Dallas Mavericks 2024 Trade thread -- Roster and Cap post 24 FA

[BliscoSantos]

I know we’re all still in mourning, and that any wish for the FO to operate shrewdly seems folly, but hopefully this is a constructive cope:

1. Retaining Gafford and Grimes seems unlikely based on reports, so flipping them for value now is the move.

2. Dallas does still need an initiator, Kyrie can play point for us in stretches, but relying on him to initiate the offense for a full 48 is unrealistic and a waste of his value if demanded of him imo.

DAL ==> D. Gafford / N. Marshall / Q. Grimes
ATL ==> C. Capela / D. Daniels / M. Gueye

Daniels has emerged as a solid playmaker and an excellent POA defender. Given Okongwu’s struggles to unseat Capela at the 5, getting a younger, bigger replacement seems like something they’d be interested in. I’m not sure if ATL is willing to part with Dyson without some kind of draft compensation (or at all), but I’d be willing to toss in our ‘25 1st if needed. Finally, moving on from Naji opens up a real possibility for O-Max to secure rotation minutes, which I think is a real plus for us long-term and potentially short term as well. This allows us to move PJ to the bench where he can be the focal point of our second unit and dominate against weaker opposition.

Rotation (when healthy):

PG: D. Daniels (28) / S. Dinwiddie OR D. Exum (12)
SG: K. Irving (36) / M. Christie OR J. Hardy (16)
SF: K. Thompson (28) / O. Prosper (12) / K. Edwards
PF: A. Davis (36) / P. Washington (28) / M. Gueye
C: D. Lively (28) / C. Capela (16) / D. Powell

I typically dont like Assuie players (simmons and josh green left a bad taste) but he looks like a very good defender, decision maker, and he's 6'7. I like him. Its worth considering. I would like a little more fire power on the offensive end with the guy we're bringing in but he would be a nice concession considering his skillset and PJ's expiring contract next year if we need to improve more. I would also prefer PJ get priority of the minutes at the 3 or 4 when Klay or Ad is out the game or AD is at the 5. Overall, this is worth considering imo.

Might need a 3rd team if ATL doesnt want Gafford and we need to turn him into an asset.

You're delusional if you think ATL accepts this trade...not everybody is as desperate to make moves as Nico, especially after the season Daniels is having...you'd have to add two firsts most likely for them to even entertain the offer

[41Dirk41]

I'm waiting for the trade who fixes this mess and make us a contender (that we were already with Doncic).

Nico? Are you ok?

[joesha1698]

DeMar DeRozan as a 6th man? Not sure it works but would give us a legit 3rd bucket getter. Doesnt help our ball handling much but he could split time with Klay/PJ/Kyrie.

[wco81]

People are questioning now whether it was Nico who made those trades last seasons which got them to the Finals. Maybe it was Dennis Lindsey, who had a track record whereas Nico does not.

The Ringer NBA Podcast crew said Nico was wrong in a) the logic of the trade, b) now shopping around with other teams and c) the way he smugly explained the trade at the press conference, came in smiling.


Meanwhile, many Mavs fans are gutted, especially many young kids who were big Luka fans.

[arkuo]

People are questioning now whether it was Nico who made those trades last seasons which got them to the Finals. Maybe it was Dennis Lindsey, who had a track record whereas Nico does not.

The Ringer NBA Podcast crew said Nico was wrong in a) the logic of the trade, b) now shopping around with other teams and c) the way he smugly explained the trade at the press conference, came in smiling.


Meanwhile, many Mavs fans are gutted, especially many young kids who were big Luka fans.

They're judging the trade based on face value. But if there collusion involved and money that changed hands (which is hard to prove), then the logic of the trade is thrown out the window.

People online are diving into the logic of the trade but this feels like money was exchanged under the table for the "betterment" of the league at the expense of Dallas. Luka in a major market like LA? Nike sales going up with their jerseys and merch in LA. Those Luka Jordans will sell out.

So there was no logic in the trade. There was likely collusion. You dont go from Magic to Kareem to Kobe to Shaq to Lebron and now to Luka, by coincidence.

[Bob8]

People are questioning now whether it was Nico who made those trades last seasons which got them to the Finals. Maybe it was Dennis Lindsey, who had a track record whereas Nico does not.

