Mavs Offseason - 21/22 - what do we do from here?

[Bob8]

His last year in NY, KP averaged 22 pts on 54% true shooting. That was playing with Trey Burke and THJ so he had to make a lot of his own plays. This year in the regular season he averaged 20 pts on 58% true shooting. Luka averaged 28 pts on 59% true shooting.

If Luka gave 6 of his shots per game to KP, I bet he could do at least 50%, which puts KP at 26 pts per game, although likely a little less efficient. Luka would have around 6 points less, but 3 assists more. So he would be at 22 pts and 12 assists. His TS% would likely go up a little. So KP would be the Mavs leading scorer and Luka leads the NBA in assists.

I think that sort of force feeding KP would likely make the Mavs a little less efficient in the regular season, but all that experience with a secondary scorer would make them much better prepared for the playoffs. They would actually have to develop plays for KP.
They would certainly have a much better option when Luka was on the bench.

And what happened after that 22 points season? 2 knee injuries, he's not the same player anymore. He was playing different kind of basketball back then. Forget RS, tell me, what kind of plays would KP need to be effective against Clippers?

If I were to base it off the eye test, the Mavs could have mixed it up with Dirk type iso plays for KP. Switch him to a smaller defender, have him iso and shoot midrange as a change of pace. It wouldnt hurt to get a possession or two for something like that. Beats having the Mavs clunk 33 foot 3 pointers and having Kawhi run back on a fastbreak.

Dirk would get isolation plays on top of the key. I think that's a good starting point. Carlisle of all coaches has to be familiar with a player of KP's ilk. He coached Dirk for more than a decade. He's familiar with matador D coming from a big man. This shouldn't be new to him.

Only 1 problem, KP is not Dirk.

[boogiezen]

His last year in NY, KP averaged 22 pts on 54% true shooting. That was playing with Trey Burke and THJ so he had to make a lot of his own plays. This year in the regular season he averaged 20 pts on 58% true shooting. Luka averaged 28 pts on 59% true shooting.

If Luka gave 6 of his shots per game to KP, I bet he could do at least 50%, which puts KP at 26 pts per game, although likely a little less efficient. Luka would have around 6 points less, but 3 assists more. So he would be at 22 pts and 12 assists. His TS% would likely go up a little. So KP would be the Mavs leading scorer and Luka leads the NBA in assists.

I think that sort of force feeding KP would likely make the Mavs a little less efficient in the regular season, but all that experience with a secondary scorer would make them much better prepared for the playoffs. They would actually have to develop plays for KP.
They would certainly have a much better option when Luka was on the bench.

And what happened after that 22 points season? 2 knee injuries, he's not the same player anymore. He was playing different kind of basketball back then. Forget RS, tell me, what kind of plays would KP need to be effective against Clippers?

If I were to base it off the eye test, the Mavs could have mixed it up with Dirk type iso plays for KP. Switch him to a smaller defender, have him iso and shoot midrange as a change of pace. It wouldnt hurt to get a possession or two for something like that. Beats having the Mavs clunk 33 foot 3 pointers and having Kawhi run back on a fastbreak.

Dirk would get isolation plays on top of the key. I think that's a good starting point. Carlisle of all coaches has to be familiar with a player of KP's ilk. He coached Dirk for more than a decade. He's familiar with matador D coming from a big man. This shouldn't be new to him.

First, KP is no Dirk. Dirk improved is game by not depending on the perimeter. Second, Kawhi was the one guarding him in the first 5 games! That's actually the new strategy now for every team against KP, putting a solid wing defender on him and it worked. The same strategy Utah did.

It's up for him to improve in other areas.

[arkuo]

And what happened after that 22 points season? 2 knee injuries, he's not the same player anymore. He was playing different kind of basketball back then. Forget RS, tell me, what kind of plays would KP need to be effective against Clippers?

