Brian and Mark discuss both the game and Bob’s podcast.
HAWKS GAME
Roster couldn’t cope. This game was an illustration of why the Mavs still need to address their need for a secondary playmaker. When Luka was neutralized and couldn’t get into the paint, no one else could make anything happen, and the whole offense stalled. Luka just started hurling up shots from behind the three-point line, and didn’t make many. Of course, not every team can defend Luka that well, but they need to be able to respond when that occurs. The non-Luka lineups had a similar problem, especially without THJ on the floor.
Bench production. Hawks bench was better, hands down. Mavs went to an all-bench unit for a few minutes in the first half. Not to rousing success, unfortunately.
Should KP post up more? The gents at Inside the NBA say yes. Brian and Mark beg to disagree. A few post-ups per game by KP are okay, but making this a formula for success is a fool’s errand. KP doesn’t have the frame to back guys down — he is very awkward at it, and often just loses the ball. KP was already among the league leaders in shots off post-ups, since so few players use that move any more. KP is not a Joel Embiid or Karl Malone, and posting up is not the key to unlocking him. Think KP should play a diversified game, rather than emphasizing one particular type of play.
Was this just a bad shooting night? Well, the shooting was inarguably terrible. 30% shooting, excluding garbage time. 33% including the last few minutes. Lowest percentage in Mavs history for a season opener. Bottom 1% of field goal percentages in all Mavs games ever. Third worst post-title. 2-14 from the non-restricted area paint. Historically bad.
Two bigs. Kidd likes this type of lineup, but they didn't execute well. If Luka is not penetrating, Powell is not rolling, and then Powell’s purpose for being on the floor is far from clear. The effort to involve KP more resulted in a lot of KP clogging up the offense, and interfering with the ability of Luka and Powell to conduct their pick-and-rolls.
Kidd additions. Kidd is trying several new things. Some, like featuring DFS in the offense, will take some time to iron out. Others, like trying to increase deflections, looked like they were working until the team fell apart in the second half. Kidd is also focused on getting Luka to be calm in dealing with the refs. That worked well last night. Kidd advised Luka that if he wants to say something to the refs, to just pull his jersey up over his mouth, lol.
HARALABOB’S PODCAST
Bob felt that his reputation had been damaged by Cato’s article, and he is trying to get his side of the story out. But some of his story rang true.
Areas of agreement (between the podcasters and Bob). The dysfunction in the organization was real. The most compelling tidbit was that no one in this front office has been hired by another team. Cuban likes a random, chaotic, informal, fast-paced, unstructured organization, and hiring Bob was an aspect of that. Bob made up his own title, was contractually supposed to report to Donnie but didn’t, and he wasn’t a personality fit. Bob is difficult to get along with, by his own admission, and really didn’t make much of an effort in that direction (although he was always pleasant to Follow). By the end of the season, the situation had become untenable.
Areas of Disagreement
Donnie was not a self-serving guy who only cared about saving his own job. Brian personally worked with Donnie, and never saw him make a decision that was self-serving, as opposed to doing what was good for the team. MF concurred. Donnie was very good at the relationships aspect of the job.
Gerson Rosas did not leave because Donnie felt threatened. Gerson Rosas came in believing that he was in charge, and his style clashed badly with the organization. That was felt up and down the organization. He was the wrong fit. Mark’s idea in hiring Rosas was that, in such a flat organization, Donnie was overwhelmed with information overload, and ended up spreading himself too thin. So the thought was that various people would report to Rosas, who would then filter the info that needed to reach Donnie. That gatekeeper type position is common in organizations and probably could have worked here, but not for Rosas, who wanted to be in control.
Bob did not leave because he had tired of the dysfunction. Bob probably really did already want out by the time Cato’s article was published, but that was a direct result of Luka turning on him. Once that happened, his position was untenable, and he knew it.
Summing up. This interview was the truth according to Bob. Cato's article was the truth according to his sources. If Cubes or Rick or whoever did a podcast, they would have a different slant on the story. All we can do is compare notes.
