Dirk questions Cuban's rebuilding plans

[Aggie E]

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/...ves-build-hope


"It's going to be tough now," Nowitzki said after the Mavs' home overtime loss to the Western Conference cellar-dwelling New Orleans Hornets. "I always liked to think you don't want to build your franchise on hope.

"We hoped for Deron last year. We hoped for Dwight. Why would he leave the Lakers? To me, it makes no sense. He's in a great situation. Why would CP3 leave? (The Los Angeles Clippers are) the best team in the league probably right now. They're probably the deepest team. So are you going to hope that we get something?

[roadrunner]

Wow, you know its getting bad when Dirk starts to publicly question the FO strategy. I cant remember ever hearing Dirk saying something even remotely negative about the FO so, to me, this points to possible cracks in the trust he has given this FO over his career. This could get really ugly if this summer is a bust

[markus1234]

That's more than questioning if you read between the lines.

Cuban and Donnie try to fool the fans with false hopes (Paul, Dwight and co.) and Dirk basically tells them to shut up and work on plan B asap. With his comment about the great situation in LA he is sending a clear message to Cuban, Paul and Dwight and ending the whole "rabbit chase".

[j0Shi]

Ouch!

Dirk has every right to be frustrated, but the last few years have always been about reshuffling around Dirk (& Terry) until they found the right combination for the one championship run. Expectation certainly rise when you've gone all the way, but this year, last year, FO really just continue to operate like they used to.

Add the dimension of the harsher tax and that every superstar wants to play in New York or L.A. and you wonder what more the Mavs can do.

[grndmstr_c]

I'd like to know what question Dirk was actually answering there. It sounds to me like he's primarily talking about where he thinks the priorities should be going forward, and whether and how those priorities should be informed by the failure to land Deron last summer or to win the trade wars for either CP3 or Dwight. And it may very well be the case that the front office is in complete agreement with him. Circumstances have changed tremendously since the start of that first post-championship offseason when the Mavs' original and largely unprecedented course was charted, so it stands to reason that the front office's expectations regarding opportunities in the trade and free agent markets have not remained static.

[markus1234]

Yes they finally found Tyson... and let him go. Tyson did not want to play for LAL or NY.

PF : Dirk
C : Tyson

Should have been our core.

[jthig32]

Gotta love McMahon mentioning the possibility of trading Dirk in the opening paragraph, and burying Dirk's very direct quote about NOT wanting to be traded in the final sentence of the entire piece. It's so typical of McMahon to take a story that can be solid on its own and try to blow it up that much more by introducing drama that isn't there.

[markus1234]

Originally Posted by jthig32

drama that isn't there.

Nowitzki said. "But now I've got a ring and obviously want to finish my career here. But I also want to be competitive."

Questioning "competitiveness" is more than enough drama.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by markus1234

Nowitzki said. "But now I've got a ring and obviously want to finish my career here. But I also want to be competitive."

Questioning "competitiveness" is more than enough drama.

I don't really think it's drama. I think it's frustration, which is understandable. McMahon even admitted that he cornered Dirk right after the awful loss last night.

I'm not saying there's no story here, there is (although I don't think it's huge; Dirk has said most of this before), but McMahon is trying to make it more than it is.

[roadrunner]

Originally Posted by jthig32

I don't really think it's drama. I think it's frustration, which is understandable. McMahon even admitted that he cornered Dirk right after the awful loss last night.

I'm not saying there's no story here, there is (although I don't think it's huge; Dirk has said most of this before), but McMahon is trying to make it more than it is.

Didnt know I was so out of touch, I would like to read any prior quotes/stories where Dirk mentioned this before...any links you could provide?

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by roadrunner

Didnt know I was so out of touch, I would like to read any prior quotes/stories where Dirk mentioned this before...any links you could provide?

Dirk's done several radio interviews where he talked about how tough it was to miss out on Deron and talked about building this team and then trying again for a big fish in 2013. Which is essentially what he said in this article.

