2018 NBA Draft

[Magnum_3_Ball]

I'm just going to leave a prediction here...

For some reason, I've come across as a know-it-all or something of that sort to most of the other posters on this forum. Honestly, I just have a different viewpoint than just about anybody else. I am tank AT ALL COSTS.

I've read some posters criticize my posts about how the Mavs aren't doing what they should be doing to tank & then talk about who they want with a top 3 pick. It's just a fantasy. They want their dessert, but they don't want to pay for it.

And then some folks I think literally don't understand what tanking is. Maybe it's become too board of a term around the NBA. The Mavs lose & there's comments about "good tank" when really the Mavs are just so bad that they can't beat a team who is trying to tank---like Friday night in Chicago.

Take a look at Memphis. They're on a 13 game losing streak, and it's no accident. They're damn near re-writing the book on tanking. If they wind up with Ayton, it'll all have been worth it too.

Here's the prediction:

Mavs will go 3-5 over their next 8 games. They will beat Memphis on Saturday & in doing so ensure that Memphis finishes with a worse record than they do. They will either beat New York next Monday and Brooklyn a week from Saturday, or they will win one of those games & win another game you wouldn't expect them to among their next 8---like they did vs Indiana.

From there they'll have 22 wins and have 6 more games that are winnable for them because they're not trying to tank.

Way back when I thought 25-27 wins was going to ensure a top 5 worst overall record. What I didn't anticipate is the Grizzlies, the Bulls, and even the Knicks to go into ultra tank mode. I heard on ESPN this week that before Mavs win vs Indiana the bottom 8 teams in the league were 0 for their last 44.

Teams obviously think a lot of the top talent in this draft, and everyone, excepts for the Mavericks, seem willing to do what it takes to give themselves the best possible odds for that top talent.

These next 8 games are going to be what costs the Mavericks a top 5 pick---barring any miracles in the lottery drawing.

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by Magnum_3_Ball

Take a look at Memphis. They're on a 13 game losing streak, and it's no accident. They're damn near re-writing the book on tanking. If they wind up with Ayton, it'll all have been worth it too.

Outside Gasol, Conley and Evans, their entire roster is garbage. Absolut garbage. Conley is injuried and thats not their fault. Regarding Evans, they benched him because they thought they are trading him for sure. Bizarre situation but even WITH Evans this roster is still crap.

If Gasol gets a lame ass D2D "sore blablabla" injury, then you can start to talk shit about them.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Outside Gasol, Conley and Evans, their entire roster is garbage. Absolut garbage. Conley is injuried and thats not their fault. Regarding Evans, they benched him because they thought they are trading him for sure. Bizarre situation but even WITH Evans this roster is still crap.

If Gasol gets a lame ass D2D "sore blablabla" injury, then you can start to talk shit about them.

I'm saying that Conley Jr was reported to be on his way back at the All Star break & then all of the sudden, he has surgery & he's out for the season. Name me another player who missed the season because of a bone spur? A bone spur? I hear those are painful, but most players play through them & address it in the offseason.

Evans MRI on his right rib revealed only slight cartilage damage, and originally head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he didn't anticipate it to be "a long absence" He's missed 6 games & counting, and his status has switched from day-to-day to out indefinitely. Doesn't jive with the MRI results.

"If Gasol gets a lame ass D2D "sore blablabla" injury, then you can start to talk shit about them"

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! First of all, since when does listing facts constitute talking shit about someone???

Secondly, did you read the part where I said:

Call it a coincidence if you want to, but they see the Lakers beat a banged up Spurs team and an hour later it comes out that Marc Gasol is questionable for Monday's game with San Antonio with a "left ankle" injury, when he sat out Saturday night's game due to "rest"

The Grizzlies last game & tonight's game is literally exactly what you said, and the news has been out there for a day. I don't understand what you're talking about.

Friday, Memphis announces Gasol will sit out Saturday due to rest. He's sitting out the second night of a back-to-back, just like he did the last time Memphis had a B2B, and just like he will next Saturday vs the Mavs with Memphis' next B2B. Then, after the Lakers beat the Spurs (the Grizzlies opponent tonight), Gasol goes from sitting out due to "rest" to being listed as questionable with a "left ankle" injury, which today the injury report has been updated to a "left ankle" and a "right quad" injury. There ya go. Anything seem suspicious about that? I'd be willing to bet a large sum of money that Gasol plays Friday vs the Jazz.

Memphis has had players miss a total of 38 games during their 13 game losing streak due to "illness" "injury" and "rest". I don't know NBA injury rates, but that seems sky high. Roughly 3 injured players per game. No way that's normal. Not to mention, they traded James Ennis III at the deadline.

