National Basketball Association

Early Arrivals a Good Sign for Mavs

Published Sep. 24, 2014 12:19 a.m. ET

foxsports

DALLAS --- Rick Carlisle isn't someone who typically dwells in hyperbole or issuing bold claims, but the longtime NBA head coach who is heading into year seven at the helm of the Dallas Mavericks admits he has seen a pretty good sign as the Mavs head into the start of training camp next Tuesday at their practice facility on Victory Avenue.

That good sign that Carlisle, who helped lead Dallas to the 2011 NBA title, speaks of is the fact that so many players have been early arrivals. It's not all that surprising to hear that former league MVP and franchise icon Dirk Nowitzki is among those who has been working out and playing pickup at the team facility for a while now because that's what local fans have come to expect from the Big German.

But to hear Jae Crowder talk last week about how great it's been to play pick up with one of the Mavs' marquee additions this offseason in ex-Dallas big man Tyson Chandler, who is back in town after two years away with the New York Knicks, is definitely good to hear.

But it's not like Chandler, who is expected to anchor the middle for Dallas again this season, much like he did during their title run in 2010-11, is the only new addition who has been an early arrival.

In fact, most of Dallas' other new faces, a group including young big man Al-Farouq Aminu, veteran point guards Raymond Felton and Jameer Nelson, ex-Rocket Chandler Parsons and big man Greg Smith, have already arrived in town and have been working out with their new teammates.

"We have more guys in early than we've ever had since I've been here," Carlisle said during a Tuesday afternoon press conference at American Airlines Center to introduce the Mavs' new additions. "That's a good sign. We just want to get started on Tuesday."

Unlike his club's longtime head coach, Dallas owner Mark Cuban is someone who is never afraid to issue a bold statement or two about his team's chances in the always-tough Western Conference.

But Cuban did shy away from such a big prediction on Tuesday while then agreeing with his head coach about how good it is to see so many players ready to roll with camp still not officially starting for another full week.

"Dirk (Nowitzki) and Tyson (Chandler are here) and those guys are pushing Monta (Ellis) and Monta is pushing Jameer (Nelson) and Devin (Harris)," Cuban said. "Devin's been in here working out every day. Jae (Crowder) and Ricky Ledo, the leadership from these guys just pushing everybody forward and nobody's resisting. It's not like anybody is saying no, I don't want to come early. Everybody's getting in. It's pretty cool. It's fun to watch."

And the colorful yet passionate Mavs owner said that while this year's team and how it is currently assembled has accomplished the goal of them getting younger, there is something else he really likes about this club heading into the start of preseason.

"I know a lot of the teams think it's just about the math, but we really think it's about the chemistry. The guys are great guys who love to share the ball and love to compete, and I think that's going to take us a long way," Cuban said.

And even Chandler, someone who is heading into his 14th year in the Association and has over 800 games of regular-season and 70-plus games of playoff experience, says that seeing so many players at the team facility so early is something he hasn't seen in his nearly 15 years in the League.

"I really like what I see so far coming here. I've never seen so many guys here this early with any team I played with. Coming into camp, I think we've built a lot of chemistry. It's also very competitive and that's what you want to see, especially going into camp," Chandler said. "There's going to be a lot of players fighting for a lot of positions."