DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday unveiled the collection of veteran newcomers to the team for this year, unveiled a new alternative uniform to be worn in 2015, and - in a change for the ages - unveiled the concept of a team so balanced that it doesn't wish Dirk Nowitzki to be a 20-point scorer.
"I'm not expecting anybody on our team to be a 20-point scorer," Mavs owner Mark Cuban said as the Mavericks introduced new players at an AAC press conference. "Not Dirk. I don't want him to be a 20-point scorer. Seriously."
It is Cuban's belief that newcomers Monta Ellis, Chandler Parsons and Richard Jefferson all have capability on a given night, and that the trio of veteran point guards (Jameer Nelson, Devin Harris and Raymond Felton) could be counted on for 15 points on a given night. And that doesn't even count championship center Tyson Chander, whose return to Dallas in trade made him the centerpiece of the presser.
"That's the cool thing," Cuban said. "There are going to be times when we over-pass. And that will be the challenge."
As the presser was being conducted on the main floor (starring future alternate blue uniforms featuring the Dallas skyline - the displayed mockup of which accidentally omitted the ball atop Reunion Tower) Ellis and Nowitzki were in the basement of the AAC on the brightly-resurfaced practice court. Ellis worked on ball-handling. Dirk worked on his quick-release shot.
Said Chandler: "Dirk means the world to me. Dirk is the leader."
The leader - but maybe, on certain nights, not the 20-points-plus leader in scoring.
