn’t stopping Kendrick Perkins from taking an optimistic perspective during a recent appearance on ESPN.
“This is a minor setback for a major come up,” said Perkins on NBA Today. “…When it comes down to ACL injuries, this is not the 1990s. The NBA is a multibillion-dollar company. They have the best doctors; they have the best technology, and you’re talking about a guy in Kyrie Irving who’s going to put one hundred percent into his rehab and getting back on the floor.”
Perkins then spoke on how he sees the future playing out for Dallas.
“The Mavs are going to be just fine. The pressure is on them in the next 2-3 years to actually go out there and win,” said Perkins.
Fans on X, formerly Twitter, didn’t exactly share the same optimism.
“Perk my man… this hole they dug is going to take more than a motivational speech,” wrote one user.
Another noted that Irving may not even be around for the long haul in Dallas.
“Perk talking about Mavs in next 2-3 years, but you don’t only lose Kai for this year,” wrote the fan. “He’s not going to be ready next year either. Then both players are free agents and up for major pay in their mid 30s. This is a catastrophe.”
All told, it seemed unlikely that things would be considerably worse for the Mavericks than they were at this time a month ago. However, that’s exactly the position the team finds itself in now with no solutions readily available.