REPORT: AD out indefinitely

[snaquille oatmeal]

Question for all the Nico haters, do you actually think that making a decision that huge didn’t come from the team owners? Even if it was Nico’s idea something that impactful to the teams future the owners had to agree to do it. Is it more plausible that the order came from the owners and Nico new he would be blamed regardless of what he would have gotten so he kept it between him a Rob who he trusted to keep it a secret.
I think that if this was all Nico he would have been fired on the spot. Cuban would have personally escorted him out of the building.

[ryguy613]

so like... are we arguing that all of the lakers titles are rigged or just some of them? how many titles am i allowed to celebrate. you tell me.

They're not all rigged, but they're certainly all bull. The Lakers never built a team the hard way.

1980s: Kareem demanded a trade from Milwaukee, joined an MVP-level player in LAL.

1990s/early 2000s: Shaq signed as a FA.

Late 2000s: Pau traded to Lakers for peanuts.

2010s: LeBron signed as a FA. AD demanded a trade to the Lakers (this was the first time the Lakers ever paid fair value for a star player in a trade).

2020s: Luka traded to LAL for peanuts.

The Lakers' entire history of success comes down to FAs signing there, players demanding trades there, and other teams inexplicably trading them star players for peanuts. The last part is the rigged part. The rest is BS from a fan of the sport perspective. The Lakers get bailed out of mediocrity/suckage every time while other teams have to toil in the draft for years/decades.

Kobe traded for Vlade. Also, how did the best team end up with the pick to take Magic, who was obviously going to be a megastar and already was in college?

Kobe Bryant was a 17 year old player taken with 13th overall pick. Vlade Divac was a borderline all star starting center. Kobe came off the bench his rookie season, and wasnt even seen as a sure fire NBA talent... let alone all star... let alone freaking legend. In hindsight obviously it looks awesome, but guess what? thats to the lakers CREDIT, not to their detriment. 12 other teams had a chance to draft him. He didnt fall into their lap, and on top of that, they had to develop him.

The Magic pick was also not some kind of rigged system. Do you even know how the NBA worked in the 70's? Lakers lost Gail Goodrich... 5 time all star, NBA champion, future hall of famer Gail Goodrich, in 1976. Back then, the rules were that the team that stole away the veteran player owed draft compensation in some form to the former team. The Jazz sent over their 1979 FRP, and just happened to be absolutely awful in 1978, meaning the pick went to first overall. Obviously that was lucky, but its the kind of luck that happens every year in the nba in some form or another. Even then, again I have to emphasize, Magic Johnson was FAR from a sure thing. He was a completely A-typical player, and nobody knew if his skill set would work in the NBA. He had a lot of doubters during the draft, including the Lakers FO... and for the love of god the kid literally had the nickname Tragic Johnson that followed him around his early career. Again, its funny to look back in hindsight and say all of this was a foregone conclusion, but I assure you it wasnt.

Whats funny to me about the 2 examples you listed is it only indicates how well the lakers drafted those two years lol. thats the kind of stuff youre supposed to praise. I dont exactly see people calling the Bulls lucky for drafting Jordan with the 2nd overall pick. Or Boston for drafting Bird... but when its the Lakers drafting Magic or Kobe? Its divine intervention.

[Grumpy Heat Fan]

They're not all rigged, but they're certainly all bull. The Lakers never built a team the hard way.

1980s: Kareem demanded a trade from Milwaukee, joined an MVP-level player in LAL.

1990s/early 2000s: Shaq signed as a FA.

Late 2000s: Pau traded to Lakers for peanuts.

2010s: LeBron signed as a FA. AD demanded a trade to the Lakers (this was the first time the Lakers ever paid fair value for a star player in a trade).

2020s: Luka traded to LAL for peanuts.

The Lakers' entire history of success comes down to FAs signing there, players demanding trades there, and other teams inexplicably trading them star players for peanuts. The last part is the rigged part. The rest is BS from a fan of the sport perspective. The Lakers get bailed out of mediocrity/suckage every time while other teams have to toil in the draft for years/decades.

