Luka Dončić Discussion - Year 2

[Archx]

Bottom line. It's not hard at all to see Luka at 25.0 ppg in the very near future.

Well... When DSJ returns his numbers will probably go way down again. When DSJ is on the floor you have a feeling Luka turns into a statue for few minutes.

But maybe in his prime yea when he'll have absolute green light, like Harden and LBJ, then he could be up there... 25/7/7 something like that. Unless he transforms his body and becomes much much stronger and more agile. Then he could be even better. But that's like 5-6 years away from now

[Dirk]

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19yovet

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#dirkassist

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[cloudXXI]

Turnovers/game:

October: 4
November: 3.6
December: 3.1
January: 2.3

One of the best things about Luka is how fast he adjust himself to the game.

[Pointguard01]

Bradley Beal is someone I've been thinking alot about. He's a good defender, can guard SG/PGs and is a really good secondary ball-handler. He's been in a situation where he wasn't the primary ball-handler (John Wall) and had success. He also is 25 years old so he has another 5-6 years in his prime. A Luka-Beal backcourt could be really dominant over the next 2-3 years.

I'd offer DSJ, Wes's expiring and take on a bad contract to get Beal. I don't think we have enough, and probably have to rope in a 3rd team, but I would pretty much be all in on Beal as a 2nd fiddle to Luka. It's hard to make it work, since Washington may be stuck with John Wall at PG and their interest in DSJ then is less. Would have to leverage PHX/ORL as a 3rd team, while taking on the bad contracts.

G- Doncic | Brunson
G - Beal | _______
F - Barnes | Finney-Smith
F - Kleber | _______
C- _______ | ________

I'd ride into the 2019 offseason with this foundation. Again, this is more of a dream, bc it's very difficult to get it done.

How about this 3-way deal?

Dallas trades:
Wes/DSJ/DFS/DJ/Powell
Recieves:
Porter/Beal/Howard

Wash trades:
Porter/Beal/Howard
Receives:
Wes/DJ/Simmons/Powell/Orlando 1st

Orlando trades:
Simmons/1st
Receives:
DSJ/DFS

Not sure Wash would do that deal but it would relieve them of approx $46mil of cap space next season and about $106mil over the next 2 years if my math is correct.
We could pull Howard and Powell out of that deal and include Barea to Wash to releive them of another $5mil if needed.

I think in theory this is a good move, but big trades like this never happen. Even as I try to come up with less players, it's hard to make it work. Here's an attempt, but one that Washington probably doesn't like. Not sure how ORL values Issac/DSJ but they are probably similar (some will like one vs the other).

Dennis Smith >> ORL
Jonathan Issac, DAL 2021 1st, Wes Matthews, Dwight Powell >> WAS
Bradley Beal, Ian Mahimni >> DAL

[Captain_Obvious]

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19yovet

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It's fun again being a Mavs fan *tear rolls down the cheek*

[HMFFL]

Can Luka Doncic change Mavericks' fortunes in free agency?

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/can-luka-doncic-change-mavericks-fortunes-in-free-agency/9dquciw7xan11ndr550efmphv

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[DJ_3_Ball]

Bottom line. It's not hard at all to see Luka at 25.0 ppg in the very near future.

Well... When DSJ returns his numbers will probably go way down again. When DSJ is on the floor you have a feeling Luka turns into a statue for few minutes.

But maybe in his prime yea when he'll have absolute green light, like Harden and LBJ, then he could be up there... 25/7/7 something like that. Unless he transforms his body and becomes much much stronger and more agile. Then he could be even better. But that's like 5-6 years away from now

I honestly don't see it---the reason for all of the DSJ & Luka won't work fear.

A) This isn't Westbrook/Durant year 5 we're talking about here. This is less than 40 games of DSJ & Luka playing together.

B) According to rumors, the Mavs are shopping DSJ

C) Simply disagree that Luka disappears when DSJ is on the floor. Even if that were true, Luka will at some point have a teammate he shares the ball with. He's always been the man on whatever team he's been on since he was 13 yrs old. I mean, he seemed to share the ball well with Dragic in Eurobasket 2017. I think when Luka comes to that point in the NBA, he'll adjust & be just fine.

D) I'm talking about Doncic averaging 25.0 ppg in year 3, and I don't think year 2 is out of the question. I wouldn't be surprised if he averaged over 22.5 ppg post ASB. That's pretty much what my post was about. This kid is averaging over 20 ppg & he's not shooting the ball particularly well (excepts for from 3), and given his ability I think his shooting %s will improve quickly. He's not getting as many shots or as many minutes as other go-to players, and his touch from mid-range & around the basket I expect to improve too.

I think a better argument would be, defenses will adjust, what happens if the Mavs don't resign Jordan & don't have a worrisome rim-roller for Luka to play off of next year... stuff like that. DSJ is a not a hurdle for Luka to reach 25.0 ppg, imho.