Now, he said other things that are new. Specifically, I think it's interesting that he was so blunt about playing out the string this season. And "not building around hope" is much more blunt than he's ever been and provides some clout to the story.

Again, I'm not saying this is all old news or not interesting. I'm just not sure it's a huge story.

[|_Jeff_|]

Originally Posted by roadrunner

Didnt know I was so out of touch, I would like to read any prior quotes/stories where Dirk mentioned this before...any links you could provide?

"We would have loved to keep the troops together, as players, we would have loved to get the guys back and give it a true shot to defend. But Mark and Donnie they made a business decision to really go for cap space. As players I think we were for sure disappointed in December in free agency when we didn't get the same team back, that's for sure."

Sarcastic Dirk: "We'd love to get Kobe, Wade and Lebron in here but I don't think that's going to happen."

[dirt_dobber]

Originally Posted by jthig32

Gotta love McMahon mentioning the possibility of trading Dirk in the opening paragraph, and burying Dirk's very direct quote about NOT wanting to be traded in the final sentence of the entire piece. It's so typical of McMahon to take a story that can be solid on its own and try to blow it up that much more by introducing drama that isn't there.

this. exactly.

[jthig32]

Here's an interesting angle to a part of this dicussion:

Haralabos Voulgaris ‏@haralabob
People underestimate luck in general, How lucky were Sonics to get #2 pick instead of #1? How lucky was Dallas that Deron chose BKN?

Haralabos Voulgaris ‏@haralabob
That last tweet is in reference to this http://es.pn/TVgmGR sure things look bleak for Dallas, but they'd look worse if they signed Dwill

I'm not completely sure I agree, because I think Rick would be getting more out of Deron. But..BUT...it's pretty interesting to see such a respected NBA mind (at least in the Twitter and gambling circles) making a case that Dallas would actually be in WORSE shape moving forward if they'd landed Dwill.

[dude1394]

I think dirk is serving notice that he would have wanted to leave without the championship so his loyalty has limits. If the same rent a team is in place when his contract is up, cubes better get nervous.

[oilfieldtrash]

Dirk taking some shots at Cuban and Co. "We knew that coming in, that eight or nine new guys on one-year deals is not really an ideal situation, but what else is there to do?"

Can't blame him.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

I'd say this is at least somewhat concerning. I don't discount Dirk's loyalty, but losing probably gets the best of most players. I believe him when he says he wants to finish his career here, but it certainly is a notice to Cuban that the team better not keep sucking for long. There doesn't need to be any drama added this. Losing like the team has this season is drama enough...

[EricaLubarsky]

I think it needed to be said.Cuban needs to know that there is a lot of unhappy people in D-town. I respect that Dirk has waited this long and still doesn't want out-- just wants help. It's about the best you could hope for and hopefully it moves the organization forward, because now it's out in the open after we all thought it.

[j0Shi]

Bottom line for me is: A lot of moves in the past (Deron, Chandler) would have made our current record better, but I don't think any deal would have brought us close enough to contention this season and especially not in the future.

[oilfieldtrash]

Originally Posted by j0Shi

Bottom line for me is: A lot of moves in the past (Deron, Chandler) would have made our current record better, but I don't think any deal would have brought us close enough to contention this season and especially not in the future.

History proves you wrong. Mavs won with Chandler. Can't dispute that. Call it lightning in a bottle or whatever phrase Cuban and Co. coined to quiet the masses. I call it pure stupidity just as I did when it happened.

[j0Shi]

Originally Posted by oilfieldtrash

History proves you wrong. Mavs won with Chandler. Can't dispute that. Call it lightning in a bottle or whatever phrase Cuban and Co. coined to quiet the masses. I call it pure stupidity just as I did when it happened.

It was a special season and one of the greatest sports moments in my life, but also quite a Cinderella story tbh. Forget the lockout year and I think even this year it's quite a reach that we would compete with the championship-core.

But I'll give you that Chandler might be better than anything we can get in this years FA (and have gotten in last years, and the year before).