OUTLOOK
Mark and Brian agree that changes were needed at the front office and coaching levels, even though the replaced people weren’t necessarily doing a bad job.
Front Office. The roster still needs some work. It’s not possible to evaluate a GM on a game-to-game basis, or probably even on the basis of one season . But they think Nico is headed in the right direction. Mainly, the players seem happy. Of course, they will also have to produce wins, but the outlook is favorable. Response to hard times should prove instructive.
Coaching. The podcasters have a level of concern about how KP is going to be utilized in a way that makes him happy and does not also ruin the offense. KP doesn’t have to just stand around the three-point line, but he can’t spend his time clogging up the paint, either. Kidd will have to find a balance, and they think he is working on it.
(10-22-2021, 01:50 PM)mavsluvr Wrote: [ -> ]Two bigs. Kidd likes this type of lineup, but they didn't execute well. If Luka is not penetrating, Powell is not rolling, and then Powell’s purpose for being on the floor is far from clear. The effort to involve KP more resulted in a lot of KP clogging up the offense, and interfering with the ability of Luka and Powell to conduct their pick-and-rolls.
A-freaking-men.
Great job summarizing as always, Mark, but the above is something that just short-circuits me to the point where I almost feel like it's pointless to follow the team.
This is a very nice and informative summary. I agree with most of it...especially the comments about KP clogging up the paint. KP is simply not built to live at the post. He should diversify.
I also don't think DFS can EVER be the secondary ball handler. His talents lie in defense, cutting to the basket, and an occasional 3 pointer. His ball handling skills are average at best.
Too much to say. That's why I rarely say anything. I'm watching Kidd like a hawk. I hope he has learned how to be a quality coach. I'm disappointed with the loss, but don't mind that Kidd is trying different things. I think he can be a good coach. We'll see...
(10-22-2021, 02:19 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]A-freaking-men.
Great job summarizing as always, Mark,
LOL
but the above is something that just short-circuits me to the point where I almost feel like it's pointless to follow the team.
FWIW, I'm not sure how committed Kidd is to the two-big lineup. He acknowledged that analytics don't favor it, but said the Lakers made it work well. I am wondering if he is trying some stuff that worked for the purple and gold, but may or may not prove useful with the Mavericks roster.
I don't really fault Kidd for trying some things that turn out not to work. He isn't very familiar with these players yet, and probably doesn't have the sense of what they can and can't do that Rick might have. However, he needs to be able to judge quickly when something that isn't working is still worth perfecting or is a dead end that needs to be discarded.
Personally, I think Kidd is one a number of people at the organization who has not yet proven that he is up to the job he has been given. I hope he is, of course, or that at least he can grow into it, but that is still TBD, as far as I can tell. I get that the players didn't like Carlisle constraining them, but I'm not yet a fan of this everyone-does-whatever-he-wants philosophy. DFS can post up! Powell can shoot threes! KP doesn't have to space the floor if he's not in the mood! Whoever feels like it can camp out in the paint! Whoever wants to can and should take a bunch of mid-range shots! Everyone has a green light! I mean, it's great that the players think it's cool, but it's too playground-like and disorganized for me.
I wasn't thrilled with the Kidd hire, but I have decided to give it some time to see if he can figure it out. Even if he can, I question how far even a good coach can take this roster. A coach can squeeze every drop out of these guys, and turn them into a little more than the sum of their parts (and I think Rick often did), but at some point, the superior talent of a fine opponent tends to take over. And we don't really have any proven capacity in the front office as far as acquiring better players, either. I think I share your frustration.
I think they can and will do better. How much better is the question. Mediocre coaching, if that's what we have, won't help, but with a talent like Luka's, you would think that the playoffs should be the floor. I think the ceiling is limited for this group of players absent a phenomenal run of everything going just right, but a middling playoff seed, and even a first-round win if they have some luck with their opponent, should be doable.
