Charles Barkley's bold statement on Mavericks raises eyebrows, but is he right?

That's a big caveat from Barkley: IF they ever get healthy. Kyrie Irving is expected to be out for at least half the season, as Barkley alluded to, as he recovers from ACL surgery. Anthony Davis is perpetually injured, especially in the mind of Barkley, who has often called him "Day-to-Davis." AD dealt with a few different injuries last season, limiting him to nine games with the Mavs, plus the two Play-In games.

Those injuries don't even consider someone like Dereck Lively II, who has played in just 91 games in two seasons, and missed a lot of last season with a stress fracture in his foot. Klay Thompson isn't getting any younger either.

The Mavericks have a small window to contend with Irving and Davis as the frontmen seriously, unless they can swing one of them in a trade for someone who better fits Cooper Flagg's timeline.

Are the Mavericks really contenders this season?

Without Irving for at least the first half of the season, it's unlikely that the Mavericks can be real threats for a guaranteed playoff spot this season. The West is too good and too deep for the Mavs to tread water without Irving and still be competing for that.

If Irving returns around the All-Star Break and the Mavs are within a few games of .500, they should at least be in decent standing to make the Play-In Tournament. If they can do that and win a game or two to squeak into the playoffs, that'll be a great experience for everyone involved, and then they can be ready to attack the 2026-27 season fully healthy.

But then there's the question of whether or not this team is properly built or not. They're missing a lot of playmaking, shooting, and perimeter defense, even if Kyrie Irving returns at the same level of player he was. If Cooper Flagg and D'Angelo Russell can be enough and show respectable three-point shooting, maybe it works, but that isn't guaranteed.