Kobe traded for Vlade. Also, how did the best team end up with the pick to take Magic, who was obviously going to be a megastar and already was in college?

Kobe Bryant was a 17 year old player taken with 13th overall pick. Vlade Divac was a borderline all star starting center. Kobe came off the bench his rookie season, and wasnt even seen as a sure fire NBA talent... let alone all star... let alone freaking legend. In hindsight obviously it looks awesome, but guess what? thats to the lakers CREDIT, not to their detriment. 12 other teams had a chance to draft him. He didnt fall into their lap, and on top of that, they had to develop him.

The Magic pick was also not some kind of rigged system. Do you even know how the NBA worked in the 70's? Lakers lost Gail Goodrich... 5 time all star, NBA champion, future hall of famer Gail Goodrich, in 1976. Back then, the rules were that the team that stole away the veteran player owed draft compensation in some form to the former team. The Jazz sent over their 1979 FRP, and just happened to be absolutely awful in 1978, meaning the pick went to first overall. Obviously that was lucky, but its the kind of luck that happens every year in the nba in some form or another. Even then, again I have to emphasize, Magic Johnson was FAR from a sure thing. He was a completely A-typical player, and nobody knew if his skill set would work in the NBA. He had a lot of doubters during the draft, including the Lakers FO... and for the love of god the kid literally had the nickname Tragic Johnson that followed him around his early career. Again, its funny to look back in hindsight and say all of this was a foregone conclusion, but I assure you it wasnt.

Whats funny to me about the 2 examples you listed is it only indicates how well the lakers drafted those two years lol. thats the kind of stuff youre supposed to praise. I dont exactly see people calling the Bulls lucky for drafting Jordan with the 2nd overall pick. Or Boston for drafting Bird... but when its the Lakers drafting Magic or Kobe? Its divine intervention.

are we really doing the lying thing?

Other teams DID want to draft Kobe.

Except Kobe and his agent threatened everyone to not draft him, and if they did, he would go play in Italy, because of his dad's connections, he could speak italian and had been there, etc.

The only reason why Kobe was off the bench, was because of some old school way of thinking by their coach at the time, Del Harris? Everyone knew Kobe was a star, and should be in the starting lineup.

[sp6r=underrated]

Question for all the Nico haters, do you actually think that making a decision that huge didn’t come from the team owners? Even if it was Nico’s idea something that impactful to the teams future the owners had to agree to do it. Is it more plausible that the order came from the owners and Nico new he would be blamed regardless of what he would have gotten so he kept it between him a Rob who he trusted to keep it a secret.
I think that if this was all Nico he would have been fired on the spot. Cuban would have personally escorted him out of the building.

The only question I have about is this trade is who was the primary driver: Owner or GM. There is 0 possibility the owner wasn't consulted. You're right to point that out. The ownership is escaping a lot of grief.

Originally, I thought Nico was solely the fall guy and this was a total owner call but a lot of the reporting has convinced Nico was genuinely down on Luka.

I don't have a good grasp on who decided to trade Luka and this matters a lot. If this was mostly Nico, Dallas can recover once he gets fired. If this was mainly the owner they are in real bad shape. Bad ownership is the hardest thing to fix and most bad owners never turn it around.

That said, the fact reporting confirmed Nico let the lakers negotiate the trade downwards is unforgiveable. Even if trading Luka was 100% on ownership, and trading him to LA was 100% on ownership, Nico could have gotten a lot more if he understood Luka trade value. The Lakers didn't have the power to call his bluff and would have upped the offer if he bluffed walking away.

So even if this was 100% owner call to trade Luka strictly to LA Nico proved he couldn't be a GM.

[NZB2323]

So you’d rather ignore the truth than admit that the Lakers shouldn’t be as successful as they are? How does success even mean anything when it’s not a fair game?

so like... are we arguing that all of the lakers titles are rigged or just some of them? how many titles am i allowed to celebrate. you tell me.

They're not all rigged, but they're certainly all bull. The Lakers never built a team the hard way.

1980s: Kareem demanded a trade from Milwaukee, joined an MVP-level player in LAL.

1990s/early 2000s: Shaq signed as a FA.