The Ringer NBA Podcast crew said Nico was wrong in a) the logic of the trade, b) now shopping around with other teams and c) the way he smugly explained the trade at the press conference, came in smiling.


Meanwhile, many Mavs fans are gutted, especially many young kids who were big Luka fans.

They're judging the trade based on face value. But if there collusion involved and money that changed hands (which is hard to prove), then the logic of the trade is thrown out the window.

People online are diving into the logic of the trade but this feels like money was exchanged under the table for the "betterment" of the league at the expense of Dallas. Luka in a major market like LA? Nike sales going up with their jerseys and merch in LA. Those Luka Jordans will sell out.

So there was no logic in the trade. There was likely collusion. You dont go from Magic to Kareem to Kobe to Shaq to Lebron and now to Luka, by coincidence.

We can't find a logic because an arrogant idiot has made the decision based on his idiotic beliefs. He had that power because new owners don't care about basketball and didn't understand what kind of rage will follow. Nico truly sold Luka in coffee shop to his friend. As strange as it looks, it's the most logical explanation. Occam's razor.

[arkuo]

People are questioning now whether it was Nico who made those trades last seasons which got them to the Finals. Maybe it was Dennis Lindsey, who had a track record whereas Nico does not.

The Ringer NBA Podcast crew said Nico was wrong in a) the logic of the trade, b) now shopping around with other teams and c) the way he smugly explained the trade at the press conference, came in smiling.


Meanwhile, many Mavs fans are gutted, especially many young kids who were big Luka fans.

They're judging the trade based on face value. But if there collusion involved and money that changed hands (which is hard to prove), then the logic of the trade is thrown out the window.

People online are diving into the logic of the trade but this feels like money was exchanged under the table for the "betterment" of the league at the expense of Dallas. Luka in a major market like LA? Nike sales going up with their jerseys and merch in LA. Those Luka Jordans will sell out.

So there was no logic in the trade. There was likely collusion. You dont go from Magic to Kareem to Kobe to Shaq to Lebron and now to Luka, by coincidence.

We can't find a logic because an arrogant idiot has made the decision based on his idiotic beliefs. He had that power because new owners don't care about basketball and didn't understand what kind of rage will follow. Nico truly sold Luka in coffee shop to his friend. As strange as it looks, it's the most logical explanation. Occam's razor.

Agreed. There really is no logical reason to trade Luka in 2025. There is none. That is the bottomline.

So the fact that it happened means there are angles to this that will be kept from public eye. Collusion or whatever it is.

I'm not for the trade but I move forward with the team. That is my stance here.

[Mavrelous]

People are questioning now whether it was Nico who made those trades last seasons which got them to the Finals. Maybe it was Dennis Lindsey, who had a track record whereas Nico does not.

The Ringer NBA Podcast crew said Nico was wrong in a) the logic of the trade, b) now shopping around with other teams and c) the way he smugly explained the trade at the press conference, came in smiling.


Meanwhile, many Mavs fans are gutted, especially many young kids who were big Luka fans.

Whoever made the decisions, he had an enormous amount of luck...
The 2 defensive wings of the final run, PJ and DJJ were not the plan
PJ was plan C, Nico 1st signed Grant Willimans, needlessly spend unprotected swap in 2030 to do it, it failed, he then tried for Kyle Kuzma, if the Kyle Kuzma trade went down, both PJ and Gafford wouldn't have been Mavericks, Kuzma vetod the trade.
DJJ was a left over no one signed, the plan was Mattise Thybulle, Blazers matched, once they failed the Thybulle route they saw DJJ unsigned and gave him the vet min.

The Lively pick and trading down was a brilliant move, no doubts.
The Exum pickup was great, and here it was most likely Lindsey, since he's the one that drafted him in UTA.

[arkuo]

The new guys wont be accepted because they are joining Dallas at a very low point.

[wco81]

Few other observations. AD had a $6 million trade kicker which he waived to make this deal as it's configured possible. If he insisted on it, Dallas would have had to add salary and there could be other assets exchanged. It's odd that he had no problem leaving LA. Remember how much he was demanding Lakers or bust when he was with the Pels?

Supposedly the Lakers' 2031 FRP was on the table at one point. Not clear if it was in addition to the 2029 FRP or in place of it. Mavs didn't let the Lakers talk to Luka's agent so the 2031 FRP was removed from the deal.

