ATL - Nico gets the boot

[Perishable517]

You are insinuating that Luka was trying to force a trade. By all accounts, he wanted to stay in Dallas.

Absolutely, because he refused to get in shape, conditioned, and drop the 35 pounds he had gained despite his team asking him to. All of that is substantial, is it not? And in just five months after the trade all of that was resolved by this off-season. It sounds a lot like James Harden.

He had literally just taken them to the Finals and didn't want to be traded.

Kidd?

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[Perishable517]

On a related note, I had the FDSN Live show on this morning in the background and it has DeMarcus Cousins, Chandler Parsons, and Lou Williams. They seem have solid chemistry for a random basketball show.

I was wondering who was the blonde sitting next to them. It's **** Michelle Beadle. How much work has she had done on that face of hers? Goodness gracious.

Good to know, thanks. with baseball over I don't really have something to toss in the background during the day since espn is complete trash and only talks about football. And NBA TV doesn't have good stuff in the day anymore like they used to, usually replay of some game or d league. I don't get why NBA tv doesn't straight copy what MLB Network does during the season which is by far the best sports network as of now. Wouldn't have thought to try that channel. Will try to remember to check that tomorrow.

Yea that Dallas trade will go down as one of the worst trades ever. I think I commented on here a few months back on how I did not get the Mavs positive hype leading up to the season, think I saw someone had them on some kind of top 5 teams list. No Kyrie, and when back he's fresh of acl. AD is always hurt, the rookie is a rookie, Klay is washed, have to play in the West. Mavs were a hard under for me.

Also, lol at trying to blame it on Luka when he just took the to the finals the year before. Work with the guy to improve, don't trade him. And then to use that excuse only to trade him for a 8 years older out of shape injury prone guy kind of puts the argument to rest. Pure stupidity if there was no corruption around it

For me, much worse than KAJ to LA, Dirk.

Yah, top 5 worse in league history.

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[Perishable517]

I wonder if we’ll ever get the true story about what happened with the Luka trade.

Even your average 12 year old 2K player would’ve known it was a braindead thing to do. That Nico somehow convinced Dumont it was the right thing to do is his greatest achievement.

It would be turned over by the commish in fantasy.

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[humanrefutation]

It's hilarious how predictable this was. When the trade was first announced, I thought that there must be something behind the scenes. And no, not the "Luka is fat and smokes hookah" stuff, but more like Luka has a drug/alcohol problem that's on the precipice of catastrophe or Luka has some legal trouble or something major enough that it would explain why the Mavs were desperate to wash themselves of a major risk.

As soon as the dust settled and we got the Mavs spin out there, it was very obvious where this was headed.

Luka was going to get in shape and go on an epic revenge tour.
AD was going to be perpetually hurt and wasn't going to fit into a team built around Luka's strengths.
Dumont was going to can Nico for doing exactly what they authorized him to do.

The primary motivator for Adelson/Dumont isn't even basketball related. They want to build their casino in Texas, and they know that they won't get one done while the stink of this trade continues to sink them. They're hoping that canning Nico will take the heat off of them.

[th87]

I wonder if we’ll ever get the true story about what happened with the Luka trade.

Even your average 12 year old 2K player would’ve known it was a braindead thing to do. That Nico somehow convinced Dumont it was the right thing to do is his greatest achievement.

Pretty sure that's the narrative the NBA wants you to believe.

That said, Nico should be in jail or something. The trade is the worst in sports history and will probably be for our entire lifetimes.

[th87]

so baffling.. of course it was a mistake. it was a mistake before it happened. it was a mistake in the opening conversations. it was a mistake prior to the final trigger pull, and it's a mistake for eternity. but when something is that stupid, it's actually not a mistake. it was a decision. we just dont know the why.

the equivalent of the luka trade is a husband having sex with 4 hookers at once and then live streaming it to his family group chat... on purpose. it is such a brain dead, no upside move that it cannot be bad judgment. it can only be something else.

Perfectly stated. No one is this stupid unless there's an ulterior motive.

[Profound23]

Really sucks that Lebron is out. I never was able to see Kobe or MJ in person, was hoping to see Lebron before he retired but I guess that's not happening.

[KidA24]

Haven’t Mavericks fans suffered enough?

