Only one person can wake up Dāvis Bertāns from his pregame nap.
So when his wife interrupted his slumber on Thursday afternoon, one of the newest Mavericks knew it was important.
“The only call that goes through when I got my phone on ‘do not disturb’ is my wife,” Bertāns said Saturday. “She was going to pick our daughter up from pre-school. It’s like, 2:40. And the phone’s ringing. And I thought, why is she calling?
“And then I’m starting to process it as quick as I can. And she’s like, yeah, you got traded.
“I said, ‘Where?’ Dallas. I said, ‘OK, good.’ “
Moments later, he added that the news of his trade “could have been a lot worse, I can tell you that.”
In the days leading up to the trade deadline, the rumors of possible landing destinations for the 6-10 Latvian sharpshooter at the trade deadline were not nearly as palatable as Dallas.
Bertāns and Spencer Dinwiddie had their welcome-to-Dallas news conference before Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
They both are relishing the opportunity to jump start what had been lukewarm seasons in Washington. They were traded to the Mavericks minutes before the deadline in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis.
And the news concerning both players’ potential for better days with the Mavericks was quite good, indeed.
Dinwiddie, a 6-5 guard who in 2019-20 averaged 20.6 points and 6.8 assists per game. Three games into the following season, he tore his ACL and he still isn’t fully back to where he was before the injury.
But he knows he’s on the right path to get back to that level. He just feels like he didn’t get enough time to show that in Washington.
“That’s the thing I was disappointed with but also a little hurt by,” Dinwiddie said. “I got wrote off 30 games into the season. I didn’t have to play the first 25 of. They told me when they signed me, you don’t have to play the first 20 games, you’re coming off an ACL. I was like, nah, I want to come here and help and be part of this.
“Everybody talks about (how) the first year, you’re getting your rhythm back . . . they always talk about the second year and third year (after a serious injury) being much better. Being 28 and having a great recovery so far, I definitely expect myself to play at that type of level going forward in my career.”
The Mavericks clearly believe that Dinwiddie and Bertāns are going to have a big impact on their playing rotation. Both will come off the bench, coach Jason Kidd said, at least for the time being.
Neither of them played Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers. Both expect to make their Mavericks debut Tuesday at Miami.
Bertāns is a career 40 percent shooter from beyond the 3-point arc. This year, it’s not been so kind to him. He’s made only 31.9 percent of his triples, but he also had a sensible explanation for the dropoff.
“My type of game is I really rely on my teammates setting me up,” he said. “I’m not a guy who takes the ball and creates something for myself and then shoots it. If I don’t get set up by a teammate, it’s really hard for me to get some rhythm going. Getting shots every 10, 15 minutes, it’s really hard to keep that percentage up.”
In that respect, he’s looking forward to the opportunity to pair on the court with Luka Dončić. He’s seen the kind of open looks that Reggie Bullock, Dorian Finney-Smith and, before he was injured, Tim Hardaway Jr. get because of Luka’s playmaking skills.
“I’ve experienced that damage on the opposite side,” he said. “It’s definitely really hard when you have to guard a player like him and you know you need the whole team to defend him and that just opens up space for everybody else.
“This team, especially corner shooters, those guys get open looks more often than not. It creates a (problem) for the other team. You aren’t going to leave the shooter, but you can’t leave Luka one-on-one. I feel I’m definitely going to fit in in that kind of system.”
Similarly, Dinwiddie has a strong belief that he can come in and, perhaps, fill the sixth-man role that Hardaway had.
“Yeah, I mean, whatever role they ask of me is what I’m going to come in here and do,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a midseason trade. You don’t want to break up the rhythm that the team already has, so you have to figure it out on the fly.”
And, after being with Washington, which is currently out of the playoff picture, it will be a big boost mentally to be in the stretch drive of a race for home-court advantage in the playoffs.
“Personally, I have a lot of peace with my career in terms of the way I’ve played, the injuries I’ve had, the things I’ve been able to accomplish, in terms of leading a Brooklyn team to the playoffs before, right?” Dinwiddie said. “But in terms of this year and what we’re proving collectively, we’re fighting for home court advantage. Trying to take the next step in growth as a unit, as a roster.
“It seems like you have that level to go to and then the level above that is championship contention, which obviously I know that the Dallas fanbase is eager for and has tasted [it] before so they obviously want to get back there. We’ve probably got two notches to go and I’m just looking to be an addition to that.“
Porzingis introduced in Washington: Just as the new Mavericks were having their media session at American Airlines Center, Porzingis was welcomed to Washington.
During his news conference, he had several thoughts about his time in Dallas.
On coach Jason Kidd and the season: “The coaching change for me was good in Dallas. Just a lack of continuity, COVID, little things happening throughout the season. But I think everybody saw my progression, the way I moved this season. And the numbers showed that. The only thing is my 3 hasn’t been falling this season, but that’s something I keep working on. My confidence stays high.”
On unmet expectations: “Me where I’m at, I’m willing to make adjustments to be great as a team. But I think we never really achieved what everybody expected us to be. And it was 2½ seasons. Not what everybody expected, probably. And not what I expected. But that’s how it is in this league sometimes.”
On his strengths: “The main thing with me is to take advantage of those mismatches. If they put a guard on me, it’s ridiculous at 7-3 to only shoot 3s. But I have to be effective. If double-teams come I kick the ball back out to my teammates for open shots. I look forward to the future – have some fun and win some games.”
Twitter: @ESefko
Share and comment