Quote:
Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson
.. in a situation where I don't think any of us were expecting much.
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You can say that again. I was fully prepared for the idea that they'd give up the chance to draft a player at #18 in exchange for the privilege of overpaying some old guy, and spent the majority of the past two months trying to decide which one I liked best. At one point I was convinced Hayward was the way to go, and then for a while I was even on the Rubio train (as evidenced by my long post about it here).
Instead of adding a "win now vet" via sign and trade with 18 and another with the MLE, they doubled down on YOUNG players, picking up Richardson, who's right in line with Luka and KP's timeline, and added FOUR other young players who could potentially be very exciting (five, if you count WCS). As you say, they did this while INCREASING their team-building flexibility and basically doubled the team's athletic profile. This might be the most athletic roster the Mavericks have ever had (literally). I'm a little too young to remember the three J's, but I KNOW this group is more athletic than any version of the team since Cuban bought them. Now, most of those athletic guys aren't going to play much right away, but the whole idea of investing in youth is that it's worth the wait. I did NOT see this coming.