If I were to base it off the eye test, the Mavs could have mixed it up with Dirk type iso plays for KP. Switch him to a smaller defender, have him iso and shoot midrange as a change of pace. It wouldnt hurt to get a possession or two for something like that. Beats having the Mavs clunk 33 foot 3 pointers and having Kawhi run back on a fastbreak.

Dirk would get isolation plays on top of the key. I think that's a good starting point. Carlisle of all coaches has to be familiar with a player of KP's ilk. He coached Dirk for more than a decade. He's familiar with matador D coming from a big man. This shouldn't be new to him.

Only 1 problem, KP is not Dirk.

We need to be patient. 25 year old Dirk was no where near 30 year old Dirk's type of skill. These two are still kids. Amplified due to social media presence. Dirk didn't have that type of scrutiny when he was 25 is all I'm saying. Same goes with Luka. The media follows them everywhere.

[arkuo]

And what happened after that 22 points season? 2 knee injuries, he's not the same player anymore. He was playing different kind of basketball back then. Forget RS, tell me, what kind of plays would KP need to be effective against Clippers?

If I were to base it off the eye test, the Mavs could have mixed it up with Dirk type iso plays for KP. Switch him to a smaller defender, have him iso and shoot midrange as a change of pace. It wouldnt hurt to get a possession or two for something like that. Beats having the Mavs clunk 33 foot 3 pointers and having Kawhi run back on a fastbreak.

Dirk would get isolation plays on top of the key. I think that's a good starting point. Carlisle of all coaches has to be familiar with a player of KP's ilk. He coached Dirk for more than a decade. He's familiar with matador D coming from a big man. This shouldn't be new to him.

First, KP is no Dirk. Dirk improved is game by not depending on the perimeter. Second, Kawhi was the one guarding him in the first 5 games! That's actually the new strategy now for every team against KP, putting a solid wing defender on him and it worked. The same strategy Utah did.

It's up for him to improve in other areas.

Like I said to Bob, 25 year old Dirk is different from 30 year old Dirk. A lot of people just remember old man Nowitzki who couldn't miss a fadeaway. People forget the lanky Dirk who wanted to go back home to Germany. Fans were calling him a glorified Raef Lafrentz. And people were actually booing Steve Nash in his early years.

[boogiezen]

If I were to base it off the eye test, the Mavs could have mixed it up with Dirk type iso plays for KP. Switch him to a smaller defender, have him iso and shoot midrange as a change of pace. It wouldnt hurt to get a possession or two for something like that. Beats having the Mavs clunk 33 foot 3 pointers and having Kawhi run back on a fastbreak.

Dirk would get isolation plays on top of the key. I think that's a good starting point. Carlisle of all coaches has to be familiar with a player of KP's ilk. He coached Dirk for more than a decade. He's familiar with matador D coming from a big man. This shouldn't be new to him.

First, KP is no Dirk. Dirk improved is game by not depending on the perimeter. Second, Kawhi was the one guarding him in the first 5 games! That's actually the new strategy now for every team against KP, putting a solid wing defender on him and it worked. The same strategy Utah did.

It's up for him to improve in other areas.

Like I said to Bob, 25 year old Dirk is different from 30 year old Dirk. A lot of people just remember old man Nowitzki who couldn't miss a fadeaway. People forget the lanky Dirk who wanted to go back home to Germany. Fans were calling him a glorified Raef Lafrentz. And people were actually booing Steve Nash in his early years.

Exactly my point. Dirk improved in other areas and not just depending on the perimeter.

[arkuo]

First, KP is no Dirk. Dirk improved is game by not depending on the perimeter. Second, Kawhi was the one guarding him in the first 5 games! That's actually the new strategy now for every team against KP, putting a solid wing defender on him and it worked. The same strategy Utah did.

It's up for him to improve in other areas.