I'm hanging in for a while, because I'm a long-time Mavs fan, and that's what I do. But I've tried to keep my expectations dialed back.
The board will miss you if you decide you need to abandon ship. I always enjoy your comments.
(10-22-2021, 05:28 PM)mavsluvr Wrote: [ -> ]Personally, I think Kidd is one a number of people at the organization who has not yet proven that he is up to the job he has been given. I hope he is, of course, or that at least he can grow into it, but that is still TBD, as far as I can tell. I get that the players didn't like Carlisle constraining them, but I'm not yet a fan of this everyone-does-whatever-he-wants philosophy. DFS can post up! Powell can shoot threes! KP doesn't have to space the floor if he's not in the mood! Whoever feels like it can camp out in the paint! Whoever wants to can and should take a bunch of mid-range shots! Everyone has a green light! I mean, it's great that the players think it's cool, but it's too playground-like and disorganized for me.
I wasn't thrilled with the Kidd hire, but I have decided to give it some time to see if he can figure it out. Even if he can, I question how far even a good coach can take this roster. A coach can squeeze every drop out of these guys, and turn them into a little more than the sum of their parts (and I think Rick often did), but at some point, the superior talent of a fine opponent tends to take over. And we don't really have any proven capacity in the front office as far as acquiring better players, either. I think I share your frustration.
This says a lot really. Personally, I feel like Cuban is a heavy part of the problem and has been for quite some time. I take Tim MacMahon with a grain of salt. However, he said on a podcast that Cuban gave Chandler Parsons more say than Donnie over the roster for a couple of years. I believe it. Several of the moves they made back then didn't make sense.
I just think the Mavs front office has been much more of a mess than any of us realized. And for many years now as Cuban has inserted himself more with decisions. I love the Mavs and am a huge Luka fan. But, Cuban puts a bad taste in my mouth with the team.
Rick was always able to get the most out of any roster they put out there. Most of the time they were in or won games they had no business winning. I just don't think Kidd and his "players approach" is going to get it done. Like you said, he hasn't proven himself that he's capable of this. KP needs to get his value up and get moved. The team is basically a bunch of ill fitting pieces. For Kidd to win as a coach, I think they need to have a cast of all-stars and basically just let Luka run the team.
That's my 2 cents. Being that I live in northern California now it's hard to follow the team anyway. Cuban doesn't make it any easier with the front office nonsense.
(10-22-2021, 11:51 PM)audiosway Wrote: [ -> ]This says a lot really. Personally, I feel like Cuban is a heavy part of the problem and has been for quite some time. I take Tim MacMahon with a grain of salt. However, he said on a podcast that Cuban gave Chandler Parsons more say than Donnie over the roster for a couple of years. I believe it. Several of the moves they made back then didn't make sense.
I just think the Mavs front office has been much more of a mess than any of us realized. And for many years now as Cuban has inserted himself more with decisions. I love the Mavs and am a huge Luka fan. But, Cuban puts a bad taste in my mouth with the team.
Rick was always able to get the most out of any roster they put out there. Most of the time they were in or won games they had no business winning. I just don't think Kidd and his "players approach" is going to get it done. Like you said, he hasn't proven himself that he's capable of this. KP needs to get his value up and get moved. The team is basically a bunch of ill fitting pieces. For Kidd to win as a coach, I think they need to have a cast of all-stars and basically just let Luka run the team.
That's my 2 cents. Being that I live in northern California now it's hard to follow the team anyway. Cuban doesn't make it any easier with the front office nonsense.
Look at the way Cuban dealt with Steve Nash back in the day. He expected the Mavs, on court, to play the Mark Cuban Way. Told a veteran NBA coach to deal with it. Like it or lump it. Has anything changed? People come. People go. Is Mark still here?
