The Right Time For Brandan Wright To Shine

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

It’s Brandan Wright’s time. He has been improving upon his overall game year after year, and it’s his time to show what he can do on both sides of the court.

We all know how explosive and efficient the six-year vet out of the University of North Carolina is on the offensive end, but it would be just wonderful if he displayed the same on the defensive end of the court.

“Why exactly is it his time?” you may ask. Out of necessity, that’s why. Sam Dalembert was packaged along with our old friend Jose Calderon, spark plug newbie that was Shane Larkin, “Make it Slightly Drizzle?” Ellington, and some draft picks to get fan favorite and former Mavs defensive anchor that helped almighty Dirk win his first ‘chip, one Tyson Chandler (I was also going to include Raymond Felton, but he just ate the words right out of my mouth).

Yesterday the Mavs decided to help out Game 6 hero(I’m not sure why so much love has been thrown his way. His game 6 performance was great, but his season in total was rather “meh”) DeJuan Blair, and ended up working a SnT that sent him to go hoop and perform some wizardry with Johnny Wall in the nation’s capital. So currently, as far as backup bigs are concerned, there is recently signed – 16 year-old NBA vet Rashard Lewis, recently traded for Greg Smith, and Mr. Wright.

For those of you who are not well versed on who Brandan Wright is as a player, I’ll attempt to give you a quasi average scouting report on the lefty. He shoots left-handed, that is all. But in all seriousness Wright is a 6-10″, 205 lb. power forward, who usually plays center for the Mavs, who possesses extraordinary athleticism, a lofty yet seemingly pretty jumper, quick hands around the basket, and a keen basketball IQ.

Watch this clip and you’ll quickly realize what I’m talking about.

Areas in which Wright struggles: defending bigger post players, rebounding on either end, and he all too often just gets lost when the lane gets crowded, as if it’s easy to push him around due to his slender frame.

He has career averages of 7.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, and .9 bpg. During the 2013-2014 campaign Wright showed improvement by putting up career highs in the following categories: ppg( 9.1), rpg( 4.2) , and minutes played per game( 18.6). What it all comes down to for Wright is that if he can defend and rebound a little better, then Coach Carlisle will make sure he sees more minutes at both the four and the five, and the rest of his game should flourish as well.

Like I’ve already mentioned, it’s B. Wright’s time to step up mainly because the Mavs lack of current, proven big men on the bench. What the Mavs have done this summer has left most if not all MFFL’s with a sense of accomplishment and pride, something that may have been missing after the last two free agency period hauls.

The Mavericks additions for the 2014-2015 NBA season include: Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Chandler Parsons, Rashard Lewis, Richard Jefferson, and Greg Smith. You just got two, potentially three starters, and Tyson Chandler Parsons will be the two who will obviously look to lead these Mavs along with Dirk and Monta.

But who is it that is gonna come off the bench and provide that extra punch? Vince Carter, right? Wrong. Remember how he just signed that 3 yr, $12 million deal to go play “Who Wears the Headband Better” with Zach Randolph in Memphis, ya silly.

Shawn Marion, right? Wrong. The Matrix apparently will not fully load for another season in Dallas seeing as how they could only offer him the Vet’s Minimum #sadface (*cries while punching Raymond Felton’s contract in the face*). Devin Harris, right? Ehhh, he’ll most likely share time with Ray Felton starting at point.

So that obviously leaves the one and only Ricky Ledo to save us all from bad bench basketball, right? Ugh, I wish.  He most likely won’t see the floor much this year because of lack of experience and he isn’t exactly NBA ready. PS: If you don’t follow the majestic Zach Harper on Twitter (@talkhoops) or read all of his articles on CBS Sports then you’re living life wrong. He’s just insightful and very funny in general, but more importantly he is a huge supporter of Mr. Ledo. Also, if it’s not evident, my Zach Harper hoops mancrush is pretty strong. Get with the program, folks.

Back to Mavs stuff. The only semi-clear answer to the question I posed above is that the 6th man/primary backup big man spot should be and most likely will belong to Brandan Wright.

A core of Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons, Monta Ellis, and Tyson Chandler leaves MFFL’s across the Metroplex with dreams and aspirations of seeing Dirk hoist that Larry O’Brien trophy for the second time. But as we all know, the Mavericks will need more than just those four to make that dream a reality.

Devin will obviously be right there 6th manning it up with Brandan Wright, but with so many available guards that Carlisle can plug-in, it wouldn’t be as detrimental to the team if he had a not-so-great year compared to Brandan Wright. Hops, we need you to entirely fulfill your potential and become that complete player we all know you can be. Beef up, and let’s go catch some more alley-oops from Monta okay? It’s your time to step up, Brandan Wright.

Final Note: The Smoking Cuban is like Monta Ellis, we have it all. Whether it’s offseason news, free agent speculation, player comparisons, or even a little summer league coverge, TSC has got your back. Make us your one stop shop for Mavs news, MFFL’s!