And, pardon my French here, but what kind of dumbass response is "they suck anyways". Seriously, you can just eyeball Memphis' roster, I'd bet my life that you hadn't bothered to open one Memphis box score or read one Memphis injury report, and suddenly you're an expert on their tanking & can write it off as simply "they suck anyways". I mean, does their owner have to go on Dr J's podcast and declare they're tanking for you to pick up on the obvious signs?

That's my biggest problem with folks on this site. I can spend literally a half hour researching FACTS & you can just eyeball it & give off a dumbass response like "they suck anyways" and walk away thinking you're right. If you are right, then why have the Mavs won 3 of their last 13 games? Because they suck too.

[Underdog]

Hawks beat Suns, Kings beat Knicks, but Nets lose to Clips at the very end... I guess Brooklyn doesn't mind keeping LeBron in the East?

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Hawks beat Suns, Kings beat Knicks, but Nets lose to Clips at the very end... I guess Brooklyn doesn't mind keeping LeBron in the East?

Would be nice if Brooklyn could start winning some games again. Not even trying to tank!

[mac222b]

Magnum- I hope you're wrong!

I didnt watch the game today. Were there any signs of obvious tankage? Did Collinsworth and or Hopson play when the outcome was still in doubt? Its going to come down to whether RC is on board.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

Originally Posted by mac222b

Magnum- I hope you're wrong!

I didnt watch the game today. Were there any signs of obvious tankage? Did Collinsworth and or Hopson play when the outcome was still in doubt? Its going to come down to whether RC is on board.

I only saw the 2nd half. From what I heard on the post game show on ESPN radio, the game was never really in doubt. Carlisle pretty much used the patented Barea, Ferrell, McDermott (formerly Harris), Dirk, Powell lineup to creep within 4 pts early in the 4th qtr; the only exception is Collinsworth was in for Ferrell because he had foul trouble trying to stop Jrue Holiday. But, then Gentry put his starters back in, they went on a 10-0 run, and the game was over.

Games like this vs a playoff bound team that's fighting for playoff seeding don't worry me. Mavs don't have an answer for the Brow & even if they tried to beat New Orleans, they just aren't good enough. Which is what they proved today. I only saw Collinsworth, Hopson & Mejri get minutes once the Mavs were down by 15+. Noel only saw 2nd half action late in the 4th qtr once the game was out of reach. I think once the Mavs started to get within a few buckets of NO, Carlisle changed up the rotation. Which at this point it's not even about tanking, it's just real, real stupid. Missing talent evaluation opportunities to try & win a meaningless game. Even if the Mavs lucked out & hit the top pick in the lottery drawing, a lot of minutes have been missed since the All Star break where we could of been evaluating these guys at the bottom of the roster. Not to mention, Motley still hasn't seen the floor. Motley has played 8 minutes all season long. It's just stupid, stupid, stupid. Why go into next year not having any better idea what Motley's capable of at the NBA level, then we did at the start of this season?


To better respond to your post, the real problem comes into play next Saturday when Memphis comes in here with a rotation that the Texas Legends could beat a few times out of 10. Seriously, Memphis is tanking at an extraordinary rate. 13 losses in a row & counting. They want that #1 overall pick. Fuck it. They deserve it. They're playing this really, really smart. The Mavs just aren't. The Mavs will win that game next Saturday. There's literally no chance they lose that game. They're just not smart enough to lose a game they need to.

@ New York
@ Brooklyn
@ Sacramento
@ Orlando
vs Phoenix

The Mavs will go 4-1 vs this stretch & everyone here can kiss DeAndre Ayton, Luka Doncic, and Jaren Jackson Jr GOOD BYE! We are not going to get them.

When I think of that it pisses me off so much, and I'm so baffled why everyone (well seemingly) is so quick to defend Carlisle over this. "You can't blame Carlisle" "You can't blame the players" "Are you sure you're a Mavs fan? Player X deserves more respect than that"

Well, who can I blame then? Because Memphis is tanking. They're getting the job done. I don't hear Jarrett Jack bitching to the media about a winning culture. He took his seat on the bench & kept his mouth shut when the media asked him about it. The Mavs are the only organization where the owner gets on a national podcast & telegraphs their intention, the coach is flippant with the media & goes on a little temper tantrum starting only vets for 97% of the time for 7 games, having a little power struggle with the FO, and the players bitch about it in the media. The Mavs are the only team doing that, and it led to a win vs Indiana that we did not need, and it could of led to a win vs the Thunder. LOL @ the comments in the game thread for that one. "Good tank" Lol what?!? The Mavs did everything they could to win that game. That much was super obvious.

