Mavericks' neglected offseason wish fans warned about is already haunting them

It's only one game, but this was the exact concern that fans worried about all offseason.

Will Miller

Dallas Mavericks, Nico Harrison / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks had all of their season-opening momentum yanked from the cord on Wednesday evening, as Victor Wembanyama had one of the best statement-making games of all-time, and the Mavericks looked pitiful in their ability to formulate any sort of counter.

Dallas ultimately lost 125-92, and given Nico Harrison's decision to trade Luka Doncic last season, every single loss will be magnified with intensity from Mavericks fans this season, as well as the corresponding decisions the front office has made since the Doncic trade.

One of those decisions was signing D'Angelo Russell to the Taxpayer MLE this summer, though, Mavericks fans largely aren't happy with that decision after game one, citing that Harrison and company should've traded for a more tried-and-true shot creator/playmaker. Many Mavericks fans were hard on this stance earlier in the summer, but Dallas didn't want to shake things up too much in their frontcourt and went with a less volatile move by signing Russell.

Early signs suggest Mavericks fans were right to want another guard

However, Russell didn't even start in Dallas' opening contest versus San Antonio, and while part of this can be attributed to head coach Jason Kidd wanting to throw 18-year-old Cooper Flagg into the fire by starting him at point guard, it isn't a good sign that Russell was unable to earn the starting nod on opening night. Dallas couldn't get any viable answers from their guard rotation last night, barring Ryan Nembhard's minutes, and even Nembhard had a few rough rookie turnovers.

In 15 minutes of play off the bench, Russell finished with six points and three assists off 1-6 shooting from the field. Russell looked like a turnstile at times when having to guard dynamic driver Stephon Castle as well, so it was undoubtedly a tough debut for Dallas' only free agent acquisition.

It obviously didn't help that Dallas couldn't get much more production out of Brandon Williams and Nembhard (though he had a great first half), but the calling for more help in the backcourt is something Mavericks fans had been clamoring for ever since it was announced that Kyrie Irving tore his ACL following Dallas' March 3 loss to the Sacramento Kings, yet Dallas didn't think Irving's partial absence this season would warrant trading for a higher level creator.

Someone like Anfernee Simons could've added an influx of off-dribble creation ability, attacks on the rim, as well as a great pick-and-roll ball handler, but Dallas neglected the trade market for other guards after it was announced Irving would be willing to leave enough money on the table with his current deal to where Dallas had full use of their TPMLE to sign Russell.

All in all, it's only one game, but Dallas' guard rotation with Irving and Dante Exum out due to injury were pretty non-impactful last night, and while part of that comes down to Wembanyama altering decision making with his presence, Dallas' guards have to get into their actions with more intent, and they won't be able to survive against many opponents when they shoot that inefficient from the field.

We'll see if Kidd opts to start Russell versus the Washington Wizards tomorrow night, but it's unfortunate that one of the Mavericks fans' biggest underlying concerns is being justified to start the season. It's still way too early to claim anything absolute, and Russell still has plenty of time to win over the fan base.

Will Miller

Will Miller is a senior contributor and is in his second year with The Smoking Cuban. Will has been following the Dallas Mavericks for over a decade and is currently working on getting a Bachelors in Science in Sports Journalism from the University of North Texas, as he is also covering sports for the North Texas TV station. While Will is opening up his coverage to cover other sports for UNT, basketball and the Dallas Mavericks are his true passion and he hopes to continue writing and producing Mavericks related content as his career continues. Will has very solid in-game analysis and knowledge about the intricacies of the game, and has a very broad understanding about the NBA as a whole. Going forward Will is looking to be more expansive in his coverage of the Mavericks beyond writing as well. Outside of writing about the Mavericks, Will enjoys hanging with friends, going to the gym, and watching other sports and live events.