Like I said to Bob, 25 year old Dirk is different from 30 year old Dirk. A lot of people just remember old man Nowitzki who couldn't miss a fadeaway. People forget the lanky Dirk who wanted to go back home to Germany. Fans were calling him a glorified Raef Lafrentz. And people were actually booing Steve Nash in his early years.

Exactly my point. Dirk improved in other areas and not just depending on the perimeter.

And I agree. It will just take some time. And a lot of playoff heartbreak for these two.

Dirk got handed playoff exits by the Kings and the Spurs for years. Until eventually breaking through in 2007 then fully in 2011.

It will take time. Watch the media creating Porzingis trade articles for every Mavericks playoff exit the next few years. It's content.

[Bob8]

If I were to base it off the eye test, the Mavs could have mixed it up with Dirk type iso plays for KP. Switch him to a smaller defender, have him iso and shoot midrange as a change of pace. It wouldnt hurt to get a possession or two for something like that. Beats having the Mavs clunk 33 foot 3 pointers and having Kawhi run back on a fastbreak.

Dirk would get isolation plays on top of the key. I think that's a good starting point. Carlisle of all coaches has to be familiar with a player of KP's ilk. He coached Dirk for more than a decade. He's familiar with matador D coming from a big man. This shouldn't be new to him.

Only 1 problem, KP is not Dirk.

We need to be patient. 25 year old Dirk was no where near 30 year old Dirk's type of skill. These two are still kids. Amplified due to social media presence. Dirk didn't have that type of scrutiny when he was 25 is all I'm saying. Same goes with Luka. The media follows them everywhere.

I asked, what he could do against Clippers, not what he might do in few years time.

[Bob8]

Like I said to Bob, 25 year old Dirk is different from 30 year old Dirk. A lot of people just remember old man Nowitzki who couldn't miss a fadeaway. People forget the lanky Dirk who wanted to go back home to Germany. Fans were calling him a glorified Raef Lafrentz. And people were actually booing Steve Nash in his early years.

Exactly my point. Dirk improved in other areas and not just depending on the perimeter.

And I agree. It will just take some time. And a lot of playoff heartbreak for these two.

Dirk got handed playoff exits by the Kings and the Spurs for years. Until eventually breaking through in 2007 then fully in 2011.

It will take time. Watch the media creating Porzingis trade articles for every Mavericks playoff exit the next few years. It's content.

All KP fans are avoiding the reason why KP is criticised that much. It's his bad D. Mavs would have win easily the series, if KP was still able to provide rim protection. Mavs don't need KP to score 25 points, but they desperately need him being solid defender. That's a reason I don't believe Luka and KP can work in the future. Mavs offense with Luka is not a problem, they just need someone to run second unit, but D is total mess.

[gottamakeit]

what do we do from here?
We fire Donnie, we hire a GM with a vision for this team, we make moves in the offseason by shipping KP and J.Rich away.

[JD45]

All KP fans are avoiding the reason why KP is criticised that much. It's his bad D. Mavs would have win easily the series, if KP was still able to provide rim protection. Mavs don't need KP to score 25 points, but they desperately need him being solid defender. That's a reason I don't believe Luka and KP can work in the future. Mavs offense with Luka is not a problem, they just need someone to run second unit, but D is total mess.

KP is being criticized for both his offensive production as well as defensive. We were responding to the Donnie Nelson quote that related to offense.

The defense is a more difficult question. KP was a decent defensive player for the Mavs after his ACL. The meniscus repair is not the kind of surgery that normally leads to degraded movement. So something else was going on. I think part is related to the offense in that he is having motivation issues. Which is his flaw. But also because he can't punish a small defender on the offensive end, he is at a disadvantage playing them on the defensive end. He also missed training camp when they worked on defense a lot and this year had limited practice time during the season.

Because he has done it for the Mavs before, I don't think it is correct to say he can't do it again. But he is going to have to work on his body. And the Mavs coaching needs to work on his motivation. A full training camp would probably help as well.

