Moderators: Dirk, HMFFL, Mavrelous
Archx wrote:arkuo wrote:Based on the magazine cover, it looks like Luka was able to lose weight. So it took trading him and losing out on a supermax deal to wake him up and start taking his conditioning seriously.
Did you just casually skip 2023/24 season or?
arkuo wrote:Archx wrote:arkuo wrote:Based on the magazine cover, it looks like Luka was able to lose weight. So it took trading him and losing out on a supermax deal to wake him up and start taking his conditioning seriously.
Did you just casually skip 2023/24 season or?
Of course not. But for Luka fans, it is 2025 and no Slovenian can ever do wrong in this planet. All 2 million of them are saints.
So to cut the conversation short, you are right and everyone else is wrong. Carry on now.
Archx wrote:arkuo wrote:Archx wrote:
Did you just casually skip 2023/24 season or?
Of course not. But for Luka fans, it is 2025 and no Slovenian can ever do wrong in this planet. All 2 million of them are saints.
So to cut the conversation short, you are right and everyone else is wrong. Carry on now.
Your claim is that he was never in shape before the trade and we can never do wrong...I'm not sure i follow what you even mean lol.
Mr B wrote:ACMFFL wrote:41Dirk41 wrote:
Luka will make Ayton better for sure but no way softAyton is one the best defensive center in the league, he was never been and he will never be.
Lakers are good enough for a second PO round, maybe WCF with a good matchups. No more for me.
Yes they will be better than the Mavs and it's the reason because Harrison time here is over. He can't survive at it.
If healthy, and I know it's a big if, I have the Mavs over the Lakers.
Dallas has one of the deepest and most talented roster and just a reminder that last season they were the most injury plagued team in the league, I mean I know AD/Kai/Liv are still huge question marks, but I don't expect Gaff and PJ to miss 25 games each or Naji to deal for weeks with mysterious illness.
They added two starters in Flagg and DLo and that's huge, also if most thinks Ayton could have a bounce back year, why not the same for DLo? I mean, in over two seasons from 22/23 to 23/24 both included he averaged 17.9 ppg, 6.3 apg, 2.3 tov, 46% fg, 41% 3pt, in 147 games. And those numbers are pretty recent, not something from 3/4 years ago..
But it's still all about health, 2 seasons ago AD played 70+ games, if we get that AD, then I can see the Mavs easily in the top 6.
And I don't think roster is set in stone, au contraire I don't expect PJ to be here at opening night, ihmo they are just waiting for late August to extend and subsequently trade him, maybe packaged with Gafford, for another quality guard. I don't know who, just a gut feeling.
On the other hand I feel like Lakers are almost in the same boat as the 2023 Mavs after we acquired Kyrie and lost DoeDoe in the process. Obv not as bad, Lakers have size and talent advantages over that Mavs team, but I still don't see a balanced and functional roster around Luka. DFS was pretty huge for them last season, at least that's what all metrics say.
Ayton was a positive, not exceptional, defender when he had 2 great wing stoppers like Crowder/Mikal and CamJ around him. On offense Luka will make him look like a star but that's not what they need, unless they get rid of LBJ and btw that's exactly what they need, turning the LeBron problem into a big wing stopper (Wiggins?).
That would elevate their ceiling and make them title contenders.
No bro, they traded Luka so that means the Mavs suck. They have no depth and have all of the worst players in the world.
ACMFFL wrote:41Dirk41 wrote:Archx wrote:
Ayton on a winning team is still one of the best defensive centers in the league. He was one of the main reasons Suns had any success in the playoffs. I kept saying he's the guy i fear the most vs Suns and if they get rid of him, that team won't get anywhere. It was true, even with KD Suns were bad. A tanking Blazers are no real comparison of how good a certain player actually is.
Also i think DFS has become a bit overrated at this point. 32yo coming from ankle injury being replaced by Smart and LaRavia plus Ayton, is an actual upgrade that gives them more depth on bench and flexibility with various lineups. Obviously Lakers still need something more but also their draft pick looks to be a huge hit. A player similar to DFS but stronger and more athletic.
So all in all, people who think Lakers will be a pushover are deluded. They already had one of the best defenses in the 2nd part of the regular season with a center rotation of Koloko/Hayes lol....
Luka will make Ayton better for sure but no way softAyton is one the best defensive center in the league, he was never been and he will never be.
Lakers are good enough for a second PO round, maybe WCF with a good matchups. No more for me.
Yes they will be better than the Mavs and it's the reason because Harrison time here is over. He can't survive at it.
