The Dallas Mavericks now have the 4th best defense and the 30th best offense, will defense win them the championship?

[Larry Ellison]

So the entire strategy was a failure from the beginning, Irving is no more a PG (maybe he never was) and in PO he is limited because his size.

I appreciate you trying to think like it was a basketball trade but it was just collusion.

We can agree to disagree. I don't think it was collusion. Is it so crazy to think that Nico would look at supermax for Luka and wonder if it is the right path? They didn't know at the time that Kyrie would tear his ACL.

So trading a generational talent who is 26 years old and just led your team to the finals the previous season was the right move? Especially trading him for injury prone Davis and Max Christie, that was enough? The trade was a blunder of proportion. There is no way i wouldn’t have paid Luka. Flagg is great but Luka is special.

Luka has never led a team to a championship. He still has a lot of time to do that. The Mavs, who knew him best, traded him because they didn't believe he was capable of doing it.

[41Dirk41]

We can agree to disagree. I don't think it was collusion. Is it so crazy to think that Nico would look at supermax for Luka and wonder if it is the right path? They didn't know at the time that Kyrie would tear his ACL.

So trading a generational talent who is 26 years old and just led your team to the finals the previous season was the right move? Especially trading him for injury prone Davis and Max Christie, that was enough? The trade was a blunder of proportion. There is no way i wouldn’t have paid Luka. Flagg is great but Luka is special.

Luka has never led a team to a championship. He still has a lot of time to do that. The Mavs, who knew him best, traded him because they didn't believe he was capable of doing it.

Mavs played 3 NBA Finals in their history... 1 with Luka.
You don't understand probably the situation.

Anyway ok, you can trade Doncic for what you wrote... But Harrison GIFTED him to the Lakers. That's the problem.

[41Dirk41]

Gobert worths 6 FRPs
Bane worths 4 FRPs

So... Doncic? Come on guys.

[badpotato]

Gobert worths 6 FRPs
Bane worths 4 FRPs

So... Doncic? Come on guys.

I really like Davis game-time outfits, looks really stylish nursing those injuries. You can't really put a price on that.

[Archx]

We can agree to disagree. I don't think it was collusion. Is it so crazy to think that Nico would look at supermax for Luka and wonder if it is the right path? They didn't know at the time that Kyrie would tear his ACL.

So trading a generational talent who is 26 years old and just led your team to the finals the previous season was the right move? Especially trading him for injury prone Davis and Max Christie, that was enough? The trade was a blunder of proportion. There is no way i wouldn’t have paid Luka. Flagg is great but Luka is special.

Luka has never led a team to a championship. He still has a lot of time to do that. The Mavs, who knew him best, traded him because they didn't believe he was capable of doing it.

Really? The same guy who fired Casey Smith, who attended his dying mother, over the zoom call? Next year, Casey Smith won NBA award for being the best medical trainer in the league with Knicks while Mavs became THE MOST injured team in the NBA. Casey is also a US senior team medical trainer btw.

The same guy who admitted after the trade that he had no clue how popular Luka even was with the fanbase. The same guy, who convinced new clueless owners, that Luka is taking vacations because he had a serious calf strain and he wanted to rush him back.

Not to mention, he traded Grimes because he had no money for him for another washed up player, just for Grimes to be now paid less that the player he traded him for and is also infinitely playing worse than Grimes.

You're going to convince Mavs fanbase that a clueless idiot like that, had the rationale to tell anyone the trade was in the best interest for the team? He also said after the draft "I hope Mavs fans can see the vision now", with 1.8% odds to win nr1 pick.

Yeah sure.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Gobert worths 6 FRPs
Bane worths 4 FRPs

So... Doncic? Come on guys.

The Mavs should have gotten enough picks from the Lakers that the players they'd be drafting are still in pampers.

[audiosway]

So trading a generational talent who is 26 years old and just led your team to the finals the previous season was the right move? Especially trading him for injury prone Davis and Max Christie, that was enough? The trade was a blunder of proportion. There is no way i wouldn’t have paid Luka. Flagg is great but Luka is special.

Luka has never led a team to a championship. He still has a lot of time to do that. The Mavs, who knew him best, traded him because they didn't believe he was capable of doing it.