(10-22-2021, 11:51 PM)audiosway Wrote: [ -> ]This says a lot really. Personally, I feel like Cuban is a heavy part of the problem and has been for quite some time. I take Tim MacMahon with a grain of salt. However, he said on a podcast that Cuban gave Chandler Parsons more say than Donnie over the roster for a couple of years. I believe it. Several of the moves they made back then didn't make sense.
I just think the Mavs front office has been much more of a mess than any of us realized. And for many years now as Cuban has inserted himself more with decisions. I love the Mavs and am a huge Luka fan. But, Cuban puts a bad taste in my mouth with the team.
Rick was always able to get the most out of any roster they put out there. Most of the time they were in or won games they had no business winning. I just don't think Kidd and his "players approach" is going to get it done. Like you said, he hasn't proven himself that he's capable of this. KP needs to get his value up and get moved. The team is basically a bunch of ill fitting pieces. For Kidd to win as a coach, I think they need to have a cast of all-stars and basically just let Luka run the team.
That's my 2 cents. Being that I live in northern California now it's hard to follow the team anyway. Cuban doesn't make it any easier with the front office nonsense.
I feel the same way about Kidd. Hope he learned a thing or two being Vogel's assistant on a championship team. He needs to get off to a good start. Because if it starts going sideways and the losses pile up, he'll risk losing the team.
(10-22-2021, 11:51 PM)audiosway Wrote: [ -> ]Rick was always able to get the most out of any roster they put out there.
I honestly think this is a Mavs fan myth. Don't get me wrong RC is a good coach and he was GREAT in 2011. But in the last decade he was a average coach IMO when you look at the whole body of work in those ten years.
Here are where RC's teams performed compared to the Vegas over-under post championship...
2012: -8.5 wins
2013: -3.5 wins
2014: +5.5 wins
2015: +0.5 wins
2016: +5.5 wins
2017: -6.5 wins
2018: -11.5 wins
2019: -2.5 wins
2020: +2.5 wins
2021: -0.5 wins
According to this measure 2014 and 2016 were his only really good coaching jobs in a ten year span. Note that this is according to how good Vegas thought those rosters SHOULD perform.
This is only one measure or way of looking at this, so it isn't the end of the discussion. But I think it points to the fact that RC has NOT always overperformed with the talent he has had. Before I looked this up I would have said RC in the last ten years would have been 50/50, meaning he would have had about equal number of years where he overperformed and underperformed with the roster talent he had.
(10-23-2021, 07:57 AM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]I honestly think this is a Mavs fan myth. Don't get me wrong RC is a good coach and he was GREAT in 2011. But in the last decade he was a average coach IMO when you look at the whole body of work in those ten years.
Here are where RC's teams performed compared to the Vegas over-under post championship...
2012: -8.5 wins
2013: -3.5 wins
2014: +5.5 wins
2015: +0.5 wins
2016: +5.5 wins
2017: -6.5 wins
2018: -11.5 wins
2019: -2.5 wins
2020: +2.5 wins
2021: -0.5 wins
According to this measure 2014 and 2016 were his only really good coaching jobs in a ten year span. Note that this is according to how good Vegas thought those rosters SHOULD perform.
This is only one measure or way of looking at this, so it isn't the end of the discussion. But I think it points to the fact that RC has NOT always overperformed with the talent he has had. Before I looked this up I would have said RC in the lats ten years would have been 50/50, meaning he would have had about equal number of years where he overperformed and underperformed with the roster talent he had.
Not how good the roster should have performed. It´s about the whole team. Including the coach. Meaning that the numbers don´t mean anything if you are trying to isolate the coaching performance.
(10-23-2021, 08:22 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: [ -> ]Not how good the roster should have performed. It´s about the whole team. Including the coach. Meaning that the numbers don´t mean anything if you are trying to isolate the coaching performance.
Sure, how good the roster should perform with that coach.
Either way, it is one indicator of the Mavs underperforming according to Vegas expectation (which is VERY measured and "sober") more often than not in the last ten years. I do not believe it changes my point.