Here's the really bad news. The Mavs aren't good enough to beat bad teams when they sit their vets & try to tank, but they're dumb enough to win games they shouldn't & because of that this super talent deficient roster is going to miss out on drafting a player from the top tier & if they fuck around and beat teams like Charlotte, the Lakers, Detroit, etc. then they might miss out a player from the 2nd tier too.

And if that happens, it's going to suck to be a Mavs fan for at least the next 5 years.

How will Memphis look next year with Conley Jr, Tyreke Evans, Parsons, Marc Gasol, and DeAndre Ayton? That's a very real possibility because they will not win 22 games this year. They won't let it happen. Call it a coincidence if you want to, but they see the Lakers beat a banged up Spurs team and an hour later it comes out that Marc Gasol is questionable for Monday's game with San Antonio with a "left ankle" injury, when he sat out Saturday night's game due to "rest".

It's just really concerning because Memphis for sure finishes with a worse record than Dallas. We're about to go 4-1 vs those final 5 games vs the bottom 8, and every other team is trying to lose. It's really not even trying to. Watching these games in the final 5 minutes, these teams like Phoenix, Orlando, Brooklyn, Atlanta, they're just not good enough to close out games. They're smart. They put all of their inexperienced guys on the floor in those spots & they blow big leads. Hell, Brooklyn didn't even need to lose tonight, but they lost when they were 79.4% to win late in the 4th qtr according to ESPN. They're doing what we're not doing with Motley, they're putting young guys on the floor & seeing what they can do.

I don't see how we finished with a bottom 5 worse record in the league. It'll take luck, like we got on Friday vs the Bulls. Outside of luck, we're in a spot with another word that ends in U-C-K.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

I don't really care how the Mavs lose as long as they do. 1-7 in their last 8 is still encouraging considering Mark's ill-advised comments.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

I don't really care how the Mavs lose as long as they do. 1-7 in their last 8 is still encouraging considering Mark's ill-advised comments.

That happened by accident. They tried to beat Chicago, and Chicago is benching Robin Lopez & Justin Holiday. Chicago tried to lose to us, but we suck so bad that we couldn't beat a team who was trying to lose to us. We made David Nwaba look like a freagg'in All Star. But, the Mavs were up by 11 with 10 min to go in that one, and then the Bulls caught fire. We won't get that lucky in very many more games vs the bottom 8.

Vs OKC we tried to win that game. Only the vets played. And a DSJ baseline jumper doesn't find the bottom of the net, or we win that game. Dumb luck. Period.

We're about to play Memphis who's lost 13 in a row, and that's no accident. We're going to beat them because they're going to bring a rotation in here that would have trouble in the G league a lot of nights, and the Mavs are stubborn as hell. Carlisle is going to take the bait, play the vets the whole game & we're going to win that one by double digits. The writing is on the wall.

New York is playing to lose. Look at their minutes distribution since KP went down. Look at how piss poor their guards are. Mudiay, Burke & Ntilikina don't move the ball in the offense. They're point guards who do not get their teammates involved. The Knicks are 1-9 since the unicorn went down. Their only win came vs ORL by 7 points & really only happened because Burke went off for 26 pts on 12/22 FG shooting.

Then we play Brooklyn. Brooklyn is 1-12 in their last 13 games. Unless DeAngelo catches fire or one of their other super scrubs, they're not even in games to even have a chance to win.

We are not going to lose a game to 3 teams who are a combined 2-34 in their last 36 games. It's just not going to happen. Not when we won't sit our vets & play the young guys we need to evaluate, and those other teams are doing that.

Those 3 wins will cost us a shot at Ayton, Doncic, JJJ or anyone else in the top 5. Hell, winning @ SAC, vs LAL and vs IND may have already done that.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

I've been paying close attention to each of the "tank" teams the past several weeks i.e. who's been bought out, who's sitting, which players are getting FG attempts, etc. I went through each of the bottom 10 teams & projected their final record. I recorded the projected win/loss for each time a bottom 10 team played each other, so I couldn't have projected a win for 2 teams when only 1 team could win or 2 losses when only 1 team could lose.


