(04-15-2025, 01:34 AM)Knutsen Wrote: It‘s the perfect combination of probably the league‘s biggest international star and the league‘s most popular franchise globally. In the US it might be close in popularity, but internationally it’s clearly the Lakers followed by the Knicks and no other team comes close. Because it’s not just about basketball, but California dreaming - and Big Apple dreaming, so to say. So I guess Luka will continue to stay at the top the next seasons.

(04-11-2025, 12:23 PM)hakeemfaan Wrote: I see a new narrative more and more how it was mostly Dumont and how Nico was the fall guy.

A few problems with that. Nico and Luka’s camp have apparently been going at  each other for a while with Nico removing a lot of insiders who he felt were Luka’s guys.  That is not on Dumont.  Even if Dumont said he didn’t want to pay the supermax how much of it was Nico constantly feeding into Dumont’s ears that it would hamstring the franchise going forward given Luka’s conditioning issues!?  Did Dumont force Nico to be almost gleeful in that only press conference he had following the trade?  Did Dumont force Nico to write a dumb letter where he was praising his own work ethic and comparing himself to a generational star as if that star got there without any work ethic?  Another thing lost in that presser was Nico dismissing the injury that AD was going through and saying he expects the medical reports to be ok. So he made the deal without even knowing the extent of the injury?  Especially for an older player who has never been the healthiest?  Did Nico do his due diligence even if his hands were forced?

I am not excusing Luka. Seeing that video reminded me how skinny he was. He is fat now. That is solely on him. However he is also an offensive savant and just like Harden is doing even now, he will put up huge numbers even 5 years from now because his game is based on balance and strength than raw speed.  Nico was correct about his reasons to be frustrated with Luka. Even many of us fans were. It’s just that unlike us fans he didn’t evaluate the flip side correctly. Luka is not AD. Luka is not even Harden.  This is a generational level offensive talent and the whole thing should have been dealt much better. In hoops, organizations don’t win titles. Generational talents do. Even Riley has struggled after taking a stance against Bron despite that one Finals run. GMs and owners should not bend over backwards to every whim of players but they shouldn’t be arrogant either and think of players as just movable parts. Especially not when you have a generational talent in the mix.

(04-15-2025, 07:53 AM)joshuadx89 Wrote: If anyone expected Luka to stay the same size as he was when he was 19, that person was an idiot.   Not every athlete is a good body guy.   Luka may have put on weight when he was injured but he is built wide and tall.   It's part of what makes his game.    The dude should have won the MVP last year.  He took the team to the NBA finals, and it still wasn't enough for Nico because he didn't look and act like Kobe.    

The Mavericks had a generational talent, sold him low, and then tried to act like he was some sort of 400 lb slob who couldnt get up and down the court to justify it.    He played hurt, barely missed time outside of load management up until this year and the team decided they didnt like that he drank a few beers.   Just absolute nonsense.   There is no justifying the trade or how they treated him after the trade.

(04-15-2025, 12:32 PM)LifeAquatic Wrote: Apparently Nico held an invite only press conference where cameras and recording devices were NOT allowed. Sounds like he just kept saying "Defense wins championships" over and over. 

Can we just fire this idiot already and move forward at little bit at least?

BTW: Cato was there and he said outside of Mavs staffers and Mavs media, only 12 other media people were included.

(04-15-2025, 12:32 PM)LifeAquatic Wrote: Apparently Nico held an invite only press conference where cameras and recording devices were NOT allowed. Sounds like he just kept saying "Defense wins championships" over and over. 

Can we just fire this idiot already and move forward at little bit at least?

BTW: Cato was there and he said outside of Mavs staffers and Mavs media, only 12 other media people were included.

(04-15-2025, 12:49 PM)Kidnova Wrote: It's actually shocking how clueless Nico is with regards to public relations, not to mention basketball in general. He may hang onto this GM job as long as he can because he's probably going to have a hard time finding another job in any role, let alone something in the NBA.