(10-22-2021, 05:28 PM)mavsluvr Wrote: [ -> ]FWIW, I'm not sure how committed Kidd is to the two-big lineup. He acknowledged that analytics don't favor it, but said the Lakers made it work well. I am wondering if he is trying some stuff that worked for the purple and gold, but may or may not prove useful with the Mavericks roster.
I don't really fault Kidd for trying some things that turn out not to work. He isn't very familiar with these players yet, and probably doesn't have the sense of what they can and can't do that Rick might have. However, he needs to be able to judge quickly when something that isn't working is still worth perfecting or is a dead end that needs to be discarded.
Personally, I think Kidd is one a number of people at the organization who has not yet proven that he is up to the job he has been given. I hope he is, of course, or that at least he can grow into it, but that is still TBD, as far as I can tell. I get that the players didn't like Carlisle constraining them, but I'm not yet a fan of this everyone-does-whatever-he-wants philosophy. DFS can post up! Powell can shoot threes! KP doesn't have to space the floor if he's not in the mood! Whoever feels like it can camp out in the paint! Whoever wants to can and should take a bunch of mid-range shots! Everyone has a green light! I mean, it's great that the players think it's cool, but it's too playground-like and disorganized for me.
I wasn't thrilled with the Kidd hire, but I have decided to give it some time to see if he can figure it out. Even if he can, I question how far even a good coach can take this roster. A coach can squeeze every drop out of these guys, and turn them into a little more than the sum of their parts (and I think Rick often did), but at some point, the superior talent of a fine opponent tends to take over. And we don't really have any proven capacity in the front office as far as acquiring better players, either. I think I share your frustration.
I think they can and will do better. How much better is the question. Mediocre coaching, if that's what we have, won't help, but with a talent like Luka's, you would think that the playoffs should be the floor. I think the ceiling is limited for this group of players absent a phenomenal run of everything going just right, but a middling playoff seed, and even a first-round win if they have some luck with their opponent, should be doable.
I'm hanging in for a while, because I'm a long-time Mavs fan, and that's what I do. But I've tried to keep my expectations dialed back.
The board will miss you if you decide you need to abandon ship. I always enjoy your comments.
Pretty much agree with most of the things you have written here. However I differ in that Kidd did call the plays during the championship run. While he has done or said some questionable things, no one has questioned his basketball IQ. I was not too enthused with the hire only because with ex stars you don’t know how committed they are to go through a thankless job like this. Ironically what ended up reassuring me is reading how Kidd was too tough with the Bucks. Something that was purportedly showing his flaws.
Unless you are a serious contender, I feel a season is a good one if you did some things that you can consider as positive building block towards a title. The offense the last couple of years is not one that IMO has helped Luka grow. Sure it helps his numbers but Harden has found over the years that sort of an offense gets exposed as you go deeper. Ours got exposed in the first round. We can point to talent discrepancies or injuries but even with better casts a 5 out chucking offense has not shown to work.
I loved Luka showing more of his post up and mid range game last year. This year I would like him to be a bit more committed to cutting down inefficient shots and improving his FT percentage. As a coach, I would like Kidd to help him with that. A good coach is not about just letting a young stud do whatever he wants. Sure the numbers will look great. To me it is also about the ability to get through to the stud to help him grow as a person which will help his growth as a player too. Unfortunately for RC, indications now are that Luka had tuned him out to an extent. Let’s see if a new voice can make a difference. If so then it is a good season
(10-23-2021, 08:33 AM)hakeemfaan Wrote: [ -> ]Pretty much agree with most of the things you have written here. However I differ in that Kidd did call the plays during the championship run. While he has done or said some questionable things, no one has questioned his basketball IQ. I was not too enthused with the hire only because with ex stars you don’t know how committed they are to go through a thankless job like this. Ironically what ended up reassuring me is reading how Kidd was too tough with the Bucks. Something that was purportedly showing his flaws.
Thanks for your thoughts, Hakeem.