If healthy, and I know it's a big if, I have the Mavs over the Lakers.
Dallas has one of the deepest and most talented roster and just a reminder that last season they were the most injury plagued team in the league, I mean I know AD/Kai/Liv are still huge question marks, but I don't expect Gaff and PJ to miss 25 games each or Naji to deal for weeks with mysterious illness.
They added two starters in Flagg and DLo and that's huge, also if most thinks Ayton could have a bounce back year, why not the same for DLo? I mean, in over two seasons from 22/23 to 23/24 both included he averaged 17.9 ppg, 6.3 apg, 2.3 tov, 46% fg, 41% 3pt, in 147 games. And those numbers are pretty recent, not something from 3/4 years ago..
But it's still all about health, 2 seasons ago AD played 70+ games, if we get that AD, then I can see the Mavs easily in the top 6.
And I don't think roster is set in stone, au contraire I don't expect PJ to be here at opening night, ihmo they are just waiting for late August to extend and subsequently trade him, maybe packaged with Gafford, for another quality guard. I don't know who, just a gut feeling.
On the other hand I feel like Lakers are almost in the same boat as the 2023 Mavs after we acquired Kyrie and lost DoeDoe in the process. Obv not as bad, Lakers have size and talent advantages over that Mavs team, but I still don't see a balanced and functional roster around Luka. DFS was pretty huge for them last season, at least that's what all metrics say.
Ayton was a positive, not exceptional, defender when he had 2 great wing stoppers like Crowder/Mikal and CamJ around him. On offense Luka will make him look like a star but that's not what they need, unless they get rid of LBJ and btw that's exactly what they need, turning the LeBron problem into a big wing stopper (Wiggins?).
That would elevate their ceiling and make them title contenders.
Archx wrote:Mr B wrote:Ayton and defense should never be used in the same breath. Dude is horrible.
He was Suns best defensive player when they went to the finals and post finals era as well... But yeah, he's "horrible".arkuo wrote:Based on the magazine cover, it looks like Luka was able to lose weight. So it took trading him and losing out on a supermax deal to wake him up and start taking his conditioning seriously.
Did you just casually skip 2023/24 season or?
41Dirk41 wrote:ACMFFL wrote:41Dirk41 wrote:
Luka will make Ayton better for sure but no way softAyton is one the best defensive center in the league, he was never been and he will never be.
Lakers are good enough for a second PO round, maybe WCF with a good matchups. No more for me.
Yes they will be better than the Mavs and it's the reason because Harrison time here is over. He can't survive at it.
If healthy, and I know it's a big if, I have the Mavs over the Lakers.
Dallas has one of the deepest and most talented roster and just a reminder that last season they were the most injury plagued team in the league, I mean I know AD/Kai/Liv are still huge question marks, but I don't expect Gaff and PJ to miss 25 games each or Naji to deal for weeks with mysterious illness.
They added two starters in Flagg and DLo and that's huge, also if most thinks Ayton could have a bounce back year, why not the same for DLo? I mean, in over two seasons from 22/23 to 23/24 both included he averaged 17.9 ppg, 6.3 apg, 2.3 tov, 46% fg, 41% 3pt, in 147 games. And those numbers are pretty recent, not something from 3/4 years ago..
But it's still all about health, 2 seasons ago AD played 70+ games, if we get that AD, then I can see the Mavs easily in the top 6.
And I don't think roster is set in stone, au contraire I don't expect PJ to be here at opening night, ihmo they are just waiting for late August to extend and subsequently trade him, maybe packaged with Gafford, for another quality guard. I don't know who, just a gut feeling.
On the other hand I feel like Lakers are almost in the same boat as the 2023 Mavs after we acquired Kyrie and lost DoeDoe in the process. Obv not as bad, Lakers have size and talent advantages over that Mavs team, but I still don't see a balanced and functional roster around Luka. DFS was pretty huge for them last season, at least that's what all metrics say.
Ayton was a positive, not exceptional, defender when he had 2 great wing stoppers like Crowder/Mikal and CamJ around him. On offense Luka will make him look like a star but that's not what they need, unless they get rid of LBJ and btw that's exactly what they need, turning the LeBron problem into a big wing stopper (Wiggins?).
That would elevate their ceiling and make them title contenders.
Mavs have one of the worst back court in the league... You can't think to play for the higher level with D-Lo/Exum/B-Will, and i like D-Lo signs.
If we will make a trade i don't know, right now that situation is that, Mavs are a 40/42 W team.
