Jason Kidd stays true to himself with starting lineup plan

When the Dallas Mavericks take the court on October 22nd against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, they will be entering a brand new era of Mavs hoops. But what exactly that new era will look like personnel-wise, is still to be determined in the next 23 days. Mavs coach Jason Kidd spoke at media day on Monday, and said that — like he's known to do — he will experiment with his lineups this year, and that some starting spots have yet to be determined.

This is good! All coaches should enter training camp with open minds. Being flexible allows us to see things we wouldn't be able to if we made up our minds prematurely. Kidd not being willing to announce a starting lineup yet means there will be some intriguing position competitions in the next few weeks.

Predicting the Mavericks starting lineup on opening night

Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg will be in the Mavericks' starting lineup. That I can say with plenty of confidence.

And I am pretty sure Klay Thompson will be in the starting lineup as well... but would it be so crazy to see PJ Washington maintain his starting spot while Klay plays a sixth man role? Probably not as crazy as you think! Washington has started 84 of his 86 games with the Mavs, and Jason Kidd has always been a big fan of his. Plus, Washington played considerably more minutes per game than Thompson did last season. With all that being said — I think Klay still begins the season in the starting lineup, but I don't think he's quite the shoo-in that most fans might expect.

The other two spots — point guard and center — are likely still up for grabs. The team's new addition at guard, D'Angelo Russell, has started 536 of the 629 games he's played in his NBA career, and I think it's safe to say he's the frontrunner to be the starting point guard on opening night. But you can (pretty easily) make the argument that Russell is better suited for a backup role, where he would provide some offensive creation in a second unit that doesn't have much. Or, like, any.

In that case, Dante Exum would start and bring a defensive-minded presence to the guard spot while Cooper Flagg handles most of the "point guard" duties. I don't hate it, personally.

The other spot, center, doesn't feel quite as important because Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford are probably going to nearly split minutes anyway. Both will get about 23 minutes per night, and either one could finish games depending on the matchup. On opening night, I think it's Gafford, in large part because Lively had offseason surgery and missed a big chunk of last year.

Thus, my half-confident prediction for the Mavs starting lineup on opening night is: D'Angelo Russell, Klay Thompson, Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis, and Daniel Gafford.