[adonis]

Cuban needs to hit. Something. I'm not even asking for a HR right now, maybe a double would do. These singles have too much double play potential.

[oilfieldtrash]

Originally Posted by adonis

Cuban needs to hit. Something. I'm not even asking for a HR right now, maybe a double would do. These singles have too much double play potential.

No we need a homerun. Simple as that. Take a look at the free agent and draft class next year. Cuban made some horrific decisions by blowing the team up and there is no deals on the horizon to fix the mess he made. I won't call Cuban an idiot because I can see the logic behind what he had in mind when he blew the team up. Everything that could of went wrong did and he ends up looking really bad because of it.

[BGMaverick9]

To me, I don't think there's that much there in the article. Clearly he's frustrated, but that's a given.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by BGMaverick9

To me, I don't think there's that much there in the article. Clearly he's frustrated, but that's a given.

BG, was this a media scrum where Dirk made these comments, or were these directly to McMahon?

[BGMaverick9]

Originally Posted by jthig32

BG, was this a media scrum where Dirk made these comments, or were these directly to McMahon?

It was just him. I know when it happened, but it was just between the two of them. If it was in the scrum, it would've made the rounds last night or this afternoon.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by BGMaverick9

It was just him. I know when it happened, but it was just between the two of them. If it was in the scrum, it would've made the rounds last night or this afternoon.

Ok, was just wondering if anyone else heard the context and the questions. I'm leery of anything from him.

[|_Jeff_|]

Originally Posted by BGMaverick9

To me, I don't think there's that much there in the article. Clearly he's frustrated, but that's a given.

Dirk doesn't think Dry Powder was the right way forward post-championship, and places a blame for where the Mavs are now on that decision by Cuban and Donnie. Agree or Disagree?

[BGMaverick9]

Originally Posted by |_Jeff_|

Dirk doesn't think Dry Powder was the right way forward post-championship, and places a blame for where the Mavs are now on that decision by Cuban and Donnie. Agree or Disagree?

He's said multiple times that he would have liked to see the group stick together but he understood that it wasn't going to happen. As for the other part, he's going to question things, which is what he's doing.

[Kante]

He said what everyone thinks/thought.

[Aggie E]

Hate to go back and rehash the off-season after the Chip, but the guys he let go were not old. JJB, Chandler, Stevenson. Has he not heard of win curves or other theology of having a superstar and trying your best to win when you have one. he put everything on hope and dreams when he had the winning formula and a superstar who had 2-3 more years as the leader.

[mavsjunkie]

Sometimes winning a championship can make people cocky. Jerry Jones was so cocky after his second super bowl, he basically ran Jimmy Johnson out of town, and announced that 500 coaches could take his team to a Super Bowl. 17 years later, well.....

So Cuban has the perfect situation, he breaks it up wanting more. How about keep your parts, and if someone great wants to come here, ad him. But don't start removing guys when you have no replacement. This mess is on Cuban

[j0Shi]

Originally Posted by mavsjunkie

How about keep your parts, and if someone great wants to come here, add him

No offense, but sometimes I wonder when people finally start to realize that this wouldn't have been possible cap-wise.

Signing Chandler, JJB, Stevenson, Caron to the multi-year deals they were searching for would have essentially locked up the roster for the next years.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by j0Shi

No offense, but sometimes I wonder when people finally start to realize that this wouldn't have been possible cap-wise.

Signing Chandler, JJB, Stevenson, Caron to the multi-year deals they were searching for would have essentially locked up the roster for the next years.

I think it is called a trade.

[j0Shi]

Originally Posted by dude1394

I think it is called a trade.

And which assets in this theoretical construct would land you a great player?

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by j0Shi

And which assets in this theoretical construct would land you a great player?

Well in that example .. Chandler, jjb, jet, Caron.

[SMC0007]

Tyson Chandler.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by SMC0007

Tyson Chandler.

[MavsFTR]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

I have to spread rep before I can like this.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

That is hilarious!