Lakers are not so better but they have Luka and everybody here (not Mr. B) know how he can elevate a mediocre roster.
ACMFFL wrote:41Dirk41 wrote:ACMFFL wrote:
If healthy, and I know it's a big if, I have the Mavs over the Lakers.
Dallas has one of the deepest and most talented roster and just a reminder that last season they were the most injury plagued team in the league, I mean I know AD/Kai/Liv are still huge question marks, but I don't expect Gaff and PJ to miss 25 games each or Naji to deal for weeks with mysterious illness.
They added two starters in Flagg and DLo and that's huge, also if most thinks Ayton could have a bounce back year, why not the same for DLo? I mean, in over two seasons from 22/23 to 23/24 both included he averaged 17.9 ppg, 6.3 apg, 2.3 tov, 46% fg, 41% 3pt, in 147 games. And those numbers are pretty recent, not something from 3/4 years ago..
But it's still all about health, 2 seasons ago AD played 70+ games, if we get that AD, then I can see the Mavs easily in the top 6.
And I don't think roster is set in stone, au contraire I don't expect PJ to be here at opening night, ihmo they are just waiting for late August to extend and subsequently trade him, maybe packaged with Gafford, for another quality guard. I don't know who, just a gut feeling.
On the other hand I feel like Lakers are almost in the same boat as the 2023 Mavs after we acquired Kyrie and lost DoeDoe in the process. Obv not as bad, Lakers have size and talent advantages over that Mavs team, but I still don't see a balanced and functional roster around Luka. DFS was pretty huge for them last season, at least that's what all metrics say.
Ayton was a positive, not exceptional, defender when he had 2 great wing stoppers like Crowder/Mikal and CamJ around him. On offense Luka will make him look like a star but that's not what they need, unless they get rid of LBJ and btw that's exactly what they need, turning the LeBron problem into a big wing stopper (Wiggins?).
That would elevate their ceiling and make them title contenders.
Mavs have one of the worst back court in the league... You can't think to play for the higher level with D-Lo/Exum/B-Will, and i like D-Lo signs.
If we will make a trade i don't know, right now that situation is that, Mavs are a 40/42 W team.
Lakers are not so better but they have Luka and everybody here (not Mr. B) know how he can elevate a mediocre roster.
Well, last season Mavs won 39 games despite being the most injury plagued team in the league. You're basicaly expecting another catastrophe if you think they'll win the same number of games as they did in 24/25..meh.
Mavs had Luka (missed 27 out 49 games) or AD (23 out of 32 games) for just 31 games..as fragile as AD is, he still averaged 60 games played per season since he entered the league, that's almost 2x of what we had last season, just saying.
Rockets have 3 guards on the roster (VanVleet, Aaron Holiday, Sheppard) and people still have them as top tier team in the stacked West, I actually don't see so much difference between their backcourt and ours (DLo, Exum, BWill).
Yeah Luka is that good, not even a question, but let's not forget that he missed the PO when he had a dysfunctional supporting cast after Mavs traded defense for offense..I just don't trust the roster around him at all.
Mr B wrote:Didn’t the Mavs average like 120 points a game in their series with the Suns in 2022? Ayton wasn’t good then either. He may appear to be slightly better on a good team (or at least 3 years ago he did) but that doesn’t make him good. The Mavs did well one year with Dwight Powell as their starting center, that doesn’t mean he was good. Ayton has regressed since then. He’s really bad on defense.
Mr B wrote:No bro, they traded Luka so that means the Mavs suck. They have no depth and have all of the worst players in the world.
ACMFFL wrote:41Dirk41 wrote:ACMFFL wrote:
If healthy, and I know it's a big if, I have the Mavs over the Lakers.
Dallas has one of the deepest and most talented roster and just a reminder that last season they were the most injury plagued team in the league, I mean I know AD/Kai/Liv are still huge question marks, but I don't expect Gaff and PJ to miss 25 games each or Naji to deal for weeks with mysterious illness.
They added two starters in Flagg and DLo and that's huge, also if most thinks Ayton could have a bounce back year, why not the same for DLo? I mean, in over two seasons from 22/23 to 23/24 both included he averaged 17.9 ppg, 6.3 apg, 2.3 tov, 46% fg, 41% 3pt, in 147 games. And those numbers are pretty recent, not something from 3/4 years ago..
But it's still all about health, 2 seasons ago AD played 70+ games, if we get that AD, then I can see the Mavs easily in the top 6.