[JJP]

All KP fans are avoiding the reason why KP is criticised that much. It's his bad D. Mavs would have win easily the series, if KP was still able to provide rim protection. Mavs don't need KP to score 25 points, but they desperately need him being solid defender. That's a reason I don't believe Luka and KP can work in the future. Mavs offense with Luka is not a problem, they just need someone to run second unit, but D is total mess.

KP is being criticized for both his offensive production as well as defensive. We were responding to the Donnie Nelson quote that related to offense.

The defense is a more difficult question. KP was a decent defensive player for the Mavs after his ACL. The meniscus repair is not the kind of surgery that normally leads to degraded movement. So something else was going on. I think part is related to the offense in that he is having motivation issues. Which is his flaw. But also because he can't punish a small defender on the offensive end, he is at a disadvantage playing them on the defensive end. He also missed training camp when they worked on defense a lot and this year had limited practice time during the season.

Because he has done it for the Mavs before, I don't think it is correct to say he can't do it again. But he is going to have to work on his body. And the Mavs coaching needs to work on his motivation. A full training camp would probably help as well.

I wouldn't dismiss this as the route the Mavs actually take.... but in the end, he is still flawed as a defensive player.

On this team, a max salary player should be complimentary to the team's needs. With better offense, he can tread water in that regard. But I still think he's a poor solution as a starter on this team given his health and his limitations combined with our actual need.

[arkuo]

All KP fans are avoiding the reason why KP is criticised that much. It's his bad D. Mavs would have win easily the series, if KP was still able to provide rim protection. Mavs don't need KP to score 25 points, but they desperately need him being solid defender. That's a reason I don't believe Luka and KP can work in the future. Mavs offense with Luka is not a problem, they just need someone to run second unit, but D is total mess.

KP is being criticized for both his offensive production as well as defensive. We were responding to the Donnie Nelson quote that related to offense.

The defense is a more difficult question. KP was a decent defensive player for the Mavs after his ACL. The meniscus repair is not the kind of surgery that normally leads to degraded movement. So something else was going on. I think part is related to the offense in that he is having motivation issues. Which is his flaw. But also because he can't punish a small defender on the offensive end, he is at a disadvantage playing them on the defensive end. He also missed training camp when they worked on defense a lot and this year had limited practice time during the season.

Because he has done it for the Mavs before, I don't think it is correct to say he can't do it again. But he is going to have to work on his body. And the Mavs coaching needs to work on his motivation. A full training camp would probably help as well.

I wouldn't dismiss this as the route the Mavs actually take.... but in the end, he is still flawed as a defensive player.

On this team, a max salary player should be complimentary to the team's needs. With better offense, he can tread water in that regard. But I still think he's a poor solution as a starter on this team given his health and his limitations combined with our actual need.

Agreed. And the decision to pay him a max despite his injuries falls on Cuban and Donnie.

At this point the Mavs just need to play the hand that they were dealt. Carlisle needs to integrate KP into his plays or his value dips further and becomes even more untradeable.

Do I think the Mavs can squeeze value out of Porzingis on offense? Absolutely. Do I think he can get equal value back in a trade? Hell no.

Have KP become a spot up shooter like Gallinari at PF. Gallinari's weaknesses get covered when you have a Capela manning the paint. Do the same for KP. Maybe that gets more points out of him. Power forward on offense, and center on Defense. That other big guy has to be switchable to complement.

Dewayne Dedmon
Richaun Holmes
Kelly Olynyk

Some names who could play both positions opposite KP. Wont score 30 but will do the dirty that KP wont. Wont cost the barn too.

[agentofatlas]

If I were to base it off the eye test, the Mavs could have mixed it up with Dirk type iso plays for KP. Switch him to a smaller defender, have him iso and shoot midrange as a change of pace. It wouldnt hurt to get a possession or two for something like that. Beats having the Mavs clunk 33 foot 3 pointers and having Kawhi run back on a fastbreak.

