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Obviously, Luka is the best.

I am going with THJ now because KP is a stiff on defense.

Overall or this season?

Ideally the answer has to be KP because he is paid the god damn max.

But right now it's THJ. And that is very telling on the quality of talent of the roster. We have people starting for us who wouldn't and shouldn't even be starters on a contender.

Timmy.

KP is the 2nd best player, it's not really close, but he's clearly not satistfied with the game plan and he has chemistry issues with Luka.

2 better is KP .. in terms of value, I'll say DFS ... 3D at 39% .. for 4 million

Money for value, it might be really Dodo. In absolute terms I think nobody can argue against KP being the second best players on the Mavericks. It's not close.

KP for sure. Its not even close. KP has not lived up to expectations this year, so fans feel disappointed. And THJ has been a solid player when he was thought of as just an expiring contract in the past. Brunson was a second round pick and is on a tiny salary. So THJ and Brunson are better relative to expectations, but in terms of actual production, its KP in a landslide.

It appears to be THJ. Which is astonishing, because it was very clearly KP last year. The regression he's had on both sides of the floor is shocking, as is his diminishing athletic ability.

KhalilS wrote:KP is the 2nd best player, it's not really close, but he's clearly not satistfied with the game plan and he has chemistry issues with Luka.

Nobody watching this playoff series thinks KP is the 2nd best player on the Mavs. If you had never seen KP before, and you're watching this series for the first time, you wouldn't even say KP is one of the Mavs top 7 players.

I think it's Jalen Brunson. Although, THJ, Maxi, and DFS make some sense also.

Brunson is the only other player on this team who can break a defender down off the dribble and get to his spot on the floor. Without Brunson, this team has no PG when Luka sits. Brunson is also the player I have the most confidence in to play consistently. He attacks the defense when he's out there. He doesn't need Luka to set him up. Every other player on this team relies on Luka to create for them. Brunson is the one player on this team who if you traded him to another team his play would not dramatically drop off because he was no longer playing with Luka.

You could make arguments it's THJ because he's the player who is most likely to put up 30, besides Luka. You could say it's DFS because he's the team's best defender and he shoots 3s at a high percentage. You could say it's Maxi because he's the team's most versatile defender, and he's capable of hitting 3s or playing as a roll big, again versatility, but that makes Maxi more of a valuable role player to me & not a 2nd best player type.

DJ_3_Ball wrote:

KhalilS wrote:KP is the 2nd best player, it's not really close, but he's clearly not satisfied with the game plan and he has chemistry issues with Luka.

Nobody watching this playoff series thinks KP is the 2nd best player on the Mavs. If you had never seen KP before, and you're watching this series for the first time, you wouldn't even say KP is one of the Mavs top 7 players.

I am not sure if he is injured or just quit the team. He is getting exactly what he wanted though which is the ability to play on a playoff caliber team. If we had Bubble KP, then this team would quit possibly be a finals contender this season.

fuller4379 wrote:

DJ_3_Ball wrote:

KhalilS wrote:KP is the 2nd best player, it's not really close, but he's clearly not satisfied with the game plan and he has chemistry issues with Luka.

Nobody watching this playoff series thinks KP is the 2nd best player on the Mavs. If you had never seen KP before, and you're watching this series for the first time, you wouldn't even say KP is one of the Mavs top 7 players.

I am not sure if he is injured or just quit the team. He is getting exactly what he wanted though which is the ability to play on a playoff caliber team. If we had Bubble KP, then this team would quit possibly be a finals contender this season.

Yep, this season was a disaster in terms of chemistry and timeline, KP didn't rest from his surgery and the team has absolutely no plays run for him.
I'm not making excuses for him, he is either soft or quit on the team, most likely both, but he is the most talented.

KhalilS wrote:

fuller4379 wrote:

DJ_3_Ball wrote:
Nobody watching this playoff series thinks KP is the 2nd best player on the Mavs. If you had never seen KP before, and you're watching this series for the first time, you wouldn't even say KP is one of the Mavs top 7 players.

I am not sure if he is injured or just quit the team. He is getting exactly what he wanted though which is the ability to play on a playoff caliber team. If we had Bubble KP, then this team would quit possibly be a finals contender this season.

Yep, this season was a disaster in terms of chemistry and timeline, KP didn't rest from his surgery and the team has absolutely no plays run for him.
I'm not making excuses for him, he is either soft or quit on the team, most likely both, but he is the most talented.

It's not an easy task to play with a Luka or a Lebron. You can be a star but turn into a role player when you join their system. Because the offense goes through them 90% of the time and other players just need to stand in a corner and wait for a pass. IMO, KP is experiencing the Kevin Love effect. Love used to produce all star numbers back in Minnesota, but turned into Lebron'a girl friday in Cleveland. KP about to get the same treatment. Either he buys into the system or he gets sent out.

I think KP's problem is that he hasn't developed any signature move, he's 7'3" with shooting touch but doesn't really have a signature shot other than the logo 3, I don't want him to develop it on the Mavs, good luck somewhere else.
Kevin Love lost a lot of weight to fit the new era baketball, and it hurt him a lot, he went from a bully down low to a perimeter shooter off the pick and pop.

arkuo wrote:It's not an easy task to play with a Luka or a Lebron. You can be a star but turn into a role player when you join their system. Because the offense goes through them 90% of the time and other players just need to stand in a corner and wait for a pass. IMO, KP is experiencing the Kevin Love effect. Love used to produce all star numbers back in Minnesota, but turned into Lebron'a girl friday in Cleveland. KP about to get the same treatment. Either he buys into the system or he gets sent out.

Agreed. That's why it's not going to be as easy as "Oh just go trade for him or sign that FA" and everything will work out hunky dory. Not gonna happen like that.

It's going to take the right team chemistry. Even a humble guy like Giannis with the proper attitude & a good fit with Doncic. Giannis is a warrior, and he's going to want to compete. He doesn't want a teammate dominating the team to the point he feels like a role player. He wants to be included, needed, etc. This is where Luka is going to have to take a half step back and make sure the #2 on the team is part of things.

It might mean Luka has to play his ass off, put up six straight 40+ point games, six masterpieces and still lose. He might have to get to the point that he feels he needs help more than he needs the ball in his hands 100% of the time.

Because a lot of potential #2s are going to feel like Kyrie did. Get me the hell out of here!

THJ is either the second best Maverick player on the floor or the fifth depending on the quarter, half, or game and that’s exactly why I’m so hesitant to give him a huge pay day.

When he's been healthy long enough to shake off the rust the answer is KP by a mile. But those occasions are rare and haven't been seen in a while

In the playoffs when the games mattered THJ became the clear #2 option by default