And I don't think roster is set in stone, au contraire I don't expect PJ to be here at opening night, ihmo they are just waiting for late August to extend and subsequently trade him, maybe packaged with Gafford, for another quality guard. I don't know who, just a gut feeling.
On the other hand I feel like Lakers are almost in the same boat as the 2023 Mavs after we acquired Kyrie and lost DoeDoe in the process. Obv not as bad, Lakers have size and talent advantages over that Mavs team, but I still don't see a balanced and functional roster around Luka. DFS was pretty huge for them last season, at least that's what all metrics say.
Ayton was a positive, not exceptional, defender when he had 2 great wing stoppers like Crowder/Mikal and CamJ around him. On offense Luka will make him look like a star but that's not what they need, unless they get rid of LBJ and btw that's exactly what they need, turning the LeBron problem into a big wing stopper (Wiggins?).
That would elevate their ceiling and make them title contenders.
Mavs have one of the worst back court in the league... You can't think to play for the higher level with D-Lo/Exum/B-Will, and i like D-Lo signs.
If we will make a trade i don't know, right now that situation is that, Mavs are a 40/42 W team.
Lakers are not so better but they have Luka and everybody here (not Mr. B) know how he can elevate a mediocre roster.
Well, last season Mavs won 39 games despite being the most injury plagued team in the league. You're basicaly expecting another catastrophe if you think they'll win the same number of games as they did in 24/25..meh.
Mavs had Luka (missed 27 out 49 games) or AD (23 out of 32 games) for just 31 games..as fragile as AD is, he still averaged 60 games played per season since he entered the league, that's almost 2x of what we had last season, just saying.
Rockets have 3 guards on the roster (VanVleet, Aaron Holiday, Sheppard) and people still have them as top tier team in the stacked West, I actually don't see so much difference between their backcourt and ours (DLo, Exum, BWill).
Yeah Luka is that good, not even a question, but let's not forget that he missed the PO when he had a dysfunctional supporting cast after Mavs traded defense for offense..I just don't trust the roster around him at all.
Kyrie will be out for vast majority of the season and be very unlikely his old himself when/if he returns in the last part of the season. Bob8 wrote:ACMFFL wrote:41Dirk41 wrote:
Mavs have one of the worst back court in the league... You can't think to play for the higher level with D-Lo/Exum/B-Will, and i like D-Lo signs.
If we will make a trade i don't know, right now that situation is that, Mavs are a 40/42 W team.
Lakers are not so better but they have Luka and everybody here (not Mr. B) know how he can elevate a mediocre roster.
Well, last season Mavs won 39 games despite being the most injury plagued team in the league. You're basicaly expecting another catastrophe if you think they'll win the same number of games as they did in 24/25..meh.
Mavs had Luka (missed 27 out 49 games) or AD (23 out of 32 games) for just 31 games..as fragile as AD is, he still averaged 60 games played per season since he entered the league, that's almost 2x of what we had last season, just saying.
Rockets have 3 guards on the roster (VanVleet, Aaron Holiday, Sheppard) and people still have them as top tier team in the stacked West, I actually don't see so much difference between their backcourt and ours (DLo, Exum, BWill).
Yeah Luka is that good, not even a question, but let's not forget that he missed the PO when he had a dysfunctional supporting cast after Mavs traded defense for offense..I just don't trust the roster around him at all.
You might be forgetting that catastrophe has happened already.
Kyrie and Luka together have played 72 games last year. That's what Mavs backcourt will be missing this year. Unless you believe 34 years old Kyrie, who was always very slow to return, will force his return and miraculously play great immediately.
About Lakers, they have better roster than last year, with far better and motivated Luka than last year. And if I can remember right they were 3rd in RS last year. Yes they have lost in round 1, playing small ball without a C and with Luka clearly out of shape and psychologically shattered. Mavs playoffs Luka might have been enough to beat Wolves even without a C. Mavs would have never beaten Wolves in WCF, if Luka was playing like in Lakers.
41Dirk41 wrote:I can't understand why if someone don't think that the Mavs are a title contender then he is a pessimistic fan... This team is dysfunctional, with Kyrie out and with all the hopes on a 18yo kid.
Mavs core is great and also our future will be great. No doubt. Thanks Silver.
I'm excited to see Flagg of course but i'm not excited about this Mavs season, can i? Or did i break some rules?
Houston have KD&Sengun who are great passers and offensive generator...and they were already a PO team.
But ehy other teams added size because the Mavs. Yes for sure, in your dreams.