Pat Mahomes is a big Mavs fan. Trade hurt his heart he says.

Jerry Jones is ecstatic about the trade because now, he's no longer the worst GM in Dallas.

[Mavrelous]

Apparently Mavs were worried about financial flexibility due to Luka's supermax, this is the team that paid the tax once in 15 years and it was a tiny amount.
If the gambling mobsters didn't want to pay, they could go an buy luxury resort in Hawaii and sublet..

[joesha1698]

People are questioning now whether it was Nico who made those trades last seasons which got them to the Finals. Maybe it was Dennis Lindsey, who had a track record whereas Nico does not.

The Ringer NBA Podcast crew said Nico was wrong in a) the logic of the trade, b) now shopping around with other teams and c) the way he smugly explained the trade at the press conference, came in smiling.


Meanwhile, many Mavs fans are gutted, especially many young kids who were big Luka fans.

They're judging the trade based on face value. But if there collusion involved and money that changed hands (which is hard to prove), then the logic of the trade is thrown out the window.

People online are diving into the logic of the trade but this feels like money was exchanged under the table for the "betterment" of the league at the expense of Dallas. Luka in a major market like LA? Nike sales going up with their jerseys and merch in LA. Those Luka Jordans will sell out.

So there was no logic in the trade. There was likely collusion. You dont go from Magic to Kareem to Kobe to Shaq to Lebron and now to Luka, by coincidence.

We can't find a logic because an arrogant idiot has made the decision based on his idiotic beliefs. He had that power because new owners don't care about basketball and didn't understand what kind of rage will follow. Nico truly sold Luka in coffee shop to his friend. As strange as it looks, it's the most logical explanation. Occam's razor.

Bob, I just do not believe Nico had that kind of power. Even in the press conference Nico said Patrick was the ultimate decision maker. Owners of teams just do not allow you to trade franchise/generational players if their in the business of actually making money. Despite them not knowing a lot about basketball they aren't stupid business people. They understand how much Luka means to Dallas and the bottom line of this franchise. Which is why I do not believe that theory for one moment. You do not become billionaires in the odds business by not understanding money and business.

They either traded Luka because (1) they didn't want pay him supermax (2) they didn't want to pay him supermax and had questions about his conditioning and injury history (3) the rumor floating around is that the owners bought this team to legalize gambling in texas (build a casino around a new stadium) and their having trouble convincing politicians in the state of texas... people are saying they are purposely trying to lower the value of the mavs (slowly but surely) to justify a move to las vegas and luka was the first casualty. If you pay Luka and the team is competitive, Luka may be here the next 10 years.

Now, if Im going to believe a conspiracy, I'm more likely to believe this was a money saving / deliberate move by ownership to shorten their window so they can tank after maybe 2-3 years and destroy the value of the team so the NBA lets them move or texas honors their gambling request after the team (loses a lot ) and suffers financially and they threaten to move the Mavs bc of that.

If this was collusion by Nico and Pelinka - it never gets by the owners. They are intelligent business people. If this is a collusion by the NBA/Lakers/Mavs Ownership - I haven't seen the evidence to bare that out. So far, there is a enough plausible deniability to suggest cost saving / conditioning. The more I think about this - I believe they got rid of Luka because they did want to pay him and legit had had an issue with his health (1) or they want to devalue the team to use it as leverage at some point down the line to ensure gambling is passed in TX or convince the NBA to let them leave to Las Vegas...all the while staying relevant for the next 2-3 years so it doesn't look suspicious (2). Its just hard for me to believe its a health issue if you got AD. So, I think there's something deeper going on. I'm open to changing my mind if more evidence comes out but right now those two reasons make the most sense to me.

[arkuo]

Apparently Mavs were worried about financial flexibility due to Luka's supermax, this is the team that paid the tax once in 15 years and it was a tiny amount.
If the gambling mobsters didn't want to pay, they could go an buy luxury resort in Hawaii and sublet..

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Most of it are just media PR answers. This feels like there's something deeper.

[Bob8]

They're judging the trade based on face value. But if there collusion involved and money that changed hands (which is hard to prove), then the logic of the trade is thrown out the window.

People online are diving into the logic of the trade but this feels like money was exchanged under the table for the "betterment" of the league at the expense of Dallas. Luka in a major market like LA? Nike sales going up with their jerseys and merch in LA. Those Luka Jordans will sell out.

