Now what?

[EricaLubarsky]

Maybe lucked out with a Jazz team that hated each other
And a Suns team that got too cocky

Mavs made it to the WCF but no chance of taking even one game

Where do we go from here?

[Dallas41]

They need to start by not being so loyal to Powell

Even when KP was around dude was still the starting center which is ridiculous. They have had a few years to get a legit cheap big and instead they ignored the position.

Then you watch in the playoffs and teams punished us with backup big's on the floor.

Whiteside
Biyombo
McGee
Looney

That's how bad our center talent is when all those guys had their moments vs us.

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

They need to start by not being so loyal to Powell

Even when KP was around dude was still the starting center which is ridiculous. They have had a few years to get a legit cheap big and instead they ignored the position.

Then you watch in the playoffs and teams punished us with backup big's on the floor.

Whiteside
Biyombo
McGee
Looney

That's how bad our center talent is when all those guys had their moments vs us.

It's almost as if the Mavs leadership didn't know Luka was going to be a superstar circa 2019. Not sure how we are going to add key pieces at this point other than signing then flipping Brunson for something we need more? Spilled milk but it seems like the time to have built a core around Luka was 7 million dollar a year Luka era.

[Dallas41]

Originally Posted by Zeus

It's almost as if the Mavs leadership didn't know Luka was going to be a superstar circa 2019. Not sure how we are going to add key pieces at this point other than signing then flipping Brunson for something we need more? Spilled milk but it seems like the time to have built a core around Luka was 7 million dollar a year Luka era.

I don't bring up Banes or Bey much but I must admit now that Dallas really screwed up by passing on several NBA ready prospects.

Then they had the FA process to add pieces and the best signing we got in the 3 years since Luka rookie season was Bullock.

They didn't really do a good job surrounding Dirk after that incredible 2011 season. I felt like he was still good enough with talent around him that he could have made some more noise for another year or two but the Mavs/Cuban neglected it.

I'm not 100% certain that I trust Cuban right now either.

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

I don't bring up Banes or Bey much but I must admit now that Dallas really screwed up by passing on several NBA ready prospects.

Then they had the FA process to add pieces and the best signing we got in the 3 years since Luka rookie season was Bullock.

They didn't really do a good job surrounding Dirk after that incredible 2011 season. I felt like he was still good enough with talent around him that he could have made some more noise for another year or two but the Mavs/Cuban neglected it.

I'm not 100% certain that I trust Cuban right now either.

Agree. After all of the excitement of unexpectedly making it this far the reality has smacked me straight in the face that I don't see a path forward to improve this team. If the answer is Luka now needs to become a 2-sigma defensive player to go with his 4 sigma offensive skills then forget it.

Let's see if we are over the Josh Green disaster anytime in the next 5 years

[BigDog63]

Originally Posted by Dallas41

They need to start by not being so loyal to Powell

Agree. He's not terrible, but seems a better fit as a backup. Mavs needed size inside even when KP was there...glaring hole now.

Don't know why they never used Boban to address that...they NEEDED stops and rebounds, and someone to deal with their bigs, and Boban the only one on their roster who could. Keep that in mind...who can they get that is actually better than Boban? Having another bigvsit on the bench isn't going to help.

[EricaLubarsky]

I don’t think our selections of centers were going to change the outcome of the last three days where the biggest guy to his the floor for the Warriors was 6’9”

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

I don’t think our selections of centers were going to change the outcome of the last three days where the biggest guy to his the floor for the Warriors was 6’9”

Well at least this Warriors core will age out in the next 3 or 4 years. That will open things up for hopefully a Mavs based Luka as he enters his age 26-29 seasons.

[Melonhead]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

I don’t think our selections of centers were going to change the outcome of the last three days where the biggest guy to his the floor for the Warriors was 6’9”

The Mavs lost the rebounding battle, 47-33, including 14-7 on the offensive end of the floor. That directly led to the Warriors outscoring them in second-chance points, 18-4.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Melonhead

The Mavs lost the rebounding battle, 47-33, including 14-7 on the offensive end of the floor. That directly led to the Warriors outscoring them in second-chance points, 18-4.

Yeah, height is pretty irrelevant to just being good at something. That's why so many were high on drafting Oscar Tshiebwe before he decided to go back to school. He's 6'9 but is a historically good rebounder and a perfect fit for this team.