ACMFFL wrote:Bob8 wrote:ACMFFL wrote:
Well, last season Mavs won 39 games despite being the most injury plagued team in the league. You're basicaly expecting another catastrophe if you think they'll win the same number of games as they did in 24/25..meh.
Mavs had Luka (missed 27 out 49 games) or AD (23 out of 32 games) for just 31 games..as fragile as AD is, he still averaged 60 games played per season since he entered the league, that's almost 2x of what we had last season, just saying.
Rockets have 3 guards on the roster (VanVleet, Aaron Holiday, Sheppard) and people still have them as top tier team in the stacked West, I actually don't see so much difference between their backcourt and ours (DLo, Exum, BWill).
Yeah Luka is that good, not even a question, but let's not forget that he missed the PO when he had a dysfunctional supporting cast after Mavs traded defense for offense..I just don't trust the roster around him at all.
You might be forgetting that catastrophe has happened already.
Kyrie and Luka together have played 72 games last year. That's what Mavs backcourt will be missing this year. Unless you believe 34 years old Kyrie, who was always very slow to return, will force his return and miraculously play great immediately.
About Lakers, they have better roster than last year, with far better and motivated Luka than last year. And if I can remember right they were 3rd in RS last year. Yes they have lost in round 1, playing small ball without a C and with Luka clearly out of shape and psychologically shattered. Mavs playoffs Luka might have been enough to beat Wolves even without a C. Mavs would have never beaten Wolves in WCF, if Luka was playing like in Lakers.
For catastrophe I mean that Mavs struggle again to find 5 men to suit up.
Luka and Kyrie played a grand total of 21 games together for the Mavs. Last season Dallas had basically no backcourt for all the season long.
Sounds like wishful thinking lol Lakers have no perimeter defense, I don't see how their lineup will prevent opponents from scoring 120 at nights. Fakers finished their season with just +0.71 points differential over the most injury plagued team in the league, just saying.
Mavs won 50 games in 2022, that didn't prevent them from missing the playoff the following year, every season is a different story.
As I said Houston have a similar level of backcourt and people still consider them a top tier team.
The only thing that impresses me is the power of LAL PR machine, but other than we get these reports every damn summer about his conditioning.
Yeah that Mavs team would have never beaten the Wolves in 2024 without Luka, but I don't get the point, current Mavs are a very different team, they still matchup pretty well against Minnie. And no, we wouldn't have even made it past the second round without our center rotation, Lively in particular was quite instrumental in that run, especially against OKC and Minnie.
Strangely enough Luka and Kyrie, who are not exactly known about D, playing 40 minutes, were in the Finals 1 year ago. And have lost that Finals because nobody could hit anything not because of D. Celtics had 107 offensive rtg. Bob8 wrote:They played 21 games together but I would say one of them on the court is still light years better than what will Mavs have this year for backcourt. Mavs fans are pretty spoiled watching 7 years of Luka, Brunson and Kyrie in the backcourt. It will be totally new experience this year. It's very difficult to find a team built like Mavs, where you have all important players in 4 or 5. Could it work? Maybe, but it seems highly unlikely, because all those players can't even create for themselves.
If you compare last year's and this year's Lakers team, you have full year Luka vs. 28 games Luka, who was not in the best physical and psychological shape. AD was already injured when Lakers made a run. Then you have Ayton vs. Haynes, which is a huge improvement no matter how much you like 16.5/10.5 career player in his prime. And then you have LaRavia + Smart vs DFS. This depends mostly on how LaRavia looks, it could go both ways. I would say that Lakers should be better than last year it depends how others will look this year. In the West you have OKC and then 6-8 teams that can finish anywhere between 2nd place and play-in.
ACMFFL wrote:Bob8 wrote:ACMFFL wrote:
For catastrophe I mean that Mavs struggle again to find 5 men to suit up.
Luka and Kyrie played a grand total of 21 games together for the Mavs. Last season Dallas had basically no backcourt for all the season long.
Sounds like wishful thinking lol Lakers have no perimeter defense, I don't see how their lineup will prevent opponents from scoring 120 at nights. Fakers finished their season with just +0.71 points differential over the most injury plagued team in the league, just saying.
Mavs won 50 games in 2022, that didn't prevent them from missing the playoff the following year, every season is a different story.
As I said Houston have a similar level of backcourt and people still consider them a top tier team.
The only thing that impresses me is the power of LAL PR machine, but other than we get these reports every damn summer about his conditioning.
Yeah that Mavs team would have never beaten the Wolves in 2024 without Luka, but I don't get the point, current Mavs are a very different team, they still matchup pretty well against Minnie. And no, we wouldn't have even made it past the second round without our center rotation, Lively in particular was quite instrumental in that run, especially against OKC and Minnie.