Here's my projected bottom 10 final records:

MEM 20-62
PHX 22-60
ATL 22-60
SAC 23-59
BKN 23-59
DAL 25-57
ORL 25-57
CHI 27-55
NYK 27-55
LAL 36-46


Of note, ORL has a stretch from March 24th thru April 4th where they play vs PHX, vs BKN, vs CHI, @ ATL, @ NYK, vs DAL. In theory, they could go 6-0 during this cream puff stretch, but their management may elect to make some changes. For example, Aaron Gordon & Nikola Vucevic could "sprain" their ankles March 22nd vs PHI. If they don't go after these games, they could drop many of them & then they shoot up to the top of the worst record standings. Fwiw, I have them beating DAL on the 4th, even though it's the 2nd night of a back-to-back for them & they're coming in from New York the previous night when Dallas is off the night before. If DAL wins that game, then they lose the tie with ORL at 25 wins each. I just went with ORL because they're a fiesty bunch, Gordon, Vucevic, Hezonja & now Isaac have all been playing well since the break & they have guys who can make shots in the final minutes like Fournier, so they seem to stay in some of these tight games late & pull a few of them out.

I view CHI as a similar fiesty bunch. They showed as much vs us on Friday. But, I have them winning a few of these games that they're just as likely to break down, have bad turnovers & shoot themselves out of games. I think Portis is a difference maker & he's supposedly getting a 5 game audition in the starting lineup that I don't think he'll relinquish the rest of the season. If CHI doesn't match their bad stretches with just as many good stretches & knock off a team here or there that you wouldn't project them to, then they'll jump in front of the Mavs with a worse record.

In this scenario, DAL & ORL tie for the 6th worst record, and the season series is tied also at 1-1. I'm going to literally flip a coin & see who goes in front, since I don't know what the next tiebreaker would be.

DAL won the coin flip, and in this realistic projection, they finish with the 6th overall worst record. Unfortunately at the draft lottery, the Bulls lucked out & snagged the #1 overall pick, which pushed DAL down to the 7th overall selection.

Good Bye DeAndre Ayton!
Good Bye Luka Doncic!
Good Bye Jaren Jackson Jr!
Good Bye Marvin Bagley III! (Whew! Thank God!)
Good Bye Greg Oden 2.0... I mean Michael Porter Jr! (Double Whew!!)
Good Bye Mo Bamba!

HELLO KEVIN KNOX!!! Welcome to Dallas!!


Orlando reaches on Collin Sexton
The Knicks take Mikal Bridges
And, the Sixers take Trae Young... How effin' scary would that be?

[sefant77]

God you are a freaking drama queen. Start crying when our draft position is set in stone but not now allready.

You was sure we win against the Bulls the other night too, huh?

[Magnum_3_Ball]

Originally Posted by sefant77

God you are a freaking drama queen. Start crying when our draft position is set in stone but not now allready.

You was sure we win against the Bulls the other night too, huh?

I was a professional sports bettor. I made a living last year predicting outcomes. I don't need to wait til the results come in to have an idea which way the wind is blowing.

Betting isn't a world of absolutes. It's a world of probabilities. You wanna bet your mortgage on every bottom-feeding team going on a 28-9 run in the final 10 min to beat the Mavs?

That's seriously your argument. No other tanking team is playing the vets 97+% of the time. Just the Mavs. We play Utah close in Utah. We beat Indiana. We take OKC to overtime & lose by 1 when a last second shot doesn't fall. We're up by 11 in the 4th vs Chicago & they basically have to not miss the rest of the game to beat us.

And you're willing to talk smack like the Mavs are going to continue to lose?

Here's a tip: do not bet on sports. You couldn't see a trend coming if the results were spray-painted on your car.

And take this to the bank: We're going 3-5 or better over the next 8 and it's going to fuck us on having a top 5 pick. It will happen.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

I sincerely doubt that Dallas takes Knox at 7 if Young is still on the board.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

I sincerely doubt that Dallas takes Knox at 7 if Young is still on the board.

Yeah, Knox is just an example of NOT Ayton, Doncic, JJJ, or Bamba. Hell, we might take Mikal Bridges who I like, or even Lonnie Walker, but they're not those top 3/4 players.

Also, the Mavs have missed on a lot of draft picks. DSJ failing to us last year at 9 was a gift from God above, and to be honest, I'd rather have Josh Jackson. So drafting up high increases the odds the Mavs don't miss on this crucial pick.

But, yeah who knows. I'll just be super sad when I see Ayton go to Memphis & know the Mavs could of had them if they had been smart about tanking like Memphis has been. Whoever they take at 6, 7, 8 or 9 won't be Ayton or Doncic or JJJ.