Dirk would get isolation plays on top of the key. I think that's a good starting point. Carlisle of all coaches has to be familiar with a player of KP's ilk. He coached Dirk for more than a decade. He's familiar with matador D coming from a big man. This shouldn't be new to him.

Only 1 problem, KP is not Dirk.

We need to be patient. 25 year old Dirk was no where near 30 year old Dirk's type of skill. These two are still kids. Amplified due to social media presence. Dirk didn't have that type of scrutiny when he was 25 is all I'm saying. Same goes with Luka. The media follows them everywhere.

We really need to stop comparing him to Dirk. 22 year old Dirk was already All NBA in his third season I just looked it up (Man I sometimes forget how good Dirk is).

Anyways, KP doesn't have the skill set of a young Dirk, who was a legitimate grab and go player. His only chance is to get old Dirks game but there are a few problems, he can't get to the line (cause he can't dribble) and I don't think he's that good of a shooter. He also can't pass which is the most important attribute in post play in the modern NBA.

Now that I think about it, what is KP good at offensively?

[arkuo]

Only 1 problem, KP is not Dirk.

We need to be patient. 25 year old Dirk was no where near 30 year old Dirk's type of skill. These two are still kids. Amplified due to social media presence. Dirk didn't have that type of scrutiny when he was 25 is all I'm saying. Same goes with Luka. The media follows them everywhere.

We really need to stop comparing him to Dirk. 22 year old Dirk was already All NBA in his third season I just looked it up (Man I sometimes forget how good Dirk is).

Anyways, KP doesn't have the skill set of a young Dirk, who was a legitimate grab and go player. His only chance is to get old Dirks game but there are a few problems, he can't get to the line (cause he can't dribble) and I don't think he's that good of a shooter. He also can't pass which is the most important attribute in post play in the modern NBA.

Now that I think about it, what is KP good at offensively?

Thing is, KP is a glorified Dragan Bender. Both 7'2, 7'3 spot up shooters. Him being paid the max by the GM puts max player expectations when he's literally a role player. That's like drafting Darko Milicic at #2 and expecting him to be better than Melo. That's on Dumars by the way.

So if he is a Dragan Bender, then the Mavs need to play him essentially like a Maxi Kleber. You bench one and you start one. You can't start both. Add DFS to that front court and you have 3 players just standing outside and waiting for passes. That cannot happen in 2021. Not in the NBA. That's like starting Austin Croshere and Raef Lafrentz at the same time.

[Bob8]

We need to be patient. 25 year old Dirk was no where near 30 year old Dirk's type of skill. These two are still kids. Amplified due to social media presence. Dirk didn't have that type of scrutiny when he was 25 is all I'm saying. Same goes with Luka. The media follows them everywhere.

We really need to stop comparing him to Dirk. 22 year old Dirk was already All NBA in his third season I just looked it up (Man I sometimes forget how good Dirk is).

Anyways, KP doesn't have the skill set of a young Dirk, who was a legitimate grab and go player. His only chance is to get old Dirks game but there are a few problems, he can't get to the line (cause he can't dribble) and I don't think he's that good of a shooter. He also can't pass which is the most important attribute in post play in the modern NBA.

Now that I think about it, what is KP good at offensively?

Thing is, KP is a glorified Dragan Bender. Both 7'2, 7'3 spot up shooters. Him being paid the max by the GM puts max player expectations when he's literally a role player. That's like drafting Darko Milicic at #2 and expecting him to be better than Melo. That's on Dumars by the way.

So if he is a Dragan Bender, then the Mavs need to play him essentially like a Maxi Kleber. You bench one and you start one. You can't start both. Add DFS to that front court and you have 3 players just standing outside and waiting for passes. That cannot happen in 2021. Not in the NBA. That's like starting Austin Croshere and Raef Lafrentz at the same time.

Finally I can agree. And that's why Mavs must move KP no matter what. Anything is better than paying him 100 mio. They tried, it didn't work, just cut the loss.

