Do the Mavericks need a third star at all?

[Thespiralgoeson]

The quest for another star has dominated all conversation about the Mavericks for much of the past two years. We have separate threads on the front page about Zach Lavine and Bradley Beal. Other names have been linked to the Mavs in recent weeks- Oladipo, Drummond, probably more I'm forgetting.

But then there are others who say that the Mavs are solid as they are, and that we don't need another "star," maybe just a tweak here and there.

The question is simply, is KP good enough to be the second best player on a championship team? Is the core duo of Luka and KP enough to build a perennial contender around?

There doesn't seem to be a consensus. The opinion seems fairly split down the middle. I'll say right off the bat, I don't believe KP is that caliber of player, and I believe we do need another major upgrade if we ever want to be in the main event instead of merely on the midcard.

Some might think of this as "hating" on KP. I promise it isn't. It's just an honest opinion of his game. I like him a lot. And I don't blame him for his injuries. That's obviously not his fault. But I just see him as a good player- not a great one. I see him as a top 35ish player. There's no shame in only being the third best player on a championship team. Shawn Marion, Ray Allen, Robert Parish, Draymond Green, Dennis Rodman, Manu Ginobili, Chris Bosh... a lot of players with fantastic legacies were only ever the third best player on their title teams.

I'm just thinking about the history of NBA championships. Looking at most of them, the second (and often third) best player is usually significantly better than KP. Going through the last 40 years of NBA history and seeing who the second best player on each champion was-

80s Lakers- Magic/Kareem/Worthy depending on the year. All of them better than KP.

80s Celtics- McHale. Light years better than KP. Parish was also better.

83 Sixers- Doctor J was the THIRD best player on that team. Enough said.

Bad Boy Pistons- Dumars. Hall of famer. Better than KP.

90s Bulls- Scottie. Light years better than KP.

94-95 Rockets- ??? 95 its Drexler, better than KP. 94 maybe? We'll give KP that one.

99 Spurs. Robinson. Past his prime, but arguably still better than KP. But since it's arguable, maybe we can give KP this one too?

00-02 Lakers. Kobe. Duh.

03 Spurs. ??? Give KP this one.

04 Pistons. The strangest title team ever. KP is either the best player on the team, or doesn’t even make the starting lineup.

05 Spurs. Parker and Ginobili both better than KP.

06 Heat. Shaq. Duh.

07 Spurs. Tony and Manu again.

08 Celtics- Big 3. Plus Rondo. KP might not even be 4th best player on this team.

9-10 Lakers. Pau. Way better than KP. Maybe Odom and Bynum too.

11 Mavs. Maybe??? Another strange title team. KP would be either the 2nd or the 5th best player.

12-13 Heat. Wade and Bosh both way better than KP.

14 Spurs. Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Kawhi. KP might not even start.

15 Warriors. Klay and Draymond both better than KP.

16 Cavs. Kyrie. Way better than KP.

17-18 Warriors. Maybe the greatest team ever. KP probably doesn’t even start.

19 Raptors. Maybe??? Lowry is more reliable though.

20 Lakers. AD light years better than KP.


That's pretty much where I'm at. 40 years of championships, and to my count, KP would only be the second best player on maybe 2-5 of them, depending on how generous you want to be.

Now I don't know who that third player could be that would move the needle enough for the Mavs. It could be that no such player exists at the moment. But that's not the same as saying that Mavs simply don't need another impact player to compete for the title, because I believe they do.