So there was no logic in the trade. There was likely collusion. You dont go from Magic to Kareem to Kobe to Shaq to Lebron and now to Luka, by coincidence.

We can't find a logic because an arrogant idiot has made the decision based on his idiotic beliefs. He had that power because new owners don't care about basketball and didn't understand what kind of rage will follow. Nico truly sold Luka in coffee shop to his friend. As strange as it looks, it's the most logical explanation. Occam's razor.

Bob, I just do not believe Nico had that kind of power. Even in the press conference Nico said Patrick was the ultimate decision maker. Owners of teams just do not allow you to trade franchise/generational players if their in the business of actually making money. Despite them not knowing a lot about basketball they aren't stupid business people. They understand how much Luka means to Dallas and the bottom line of this franchise. Which is why I do not believe that theory for one moment. You do not become billionaires in the odds business by not understanding money and business.

They either traded Luka because (1) they didn't want pay him supermax (2) they didn't want to pay him supermax and had questions about his conditioning and injury history (3) the rumor floating around is that the owners bought this team to legalize gambling in texas (build a casino around a new stadium) and their having trouble convincing politicians in the state of texas... people are saying they are purposely trying to lower the value of the mavs (slowly but surely) to justify a move to las vegas and luka was the first casualty. If you pay Luka and the team is competitive, Luka may be here the next 10 years.

Now, if Im going to believe a conspiracy, I'm more likely to believe this was a money saving / deliberate move by ownership to shorten their window so they can tank after maybe 2-3 years and destroy the value of the team so the NBA lets them move or texas honors their gambling request after the team (loses a lot ) and suffers financially and they threaten to move the Mavs bc of that.

If this was collusion by Nico and Pelinka - it never gets by the owners. They are intelligent business people. If this is a collusion by the NBA/Lakers/Mavs Ownership - I haven't seen the evidence to bare that out. So far, there is a enough plausible deniability to suggest cost saving / conditioning. The only two theories I believe right now is they got rid of Luka because of money and they want to devalue the team to use it as leverage (to leave texas) at some point down the line to ensure gambling is passed in TX or convince the NBA to let them leave to Las Vegas...all the while staying relevant for the next 2-3 years so it doesnt look suspicious. I'm open to changing my mind if more evidence comes out but right now those two reasons make the most sense to me.

Nico said owner has laughed at him, when he brought the idea of trading Luka. Meaning that was Nico's idea from the beginning. Owner of course had to went with it in the end, but plan of trading Luka was Nico's.

[arkuo]

We can't find a logic because an arrogant idiot has made the decision based on his idiotic beliefs. He had that power because new owners don't care about basketball and didn't understand what kind of rage will follow. Nico truly sold Luka in coffee shop to his friend. As strange as it looks, it's the most logical explanation. Occam's razor.

Bob, I just do not believe Nico had that kind of power. Even in the press conference Nico said Patrick was the ultimate decision maker. Owners of teams just do not allow you to trade franchise/generational players if their in the business of actually making money. Despite them not knowing a lot about basketball they aren't stupid business people. They understand how much Luka means to Dallas and the bottom line of this franchise. Which is why I do not believe that theory for one moment. You do not become billionaires in the odds business by not understanding money and business.

They either traded Luka because (1) they didn't want pay him supermax (2) they didn't want to pay him supermax and had questions about his conditioning and injury history (3) the rumor floating around is that the owners bought this team to legalize gambling in texas (build a casino around a new stadium) and their having trouble convincing politicians in the state of texas... people are saying they are purposely trying to lower the value of the mavs (slowly but surely) to justify a move to las vegas and luka was the first casualty. If you pay Luka and the team is competitive, Luka may be here the next 10 years.

Now, if Im going to believe a conspiracy, I'm more likely to believe this was a money saving / deliberate move by ownership to shorten their window so they can tank after maybe 2-3 years and destroy the value of the team so the NBA lets them move or texas honors their gambling request after the team (loses a lot ) and suffers financially and they threaten to move the Mavs bc of that.