Really? The same guy who fired Casey Smith, who attended his dying mother, over the zoom call? Next year, Casey Smith won NBA award for being the best medical trainer in the league with Knicks while Mavs became THE MOST injured team in the NBA. Casey is also a US senior team medical trainer btw.

The same guy who admitted after the trade that he had no clue how popular Luka even was with the fanbase. The same guy, who convinced new clueless owners, that Luka is taking vacations because he had a serious calf strain and he wanted to rush him back.

Not to mention, he traded Grimes because he had no money for him for another washed up player, just for Grimes to be now paid less that the player he traded him for and is also infinitely playing worse than Grimes.

You're going to convince Mavs fanbase that a clueless idiot like that, had the rationale to tell anyone the trade was in the best interest for the team? He also said after the draft "I hope Mavs fans can see the vision now", with 1.8% odds to win nr1 pick.

Yeah sure.

And a decent amount of this stuff is why I voted that I love Nico. I was a Mavs fan for about 25 years. I moved to the Lakers when that Luka trade happened. I have no respect for the arrogance and ignorance that Nico displayed.

[JellosJigglin]

Gobert worths 6 FRPs
Bane worths 4 FRPs

So... Doncic? Come on guys.

Lakers could have gotten 4-6 picks easily for AD. That was his value. So if Dallas wanted picks, they could have simply flipped him or got another team involved in the trade.

Show me a trade in NBA history where any team got both an established star player and a handful of picks. If it exists, I bet it was lopsided the other way, like SGA for PG. Though SGA wasn't even a star yet when that trade happened, while AD was already an established all-star and champion.

[JHFVF07]

We can agree to disagree. I don't think it was collusion. Is it so crazy to think that Nico would look at supermax for Luka and wonder if it is the right path? They didn't know at the time that Kyrie would tear his ACL.

So trading a generational talent who is 26 years old and just led your team to the finals the previous season was the right move? Especially trading him for injury prone Davis and Max Christie, that was enough? The trade was a blunder of proportion. There is no way i wouldn’t have paid Luka. Flagg is great but Luka is special.

Luka has never led a team to a championship. He still has a lot of time to do that. The Mavs, who knew him best, traded him because they didn't believe he was capable of doing it.

By this logic, Dallas should've traded Dirk after 2006, right?
Luka always showed up on playoffs, last year was the first time he was eliminated by a team with worst record than his own. He is just entering his prime and while he is on court he always give his team a puncher's chance to win it all, even when he doesnt play for the best team in the league. He leaded a bunch of roleplayers to deep playof runs, take a look how good Dallas is doing right now. Does this team looks like a team to "just got" on NBA finals?

[Pelly24]

I think Kyrie coming back by the beginning of December would completely fix most things. They actually played at like a 43 win pace when he played but Luka didn’t. They beat OKc three times like that last year. And that’s with periods where like every big man was injured. Better floor raiser than given credit for dating back to Celtics days. He’ll give them more pace and more Oder. Make d. Lo an above average backup or floor spacer. Cooper has a playmaker and can get open court buckets. Klay gets better looks. PJ, Lively, Gafford, AD, cooper. Good luck scoring on that man.

Christie is good, less responsibility once Kyrie comes back. People will double Kyrie, etc. this is a dangerous team if all breaks right. I’d guess they can get to second round.

[HMFFL]

I think Kyrie coming back by the beginning of December would completely fix most things.

Kyrie makes the Mavs a .500 team. The Mavs frontcourt is a bigger problem than the current point guard issues.

[DS17]

I think Kyrie coming back by the beginning of December would completely fix most things.

Kyrie makes the Mavs a .500 team. The Mavs frontcourt is a bigger problem than the current point guard issues.

Front court?! How?

[sashaturiaf]

Gobert worths 6 FRPs
Bane worths 4 FRPs

So... Doncic? Come on guys.

How many 1sts is a 19 yo Cooper Flagg worth ?

Because that's the trade. NBA gifted that pick to the Lakers to help get Doncic there

[41Dirk41]

Gobert worths 6 FRPs
Bane worths 4 FRPs

So... Doncic? Come on guys.

How many 1sts is a 19 yo Cooper Flagg worth ?

Because that's the trade. NBA gifted that pick to the Lakers to help get Doncic there

Yes, it's a collusion. I wrote it before.

[41Dirk41]

Gobert worths 6 FRPs
Bane worths 4 FRPs

So... Doncic? Come on guys.