Late 2000s: Pau traded to Lakers for peanuts.

2010s: LeBron signed as a FA. AD demanded a trade to the Lakers (this was the first time the Lakers ever paid fair value for a star player in a trade).

2020s: Luka traded to LAL for peanuts.

The Lakers' entire history of success comes down to FAs signing there, players demanding trades there, and other teams inexplicably trading them star players for peanuts. The last part is the rigged part. The rest is BS from a fan of the sport perspective. The Lakers get bailed out of mediocrity/suckage every time while other teams have to toil in the draft for years/decades.

The Raptors traded for Kawhi.

The Celtics traded for the draft picks that became Tatum and Brown, and traded for Porzingis, White, and Holiday. Before that the Celtics traded for KG and Ray Allen. Before that the Celtics traded for McHale and Parish. Bill Russell wanted a $25,000 signing bonus which the Rochester Royals didn’t want to pay him, and the Celtics owner said he’d give the Royals owner free tickets to the Ice Capades if he didn’t draft Russell. The Celtics didn’t draft Bob Cousy and Auerbach said “Am I supposed to win or appease local Yokels?” The Blackhawks drafted Cousy but they couldn’t agree to contract terms. Then the Stags got him but then they folded. Then the Celtics won Cousy in a drawing when they preferred not to because they didn’t want to give him a big contract. The Celtics owner said’ “I could have fallen to the floor,” when he drew Cousy and had to give him a $9,000 salary.

The Cavs won the draft lottery 3 times in 4 years, and that doesn’t include them winning the LeBron draft.

It’s not the Lakers fault that LA was accepting of black men dating white women in the 60s and the rest of the country wasn’t so Wilt wanted to play in LA. It’s not the Lakers fault that they have a large Muslim population and Kareem wanted to play there. It’s not the Lakers fault that LA is the entertainment capitol of the world and they treat superstars right.

The Lakers traded Luka. The Bulls refused to run it back with the 98 team. The Magic lowballed Shaq and the people in Orlando said he wasn’t worth the max. The Heat refused to give Jimmy Butler the max and let Dwayne Wade play for another team. The Lakers gave Kobe the max when he was past his prime and are building him 4 statues.

The Lakers traded for CP3 and the league rejected it. Rigged isn’t the right word. If one company treats employees better and employees prefer to work for that company, that doesn’t mean the market is rigged. That means other companies have to do better.

[nbaguy1]

I don't care if Davis is out. It's fine.
Most importantly he is slim, sober and not a slav.

damn, we found the Maverick fan that approves of the trade.

The casino family probably owns a bot farm or two on the philipines

[Broadcaster]

so like... are we arguing that all of the lakers titles are rigged or just some of them? how many titles am i allowed to celebrate. you tell me.

They're not all rigged, but they're certainly all bull. The Lakers never built a team the hard way.

1980s: Kareem demanded a trade from Milwaukee, joined an MVP-level player in LAL.

1990s/early 2000s: Shaq signed as a FA.

Late 2000s: Pau traded to Lakers for peanuts.

2010s: LeBron signed as a FA. AD demanded a trade to the Lakers (this was the first time the Lakers ever paid fair value for a star player in a trade).

2020s: Luka traded to LAL for peanuts.

The Lakers' entire history of success comes down to FAs signing there, players demanding trades there, and other teams inexplicably trading them star players for peanuts. The last part is the rigged part. The rest is BS from a fan of the sport perspective. The Lakers get bailed out of mediocrity/suckage every time while other teams have to toil in the draft for years/decades.

The Raptors traded for Kawhi.

The Celtics traded for the draft picks that became Tatum and Brown, and traded for Porzingis, White, and Holiday. Before that the Celtics traded for KG and Ray Allen. Before that the Celtics traded for McHale and Parish. Bill Russell wanted a $25,000 signing bonus which the Rochester Royals didn’t want to pay him, and the Celtics owner said he’d give the Royals owner free tickets to the Ice Capades if he didn’t draft Russell. The Celtics didn’t draft Bob Cousy and Auerbach said “Am I supposed to win or appease local Yokels?” The Blackhawks drafted Cousy but they couldn’t agree to contract terms. Then the Stags got him but then they folded. Then the Celtics won Cousy in a drawing when they preferred not to because they didn’t want to give him a big contract. The Celtics owner said’ “I could have fallen to the floor,” when he drew Cousy and had to give him a $9,000 salary.