Mavs just need a big that can either rebound or defend the paint. Hopefully both. But it's not something that should be too difficult to get because they don't need to be a star player.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

I mean, even the worst center who will be drafted in this year's draft is better than Powell. So hopefully we can get one.

I hear Mo Bamba wants out. Dunno what Orlando would want for a S&T.

[BPo001]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

I mean, even the worst center who will be drafted in this year's draft is better than Powell. So hopefully we can get one.

I hear Mo Bamba wants out. Dunno what Orlando would want for a S&T.

THJ and Powell for Bamba and Gary Harris.

[Budapest Maverick]

Honestly, I don't want to be a doom&gloomer, but there isn't much you can do without significant assets. The truth is that we should have tanked for another year or two, instead we did what the Pelicans did with Anthony Davis, and tried to instantly build a team around him, without any other significant young asset. Brunson turned out to be really, really nice, but he is not a championship Nr. 2 talent.

Because we tried to give the best short term team to Luka instead of the best long term team, the roster is inherently flawed, and this is about to come full circle when we give Brunson his 25 million this summer. We will be a perennial dark horse team in 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 too, and our next chance to do anything will probably be the summer of 2024 when Dinwiddie and Bertans are gone, and the cap have hopefully went up.

[MFFL]

Rarely does a team go from zero to hero in one year. And since this is year one of the Kidd coaching era AND the Nico front office era, I think patience is in order.

We need more defenders and more shooters. It seems like other than our big 3, nobody else could make a shot (only 5 shots made by the rest of the team).

Now that the team knows what Kidd wants and the front office can work some magic to acquire more talent, I think we'll wind up with 55 or so wins next season and a higher seed. And we have now seen what a true championship effort in the playoffs looks like - something we didn't see in the previous 2 rounds.

[Simon2]

Mavs need to get stronger mentally and physically. They just reached the point where they said to themselves that they can’t beat them. I vote for getting another veteran leader. Someone to provide leadership when times get tough. Someone that has been through wars. Resign Brunson. Trade THJ for a veteran leader or a big that can provide a presence down low. Just keep getting better. They need to have swagger all they way the finals.

[dirt_dobber]

1) sign and trade Brunson (I hate this) to the Knicks for Julius Randle - a strong scoring power forward. Randle has fallen out of favor with Knicks and they love Brunson.

2) Trade THJ to ? (Atlanta for a big; Heat for anyone?) gets us a bit of salary relief.

3) Cut Maxi, Powell, Boban

4) Luka start the season in better shape

The West is gonna be wild next year. The Clippers will be fully healthy. The Nuggets will be fully healthy. Pelicans are coming on strong and we still have to deal with everyone else.

[Budapest Maverick]

Originally Posted by dirt_dobber

1) sign and trade Brunson (I hate this) to the Knicks for Julius Randle - a strong scoring power forward. Randle has fallen out of favor with Knicks and they love Brunson.

2) Trade THJ to ? (Atlanta for a big; Heat for anyone?) gets us a bit of salary relief.

3) Cut Maxi, Powell, Boban

4) Luka start the season in better shape

The West is gonna be wild next year. The Clippers will be fully healthy. The Nuggets will be fully healthy. Pelicans are coming on strong and we still have to deal with everyone else.

Cut Maxi? Are you out of your mind? The guy is making 8 mill a year. Ideally he would not have to play more than 20 minutes per game, but he is a very solid playoff rotation player for what is pretty much a bargain contract.

[SMC0007]

Trade Luka for 3 all-stars and 1 superstar.

Hire DP into front office role. And I mean an admin/receptionist role.

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by SMC0007

Trade Luka for 3 all-stars and 1 superstar.

Hire DP into front office role. And I mean an admin/receptionist role.

I would rather trade the front office for new ownership than trade Luka. I take it you are just spitballing here.

[Budapest Maverick]

Originally Posted by SMC0007

Trade Luka for 3 all-stars and 1 superstar.

Hire DP into front office role. And I mean an admin/receptionist role.

I know you are joking, but I don't think any GM would trade Luka for Steph, Klay, Draymond, Wiggins and Kuminga, nor would they trade him for Booker, Ayton and Bridges. I personally wouldn't trade him for the Grizzlies young core either. And I don't care that their GM wouldn't do it either, because they love their teams, none of the not directly involved GMs would trade Doncic for those packages either. He is, by far, the most valuable trade chip in the league.