If this was collusion by Nico and Pelinka - it never gets by the owners. They are intelligent business people. If this is a collusion by the NBA/Lakers/Mavs Ownership - I haven't seen the evidence to bare that out. So far, there is a enough plausible deniability to suggest cost saving / conditioning. The only two theories I believe right now is they got rid of Luka because of money and they want to devalue the team to use it as leverage (to leave texas) at some point down the line to ensure gambling is passed in TX or convince the NBA to let them leave to Las Vegas...all the while staying relevant for the next 2-3 years so it doesnt look suspicious. I'm open to changing my mind if more evidence comes out but right now those two reasons make the most sense to me.

Nico said owner has laughed at him, when he brought the idea of trading Luka. Meaning that was Nico's idea from the beginning. Owner of course had to went with it in the end, but plan of trading Luka was Nico's.

Nico has personal beef with Luka. This is pretty clear by now.

If you cost a person $100M, it's pretty personal.

[joesha1698]

We can't find a logic because an arrogant idiot has made the decision based on his idiotic beliefs. He had that power because new owners don't care about basketball and didn't understand what kind of rage will follow. Nico truly sold Luka in coffee shop to his friend. As strange as it looks, it's the most logical explanation. Occam's razor.

Bob, I just do not believe Nico had that kind of power. Even in the press conference Nico said Patrick was the ultimate decision maker. Owners of teams just do not allow you to trade franchise/generational players if their in the business of actually making money. Despite them not knowing a lot about basketball they aren't stupid business people. They understand how much Luka means to Dallas and the bottom line of this franchise. Which is why I do not believe that theory for one moment. You do not become billionaires in the odds business by not understanding money and business.

They either traded Luka because (1) they didn't want pay him supermax (2) they didn't want to pay him supermax and had questions about his conditioning and injury history (3) the rumor floating around is that the owners bought this team to legalize gambling in texas (build a casino around a new stadium) and their having trouble convincing politicians in the state of texas... people are saying they are purposely trying to lower the value of the mavs (slowly but surely) to justify a move to las vegas and luka was the first casualty. If you pay Luka and the team is competitive, Luka may be here the next 10 years.

Now, if Im going to believe a conspiracy, I'm more likely to believe this was a money saving / deliberate move by ownership to shorten their window so they can tank after maybe 2-3 years and destroy the value of the team so the NBA lets them move or texas honors their gambling request after the team (loses a lot ) and suffers financially and they threaten to move the Mavs bc of that.

If this was collusion by Nico and Pelinka - it never gets by the owners. They are intelligent business people. If this is a collusion by the NBA/Lakers/Mavs Ownership - I haven't seen the evidence to bare that out. So far, there is a enough plausible deniability to suggest cost saving / conditioning. The only two theories I believe right now is they got rid of Luka because of money and they want to devalue the team to use it as leverage (to leave texas) at some point down the line to ensure gambling is passed in TX or convince the NBA to let them leave to Las Vegas...all the while staying relevant for the next 2-3 years so it doesnt look suspicious. I'm open to changing my mind if more evidence comes out but right now those two reasons make the most sense to me.

Nico said owner has laughed at him, when he brought the idea of trading Luka. Meaning that was Nico's idea from the beginning. Owner of course had to went with it in the end, but plan of trading Luka was Nico's.

I think Nico's selling. I really do. He's going out of his way to put all of this on his shoulders. Like the owner laughed at me is an oversale. What owner laughs about trading the #1 asset in his business? A.Davis last year on his deal with Dallas is 27-28. If Luka were to have re-signed his contract would have been pushed out further and I think thats what they were trying to avoid and the luxury tax possibly. I think no one on this team gets a contract pass 27-28. I'll leave it there with the speculation.

[arkuo]

Bob, I just do not believe Nico had that kind of power. Even in the press conference Nico said Patrick was the ultimate decision maker. Owners of teams just do not allow you to trade franchise/generational players if their in the business of actually making money. Despite them not knowing a lot about basketball they aren't stupid business people. They understand how much Luka means to Dallas and the bottom line of this franchise. Which is why I do not believe that theory for one moment. You do not become billionaires in the odds business by not understanding money and business.

They either traded Luka because (1) they didn't want pay him supermax (2) they didn't want to pay him supermax and had questions about his conditioning and injury history (3) the rumor floating around is that the owners bought this team to legalize gambling in texas (build a casino around a new stadium) and their having trouble convincing politicians in the state of texas... people are saying they are purposely trying to lower the value of the mavs (slowly but surely) to justify a move to las vegas and luka was the first casualty. If you pay Luka and the team is competitive, Luka may be here the next 10 years.