The Cavs won the draft lottery 3 times in 4 years, and that doesn’t include them winning the LeBron draft.

It’s not the Lakers fault that LA was accepting of black men dating white women in the 60s and the rest of the country wasn’t so Wilt wanted to play in LA. It’s not the Lakers fault that they have a large Muslim population and Kareem wanted to play there. It’s not the Lakers fault that LA is the entertainment capitol of the world and they treat superstars right.

The Lakers traded Luka. The Bulls refused to run it back with the 98 team. The Magic lowballed Shaq and the people in Orlando said he wasn’t worth the max. The Heat refused to give Jimmy Butler the max and let Dwayne Wade play for another team. The Lakers gave Kobe the max when he was past his prime and are building him 4 statues.

The Lakers traded for CP3 and the league rejected it. Rigged isn’t the right word. If one company treats employees better and employees prefer to work for that company, that doesn’t mean the market is rigged. That means other companies have to do better.

You’re naive if you think this is all because the Lakers treat their employees well. I think the unwillingness from Lakers fans to see that it’s not actually an even playing field is bewildering. At least be able to be somewhat impartial.

[NZB2323]

They're not all rigged, but they're certainly all bull. The Lakers never built a team the hard way.

1980s: Kareem demanded a trade from Milwaukee, joined an MVP-level player in LAL.

1990s/early 2000s: Shaq signed as a FA.

Late 2000s: Pau traded to Lakers for peanuts.

2010s: LeBron signed as a FA. AD demanded a trade to the Lakers (this was the first time the Lakers ever paid fair value for a star player in a trade).

2020s: Luka traded to LAL for peanuts.

The Lakers' entire history of success comes down to FAs signing there, players demanding trades there, and other teams inexplicably trading them star players for peanuts. The last part is the rigged part. The rest is BS from a fan of the sport perspective. The Lakers get bailed out of mediocrity/suckage every time while other teams have to toil in the draft for years/decades.

The Raptors traded for Kawhi.

The Celtics traded for the draft picks that became Tatum and Brown, and traded for Porzingis, White, and Holiday. Before that the Celtics traded for KG and Ray Allen. Before that the Celtics traded for McHale and Parish. Bill Russell wanted a $25,000 signing bonus which the Rochester Royals didn’t want to pay him, and the Celtics owner said he’d give the Royals owner free tickets to the Ice Capades if he didn’t draft Russell. The Celtics didn’t draft Bob Cousy and Auerbach said “Am I supposed to win or appease local Yokels?” The Blackhawks drafted Cousy but they couldn’t agree to contract terms. Then the Stags got him but then they folded. Then the Celtics won Cousy in a drawing when they preferred not to because they didn’t want to give him a big contract. The Celtics owner said’ “I could have fallen to the floor,” when he drew Cousy and had to give him a $9,000 salary.

The Cavs won the draft lottery 3 times in 4 years, and that doesn’t include them winning the LeBron draft.

It’s not the Lakers fault that LA was accepting of black men dating white women in the 60s and the rest of the country wasn’t so Wilt wanted to play in LA. It’s not the Lakers fault that they have a large Muslim population and Kareem wanted to play there. It’s not the Lakers fault that LA is the entertainment capitol of the world and they treat superstars right.

The Lakers traded Luka. The Bulls refused to run it back with the 98 team. The Magic lowballed Shaq and the people in Orlando said he wasn’t worth the max. The Heat refused to give Jimmy Butler the max and let Dwayne Wade play for another team. The Lakers gave Kobe the max when he was past his prime and are building him 4 statues.

The Lakers traded for CP3 and the league rejected it. Rigged isn’t the right word. If one company treats employees better and employees prefer to work for that company, that doesn’t mean the market is rigged. That means other companies have to do better.