[tap2390]

There have been two major difference between the Mavs and Warrior this series:

1) Our one-dimensional wings (DFS, Bull, Kleber) vs. their wings who can score at least at two different level (Wiggins, Poole, Klay).

2) Our lack of interior presence.


No easy solutions. I would start with selling/ fielding offers for SD or Brunson, Kleber, Powell, Green, Frankie, THJ, and Bullock.

We are going to tempted to fix our squad with continuity. What we have seen is that we are clearly outmatched 2-15, especially when threes aren't falling. We don't need more 3&D, we need guys who aren't scared to dribble and finish at the basket. We desperately need a PnR partner for Luka. I would pursue Capela hard.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by tap2390

There have been two major difference between the Mavs and Warrior this series:

1) Our one-dimensional wings (DFS, Bull, Kleber) vs. their wings who can score at least at two different level (Wiggins, Poole, Klay).

2) Our lack of interior presence.


No easy solutions. I would start with selling/ fielding offers for SD or Brunson, Kleber, Powell, Green, Frankie, THJ, and Bullock.

We are going to tempted to fix our squad with continuity. What we have seen is that we are clearly outmatched 2-15, especially when threes aren't falling. We don't need more 3&D, we need guys who aren't scared to dribble and finish at the basket. We desperately need a PnR partner for Luka. I would pursue Capela hard.

Pretty spot on. One dimensional wings, especially "3&D" are a problem waiting to happen. They can't generate anything themselves ans if they aren't hitting at a really high clip, the whole thing unravels.
Even the basic ability to fake a shot, put their head down and drive hard to the rim is lacking.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by SMC0007

Pretty spot on. One dimensional wings, especially "3&D" are a problem waiting to happen. They can't generate anything themselves ans if they aren't hitting at a really high clip, the whole thing unravels.
Even the basic ability to fake a shot, put their head down and drive hard to the rim is lacking.

If only we had drafted Maxey or Bane or Bey.

Everything that is wrong with this team has nothing to do with the players on it. It has to do with who put this team together and the previous FO mishaps.

But Powell is a unique one. He is to blame for the players who think he is their heart and soul, the coach who plays him, AND the FO who wouldn't trade him. Hard to get rid of a guy that has the backing of everyone. Someone needs to step up and have a reality check. Hopefully Nico can do it.

Good new is that Luka, Brunson, and Dinwiddie are good enough to get to you to the WCF. I think Spencer will do well having a full training camp and a more defined role.

[washedklean77]

First and foremost, they go out and play Game 4. They need to go out and play loosely and aggressively to show themselves and the league that they belong there. I think for most of the portion of the last 3 games the Mavs were both entirely too timid and out of gas. Because this is indeed new territory for every player on that roster.

They should absolutely give a kitchen sink effort in Game 4 and play to win. Because who knows... maybe Steph sprains an ankle in Game 4, Green gets suspended, etc. Never say never!

[saclare]

Dang, y'all. The series ain't over until it's over. I get it, being smacked 3-0 after a pretty incredible run is deflating. But anything can happen, still going to root extra for the guys in game 4.

All that said, even if they do somehow pull it all off and win it all, they still need significant chess moves in the offseason. Others have already mentioned most solutions out there, but I'd give more credit to the ideas of using THJ in a trade to get a better PNR roll big or utilizing Brunson in a SNT, though I'm not so sure that can be done given our cap situation. I think there's quality shooting and defense here, it's rebounding and penetration that have glaringly lacked in this series so far.

[BPo001]

I guess worst case in 2 years we should have max cap space and all our draft picks. Luka will be 25. Assuming we don’t trade a bunch of picks this summer for Gobert, Turner, or someone else.

[SMC0007]

Kleber should start but then bring in Boban to get some better looks inside. He's not great but we are desperate.

[BPo001]

I think Boban has to go. As much as everyone loves the guy he was basically unplayable (or his number wasn’t called) all playoffs. He’s taking up a roster space.

Pray someone wants Powell, THJ, or Bertans. Maybe move Spencer (assuming JB comes back) if you can get the right piece back.

[BPo001]

Barkley said we should SnT Brunson. He doesn’t think JB gets us over the hump. Kenny seems to agree because Luka is so ball dominant.