[Archx]

Nah i didn't think like that. DSJ stops the ball rotation when he starts dribbling and they put Luka in the corner, they always played like this so far. It should have been the other way around. DSJ waiting for the ball like Barnes and Wes do. I am very well aware how our national team played in the Eurobasket btw and i am also aware that Luka ( hopefully ) will share the spotlight with another superstar at some point

[thr3ep01nte4]

This is about Mavs FO maximizing the talent of their franchise player, which is Doncic. DSJ clearly is not a good fit. The starting unit sucks because it has three ball stoppers (DSJ, Barnes, Matthews) and a center (Jordan) who's turnover rate is absurdly high compared to his usage rate. Doncic needs a secondary ball handler who defers to him in clutch moments.

Also DSJ has been sneaky injury-prone so far in these two years.

[HMFFL]

This is about Mavs FO maximizing the talent of their franchise player, which is Doncic. DSJ clearly is not a good fit. The starting unit sucks because it has three ball stoppers (DSJ, Barnes, Matthews) and a center (Jordan) who's turnover rate is absurdly high compared to his usage rate. Doncic needs a secondary ball handler who defers to him in clutch moments.

Also DSJ has been sneaky injury-prone so far in these two years.

All the excitement for DSJ seems to be gone. I hope he turns things around but I doubt our core stays together.
Jordan only being signed to a one year contract also makes things interesting. Look for his name to be rumored before the deadline to be moved.

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[Oscar9992]

Luka may get shoe deal soon as Nike already making moves...

[Archx]

This is about Mavs FO maximizing the talent of their franchise player, which is Doncic. DSJ clearly is not a good fit. The starting unit sucks because it has three ball stoppers (DSJ, Barnes, Matthews) and a center (Jordan) who's turnover rate is absurdly high compared to his usage rate. Doncic needs a secondary ball handler who defers to him in clutch moments.

Also DSJ has been sneaky injury-prone so far in these two years.

All the excitement for DSJ seems to be gone. I hope he turns things around but I doubt our core stays together.
Jordan only being signed to a one year contract also makes things interesting. Look for his name to be rumored before the deadline to be moved.

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If you judge by the last game, Mavs look "fine".. The only black hole is SG position. Which DSJ could fill nicely if he could develop any kind of shot.

Keep in mind, prime Dirk would lead this team to the playoffs even without Doncic. But Luka basically needs to be Dirk at this point, almost scoring over 30 points on a decent FG%.
We've seen vs GSW he almost took down 4 all stars with those 2 late misses that we all saw as baskets probably cos' it went in and out. We've seen vs T'wolves that he can play Dirk's role and be THAT guy like Steve Kerr also said. He has IT. The only question is, is it fair that we expect from him to be this kind of guy already, or can we expect that he makes this huge leap next season? Before this season he said they are 4-5 years away from contending, but i think he can get to that level sooner.

But all in all... This team is not THAT bad, they have all positions covered with a decent player. It just comes down how Rick uses them. And if they could get any decent SG for Wesley via trade or free agency, that would also be superb.

[Clyde Frazier]

Read on Twitter

Didn't know where else to post this so figured I'd just drop it here. Well deserved to say the least. Some of his doncic calls have been incredible this season. I love his enthusiasm without totally flying off the handle.

[arkuo]

Ideally you get an Avery Bradley type to play PG alongside Luka. If Bradley is costly, then Donnie should just sign Patrick Beverly in the summer. He's a free agent.

Luka works best with a defensive PG who can shoot as well. What I dont see is why DSJ cant play that role? His defense is good and his shooting % are up this year. And he's on a cheap rookie deal for the next what , 4 years?

But if he himself wants out then there's not much we could do there.

[DJ_3_Ball]

Nah i didn't think like that. DSJ stops the ball rotation when he starts dribbling and they put Luka in the corner, they always played like this so far. It should have been the other way around. DSJ waiting for the ball like Barnes and Wes do. I am very well aware how our national team played in the Eurobasket btw and i am also aware that Luka ( hopefully ) will share the spotlight with another superstar at some point

It's an option, so I understand your point. Maybe you're right. Luka may be more like James Harden & need the ball in his hands more. But, we've also heard LeBron comparisons, and LeBron has been able to do both in his career.

In fact, LeBron is still an excellent facilitator when he plays off the ball, because one way or another the ball is going through LeBron whether he brings it up the court, has it at the top of the key or whatever. Is it horrible that the Mavs are having Luka learn some of those same versatile skills? The only other player outside of DSJ they can do that with was JJ Barea (well I guess Harris too), but those guys are both 2nd unit players. I don't see it as a DSJ is a problem sort of thing as much as they're trying give Luka exposure to more aspects of the offense other than just here's the ball do something with it.