You’re naive if you think this is all because the Lakers treat their employees well. I think the unwillingness from Lakers fans to see that it’s not actually an even playing field is bewildering. At least be able to be somewhat impartial.

I’m a Bulls fan who wishes the Bulls operated like the Lakers. I wish we ran it back in 99 and gave Pippen a big contract. I wish we had a reputation for treating stars right and maybe we could have landed better free agents. I wish we kept Butler and gave him the max. I wish we didn’t have 2 different front offices who fueded with successful coaches.

[sp6r=underrated]

You’re naive if you think this is all because the Lakers treat their employees well. I think the unwillingness from Lakers fans to see that it’s not actually an even playing field is bewildering. At least be able to be somewhat impartial.

I'm not a Lakers fan. It isn't a level playing field. When lakers fans deny they have an advantage they are lying or engaging in self-deception. But there isn't a conspiracy and the advantage isn't massive.

Basketball players are entertainers and LA is the entertainment capital of the world. That gives LA an advantage in acquiring players over teams in places like Minnesota or even large cities like SF (where I live).

But it isn't a massive conspiracy. The owners of the other clubs are vain and fight for their interests. They do not conspire to help the lakers. That isn't what happened here. Dallas did something stupid.

And the advantage isn't overwhelming. The team with the highest winning % this century plays in a super tiny market (SA).

Lakers haters need to get over it. There isn't anything the NBA can do about players preferring to play in LA. And there isn't anything the NBA can do to block players from trying to use their leverage to force trade to LA or signing with LA as free agents.

The LA clubs and NYC clubs have an advantage. But it is not a massive one. Look at the success of the Clippers, Nets and Knicks if you think being in NYC/LA guarantees titles.

[Broadcaster]

The Raptors traded for Kawhi.

The Celtics traded for the draft picks that became Tatum and Brown, and traded for Porzingis, White, and Holiday. Before that the Celtics traded for KG and Ray Allen. Before that the Celtics traded for McHale and Parish. Bill Russell wanted a $25,000 signing bonus which the Rochester Royals didn’t want to pay him, and the Celtics owner said he’d give the Royals owner free tickets to the Ice Capades if he didn’t draft Russell. The Celtics didn’t draft Bob Cousy and Auerbach said “Am I supposed to win or appease local Yokels?” The Blackhawks drafted Cousy but they couldn’t agree to contract terms. Then the Stags got him but then they folded. Then the Celtics won Cousy in a drawing when they preferred not to because they didn’t want to give him a big contract. The Celtics owner said’ “I could have fallen to the floor,” when he drew Cousy and had to give him a $9,000 salary.

The Cavs won the draft lottery 3 times in 4 years, and that doesn’t include them winning the LeBron draft.

It’s not the Lakers fault that LA was accepting of black men dating white women in the 60s and the rest of the country wasn’t so Wilt wanted to play in LA. It’s not the Lakers fault that they have a large Muslim population and Kareem wanted to play there. It’s not the Lakers fault that LA is the entertainment capitol of the world and they treat superstars right.

The Lakers traded Luka. The Bulls refused to run it back with the 98 team. The Magic lowballed Shaq and the people in Orlando said he wasn’t worth the max. The Heat refused to give Jimmy Butler the max and let Dwayne Wade play for another team. The Lakers gave Kobe the max when he was past his prime and are building him 4 statues.

The Lakers traded for CP3 and the league rejected it. Rigged isn’t the right word. If one company treats employees better and employees prefer to work for that company, that doesn’t mean the market is rigged. That means other companies have to do better.

You’re naive if you think this is all because the Lakers treat their employees well. I think the unwillingness from Lakers fans to see that it’s not actually an even playing field is bewildering. At least be able to be somewhat impartial.

I’m a Bulls fan who wishes the Bulls operated like the Lakers. I wish we ran it back in 99 and gave Pippen a big contract. I wish we had a reputation for treating stars right and maybe we could have landed better free agents. I wish we kept Butler and gave him the max. I wish we didn’t have 2 different front offices who fueded with successful coaches.

I think both of our points can be true.