Now, if Im going to believe a conspiracy, I'm more likely to believe this was a money saving / deliberate move by ownership to shorten their window so they can tank after maybe 2-3 years and destroy the value of the team so the NBA lets them move or texas honors their gambling request after the team (loses a lot ) and suffers financially and they threaten to move the Mavs bc of that.

If this was collusion by Nico and Pelinka - it never gets by the owners. They are intelligent business people. If this is a collusion by the NBA/Lakers/Mavs Ownership - I haven't seen the evidence to bare that out. So far, there is a enough plausible deniability to suggest cost saving / conditioning. The only two theories I believe right now is they got rid of Luka because of money and they want to devalue the team to use it as leverage (to leave texas) at some point down the line to ensure gambling is passed in TX or convince the NBA to let them leave to Las Vegas...all the while staying relevant for the next 2-3 years so it doesnt look suspicious. I'm open to changing my mind if more evidence comes out but right now those two reasons make the most sense to me.

Nico said owner has laughed at him, when he brought the idea of trading Luka. Meaning that was Nico's idea from the beginning. Owner of course had to went with it in the end, but plan of trading Luka was Nico's.

I think Nico's selling. I really do. He's going out of his way to put all of this on his shoulders. Like the owner laughed at me is an oversale. What owner laughs about trading the #1 asset in his business? A.Davis last year on his deal with Dallas is 27-28. If Luka were to have re-signed his contract would have been pushed out further and I think thats what they were trying to avoid and the luxury tax possibly. I think no one on this team gets a contract pass 27-28. I'll leave it there with the speculation.

Let's say this is the case, do you think Cuban will do a buyback? It would be more expensive than his selling price though.

[joesha1698]

Bob, I just do not believe Nico had that kind of power. Even in the press conference Nico said Patrick was the ultimate decision maker. Owners of teams just do not allow you to trade franchise/generational players if their in the business of actually making money. Despite them not knowing a lot about basketball they aren't stupid business people. They understand how much Luka means to Dallas and the bottom line of this franchise. Which is why I do not believe that theory for one moment. You do not become billionaires in the odds business by not understanding money and business.

They either traded Luka because (1) they didn't want pay him supermax (2) they didn't want to pay him supermax and had questions about his conditioning and injury history (3) the rumor floating around is that the owners bought this team to legalize gambling in texas (build a casino around a new stadium) and their having trouble convincing politicians in the state of texas... people are saying they are purposely trying to lower the value of the mavs (slowly but surely) to justify a move to las vegas and luka was the first casualty. If you pay Luka and the team is competitive, Luka may be here the next 10 years.

Now, if Im going to believe a conspiracy, I'm more likely to believe this was a money saving / deliberate move by ownership to shorten their window so they can tank after maybe 2-3 years and destroy the value of the team so the NBA lets them move or texas honors their gambling request after the team (loses a lot ) and suffers financially and they threaten to move the Mavs bc of that.

If this was collusion by Nico and Pelinka - it never gets by the owners. They are intelligent business people. If this is a collusion by the NBA/Lakers/Mavs Ownership - I haven't seen the evidence to bare that out. So far, there is a enough plausible deniability to suggest cost saving / conditioning. The only two theories I believe right now is they got rid of Luka because of money and they want to devalue the team to use it as leverage (to leave texas) at some point down the line to ensure gambling is passed in TX or convince the NBA to let them leave to Las Vegas...all the while staying relevant for the next 2-3 years so it doesnt look suspicious. I'm open to changing my mind if more evidence comes out but right now those two reasons make the most sense to me.

Nico said owner has laughed at him, when he brought the idea of trading Luka. Meaning that was Nico's idea from the beginning. Owner of course had to went with it in the end, but plan of trading Luka was Nico's.

Nico has personal beef with Luka. This is pretty clear by now.

If you cost a person $100M, it's pretty personal.

The owner gets the last say, it's not Nico's decision. This points to the owner wanting to say as much as money as possible and not having any big contracts pass AD's last year which is 27-28. Even Nico spoke about a time line for Kyrie and AD. They'll offer Kyrie a 3 year deal that aligns with AD's unless he opts out or they force him out. I say somewhere in the 50s...