[Zeus]

Pure venting over spilled milk - We came out of 2020 having the 17th, 30th and 36th pick and didn't come away with ONE NBA player. Amazing and potentially a fatal flaw in the Luka era

[tap2390]

Step 1: Brunson & #26 for Mitchell Robinson & #11

Step 2: THJ, Bertans, and Kleber for Westbrook


Those are two realistic moves that address needs and give us long term flexibility while keeping us competitive in the short term. Getting a pick and roll lob threat for Doncic and an interior presence on defense is half the battle.

[MFFL]

Originally Posted by tap2390

Step 1: Brunson & #26 for Mitchell Robinson & #11

According to former Nets capologist and ESPN financial guru Bobby Marks, however, such as deal is a virtual mathematical impossibility. Because both Robinson and Brunson were second-round picks in 2018 who signed minimum contracts, they will be considered base-year compensation players. An equal trade of salary money can’t be done, even if the players’ new actual wages match exactly.

Another issue is the Mavericks are so close to the hard cap even without Brunson. According to collective bargaining agreement rules, Dallas can’t go over the $157 million hard cap in a sign-and-trade and is already at $153 million without Brunson. The Mavericks would have to trade other players first.

https://nypost.com/2022/05/24/mitche...ks-pipe-dream/

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by MFFL

According to former Nets capologist and ESPN financial guru Bobby Marks, however, such as deal is a virtual mathematical impossibility. Because both Robinson and Brunson were second-round picks in 2018 who signed minimum contracts, they will be considered base-year compensation players. An equal trade of salary money can’t be done, even if the players’ new actual wages match exactly.

Another issue is the Mavericks are so close to the hard cap even without Brunson. According to collective bargaining agreement rules, Dallas can’t go over the $157 million hard cap in a sign-and-trade and is already at $153 million without Brunson. The Mavericks would have to trade other players first.

https://nypost.com/2022/05/24/mitche...ks-pipe-dream/

So what you are saying is the Mavs squandering of free agency potential in 2019 where they left dry powder on the table and the total miss on all 3 of their 2020 draft choices, this team is basically screwed in terms of a young core team building effort around Luka. It is Luka and Brunson baby all the way until Luka leaves in 4 years.

[MFFL]

Originally Posted by Zeus

So what you are saying is the Mavs squandering of free agency potential in 2019 where they left dry powder on the table and the total miss on all 3 of their 2020 draft choices, this team is basically screwed in terms of a young core team building effort around Luka. It is Luka and Brunson baby all the way until Luka leaves in 4 years.

Donnie Nelson really fucked us

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by tap2390

Step 1: Brunson & #26 for Mitchell Robinson & #11

Step 2: THJ, Bertans, and Kleber for Westbrook


Those are two realistic moves that address needs and give us long term flexibility while keeping us competitive in the short term. Getting a pick and roll lob threat for Doncic and an interior presence on defense is half the battle.

Stein interviewed Cuban after the game and without exactly saying we're keeping Brunson, well, he strongly inferred it saying we can give him more money and he wants to be here.

And any idea of Westbrook on this team, no sir. no.

[DIRK LEGIONS]

Originally Posted by tap2390

Step 1: Brunson & #26 for Mitchell Robinson & #11

Step 2: THJ, Bertans, and Kleber for Westbrook


Those are two realistic moves that address needs and give us long term flexibility while keeping us competitive in the short term. Getting a pick and roll lob threat for Doncic and an interior presence on defense is half the battle.

Robinson never healthy hard pass I seen him play every night here in NYC not worth the trade

[beempty]

Originally Posted by tap2390

Step 1: Brunson & #26 for Mitchell Robinson & #11

Step 2: THJ, Bertans, and Kleber for Westbrook


Those are two realistic moves that address needs and give us long term flexibility while keeping us competitive in the short term. Getting a pick and roll lob threat for Doncic and an interior presence on defense is half the battle.

lol holy shit this is terrible

[tap2390]

Originally Posted by beempty

lol holy shit this is terrible

Not going to lie -- you using your third post since 2010 to shit on my idea made me lol.

[tap2390]

People are going to call me insane, but I would also look into Kyrie. We are simply outmatched talent-wise, and Brunson/ SD are too limited by their streakiness and in Brunson’s case, his size. Kyrie would love it in Texas with the other anti-vaxx nutters.

[Zeus]

Off Season wish list:

- Sign Brunson
- Get Luka to eat less and come back as Bubble-Luka but with more experience
- Add a low budget quality big guy that can get you a few boards
- find a time machine and not draft Josh Green