Darren Collison not happy about losing his starting spot with the Dallas Mavericks – NBA News
The Dallas Mavericks picked up point guard Darren Collison during the offseason to replace Jason Kidd, who signed a three year contract with the New York Knicks in free agency. Collison was going to be the Mavericks starting point
guard, a position that he was excited to hold and look forward to. However, after only 14 games in the current NBA season, Collison lost his starting job and will now be backup point guard to the Mavericks newest addition in the roster, Derek Fisher. And Collison
was not happy about the demotion, saying that he did not get a real crack at the starting gig.
“I don’t think so, and we all know that; my teammates, they feel the same way, everybody feels the same way. But, at the end of the day, coach, he makes the decision. There’s nothing you can do about it but go out there and do
your job,” said Collison prior to Saturday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons.
The Dallas Mavericks started the season on a hot streak with Collison at the point guard, winning four of their first five games. However, they have fallen off since then and dropped to an 8-9 record since then, with Collison failing
to deliver at the crucial position while committing too many turnovers in the process. Hence, the team went ahead and signed Derek Fisher to the roster on Friday in order to bring stability to the starting roster. Fisher, who last played in the NBA Finals
as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder squad, is a veteran to the game who has five championship rings under his belt. Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle believes it is a great opportunity for Collison to play under the veteran guard and learn from him. However,
Collison believes that at this point of his career, playing games is what will help him the most.
“I feel like at this point in my career, if there’s anything I need to learn it’s just go out there on the court and just learn from my mistakes,” added Collison.
Rick Carlisle was quick to console Collison on losing his starting job, telling him that he was a great player and a key ingredient and component of the Mavericks roster heading into the future as the team attempts to rebuild.
“Darren’s still one of our best players and I’ve made that clear to him,” said Carlisle.
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