[ForeverTFC]

Question for all the Nico haters, do you actually think that making a decision that huge didn’t come from the team owners? Even if it was Nico’s idea something that impactful to the teams future the owners had to agree to do it. Is it more plausible that the order came from the owners and Nico new he would be blamed regardless of what he would have gotten so he kept it between him a Rob who he trusted to keep it a secret.
I think that if this was all Nico he would have been fired on the spot. Cuban would have personally escorted him out of the building.

For sure ownership was at least supportive. I think what most people are mad about is Nic negotiating with only 1 team - the Lakers. If ownership mandated that, then I don't know what to say.

[ryguy613]

Kobe traded for Vlade. Also, how did the best team end up with the pick to take Magic, who was obviously going to be a megastar and already was in college?

Kobe Bryant was a 17 year old player taken with 13th overall pick. Vlade Divac was a borderline all star starting center. Kobe came off the bench his rookie season, and wasnt even seen as a sure fire NBA talent... let alone all star... let alone freaking legend. In hindsight obviously it looks awesome, but guess what? thats to the lakers CREDIT, not to their detriment. 12 other teams had a chance to draft him. He didnt fall into their lap, and on top of that, they had to develop him.

The Magic pick was also not some kind of rigged system. Do you even know how the NBA worked in the 70's? Lakers lost Gail Goodrich... 5 time all star, NBA champion, future hall of famer Gail Goodrich, in 1976. Back then, the rules were that the team that stole away the veteran player owed draft compensation in some form to the former team. The Jazz sent over their 1979 FRP, and just happened to be absolutely awful in 1978, meaning the pick went to first overall. Obviously that was lucky, but its the kind of luck that happens every year in the nba in some form or another. Even then, again I have to emphasize, Magic Johnson was FAR from a sure thing. He was a completely A-typical player, and nobody knew if his skill set would work in the NBA. He had a lot of doubters during the draft, including the Lakers FO... and for the love of god the kid literally had the nickname Tragic Johnson that followed him around his early career. Again, its funny to look back in hindsight and say all of this was a foregone conclusion, but I assure you it wasnt.

Whats funny to me about the 2 examples you listed is it only indicates how well the lakers drafted those two years lol. thats the kind of stuff youre supposed to praise. I dont exactly see people calling the Bulls lucky for drafting Jordan with the 2nd overall pick. Or Boston for drafting Bird... but when its the Lakers drafting Magic or Kobe? Its divine intervention.

are we really doing the lying thing?

Other teams DID want to draft Kobe.

Except Kobe and his agent threatened everyone to not draft him, and if they did, he would go play in Italy, because of his dad's connections, he could speak italian and had been there, etc.

The only reason why Kobe was off the bench, was because of some old school way of thinking by their coach at the time, Del Harris? Everyone knew Kobe was a star, and should be in the starting lineup.

OK Grumpy Heat Fan. Way to live up to your name. What you said is mostly untrue, or at least misleading. Kobe and his agent did not "threaten everyone not to draft him". He literally threated ONE team not to draft him... that was the Nets... who wouldve drafted him 8th overall. If the 76's for instance wanted to draft him with the 1st overall pick, instead of AI, there is not a chance in hell he wouldve turned that down. In fact there is absolutely no indication that Kobe would have fought against being drafted top 5 or so at all, as to do so wouldve been 1. bad for his ego and 2. bad for his wallet.

Bottom line is this... if scouts truly believed that Bryant was unquestionably a star in the making (they didnt, thats just a fact) he would have been drafted much higher. 17 year olds were not... again repeating here... were NOT taken in the draft. Kevin Garnett was the only other guy ever taken right out of high school at that point... and he was 19, not 17. And no, Kobe Bryant did not come off the bench because of "old school blah blah blah". Kobe's first NBA game saw him play 6 minutes, and take one shot which he airballed... something he did a LOT back then by the way. Kobe Bryant was literally the definition of an NBA prospect. Unbelievable potential with high risk of flaming out early.

Can I just ask how old you are? Were you actually watching the NBA in 1996? Because I was, and I can tell you that Kobe Bryant was extremely far from a surefire thing.

[phanman]

A lot people are talking about them moving too Vegas, wouldn't they need a valid reason to move the team?