I don't think I have ever questioned Kidd's basketball IQ. His record as a player speaks for itself. It's just that I think point guard and coach are two different jobs, and being excellent at one doesn't mean a person is good at the other.
I am not assuming that Kidd is a bad coach. Neither am I assuming he is a good one, since he has no record indicating that. My whole point is that we just don't know one way or the other. I'm always a little stunned that anyone considers that point of view controversial (not saying you are doing so).
Like you, I will watch Kidd's progress with interest as the season goes on. So far, on the good side, the players seem to like him, and Luka has kept his cool with the refs for at least one game. On the not-so-good, we have the mess that went down in the opening match. I agree that it is too early to make a judgment.
I also like your basis for assessment. There is a lot of season left to go, and I am expecting Kidd to make some progress, at a bare minimum. However, I agree that it is not fair to judge him by whether or not the team makes a deep run in the playoffs, since I don't think this roster is that quality.
(10-22-2021, 11:51 PM)audiosway Wrote: [ -> ]This says a lot really. Personally, I feel like Cuban is a heavy part of the problem and has been for quite some time. I take Tim MacMahon with a grain of salt. However, he said on a podcast that Cuban gave Chandler Parsons more say than Donnie over the roster for a couple of years. I believe it. Several of the moves they made back then didn't make sense.
I just think the Mavs front office has been much more of a mess than any of us realized. And for many years now as Cuban has inserted himself more with decisions. I love the Mavs and am a huge Luka fan. But, Cuban puts a bad taste in my mouth with the team.
Thanks, audiosway, good to hear from you, as always.
I really didn't intend my reply to KL to be particularly negative. If anything, it was a gentle attempt at a little pushback on the idea that there is no hope (perhaps partly for selfish reasons, as I would hate to see one of the board's best posters leave). I actually think having realistic expectations in life is a positive thing, as it avoids setting the expect-or and the expect-ee up for perpetual disappointment when expectations exceed capacity to measure up.
I have no specific animus toward Kidd or Nico. However, I did find their hires frustrating, in the sense that they were such "Cuban" ways to go. If you have a generational star and are reworking the organization to make the most of it, what do you do? Hire a couple of your buddies, one of whom has a record of failure at the job he is being hired to do, and the other having never done the job before in his life!
Maybe Cuban thinks that, if he is making all the important decisions anyway, what does it matter who he hires? I have been disappointed in the unprofessional way this organization is run for a while now. It's almost like Cubes was a very successful entrepreneur who has been forever stuck in the startup mentality, long after his organization has gotten past that point. Maybe Nico actually does have the expertise to put the operation on to a professional basis, but that will only matter if Cuban allows him to do that.
Having said all that, I still think that watching the team can be an enjoyable experience, on the whole. I think they are clearly in the upper half of the league as far as winning ability, and we have one of the most exciting young stars on the planet. There is at least a reasonable chance that Kidd and Nico will grow into their jobs and maybe even excel. Even if Cuban never changes, he still does wonderful things for the community, and is far from the league's worst owner.
Even if this group makes its way to success, I think there are going to be substantial growing pains along the way. But that's an interesting phenomenon in itself, and hopefully we'll all have a decent-to-good time following their progress.
Thanks for the great posts ML!
I also think that we need to give time for the new staff to grow into their roles, not overreact to a game 1 of a very long season. Not being able to adjust in game tactics in the first game, doesn't mean this will keep occurring for rest of this season. RC knew these players so well and based on this experience he had the advantage in being able to use them in different situations to adapt to different game situations. That doesn't mean Kidd will not be able to do this as well later on. And Kidd might add other things and ideas he knows that will be new additions to our game. Basically, the first games are about testing what the players are capable of doing in different looks. And also what they can't do. The idea is I guess that at the time Kidd gets these players to know, the team will not only be capable of doing the same things as last season, but also do more than that.