[Archx]

Nah i didn't think like that. DSJ stops the ball rotation when he starts dribbling and they put Luka in the corner, they always played like this so far. It should have been the other way around. DSJ waiting for the ball like Barnes and Wes do. I am very well aware how our national team played in the Eurobasket btw and i am also aware that Luka ( hopefully ) will share the spotlight with another superstar at some point

It's an option, so I understand your point. Maybe you're right. Luka may be more like James Harden & need the ball in his hands more. But, we've also heard LeBron comparisons, and LeBron has been able to do both in his career.

In fact, LeBron is still an excellent facilitator when he plays off the ball, because one way or another the ball is going through LeBron whether he brings it up the court, has it at the top of the key or whatever. Is it horrible that the Mavs are having Luka learn some of those same versatile skills? The only other player outside of DSJ they can do that with was JJ Barea (well I guess Harris too), but those guys are both 2nd unit players. I don't see it as a DSJ is a problem sort of thing as much as they're trying give Luka exposure to more aspects of the offense other than just here's the ball do something with it.

I guess we'll never know how that would work out since it's more or less publicly clear that they are trading him. I like the fact that they tried to move Wes as well. But i don't know how i feel about this. They should have tried playing DSJ with the 2nd unit, but if reports are correct i guess DSJ wants to play as a starter and dominate the ball.

Like you said, Mavs have started using Luka like teams were using LBJ. And i feel bad that Barea got injured, because even JJ started to look better with him on the floor. They had amazing 112 points per 100 possessions. And it is just a further proof that Luka can EASILY adapt and share the floor with someone who dominates the ball as well. Just problem is DSJ is a bad decision maker and ball simply stopped with him.

[DJ_3_Ball]

... problem is DSJ is a bad decision maker and ball simply stopped with him.

DSJ is, but he's also a 2nd year player at the PG position. It's just simply too early to pull the plug on him. I mean, this team isn't contending for a title this season, or next. Probably not until Golden State breaks up the band, so what were the Mavs really losing by being more patient with DSJ?

I don't remember anyone accusing Russell Westbrook of being a good decision maker in his first 3 years in the league either, but Russ (to some extent, anyways) started figuring things out (he's still not exactly a facilitator).

The bottom line on this is you can't teach someone to do the things Russ or DSJ do. That kind of rare, freakish athletic ability demands that you are much more patient with that player.

I also thought our "Top 5" coach in the league was suppose to be able to... I don't know... do some coaching? Help DSJ realize his potential... What happened to that idea?

[Archx]

... problem is DSJ is a bad decision maker and ball simply stopped with him.

I also thought our "Top 5" coach in the league was suppose to be able to... I don't know... do some coaching? Help DSJ realize his potential... What happened to that idea?

Heh, don't know buddy, i'm not Rick ... Like i said, i would keep DSJ if i were Cuban. I guess they know what they are doing. Also we don't know what kind of internal discussion they already had with DSJ, we don't know his demands etc.. so it's hard to judge.

[Dirk]

Read on Twitter

Didn't know where else to post this so figured I'd just drop it here. Well deserved to say the least. Some of his doncic calls have been incredible this season. I love his enthusiasm without totally flying off the handle.

He is really good. I was shocked when I noticed he was doing the World Cup. I've talked with him plenty on twitter. Really fun guy...

Extremely knowledgable. You can see he prepares well for games and the teams the Mavs face.

You know, I wish he had someone better than Harper next to him. Kind of grew tired of him and his takes... never really adds much. At least Frazier always entertains you with his rhymes.

By the way,

Luka w/ DSJ ON: usage 27.8%; FG% 45.4; TS% 57
Luka w/ DSJ OFF: usage 29%; FG% 41.5; TS% 55.8

While team is better with Luka running things, I was surprised that he shot better with DSJ on the floor with him.

By the way, why doesn't Frank play more. In a tank for Zion season, feels so weird when I see how many times he's inactive.

[DJ_3_Ball]

... problem is DSJ is a bad decision maker and ball simply stopped with him.

I also thought our "Top 5" coach in the league was suppose to be able to... I don't know... do some coaching? Help DSJ realize his potential... What happened to that idea?

Heh, don't know buddy, i'm not Rick ... Like i said, i would keep DSJ if i were Cuban. I guess they know what they are doing. Also we don't know what kind of internal discussion they already had with DSJ, we don't know his demands etc.. so it's hard to judge.

This is true. For all we know, the Mavs have talked to DSJ & tried to get him to buy in, but he just won't have it.

But, if that's the case, then I think they need to have a serious talk with the scouting department i.e. whoever thought DSJ should be taken with the #9 pick.

Because it was either a failure in scouting, or the Mavs are failing right now in how they're handling this. It's pretty black & white when it comes to that.