Think they need league approval and follow a bunch of regulations and procedures. They can't just do it themselves

I’m sure the details could be worked out. Ultimately time will tell.

I keep seeing this conspiracy getting floated around that they want to move the team to Vegas I don't think you quite understand how stupid that sounds. The NBA is talking about expanding, not relocating one of their biggest markets.

They don't need the Mavericks to move to Vegas because there is plenty of rich people out there that will and can start a brand new team in Las Vegas. It's not exactly a secret that they are going to be one of the two cities that get an expansion team.

[Ayt]

The owner is just that. An owner. They are even known to not be basketball people. So they'll get left alone. Nico is supposed to be an expert. No fan base anywhere is going to want this guy there. It's a huge reputation issue. He'll be a joke in the community he lives in (do the owners even have a home in dallas?). I mean imagine your kids come home crying "daddy all the kids say you're an idiot for trading Luka". This isn't going to be a comfortable time for him in Dallas going forward.

And before all this, he was well respected. He'd have been able to get a new job no problem.

So you're telling me the Mavs owner didn't know Luka was an international superstar who was just entering his prime and the guy they were trading him for was a aging 32yr injury prone AD?

You're insulting the worlds basketball knowledge and you're also insulting all owners when you don't think they know who their top money maker is. Luka was Dallas money maker. The owner knew this was a bad trade and he signed off on it because the NBA as a whole had to do something about the ratings. You better believe these billionaires talk behind the scenes. This is just a hobby for them they make shady moves if it helps the business overall.

There is no reason to justify the Mavs owner signing off on this unless it was something shady happening behind the scenes point blank.

I'm stating there won't be blow back on an owner like a GM. I also think the whole LA conspiracy you're pitching is tinfoil hat level but that's another story.

Dallas fans are going to despise the owners. What are you talking about?

[Broadcaster]

Think they need league approval and follow a bunch of regulations and procedures. They can't just do it themselves

I’m sure the details could be worked out. Ultimately time will tell.

I keep seeing this conspiracy getting floated around that they want to move the team to Vegas I don't think you quite understand how stupid that sounds. The NBA is talking about expanding, not relocating one of their biggest markets.

They don't need the Mavericks to move to Vegas because there is plenty of rich people out there that will and can start a brand new team in Las Vegas. It's not exactly a secret that they are going to be one of the two cities that get an expansion team.

I do agree with you. I’m just speculating at the potential logic because this was definitely not done to win basketball games.

[phanman]

I’m sure the details could be worked out. Ultimately time will tell.

I keep seeing this conspiracy getting floated around that they want to move the team to Vegas I don't think you quite understand how stupid that sounds. The NBA is talking about expanding, not relocating one of their biggest markets.

They don't need the Mavericks to move to Vegas because there is plenty of rich people out there that will and can start a brand new team in Las Vegas. It's not exactly a secret that they are going to be one of the two cities that get an expansion team.

I do agree with you. I’m just speculating at the potential logic because this was definitely not done to win basketball games.

How was it not? They didn't trade for a scrub, they got Anthony Davis who just finished last season with an 2nd Team All NBA nod + 1st Team All Defense. This was the definition of a win-now move and one where they prioritized improving their defense while giving them better scoring option inside the paint.

If AD was 25yo like Luka and not about to turn 33yo there wouldn't be this many people upset. The problem with the trade is that they sold their future for some potential short term gains.

[Andri]

I keep seeing this conspiracy getting floated around that they want to move the team to Vegas I don't think you quite understand how stupid that sounds. The NBA is talking about expanding, not relocating one of their biggest markets.

They don't need the Mavericks to move to Vegas because there is plenty of rich people out there that will and can start a brand new team in Las Vegas. It's not exactly a secret that they are going to be one of the two cities that get an expansion team.

I do agree with you. I’m just speculating at the potential logic because this was definitely not done to win basketball games.

How was it not? They didn't trade for a scrub, they got Anthony Davis who just finished last season with an 2nd Team All NBA nod + 1st Team All Defense. This was the definition of a win-now move and one where they prioritized improving their defense while giving them better scoring option inside the paint.