[sefant77]

Sorry, you have a really annoying way to type and argue... i just dont want to discuss anything with you.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Sorry, you have a really annoying way to type and argue... i just dont want to discuss anything with you.

I get it facts are annoying when you just wanna take a half-ass glance at something & spew forth an opinion you didn't put any thought into.

[tap2390]

Dude I liked it better when you were in self-imposed exile. I just can’t take another ten paragraphs about how Memphis is tanking better than us. You have good points but good God man, you have to learn when the horse is dead. Feel free to enjoy us eating our crow if you’re right. Be prepared to eat yours if you’re wrong. Either way no one is going to take you seriously as long as you advocate for things like firing RC and for JJB to get injured. Things like that make you come off worse than a fair-weather fan.

PS Grizz are blatantly tanking and it’s likely cost them their relationships with Gasol and Conley. Sorry but IMO no player, not even generational ones, are worth sacrificing the organization’s relationship with Dirk/ RC. Mavs will continue to play hard and may the dice land where they shall.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

Originally Posted by tap2390

Dude I liked it better when you were in self-imposed exile. I just can’t take another ten paragraphs about how Memphis is tanking better than us. You have good points but good God man, you have to learn when the horse is dead. Feel free to enjoy us eating our crow if you’re right. Be prepared to eat yours if you’re wrong. Either way no one is going to take you seriously as long as you advocate for things like firing RC and for JJB to get injured. Things like that make you come off worse than a fair-weather fan.

PS Grizz are blatantly tanking and it’s likely cost them their relationships with Gasol and Conley. Sorry but IMO no player, not even generational ones, are worth sacrificing the organization’s relationship with Dirk/ RC.

I wasn't in self-imposed exile. I just got tired of spending a lot of time putting together a well-research post and having some dumbass reply with some hokey emotional, anecdotal reply when they haven't even bothered to open a box score & take a look.

What do I get out of this forum? I enjoy a few of the posters. A few I find just as annoying as they find me.


Edit: THIS is why I post what I post. It's freaking maddening. Every excuse in the book is given why not tanking is okay, but every single one of them is seriously flawed. A) It's pure speculation that Conley Jr & Gasol have damaged relationships with the FO over this. In fact, Gasol was rumored to have poor relations with Memphis FO before they went into tank mode. and B) If anything having DeAndre Ayton show up on the roster next year is more likely to keep them around. But, Memphis is unlikely to be able to afford Gasol when he becomes a FA & why would they want to spend a max deal on a mid 30s center, anyways? It was time to move on. It's time for the Mavs to move on. Yeah, DeAndre Ayton and Luka Doncic and JJJ are all more valuable than Rick Carlisle. You bet your ass they are. Anything else is dreaming. It's a players league. I guess when Kawhi leaves San Antonio in the summer & the Spurs miss the playoffs next year, folks may start to understand that.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

You guys win, though. I'm out & for good this time.

I honestly don't want to chat with a bunch of fans who'd rather have Rick Carlisle than DeAndre Ayton, Luka Doncic, or Jaren Jackson Jr. Who think Mark Cuban is a dumbass. Who'd rather have Devin Harris than Doug McDermott and a 2nd round pick. Who'd rather have the Mavs win a meaningless game that costs them draft position than risk hurting JJ Barea's feelings. And who above all don't bother to read what I wrote before they declare it stupid & wrong.

Write this down, though. The Mavs will not finish with a top 5 draft pick; unless they get very lucky with the lottery drawing. Rick Carlisle is going to coach them right into a draft pick in the 6 thru 9 range & right out of selecting an impact player. The ramifications of missing out on a top 5 draft pick in one of the most top heavy drafts in recent history, will be exactly like the teams in 2003 who missed out on a top 5 draft pick. Chicago was one of those teams. They sucked for the next 5 years, until 2008 when they drafted #1 overall. Seattle was another one of those teams. They sucked for the next 4 years until they had the #2 overall pick in 2007. The Clippers drafted 6th, missed out on Wade by one spot. They sucked until 2009 when they drafted Blake #1 & he missed his first year with injury. That's 7 years of sucking. Which Milwaukee did them one better, then sucked for a decade until they hit on a miracle in 2013.

Get ready for a bumpy ride when the Mavs miss out on the generational talent at the top of this draft. Every year the Mavs miss the playoffs from here on out, think of your ol buddy Magnum & think about how incredibly assine & stupid these meaningless wins vs SAC, LAL, IND, MEM, NYK, etc were & how incredibly pointless Carlisle's pissing match was with Cuban. Hell, he might get tired of all the upcoming losing & resign.

