Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd says the decision that saw All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, as well as four other key players, sit out Friday’s 115-112 home loss to the Chicago Bulls - a defeat that eliminated the Mavs from play-in contention - was one made by the franchise with the draft in mind.
It was announced late Friday morning that Irving, shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr, small forward Josh Green, Maxi Kleber and Christian Wood would all sit out against the Bulls for precautionary reasons. Ahead of play, the Mavs were also tied with the Bulls for the 10th-best lottery odds - but they owe the New York Knicks a top-10-protected pick as the final payment for the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
Kidd said: “We were fighting for our lives, and understanding this is a situation we're in, but the organisation has made the decision to change. So, you know, we have to go by that and that's something that happens. So the guys that are playing, we got to go out there and put our best foot forward, and we talked about that this afternoon.
“And the guys that are playing are gonna go out and try to play to win. You gotta be pros. You can't cheat the game."
In the game, the Mavericks, needing to win each of their final two games to make make the Play-In tournament, managed to build up a double-digit lead in the second half. But following some changes, a team made up of reserves and role players threw the game away.
“It's not so much waving the white flag," Kidd said after the game. "Its decisions sometimes are hard in this business. We're trying to build a championship team. With this decision, this is maybe a step back. But hopefully it leads to going forward."
All-Star guard Luka Doncic only managed 13 minutes in Friday’s game. The 24-year-old was touch-and-go for the game due to a thigh injury. But he publicly rejected the idea of sitting out down the stretch as a tanking measure to protect the Mavs' lottery position.
When asked how Doncic reacted to the plan, Kidd said: "I can't speak for him. But I think when you look at, we all said that we want to have the opportunity to find a way to get in. And we were gonna play until told otherwise. And today is the day that we've been told that we're gonna do something different.
“And so he's gonna participate in the first quarter and then he's done for the season."
