Now what?

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by JustJay

Luka was just picked the best player in the entire NBA under 25.

I'm pretty sure Patrick Maholmes won that honor in NFL and everybody wants to play with him, but no one seems to care less about playing with Luka. I think it's some kind of stigma with the Dallas Mavericks we won a championship no one but fans and Lebron haters cared, there's also that Luka is usually highest usage in the league stars don't want to watch someone else take over the game. We're pretty much screwed unless you're happy with 2nd round exists at best. Don't expect us back in the Conference Finals with this roster.

That's an extremely pessimistic take. Frankly I think our roster is better than the one last year- although the rest of the West got better too, so I don't necessarily expect us to make the conference finals again either.

Personally I don't think our lack of free agent success has anything to with Luka's usage rate or a "stigma" about the Mavs. I think it's the simple fact that there are only three actual free agent destination cities in the NBA- New York, LA, and Miami. That's it. You don't see free agents lining up to go to Philly or Chicago or Houston either. Look at Cleveland. They had Lebron for 11 years and they could never attract anyone either.

And you can't compare the NFL to the NBA. You just can't. Of course everyone wants to play with a great QB. That doesn't translate in basketball. This isn't a Luka thing. It's a basketball thing. Every fan wants to think that other players are just dying to play with their superstar, but that's just not true. "Get to play with such and such" is hardly ever the motivating factor that fans seem to think it is.

[JustJay]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

That's an extremely pessimistic take. Frankly I think our roster is better than the one last year- although the rest of the West got better too, so I don't necessarily expect us to make the conference finals again either.

Personally I don't think our lack of free agent success has anything to with Luka's usage rate or a "stigma" about the Mavs. I think it's the simple fact that there are only three actual free agent destination cities in the NBA- New York, LA, and Miami. That's it. You don't see free agents lining up to go to Philly or Chicago or Houston either. Look at Cleveland. They had Lebron for 11 years and they could never attract anyone either.

And you can't compare the NFL to the NBA. You just can't. Of course everyone wants to play with a great QB. That doesn't translate in basketball. This isn't a Luka thing. It's a basketball thing. Every fan wants to think that other players are just dying to play with their superstar, but that's just not true. "Get to play with such and such" is hardly ever the motivating factor that fans seem to think it is.

Are we championship contenders yes or no? If the answer is no, you agree with me or you're just pessimistic too.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by JustJay

Are we championship contenders yes or no? If the answer is no, you agree with me or you're just pessimistic too.

Yes, we are contenders until proven otherwise.

We initially didn't think we were contenders last season and then started clicking at the right time.

We aren't favorites by any means, but we are one addition away from that level of team. Obviously you have to prove it... like Phx and a few other paper contenders.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by JustJay

Are we championship contenders yes or no? If the answer is no, you agree with me or you're just pessimistic too.

But you seem to have the attitude that we'll NEVER be contenders because nobody wants to play with Luka. I don't think that's true.

Are we championship contenders in 2023? My honest answer is... I don't know. But probably not. But I think we're in a far better position than most to be in the title hunt over the next decade or so, so I don't think I'm being pessimistic at all.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

That's an extremely pessimistic take. Frankly I think our roster is better than the one last year- although the rest of the West got better too, so I don't necessarily expect us to make the conference finals again either.

Personally I don't think our lack of free agent success has anything to with Luka's usage rate or a "stigma" about the Mavs. I think it's the simple fact that there are only three actual free agent destination cities in the NBA- New York, LA, and Miami. That's it. You don't see free agents lining up to go to Philly or Chicago or Houston either. Look at Cleveland. They had Lebron for 11 years and they could never attract anyone either.

I agree his take is pessimistic, but you also can't mention Cleveland and Dallas in the same sentence like they are the same city in the same situation. DFW is the fourth largest metro area in the country now with a high profile owner. At some point you can't keep making excuses as to why players don't want to play here.

I understand Schroder wanting to play in LA, but I also wonder how interested the Mavs even were. I mean, if they gave him the "Dragic" offer, then of course he wouldn't come here.

It still comes down to a simple fact though. An injury to Luka or Dinwiddie could put us into the lottery real quick. We need an insurance guard. Period.

[rimrocker]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

It still comes down to a simple fact though. An injury to Luka or Dinwiddie could put us into the lottery real quick. We need an insurance guard. Period.

I agree with this and feel Bledsoe could be that piece.
As I mentioned in another post, I'm fine with grooming a young player to fill the insurance role, but Bledsoe would be immediate insurance.

I also think we need legit traditional sized insurance at center.
Maxi and Wood (and some Bertans) are legit small ball centers so Powell is expendable imo.

Honestly, if we added Bledsoe and Dwight Howard, I think we would be set to start the season.

Luka/Bledsoe/Dorsey/Hardy
Dinwiddie/THJ/Frank/Pinson
DFS/Bullock/Green
Wood/Maxi/Bertans
McGee/Howard/Powell

Obviously, we don't have the roster spot, but I'd feel more comfortable with more veteran insurance at the 1 and 5.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

I agree his take is pessimistic, but you also can't mention Cleveland and Dallas in the same sentence like they are the same city in the same situation. DFW is the fourth largest metro area in the country now with a high profile owner. At some point you can't keep making excuses as to why players don't want to play here.

I totally disagree. When it comes to NBA free agency, I don't think there is much of a difference between Dallas and Cleveland. Again, I think history shows us that there are only three cities free agents find attractive, and Dallas isn't one of them. And I'm almost positive players don't give a flying f*ck about a high profile owner. You can say I'm making excuses about players not wanting to play here- but they don't seem to want to play in Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, DC, or Toronto either. All of them are very large metro areas and have a free agent history as abysmal as the Mavs' or worse.

It still comes down to a simple fact though. An injury to Luka or Dinwiddie could put us into the lottery real quick. We need an insurance guard. Period.

Well I think most teams would be in the lottery if they lost their 1st team all-NBA superstar to injury. But yes, we definitely need another guard, no argument here.