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by Magnum_3_Ball

You guys win, though. I'm out & for good this time.

I honestly don't want to chat with a bunch of fans who'd rather have Rick Carlisle than DeAndre Ayton, Luka Doncic, or Jaren Jackson Jr. Who think Mark Cuban is a dumbass. Who'd rather have Devin Harris than Doug McDermott and a 2nd round pick. Who'd rather have the Mavs win a meaningless game that costs them draft position than risk hurting JJ Barea's feelings. And who above all don't bother to read what I wrote before they declare it stupid & wrong.

Write this down, though. The Mavs will not finish with a top 5 draft pick; unless they get very lucky with the lottery drawing. Rick Carlisle is going to coach them right into a draft pick in the 6 thru 9 range & right out of selecting an impact player. The ramifications of missing out on a top 5 draft pick in one of the most top heavy drafts in recent history, will be exactly like the teams in 2003 who missed out on a top 5 draft pick. Chicago was one of those teams. They sucked for the next 5 years, until 2008 when they drafted #1 overall. Seattle was another one of those teams. They sucked for the next 4 years until they had the #2 overall pick in 2007. The Clippers drafted 6th, missed out on Wade by one spot. They sucked until 2009 when they drafted Blake #1 & he missed his first year with injury. That's 7 years of sucking. Which Milwaukee did them one better, then sucked for a decade until they hit on a miracle in 2013.

Get ready for a bumpy ride when the Mavs miss out on the generational talent at the top of this draft. Every year the Mavs miss the playoffs from here on out, think of your ol buddy Magnum & think about how incredibly assine & stupid these meaningless wins vs SAC, LAL, IND, MEM, NYK, etc were & how incredibly pointless Carlisle's pissing match was with Cuban. Hell, he might get tired of all the upcoming losing & resign.

Memphis is for sure tanking. Having a top 3 pick will go a LONG way to appeasing Gasol and Conley(even though they may trade both anyway. if they even can, in Conley's case).

I think RC is a great, but flawed coach. Whoever we draft will likely be here longer than he is, so I see your argument for player over coach. Cant see RC here for more than a few more years. Dirk is retiring after next season. His daughter will be off to college in a few years. He'll either get a plum job coaching a championship contender or a plum job with ESPN. Unless we land a generational player in this draft to go along with DSJ.

Mark Cuban is a dumbass.

[mac222b]

I'm also not encouraged by our "tanking" efforts. Fear we wind up in the 6,7,8 range. If we draft Kevin Knox I'll break JJb's legs, personally. Just cuz. Would like to see more of the young guys, Motley especially. Sit Barnes and JJB. Sigh...

[DevinHarriswillstart]

"You know what your problem is Barton....YOU DON'T LISTEN" -Barton Fink

Now for the rest of the who actually do listen...there are 9 teams that are 2-3 games apart in the tanking standings. So fine, Mavs aren't tanking like Memphis, but neither are the 8 other teams. The fact that we're only a game off from them in the let's be terrible party is, to me, more encouraging than discouraging.

And if the Mavs aren't purposely tanking, then it's because MARK CUBAN not RICK CARLISLE said that Mavs were doing it on purpose. When you have the commish keeping a watchful on on you after fining you 600k, then you have to make it seem like you are trying hard to win. That is 100% on Cuban.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

"You know what your problem is Barton....YOU DON'T LISTEN" -Barton Fink

Now for the rest of the who actually do listen...there are 9 teams that are 2-3 games apart in the tanking standings. So fine, Mavs aren't tanking like Memphis, but neither are the 8 other teams. The fact that we're only a game off from them in the let's be terrible party is, to me, more encouraging than discouraging.

And if the Mavs aren't purposely tanking, then it's because MARK CUBAN not RICK CARLISLE said that Mavs were doing it on purpose. When you have the commish keeping a watchful on on you after fining you 600k, then you have to make it seem like you are trying hard to win. That is 100% on Cuban.

This is total B.S. all of the other 8 teams are trying to tank. Even Brooklyn who isn't trying to tank is sitting Mozgov to evaluate younger players. We're the only dumbasses not evaluating our young players in a lost season.


So you have ins with the league office & you know that Silver is making Cuban make Carlisle play all the vets... and you're posting on this forum because???

You don't know that. It's complete speculation & a narrative you conjured up because it agrees with your opinion on the subject. I don't ever remember hearing that Mark Cuban or the league office was making Mavs' lineup decisions in past years. The much more logical conclusion is that the same person whose always made lineup decisions is continuing to make them. That person is Rick Carlisle.

