With the collapse of the Warriors' roster and upheaval across the NBA, the Mavs have a chance to be relevant next season

The good news for the Warriors is that Toronto closed them out in six games, because at the rate Bay Area icons were falling in the series, the Golden Gate Bridge would have been next. And no less calamitous, at that.

First it was Kevin Durant, his Achilles clipped in Game 5. Then a torn ACL cut down Klay Thompson in Game 6.

The Warriors not only lost their two-year grip on the Larry O'Brien Trophy, they're seventh in the pecking order for next season, according to the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook, which reads like this from 1 through 6: Lakers, Bucks, Clippers, Rockets, Raptors and Sixers. Never mind that it's not even clear who's bringing up the ball for the Lakers yet.

Meanwhile, your intrepid reporter is climbing out on a limb to say the Mavs' return to relevancy is closer at hand.

The Mavs won't suddenly become contenders because the Warriors are down to one Splash Brother. But Steph Curry and Draymond Green may no longer be enough to beat the rest of the league, either. Any contender needs two stars and is looking for three. Without KD and Thompson for most, if not all, of next season, the West shouldn't be as top-heavy.

Unless the Lakers figure out a way to add Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard under their shriveled-up cap. If Magic's former nemesis, Rob Pelinka, gets that done, all you conspiracy theorists have my blessing to spontaneously combust.

Free agency doesn't even officially start until June 30, and you know how summers have gone around here. Conventional wisdom says the Mavs' chances weren't helped by the Lakers' big trade, especially if it precipitates more big moves in LA.

What we know for certain is that there will be a lot of scrambling to fill the vacuum left by the Warriors' misfortunes, and the Mavs stand as good a chance at improving as anyone outside the greater metropolitan LA area.

Westgate currently has the Mavs ninth in the West, behind the Lakers, Clips, Rockets, Warriors, Nuggets, Thunder, Blazers and Jazz. But that's based on today's rosters.

Of the teams in front of the Mavs in the paragraph above, only the two LA teams offer more attractive free-agent destinations this summer

Let's start at the top: The Lakers are trending because LeBron will soon have a big-time playmate in AD. Pelinka had to make this huge deal -- I'm not even sure he's aware of everything going to New Orleans -- in order to maximize the remaining years on LeBron's greatness. The Lakers couldn't afford to forfeit another season waiting for AD to sign as a free agent. They had to go big now, and that deal has vaulted them to the top of the contenders.

Just the same, it's no automatic. After giving up Lonzo Ball, the Lakers need a point guard. Kemba Walker? He'd be a natural, though he certainly sounds sincere when he says he'd like to remain in Charlotte. The Lakers could get around the PG question if they added a third star the caliber of Leonard. His family members have already signed on the campaign for such a possibility on social media. But depending on when the AD deal is deemed official, the Lakers probably won't have enough cap space to lure Leonard.

Besides, Leonard could have signed with LeBron last summer and passed, so what makes anyone think he'd do so now? I mean, besides his sister and cousin?

Here's betting Leonard ends up with the Clippers, who'd still have enough left over to sign another FA to a max contract.

Under these scenarios, both LA teams would be improved but not exactly prohibitive favorites. As for the rest of the West? Even given their poor summer record, the Mavs' odds look better these days.

They've got enough cap space to offer Kristaps Porzingis a max contract and still have enough left to do a second. Porzingis and Luka Doncic haven't even played together yet, but it's a match made in Europe, if not heaven. They have similar histories, games and skill sets. I'd be shocked if they didn't have immediate chemistry as a result.

Can the rest of the scrambling West project the same about new additions?

The real question is, what do the Mavs do this summer besides throw a lot of money at Porzingis?

We're not sure yet about their plan. As Mark Cuban always says, if you hear what they're going to do, don't believe it. Even as you read this, Donnie Nelson is probably gagged and bound somewhere in American Airlines Center.

Speculation about the Mavs has centered on Walker or Milwaukee's Khris Middleton. Maybe Tobias Harris. If Walker leaves Charlotte, it seems LA would be a more likely destination than Dallas. Our Brad Townsend likes Harris because he can play either the 3 or 4, which better fits the Mavs' needs. The question is less about what the Mavs think than whether the Sixers think he's worth a max contract.

But if four-fifths of the Mavs starting five next year is Doncic, Porzingis, Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr., then I'd say the Mavs were remarkably improved. Which could go a long way in a West that just got a lot wilder.



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