Jerome Miron – USA Today Sports Images
At the end of the day, the Dallas Mavericks were too inconsistent and unable to fight out of the rut they got in when they played without Dirk Nowitzki to be able to make the NBA Playoffs. It seemed like they might make a run at the eight-seed with about a month remaining in the regular season, but they just didn’t have what it took to get the job done.
Now they enter an off-season where they have a ton of decisions to make. Eight of their players on their roster will enter free agency, some as unrestricted, some as restricted, this summer. One of the key players that they will have to make a decision about is Darren Collison, who will become a restricted free agent when the free agency period begins after the postseason.
Collison played in 81 games for the Mavs this season and averaged 29.3 minutes per game, switching from starter to backup point guard intermittently throughout the year. For the season he averaged 12 points, 5.1 assists, 2.7 boards and 1.2 steals per game on 47.1 percent shooting and 35.3 percent three-point shooting. Statistically he had a relatively positive season.
However, it seemed that he constantly under-performed in big games and frequently offered a dissenting opinion to that of head coach Rick Carlisle. Carlisle said during the season that Collison was a “great backup,” but Collison has said multiple times that he believes he has the ability to be a starting point guard in this league.
Though having a guard that can push the pace like Collison can is valuable to Dallas, they shouldn’t bring him back next season. He seems to lack chemistry with the team and clearly isn’t on the same page as the coaching staff and the front office. There’s no doubt that he’s a quality basketball player, but it seems like he does more harm than good for this Mavericks team.
Cody Williams is a Senior NBA Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.