And if we're to take his press conferences seriously, by his own words "That's a coaching decision". Rick says he's making the calls on the lineup, but you know different. Hmmmm...

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by Magnum_3_Ball

This is total B.S. all of the other 8 teams are trying to tank. Even Brooklyn who isn't trying to tank is sitting Mozgov to evaluate younger players. We're the only dumbasses not evaluating our young players in a lost season.


So you have ins with the league office & you know that Silver is making Cuban make Carlisle play all the vets... and you're posting on this forum because???

You don't know that. It's complete speculation & a narrative you conjured up because it agrees with your opinion on the subject. I don't ever remember hearing that Mark Cuban or the league office was making Mavs' lineup decisions in past years. The much more logical conclusion is that the same person whose always made lineup decisions is continuing to make them. That person is Rick Carlisle.

And if we're to take his press conferences seriously, by his own words "That's a coaching decision". Rick says he's making the calls on the lineup, but you know different. Hmmmm...

Gotta say you shouldn't have an issue with speculation. Your whole fire RC idea is based entirely and only on speculation that RC is giving Cuban the finger and in some sort of pissing contest.

RC isn't going to come out in a press conference and say anything of value. He's never been that guy and if he was he wouldn't be employed for not having the blame stop with him. I can't imagine a coach going to a presser and saying "oh yeah we got the decision makers all together and we decided collectively to do this, so if you don't like it, it's not on me".

Nobody knows what is going on behind the scenes. For all we know Dirk marched into Cuban's office or both he and Rick were told that he absolutely was not going out like this. Or maybe RC is giving everyone the bird. Maybe Cuban is in a bind with the league and was informed a stiffer penalty like a draft pick would be taken if they were seen obviously tanking. Maybe Parsons is blackmailing Cuban with sext message screen shots from cyberdust... we will never know. There are no facts involved with anyone here having an opinion on the tanking effort by the Mavs because there are none available.

And just to be sure I don't seem like a RC apologist, I'm not he has his warts and I've voiced them plenty over the years. I do still think he is a top 5 current coach in the NBA. He's extremely well respected. If you toss him out the door(and again the entire rc doing what he wants is speculation) you have set your organization back. You say it's for Ayton Doncic or JJJ. Now what guarantee do you have of getting one of those 3 if you toss out RC? I have only one answer, it's not 100%. So if we don't get one of those guys and you lose a top 5 coach then you have set your team back. Furthermore, history would say that not all 3 of those guys will be superstars. So getting one isn't 100% a game changer. Those coaches don't grow on trees. We could end up with a JAG coach next like gentry. hornichoke, brown, etc. So IMO the firing talk is really premature, I like 4 guys a lot in this draft, but I don't look at any of them as an ultra secure lock like Lebron or shaq. If Lebron or shaq where in this draft I'd be open to extremes. As it stands RC is an asset IMO, and you don't throw assets away for nothing. This team has done enough of that.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

You say it's for Ayton Doncic or JJJ. Now what guarantee do you have of getting one of those 3 if you toss out RC? I have only one answer, it's not 100%.

Chances of the worst team in the league getting the #1 overall pick: 25%
Chances of the worst team in the league getting the #4 overall pick: 35.7%

Nothing is certain with the lottery, even the if you tank as hard as you can.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Chances of the worst team in the league getting the #1 overall pick: 25%
Chances of the worst team in the league getting the #4 overall pick: 35.7%

Nothing is certain with the lottery, even the if you tank as hard as you can.

And remember BudapestMaverick telling us all what fools we were last season because we could have gotten Markelle can't shoot anymore Fultz?

We all want the number 1 pick, but I'm confident we'll get a really good player.

The Mavs are awful. I want to see the young guys play and the vets sit, but that won't fully happen until the German retires.

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Chances of the worst team in the league getting the #1 overall pick: 25%
Chances of the worst team in the league getting the #4 overall pick: 35.7%

Nothing is certain with the lottery, even the if you tank as hard as you can.

So we fire Rick and lose every game under the new leadership of <insert newly appointed assistant coach's name here> and get the "top pick" worst record... and we only have a 64.3% chance that it's a top 3 pick? Yeah, no thanks.

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Chances of the worst team in the league getting the #1 overall pick: 25%
Chances of the worst team in the league getting the #4 overall pick: 35.7%

Nothing is certain with the lottery, even the if you tank as hard as you can.

Not sure if this is bumming me out or giving me hope

[MavzMan]

I feel like I'm watching a Lifetime movie.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by MavzMan

I feel like I'm watching a Lifetime movie.