My big concern is that we have kept the same roster almost unchanged.... The league is evolving so fast, but are we also doing that? In my view, you only keep majority of your roster, only when you win the Finals, or if your team has gone very deep into playoffs + in addition also shown a significant improvement last season compared to that before and many players are improving. If not, I would always try to change the squad and improve. There is always the point of that players "might" develop and one should keep the roster intact. Maybe that is/was our philosophy? Yes, but how many of Mavs players are on a upwards trajectory? Luka is still developing and will become better, although his level is super high and it's not like he will become twice the player he is now; JB is on this upwards trajectory as well. But the rest of the squad is either on the point of this developing curve that has reached that flattened stable point of the curve (THJ, DFS, Boban?), and we also have several players on even a downwards trajectory (DP, Maxi, KP). Can we ask our self how many of our players are likely to improve going further from now? My answer would be only Luka and JB. The rest will either remain where they are or decrease in level of play. I don't see any sign of our recent draft picks of being basketball players and adding anything to us going deep into playoffs, so I will not add any of those on this list. Our main strength so far is last seasons schemes by RC and Lukas brilliance. My hope is that Kidd will become better than RC and Luka and JB keep developing.
(10-23-2021, 01:48 PM)mavsluvr Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks, audiosway, good to hear from you, as always.
I really didn't intend my reply to KL to be particularly negative. If anything, it was a gentle attempt at a little pushback on the idea that there is no hope (perhaps partly for selfish reasons, as I would hate to see one of the board's best posters leave). I actually think having realistic expectations in life is a positive thing, as it avoids setting the expect-or and the expect-ee up for perpetual disappointment when expectations exceed capacity to measure up.
I have no specific animus toward Kidd or Nico. However, I did find their hires frustrating, in the sense that they were such "Cuban" ways to go. If you have a generational star and are reworking the organization to make the most of it, what do you do? Hire a couple of your buddies, one of whom has a record of failure at the job he is being hired to do, and the other having never done the job before in his life!
Maybe Cuban thinks that, if he is making all the important decisions anyway, what does it matter who he hires? I have been disappointed in the unprofessional way this organization is run for a while now. It's almost like Cubes was a very successful entrepreneur who has been forever stuck in the startup mentality, long after his organization has gotten past that point. Maybe Nico actually does have the expertise to put the operation on to a professional basis, but that will only matter if Cuban allows him to do that.
Having said all that, I still think that watching the team can be an enjoyable experience, on the whole. I think they are clearly in the upper half of the league as far as winning ability, and we have one of the most exciting young stars on the planet. There is at least a reasonable chance that Kidd and Nico will grow into their jobs and maybe even excel. Even if Cuban never changes, he still does wonderful things for the community, and is far from the league's worst owner.
Even if this group makes its way to success, I think there are going to be substantial growing pains along the way. But that's an interesting phenomenon in itself, and hopefully we'll all have a decent-to-good time following their progress.
I appreciate it. I've always really liked your comments and synopsis of things. I know they will have growing pains along the way. I fully expect that. And I'm not looking for them to win a title right away. It will take time. But, like you said, when Kidd and Nico were hired I immediately thought "that is such a Cuban thing to do". Here we go again. Then, you are start realizing why the big time players don't come to Dallas. And since Cuban is not big on the draft you wonder where the talent will come from.
They need to upgrade the team. It doesn't truly fit with Luka. I do think that Kidd will do some experimenting to see how these guys perform as a gauge to see whom to keep and not. I guess it was just exciting to see them get into the first round the last couple of years and look for them to make a jump only to see more front office disfunction take hold and require a shakeup of things.
I hope that Kidd has learned from prior stops and that Nico is as good as they say. We'll see. It's just hard to trust it when Cuban is making the real decisions.
The offseason was a gigantic disappointment. Last season of caproom and they pretty much sat on their hands. No starter quality players brought in, didn’t invest into the asset base. They have done pretty much the same horrible job like in the infamous summers of Kemba/JRich.
Kidd is most likely a downgrade in the Xs and Os department, too, given his track record.