Lakers could have gotten 4-6 picks easily for AD. That was his value. So if Dallas wanted picks, they could have simply flipped him or got another team involved in the trade.

Show me a trade in NBA history where any team got both an established star player and a handful of picks. If it exists, I bet it was lopsided the other way, like SGA for PG. Though SGA wasn't even a star yet when that trade happened, while AD was already an established all-star and champion.

33 yo Street clothes with that absurd contract has less value than we expect... And you are seeing the reason.

[Ssj16]

We can agree to disagree. I don't think it was collusion. Is it so crazy to think that Nico would look at supermax for Luka and wonder if it is the right path? They didn't know at the time that Kyrie would tear his ACL.

So trading a generational talent who is 26 years old and just led your team to the finals the previous season was the right move? Especially trading him for injury prone Davis and Max Christie, that was enough? The trade was a blunder of proportion. There is no way i wouldn’t have paid Luka. Flagg is great but Luka is special.

Luka has never led a team to a championship. He still has a lot of time to do that. The Mavs, who knew him best, traded him because they didn't believe he was capable of doing it.

Some people really have some of the worst takes. There are not many players good enough to lead a team to a finals in a talented West who are also routinely top 3 in MVP voting.

If you were bold enough to trade a player of this calibre (which I would not do unless the player really wanted out) then at least get a way better package like adding Reaves in the trade.

Also, AD has certainly not lead any teams to the finals as the number 1, so this premise also does not make sense.

[bonita_the_frog]

Dallas + Kyrie = Championship contender.
And they won't finish high in the seedings I assume, so could cause some real damage in the 1st Round to OKC or Houston/Minnesota.

[Ssj16]

Dallas + Kyrie = Championship contender.
And they won't finish high in the seedings I assume, so could cause some real damage in the 1st Round to OKC or Houston/Minnesota.

You know what a championship contender on Dallas was? Dallas plus Luka.

Kyrie as the lead has failed. Before Lebron came to Cleveland, that team was horrible. When Kyrie left Boston, they got the job done without him.

Kyrie was amazing as the number 2 to Luka. Hitching your hopes and goals to Kyrie to lead you to the promise land when there is no evidence of it, good luck.

[bonita_the_frog]

Dallas + Kyrie = Championship contender.
And they won't finish high in the seedings I assume, so could cause some real damage in the 1st Round to OKC or Houston/Minnesota.

You know what a championship contender on Dallas was? Dallas plus Luka.

Kyrie as the lead has failed. Before Lebron came to Cleveland, that team was horrible. When Kyrie left Boston, they got the job done without him.

Kyrie was amazing as the number 2 to Luka. Hitching your hopes and goals to Kyrie to lead you to the promise land when there is no evidence of it, good luck.

Kyrie won't ever be the lead in Dallas, because Anthony Davis is the lead.
Literally the only thing lacking in Dallas, is a player who can create his own shot out of nowhere, and Kyrie is one of the greatest of all-time at that.

[Larry Ellison]

So trading a generational talent who is 26 years old and just led your team to the finals the previous season was the right move? Especially trading him for injury prone Davis and Max Christie, that was enough? The trade was a blunder of proportion. There is no way i wouldn’t have paid Luka. Flagg is great but Luka is special.

Luka has never led a team to a championship. He still has a lot of time to do that. The Mavs, who knew him best, traded him because they didn't believe he was capable of doing it.

Some people really have some of the worst takes. There are not many players good enough to lead a team to a finals in a talented West who are also routinely top 3 in MVP voting.

If you were bold enough to trade a player of this calibre (which I would not do unless the player really wanted out) then at least get a way better package like adding Reaves in the trade.

Also, AD has certainly not lead any teams to the finals as the number 1, so this premise also does not make sense.

What I said was just factual. The Mavs did lose confidence in the long-term vision with Luka on a supermax. Whether it was the right move, history will be the judge. I can understand why Mavs fans were upset. Are you suggesting Mavs should have asked for AD + Reaves in return for Luka? Lakers would never have agreed to that. The debate about what Luka could have fetched in an open bidding war around the league is highly speculative. I do not think it would have played out that way. Luka could have attempted to dictate his destination, thus stripping the Mavs of leverage. Just look at how KD did the same to the Suns. Would you have preferred to get a bunch of picks but no elite players in return?