If AD was 25yo like Luka and not about to turn 33yo there wouldn't be this many people upset. The problem with the trade is that they sold their future for some potential short term gains.

No, the problem is that they traded away the better player, who is also younger and less injury prone than the one they got. The one that carried the team to a finals, with also more past success in the PO’s

[phanman]

I do agree with you. I’m just speculating at the potential logic because this was definitely not done to win basketball games.

How was it not? They didn't trade for a scrub, they got Anthony Davis who just finished last season with an 2nd Team All NBA nod + 1st Team All Defense. This was the definition of a win-now move and one where they prioritized improving their defense while giving them better scoring option inside the paint.

If AD was 25yo like Luka and not about to turn 33yo there wouldn't be this many people upset. The problem with the trade is that they sold their future for some potential short term gains.

No, the problem is that they traded away the better player, who is also younger and less injury prone than the one they got. The one that carried the team to a finals, with also more past success in the PO’s

Nobody's going to argue that Luka isn't the better player over AD, but we aren't the ones running the Mavs. Nico identified AD as the missing piece to elevate the supporting cast he assembled and on paper he is a great fit if everybody stays healthy. I already mentioned the issue with the age gap. Also AD is a champion, so no Luka does not have more success in the playoffs.

I do want to make it clear though, I think the trade was beyond stupid but to phrase it as if it wasn't a win-now move is just flat out wrong.

[Tatumfor2]

One week after the most shocking trade in NBA history.... the least shocking injury in NBA history.

This was as far as I needed to read! Sums the thread up nicely.

[Raps in 4]

The Raptors traded for Kawhi.

The Celtics traded for the draft picks that became Tatum and Brown, and traded for Porzingis, White, and Holiday. Before that the Celtics traded for KG and Ray Allen. Before that the Celtics traded for McHale and Parish. Bill Russell wanted a $25,000 signing bonus which the Rochester Royals didn’t want to pay him, and the Celtics owner said he’d give the Royals owner free tickets to the Ice Capades if he didn’t draft Russell. The Celtics didn’t draft Bob Cousy and Auerbach said “Am I supposed to win or appease local Yokels?” The Blackhawks drafted Cousy but they couldn’t agree to contract terms. Then the Stags got him but then they folded. Then the Celtics won Cousy in a drawing when they preferred not to because they didn’t want to give him a big contract. The Celtics owner said’ “I could have fallen to the floor,” when he drew Cousy and had to give him a $9,000 salary.

The Cavs won the draft lottery 3 times in 4 years, and that doesn’t include them winning the LeBron draft.

It’s not the Lakers fault that LA was accepting of black men dating white women in the 60s and the rest of the country wasn’t so Wilt wanted to play in LA. It’s not the Lakers fault that they have a large Muslim population and Kareem wanted to play there. It’s not the Lakers fault that LA is the entertainment capitol of the world and they treat superstars right.

The Lakers traded Luka. The Bulls refused to run it back with the 98 team. The Magic lowballed Shaq and the people in Orlando said he wasn’t worth the max. The Heat refused to give Jimmy Butler the max and let Dwayne Wade play for another team. The Lakers gave Kobe the max when he was past his prime and are building him 4 statues.

The Lakers traded for CP3 and the league rejected it. Rigged isn’t the right word. If one company treats employees better and employees prefer to work for that company, that doesn’t mean the market is rigged. That means other companies have to do better.

You’re naive if you think this is all because the Lakers treat their employees well. I think the unwillingness from Lakers fans to see that it’s not actually an even playing field is bewildering. At least be able to be somewhat impartial.

I’m a Bulls fan who wishes the Bulls operated like the Lakers. I wish we ran it back in 99 and gave Pippen a big contract. I wish we had a reputation for treating stars right and maybe we could have landed better free agents. I wish we kept Butler and gave him the max. I wish we didn’t have 2 different front offices who fueded with successful coaches.

The Lakers ran Shaq out of town, and then nearly ran Kobe out as well. Plenty of teams treat their stars well, yet they don't attract any free agents because they aren't located in a subtropical paradise. A paradise where all of America's richest and most influential people live.