Then there is Jason Kidd. Kidd is in good standing in Dallas, both with ownership—which has extended him twice—and a fan base that remembers how Kidd helped deliver a championship as a player and steer the team to the Finals as a coach. His hands are (publicly, at least) clean in the Dončić deal—Harrison gave him cover when he said he didn’t inform Kidd of the trade until it was completed—and no one is pointing fingers his way for the flop of the Mavs’ injury-riddled roster. Under a Kidd regime, Dirk Nowitzki could be brought back into the fold. Will Kidd want the job? Probably, people who know Kidd say. Kidd has craved input in personnel decisions at previous stops. And while he has come into his own as a coach in Dallas, a rebuild around Flagg is inevitable. Better to oversee it from an executive office than the coach’s box.

https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks-had-to-fire-nico-harrison-after-luka-doncic-trade-debacle

I know Kidd soured on a lot of people here, but to be fair, we absolutely sucked before he got here. This board was a factory of sadness. We did nothing for years before Kidd brought some life back. Then he goes to the Lakers and they win a championship when he’s assistant. He’s taken the Mavs to an ECF and Finals trips. Say what you want about his scheme, him as a person, but as a coach, he’s generally had success. You may not agree with him being the primary factor, but 3 separate stops kinda illustrates he’s doing something/has some effect.

The change in ownership made a bigger difference than anything Kidd did. They won 20 more games the year after they canned him.

[MickeyDavis]

Really sucks that Lebron is out. I never was able to see Kobe or MJ in person, was hoping to see Lebron before he retired but I guess that's not happening.

Yeah they said he would sit out this road trip (Bucks are the last game) and then make his debut next week. I was at LeBron's first game at the BC, it was electric.

[paulpressey25]

so baffling.. of course it was a mistake. it was a mistake before it happened. it was a mistake in the opening conversations. it was a mistake prior to the final trigger pull, and it's a mistake for eternity. but when something is that stupid, it's actually not a mistake. it was a decision. we just dont know the why.

the equivalent of the luka trade is a husband having sex with 4 hookers at once and then live streaming it to his family group chat... on purpose. it is such a brain dead, no upside move that it cannot be bad judgment. it can only be something else.

Perfectly stated. No one is this stupid unless there's an ulterior motive.

Nico was the fall guy. Amazed some are still buying it was all his idea for ‘team building reasons to win a title’

Brings back discussions we had on here 15-20 years ago about how a Bucks GM needs to stand up to Kohl. Nico was never doing that to Miriam and Patrick.

[DingleJerry]

Really sucks that Lebron is out. I never was able to see Kobe or MJ in person, was hoping to see Lebron before he retired but I guess that's not happening.

Can find a different one like Chi or MN. Plus he's probably doing at least one more year as long as he finishes the year healthy. I made a point to go to an LA game in Memphis last year to check it off the box. He had a great game and was still the main force on the floor. All other good players on his team were out so they got blown out, which more importantly then got to see Bronny

[averageposter]

I still can't believe they ever tried to sell trading Luka for future injury risk due to conditioning, for one of the most unavailable due to injury guys all time. And he with near zero hesitation got hurt. Didn't get close to what the Lakers could have offered and didn't check what an open Market Luka deal would yield.

[emunney]

Understandably underrecognized part of the "Luka carried them to the Finals 6 months earlier" is that Nico very much built that team. The guy who did a remarkable job putting the appropriate pieces around Luka immediately got drunk on success and decided that the guy he had built around was actually *not* that important. Nobody ever went from GOAT to goat faster.

[Siefer]

You don't have to hunt for grand conspiracies, fall guys, and mustache twirling. The smoke (much of it directly from Nico's own mouth) is all about ego, and interpersonal drama overwhelming the basketball decision-making.

[Ron Swanson]

I'd be entirely convinced it was just Nico's ego if it wasn't for the Pelinka/Nike connection. This is a league that selectively "investigates" the slightest tampering accusation under the, albeit farcical, premise that GM's need to follow the rules and can't be colluding behind the scenes. Sure, you can say it wasn't a tampering situation because it didn't involve the players/agents, but it's the same damn spirit of the rule.

This was the basketball equivalent of insider trading. A loophole to oh-so-conveniently relocate one of the league's most marketable young stars to the LA market at an obscene discounted price, without even an eye-brow raise or token "let's look into this just a little" from the league office. The same league that's currently, desperately trying to sweep everything under the rug with the gambling stuff after being exposed for how much of a farce their "investigation" into Terry Rozier was. You don't have to believe stuff like the lottery being outright rigged, but the "thumb on the scale" theory is 100% believable with everything that Silver's NBA chooses, and chooses not to, "look into".