They played 21 games together but I would say one of them on the court is still light years better than what will Mavs have this year for backcourt. Mavs fans are pretty spoiled watching 7 years of Luka, Brunson and Kyrie in the backcourt. It will be totally new experience this year. It's very difficult to find a team built like Mavs, where you have all important players in 4 or 5. Could it work? Maybe, but it seems highly unlikely, because all those players can't even create for themselves.
If you compare last year's and this year's Lakers team, you have full year Luka vs. 28 games Luka, who was not in the best physical and psychological shape. AD was already injured when Lakers made a run. Then you have Ayton vs. Haynes, which is a huge improvement no matter how much you like 16.5/10.5 career player in his prime. And then you have LaRavia + Smart vs DFS. This depends mostly on how LaRavia looks, it could go both ways. I would say that Lakers should be better than last year it depends how others will look this year. In the West you have OKC and then 6-8 teams that can finish anywhere between 2nd place and play-in.
Their main problem wasn't the lack of guards but health.
I know people loves to **** on AD but as soft and fragile he is, he averaged 60 games per season since he entered the league. If you consider only his most recent years, he still averaged 56 games per season in his LAL stint.
That's a huge improvement over the 31 games we got from our 1st option (Luka/AD) all the season long.
PJ and Gafford won't miss 25 games each again.
DLo ain't Kyrie but he's still a very solid stopgap solution.
Honestly who cares how fans will feel it, I think they will be fine as long as the Mavs play winning basketball.
Roster construction isn't ideal but it isn't set in stone, they have tons of options (a lot of good and moveable players + 2 1sts) to acquire another guard.
Yeah I agree that after OKC they are all pretty much on the same level.
Lakers were 25-18 with AD on the court, on average only 2.3 less wins than their final record (58% VS 61%)
Better production doesn't always translate in winning impact, I just don't trust Ayton. He was good 3 years ago, that's an eternity in the NBA tho.
DFS was pretty crucial for them, I didn't watch a single Lakers game last season for obvious reasons but that's what numbers suggest, in particular on/off but maybe it's mainly on LBJ, that metric kind of hated him last season. Smart looked pretty washed since he left Boston.
Imho they would be better off if they can get rid of LeBron for a wing stopper, that would change everything and elevate them to top contender tier in my eyes.
Bob8 wrote:I mostly agree with you, but you're missing crucial point. Mavs best player is already injured, that's the worst possible scenario to happen before the season. We don't know what will happen during the season but Mavs already start with bad luck. Even if they have normal season regarding injuries from now on, it will still be injuries riddled season, because they will miss their best player. You can bet on Exum, AD, Lively...missing many games anyway.
AD has played only twice more than 60 games since 17/18 season. That's hardly a coincidence.
I agree the best case scenario would be trading LeBron, but realistically who can match his 52 mio salary and want him.
Smart was playing in 2 tanking teams. It's very difficult to evaluate his real value. His injuries was more or less minor, but he missed a lot of games, which commonly happens In tanking teams. He's younger than DFS so I doubt he's really washed.
ACMFFL wrote:Bob8 wrote:I mostly agree with you, but you're missing crucial point. Mavs best player is already injured, that's the worst possible scenario to happen before the season. We don't know what will happen during the season but Mavs already start with bad luck. Even if they have normal season regarding injuries from now on, it will still be injuries riddled season, because they will miss their best player. You can bet on Exum, AD, Lively...missing many games anyway.
AD has played only twice more than 60 games since 17/18 season. That's hardly a coincidence.
I agree the best case scenario would be trading LeBron, but realistically who can match his 52 mio salary and want him.
Smart was playing in 2 tanking teams. It's very difficult to evaluate his real value. His injuries was more or less minor, but he missed a lot of games, which commonly happens In tanking teams. He's younger than DFS so I doubt he's really washed.
What bad luck? Are you talking about Irving ACL? Anyway AD is their best player, not Kyrie.
Also he played 76 games just two seasons ago, not so much time ago.
He averaged 56 games per season in his LAL stint, that's a huge improvement over what we got last season from our 1st option.
What about Miami? Wiggins is exactly what they need.
Memphis wasn't a tanking team when they acquired him, then their season was derailed by injuries but Smart was still pretty atrocious even at the start of his run in Memphis. Also Marcus has always been kind of injury prone, I mean, in his career he averaged less games per season than the vituperated Davis xD