Needs more Valerie Bertinelli black eyes.

[tap2390]

I agree the Cuban’s comments are a huge reason why we can’t just roll out a bunch of 10 day contract guys.

Watching the Hawks and Kings both win on buzzer beaters is pretty revealing. The players don’t give a f*ck what DeAndre Ayton is doing. They are in it to win it. Now bear in mind our greatest player and face of our franchise and reason we have a championship is still on the roster and tell me with a straight face that rotating fake injuries among our vets is the way to go.

Finally, our rookie leads all rookies in usage rate. Our 25-year-old #1 option leads us in scoring and minutes. Yogi is fourth in minutes played. McDermott, Powell, Kleber, and Noel have all received and/or currently receive heavy minutes. We are developing the guys we need to develop. Yeah it’s frustrating to see Barea and Wes tear it up, but what young guy on our squad is not being developed well enough due to their minutes? Not a single one.

Given our loss margin and clutch stats we’re lucky to even be in the position we’re in. Every year there’s someone picking 6, 7, and 8, if it’s us this year, so be it.

[sefant77]

Originally Posted by tap2390

Watching the Hawks and Kings both win on buzzer beaters is pretty revealing. The players don’t give a f*ck what DeAndre Ayton is doing. They are in it to win it. Now bear in mind our greatest player and face of our franchise and reason we have a championship is still on the roster and tell me with a straight face that rotating fake injuries among our vets is the way to go.

Fun fact with the Hawks: The players on the court dont give a fuck what the FO or even the coach obvious wants. Bazemore was a healthy scratch. Played Collins just 22min. Schröder played three quarters well and doesnt play at all in the 4th...their coach pretty much tried to threw the game and zing, they win it at the buzzer

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Fun fact with the Hawks: The players on the court dont give a fuck what the FO or even the coach obvious wants. Bazemore was a healthy scratch. Played Collins just 22min. Schröder played three quarters well and doesnt play at all in the 4th...their coach pretty much tried to threw the game and zing, they win it at the buzzer

Which is pretty solid proof that tanking isn't as easy as it seems. When a crap team plays another crap team...well...somebody has to win.

[Magnum_3_Ball]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Fun fact with the Hawks: The players on the court dont give a fuck what the FO or even the coach obvious wants. Bazemore was a healthy scratch. Played Collins just 22min. Schröder played three quarters well and doesnt play at all in the 4th...their coach pretty much tried to threw the game and zing, they win it at the buzzer

So the logic is don't increase our chances to lose because sometimes you still win???

The better approach is to increase our chances to win meaningless games because failure is still possible. I mean, do you hear yourself?

If the Mavs wound up with a draft pick outside of the top 5 because they tried as hard as they could to tank, but their young guys just happened to pull out a bunch of games, then I can live with that.

Not trying to tank; I can't live with that. It's stupid.


And FFS why is everyone on this forum so God Damn defensive about not tanking?!?! Jesus H. Christ.

[Underdog]

@BallinWithBryan: Here is your outlook for the bottom nine for the remainder of the season. If there’s a catbird seat for futility, Memphis appears to be sitting in it.

[sefant77]

Well, this years draft is a little bit different.

Last year was deep, but without a clear Top #1 guy. This year is deep but WITH a clear #1 in Ayton. So yeah, every teams wants #1. Okay, maybe except Memphis.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by sefant77

Well, this years draft is a little bit different.

Last year was deep, but without a clear Top #1 guy. This year is deep but WITH a clear #1 in Ayton. So yeah, every teams wants #1. Okay, maybe except Memphis.

I agree this year's top crop is better, but Markelle Fultz was clearly set above the rest for most of the season before the draft.

[sefant77]

And yet Boston traded down because they liked someone else even more

[hayth.james.g]

Originally Posted by sefant77

And yet Boston traded down because they liked someone else even more

I was one of the posters here all in on Fultz, and not too high on Mitchell. Hindsight is 20/20, but it definitely humbles a sofa scout.

[Bryan_Wilson]

Originally Posted by hayth.james.g

I was one of the posters here all in on Fultz, and not too high on Mitchell. Hindsight is 20/20, but it definitely humbles a sofa scout.

I was all in on Fultz too. I liked Mitchell more than frank but I didn't like him as much as say DSJ, still don't honestly time will tell.

I do think Fultz can recover. Idk what happened to that form, if someone told him he would have injury issues with it if he didn't change it but the whole reason myself and likely you and others liked Fultz was he could shoot and not just a little he was a great shooter. Game looked incredibly easy to him. Hope to see him get back to that.