[Bob8]

Bob, I just do not believe Nico had that kind of power. Even in the press conference Nico said Patrick was the ultimate decision maker. Owners of teams just do not allow you to trade franchise/generational players if their in the business of actually making money. Despite them not knowing a lot about basketball they aren't stupid business people. They understand how much Luka means to Dallas and the bottom line of this franchise. Which is why I do not believe that theory for one moment. You do not become billionaires in the odds business by not understanding money and business.

They either traded Luka because (1) they didn't want pay him supermax (2) they didn't want to pay him supermax and had questions about his conditioning and injury history (3) the rumor floating around is that the owners bought this team to legalize gambling in texas (build a casino around a new stadium) and their having trouble convincing politicians in the state of texas... people are saying they are purposely trying to lower the value of the mavs (slowly but surely) to justify a move to las vegas and luka was the first casualty. If you pay Luka and the team is competitive, Luka may be here the next 10 years.

Now, if Im going to believe a conspiracy, I'm more likely to believe this was a money saving / deliberate move by ownership to shorten their window so they can tank after maybe 2-3 years and destroy the value of the team so the NBA lets them move or texas honors their gambling request after the team (loses a lot ) and suffers financially and they threaten to move the Mavs bc of that.

If this was collusion by Nico and Pelinka - it never gets by the owners. They are intelligent business people. If this is a collusion by the NBA/Lakers/Mavs Ownership - I haven't seen the evidence to bare that out. So far, there is a enough plausible deniability to suggest cost saving / conditioning. The only two theories I believe right now is they got rid of Luka because of money and they want to devalue the team to use it as leverage (to leave texas) at some point down the line to ensure gambling is passed in TX or convince the NBA to let them leave to Las Vegas...all the while staying relevant for the next 2-3 years so it doesnt look suspicious. I'm open to changing my mind if more evidence comes out but right now those two reasons make the most sense to me.

Nico said owner has laughed at him, when he brought the idea of trading Luka. Meaning that was Nico's idea from the beginning. Owner of course had to went with it in the end, but plan of trading Luka was Nico's.

I think Nico's selling. I really do. He's going out of his way to put all of this on his shoulders. Like the owner laughed at me is an oversale. What owner laughs about trading the #1 asset in his business? A.Davis last year on his deal with Dallas is 27-28. If Luka were to have re-signed his contract would have been pushed out further and I think thats what they were trying to avoid and the luxury tax possibly. I think no one on this team gets a contract pass 27-28. I'll leave it there with the speculation.

He said Pelinka laughed too. Why would he say that, if it wasn't true? It's embarrassing making a trade that everyone laughed at, but he willingly admitted, because he believed he's the smartest person in the room. He believed that honest answers will bring him sympathy. But it backfired even more. He's arrogant idiot. End of story.

[joesha1698]

Nico said owner has laughed at him, when he brought the idea of trading Luka. Meaning that was Nico's idea from the beginning. Owner of course had to went with it in the end, but plan of trading Luka was Nico's.

I think Nico's selling. I really do. He's going out of his way to put all of this on his shoulders. Like the owner laughed at me is an oversale. What owner laughs about trading the #1 asset in his business? A.Davis last year on his deal with Dallas is 27-28. If Luka were to have re-signed his contract would have been pushed out further and I think thats what they were trying to avoid and the luxury tax possibly. I think no one on this team gets a contract pass 27-28. I'll leave it there with the speculation.

Let's say this is the case, do you think Cuban will do a buyback? It would be more expensive than his selling price though.

Jason Whitlock (i know of all people) is predicting that Cuban comes back once they get gambling passed in Texas. Cuban already has a % of ownership. I'm not sure if he wants to be involved in the day-to-day stuff anymore. Anything is possible, hard to say. If I had to guess right now - I would say Cuban is satisfied with the minority ownership and what he got out of the deal. I think Cuban kind of knew what was going down and didn't want to be the bad guy. When Cuban was asked what he thought about the trade he said, MFFL. (Maverick fan for life). I think Cuban understand exactly whats going on and got out right in time. I watched the interview with Shannon Sharpe when Cuban told him the NBA is a real-estate business now...you have to pair these sport teams with other infrastructure (casinos, etc) going forward to justify ownership.