Post#11 » by JJP » Tue Aug 25, 2020 1:46 am
I'm not going to deal with "trade" KP thing. Front Offices don't work that way. The Mavs aren't' going to trade for one of the top players in the league, and then go to the effort of rehabbing his leg for half a year, pay him the maximum salary, and suddenly decide after only 57 games that we should trade him even if it's for less value. That's insane. And I haven't even mentioned that he's averaging a double-double, a good teammate, and has progressed throughout the year.
The Mavs went through this scenario BEFORE they traded for him. They knew they would be nursing his health this season. They're managing his games and watching him with caution. He's probably right where they thought he'd be health-wise. Probably better. So please...
However, I wanted to comment on Darren's statement from Rivers, "I think Rivers has started to lose the players after the 'emotionally weak' comment".
I was thinking about that as well. My guess is that this will likely be the last time Doc can say anything like this. You can only do this once and maybe you can light a fire under your team. But this will likely be the last time he tries to pull this motivational stunt in a playoff game. Veteran players should never need to hear this at all during the playoffs.
If the Clippers lose this series it will be a huge issue with the Clippers team going forward. I expect the Clips will come out really fired up for the next two-three games. I expect them to win the series, but I've learned a lot about the Mavs recently, so I don't count out that they could pull off a big upset.