They will still make the playoffs thanks to Luka but this roster is just underwhelming outside of him and unfortunately team building won’t get any easier with both Brunson and DFS coming off their cheap contracts and with no caproom. The draft asset base will slowly get better simply by waiting but as always they’ve also done a poor, passive job on that front. Once difference makers become available for trades we’ll once again hear how the Mavs don’t have the assets to get something done.
Nico deserves time to get his work in but he pretty much pulled off the same kind of underwhelming crap offseason that we’ve been used to for a decade. Sleep through the draft, strike out on your FA targets, don’t acquire assets, scramble to sign some roster fillers who don’t really matter much in the big picture.
I’m so bored by this stuff, it’s really difficult to stay invested. At this point I fully expect Luka to leave in a few years and I’d actually be happy for him given that he deserves a good, professional environment. The Mavs haven’t been that in a long time.
(10-23-2021, 01:48 PM)mavsluvr Wrote: [ -> ]I have been disappointed in the unprofessional way this organization is run for a while now. It's almost like Cubes was a very successful entrepreneur who has been forever stuck in the startup mentality, long after his organization has gotten past that point. Maybe Nico actually does have the expertise to put the operation on to a professional basis, but that will only matter if Cuban allows him to do that.
This is a known pattern for entrepreneurial startups. A person or small team has a business idea that involves some new innovation to access markets with a new product or service. It takes hard work and a few iterations to get the rough edges smoothed out, but eventually you have a demand-creating enterprise that then goes into a growth phase and provides financial rewards for the startup team. This is an exciting time and the startup guys look like geniuses (not saying they aren't).
Eventually, the business gets big enough that you have to invest in specific skills to just keep it running day-to-day, never mind continued growth. That's when you either bring in professional management and let them run the business or you sell it to another organization with those skills/systems/processes in place.
IMO, Cuban likes the first part, the rush that comes with starting something new and see it take root and grow. I think that's why he likes doing "Shark Tank". Nothing wrong with that, but an NBA team is not a growth business and requires specific skills and knowledge just to be functional. If he has truly empowered Nico & Co. to run the team, then it is a good sign. But if you see more off the cuff decisions and head scratching moves, then it will be apparent that nothing has changed.
(10-25-2021, 10:58 AM)michaeltex Wrote: [ -> ]This is a known pattern for entrepreneurial startups. A person or small team has a business idea that involves some new innovation to access markets with a new product or service. It takes hard work and a few iterations to get the rough edges smoothed out, but eventually you have a demand-creating enterprise that then goes into a growth phase and provides financial rewards for the startup team. This is an exciting time and the startup guys look like geniuses (not saying they aren't).
Eventually, the business gets big enough that you have to invest in specific skills to just keep it running day-to-day, never mind continued growth. That's when you either bring in professional management and let them run the business or you sell it to another organization with those skills/systems/processes in place.
IMO, Cuban likes the first part, the rush that comes with starting something new and see it take root and grow. I think that's why he likes doing "Shark Tank". Nothing wrong with that, but an NBA team is not a growth business and requires specific skills and knowledge just to be functional. If he has truly empowered Nico & Co. to run the team, then it is a good sign. But if you see more off the cuff decisions and head scratching moves, then it will be apparent that nothing has changed.
Couldn't have said it better myself. This is exactly what I've been thinking. He likes the rush of a start up and looking like the smartest guy in the room when it works. An NBA franchise is at the point where you need to look like a smart guy by HIRING the smart guys to run operations of the team. You can't come in and run it by yourself staffed with Yes men.
(10-25-2021, 11:21 AM)audiosway Wrote: [ -> ]Couldn't have said it better myself. This is exactly what I've been thinking. He likes the rush of a start up and looking like the smartest guy in the room when it works. An NBA franchise is at the point where you need to look like a smart guy by HIRING the smart guys to run operations of the team. You can't come in and run it by yourself staffed with Yes men.
There is also the assumption that the richest guy in the room = the smartest guy in the room. Which isn't always valid.