[agentofatlas]

I just hope the everything and everyone is on the table for the FO. Looking at the Bucks and Blazers, the worst thing you could do it seems is to fall in love with your own guys.

[Bob8]

All KP fans are avoiding the reason why KP is criticised that much. It's his bad D. Mavs would have win easily the series, if KP was still able to provide rim protection. Mavs don't need KP to score 25 points, but they desperately need him being solid defender. That's a reason I don't believe Luka and KP can work in the future. Mavs offense with Luka is not a problem, they just need someone to run second unit, but D is total mess.

KP is being criticized for both his offensive production as well as defensive. We were responding to the Donnie Nelson quote that related to offense.

The defense is a more difficult question. KP was a decent defensive player for the Mavs after his ACL. The meniscus repair is not the kind of surgery that normally leads to degraded movement. So something else was going on. I think part is related to the offense in that he is having motivation issues. Which is his flaw. But also because he can't punish a small defender on the offensive end, he is at a disadvantage playing them on the defensive end. He also missed training camp when they worked on defense a lot and this year had limited practice time during the season.

Because he has done it for the Mavs before, I don't think it is correct to say he can't do it again. But he is going to have to work on his body. And the Mavs coaching needs to work on his motivation. A full training camp would probably help as well.

I was ecstatic, when I heard for the trade. It looked fantastic fit. But it was just too many issues after that. Injuries, not playing back2backs, missing important games, totally off nights, motivational problems, not getting along with others, falling from the cliff in D already in RS and all culminating in this playoffs. Bad D, bad rebounding, 29% for open 3s..I honestly cannot believe in him anymore. I hope that I'm wrong, but how many times a player with problems suddenly turn things around in the same environment? RC will stay, Luka won't change his style of playing just to make KP happy, it's Luka's team no matter what KP thinks, does or says.

[Archx]

Jesus Christ stop comparing KP to Dirk. That ship has sailed 2 knee injuries ago. Dirk was a freaking monster in the post and at the perimeter. He changed the game. We've seen vs LAC that KP can't basically do anything even against smaller guards, how the hell do we hope that he will produce big numbers???

Luka said himself Mavs have to give more chances to KP but apparently that plan goes quickly out of the window in the first 5 minutes of the game when KP dissapears. People have to go back and re-watch all 7 games, Dirk would have killed LAC in the post, KP effectively ran away from it.

At the last resort Rick had to rely on Boban to do something near the rim, that should have been KP, punishing smaller Clipper players, but he is too freaking weak!!!!

[aggerrard]

First thing should be trading KP. Get him out. Celtics are looking to move on from Kemba. Two bad contracts, KP with more upside. Get Smart involved in that deal and throw Powell the other way.

KP and Powell out, Smart and Kemba in.

Indiana might look to move some pieces. Prob can't afford Turner, so i'd do a trade for Warren instead. Offer some depth for starting quality. DFS and Kleber + a 2nd rounder for Warren.

TJ Warren in, DFS and Kleber out.

Trade Burke and Boban for something random - and if Richardson opts in, trade him for peanuts.

Those would be my off-season trade moves. In free-agency i'd go for Holmes as the new starting center. 70/4. Grab WCS' team-option and sign Harry Giles at the minimum as a low risk/high reward player. Drop THJ and go after Duncan Robinson. Also a 70/4 deal. Sign Bjelica at the minimum and Snell with the MLE.

Starting lineup;

Kemba
Robinson
Doncic
Warren
Holmes

Bench;

Brunson
Smart
Bjelica
Snell
Green
WCS

Young players with potential; Bey, Terry and Giles

Can switch Smart with Kemba or Robinson depending on the matchup.

[arkuo]

Here's a thought:

KP and 3 first round picks for Pascal Siakam

Then the Mavs hire Masai Ujiri to a multi million contract. Donnie goes canabis farming with his dad. Masai takes care of the FO.