(04-10-2025, 01:02 PM)F Gump Wrote: Any assertion that the NBA/Silver could (and might) stop a trade for non-CBA reasons is pure nonsense.

The league operates within the limits of negotiated and bargained-for, very well-defined, and fully-enforceable legal agreements, and the NBA itself (ie, Silver the Commissioner) does not have the power some think it does. The CBA with the players, the Covenants and ByLaws with the individual owners, etc, define the NBA's power, and those would be violated (and make the league subject to MASSIVE lawsuits) if they rejected a trade for any reason other than it failed to conform with the written, negotiated trade rules.

The Chris Paul trade is often cited as a precedent of the league voiding a trade for arbitrary reasons, but it was not. The NBA did not step in and reject that deal (even though many mistakenly believed that was what happened). Instead, it was the ownership of NO who decided they did not want to do it.

The Lakers won this trade because they were smart and eager to take advantage of the stupidness of Nico, and because Nico is a buffoon as a GM, a naive non-expert thinking he's smarter and wiser than he actually is. He has no clue how to evaluate player value and negotiate to win a deal. LA saw a sucker and suckered him. And because we have a foolish Mavs ownership group who stupidly gave the control of the Mavs to such an idiot who was so stupid as to get suckered like that.

(04-15-2025, 07:53 AM)joshuadx89 Wrote: If anyone expected Luka to stay the same size as he was when he was 19, that person was an idiot.   Not every athlete is a good body guy.   Luka may have put on weight when he was injured but he is built wide and tall.   It's part of what makes his game.    The dude should have won the MVP last year.  He took the team to the NBA finals, and it still wasn't enough for Nico because he didn't look and act like Kobe.    

The Mavericks had a generational talent, sold him low, and then tried to act like he was some sort of 400 lb slob who couldnt get up and down the court to justify it.    He played hurt, barely missed time outside of load management up until this year and the team decided they didnt like that he drank a few beers.   Just absolute nonsense.   There is no justifying the trade or how they treated him after the trade.

(04-10-2025, 01:02 PM)F Gump Wrote: The Chris Paul trade is often cited as a precedent of the league voiding a trade for arbitrary reasons, but it was not. The NBA did not step in and reject that deal (even though many mistakenly believed that was what happened). Instead, it was the ownership of NO who decided they did not want to do it.

(04-15-2025, 06:39 PM)hakeemfaan Wrote: I have said most of the same things.   Also I have said his weight concerns are a bit overblown given that he seems to outlast elite NBA defenders who are some of the best athletes.  There has been no post from me defending this trade in any shape or form 

However Luka had his share of issues as well. He had a great coach in RC who he used to apparently mock.  Next he got a players coach and a HOF guard. Yet on certain things even he couldn’t get through to Luka.  Yes Luka is never going to be svelte but neither is Jokic. Yet you never hear any complaints about the time he puts in the gym. You also hear how he has drastically changed his diet. 

Again none of this is defending this trade or this FO. I want them all fired. Despite the flaws I have listed, I can list so many great things that he brings to the table which is why the word “generational” is used. Plus he wanted to be here. He never asked to be traded. He never cribbed about the supporting cast unlike even lesser stars. The front office might have had some legit gripes about Luka,, but they didn’t balance it out with all the great things he brought. Also not having any context of the Mavs history, these guys couldn’t understand how big a deal it was that one of the best players in the game actually was happy to be here.

(04-15-2025, 06:14 PM)The Jom Wrote: Respect to the opinion author and those who liked this post. It may be true. But there is considerable speculation in it, and I don’t believe it. 

“Everything was legal and honest” is every bit as questionable as “it’s a giant conspiracy.”

(04-11-2025, 05:11 PM)HoosierDaddyKid Wrote: Maybe I'm missing something because he didn't look fat to me the other night. He's lost that pudginess he had earlier this year. At least to me. He's never going to be svelte.