Mavericks' new direction is clear, and it mirrors the other young NBA powerhouses

Masai Ujiri didn’t come out and shout it. He didn’t even whisper it like his predecessor did 14 months ago in a determined but wildly failed effort to justify his trade of Luka to the Lakers. But the Dallas Mavericks are all in on this now. It has absolutely nothing to do with trying to prove Nico Harrison correct. The mantra doesn’t really work if the man you have selected to guard the basket is busy with his hidden camera prank show because he’s too hobbled to get on the basketball floor. It has plenty to do with what everyone just witnessed in this spring’s Western Conference finals, a seven-game series that came with a disturbing disclaimer that read: THESE TWO TEAMS ARE HERE TO STAY. Oklahoma City plays night after night with the most intense devotion to defense in the NBA. If you want to translate that into “the Thunder grabs a lot,” be my guest, but it still works. San Antonio comes with not just great young perimeter defense but the ultimate rim protector in Victor Wembanyama. Yes, any and all rivals — including Dallas — must find ways to score against these teams, but the emphasis on defense and what works in the playoffs cannot be overlooked. Along with that, the champion New York Knicks locked people down for long stretches, but I’m trying to avoid the Knicks subject here because that requires one to type the name ‘Jalen Brunson’ which conjures up all sorts of bad memories about his Dallas exit. Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont, having taken the early missteps of trusting in Nico, has made certain that there are no lasting memories of the group that cast out not one but, it would appear, two generational talents at point guard. Mark Cuban excused himself from the scene (even if he seems determined to appear on every available podcast and discuss the team as if it’s still his), Nico was dispatched, Jason Kidd got the axe from Ujiri himself and a new GM (Mike Schmitz) was installed to replace the two-headed interim tandem of Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi. Now that is fundamental change at the top that another local sports club would never even consider an option, despite a 30-year absence from glory. Dusty May? Didn’t have him on the list of likely head coaching candidates here, mostly because I remember a time (roughly five years ago) when a national championship-winning coach would have to be nuts to trade in that salary and status to coach a team that has missed the last two playoffs and isn’t, potentially, anywhere near the top of the Western Conference. Then again, the college game now demands instant pay raises for its willing-to-travel star players, and that whole thing gets frustrating. It’s entirely possible (and it seems likely) that Michigan AD Warde Manuel, believed to be a principal reason that Jim Harbaugh returned to the NFL after winning a title in Ann Arbor, led May to seek other employment as well. That’s a Wolverine problem for others to decipher. May won the NCAA tournament two months ago with one of the most ferocious college defenses on record. Michigan had the best defensive efficiency rating in the nation. In the Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four games, the Wolverines held Alabama, Tennessee, Arizona and UConn to their season lows in field-goal percentage. When ESPN’s Jay Bilas described him as “the most versatile defender, in my view, in the draft,’’ he might as well have been reading off the list of Mavericks’ needs. Dallas ranked outside the top 20 in defense this past season, although we shouldn’t place much stock in the rankings of a group that tanked from November to the bitter end just to get into the lottery. It would have been more exciting had the Mavs been able to add one of the precious point guards that populated the top of the lottery last night. But when a run at the 5-6-7 picks took Illinois’ Keaton Wagler (Clippers), Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. (Nets) and Arkansas’ Darius Acuff (Kings) off the board, that ship sailed. That almost demands that Irving run the offense this season unless you believe Brandon Williams can be talked into never taking another outside jump shot and adopting a “Drive, He Said” mentality. These are just the baby steps of a major rebuild around Flagg, no matter what anyone in charge says. But it’s also one of the most complete overhauls I’ve ever seen of an organization that mismanaged the heart of its roster while it was competing for a championship.