Mavericks’ surprising new addition brings final boost for championship push

After a couple of days of training camp in Las Vegas and countless team social media posts, the anticipation couldn't be higher for fans wanting to see the Dallas Mavericks get back on the court this season, even if it's just preseason.

Dallas' first preseason game is slated for this coming Monday evening versus the Memphis Grizzlies, as it will be the first official look at how the depth of this new-look Mavericks roster can blend together.

Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they'll be without guard Dante Exum in Monday's game, as Exum suffered a right wrist injury in training camp that may require surgery. This opens the door for who is going to emerge as one of the final pieces for Dallas in their guard rotation, so needless to say training camp will only be more competitive for the Mavericks if anything.

Crafting the right rotation may take a fair sample of regular season contests before the Mavericks and their coaching staff feel like they've completely optimized their lineup, so this evaluation period will be crucial before the games actually start to matter.

Frank Vogel is the final boost for Dallas' championship push

Luckily for Dallas, they'll get a welcomed boost to their decision-making process when it comes to choosing the most efficient lineups, as the Mavericks recently hired Frank Vogel as a consultant on their coaching staff.

Vogel has deep ties with the Mavericks and head coach Jason Kidd, as Kidd was an assistant coach on Vogel's staff with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 when they won the NBA Championship. Kidd and Vogel's relationship has been well documented, as Kidd cites Vogel for drastically improving his skills as a head coach.

Vogel has been a part of many winning teams and was most recently the head coach of the Phoenix Suns before he was relieved from duty after getting swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Despite last season's shortcomings in the playoffs with a Suns squad that lacked solid depth, Vogel elevated the level of the Suns defense beyond what many talking heads thought was possible based on their personnel. Vogel has led a myriad of stout defensive teams in his coaching career, and he has a ton of situational experience given that he's been a head coach for 12 seasons.

While Vogel isn't technically an assistant coach in Dallas, as the Mavericks are officially labeling him a "consultant", his experience and advice that he can give to Kidd and the rest of Dallas' staff will truly be invaluable, especially since he already has a great working relationship with Kidd.

Kidd has talked about his willingness to seek outside knowledge en route to becoming a more complete coach on various occasions, which is an admirable trait considering how stuck in their ways some head coaches can be. Dallas and Kidd hiring Vogel as a consultant on their staff points to Kidd honing in on that wavelength, and it's always great to get the voice of a championship-level coach in the locker room, even if it may just be an occasion-based type of deal.

It's without a doubt that this isn't necessarily a groundbreaking move by Dallas, but it's also one that could go extremely under the radar, as Vogel is bound to figure out some ways to help out Kidd and the rest of a Dallas staff that have already established polished resumes with the Mavericks.