(05-27-2025, 04:01 PM)Winter Wrote: "Any scenario that has Flagg or Washington on the bench when the ball tips is a suboptimal one."

(05-27-2025, 09:02 AM)Scott41theMavs Wrote: Guys, guys, the solution to all of our Nico angst is quite simple. They won't fire him? Get Dennis Lindsay back in as his adviser at whatever price necessary. Nico and Lindsay did a phenomenal job of building around Luka. Since the owners aren't ever going to let Nico trade Flagg for anything, Nico and Lindsay ought to do a bangup job of building around CF.

(05-28-2025, 05:44 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: It looks like Nico isn't the only one drinking the juice.   

Also, why does he call him "the kid from Duke".  Kidd called him that last week.  You know you are able to say his name, right?

https://x.com/MavsFilmRoom/status/1927591599850062232

(05-28-2025, 05:38 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: Just thinking out loud.

I think Lively is so important in whether this thing works out or not.  I believe he is a winning player.  A unique player.  Although, what if he is the person to have the diffit conersation with over PJ and maybe Klay?  Fact is, PJ is not a small forward.  Sure he can play there, but it is not his strength.  He is a PF.  Cooper is not a SG.  He is a SF/PF wing combo.  Asking him to start his career at SG to fit the current roster is a lot to ask.  We all know AD wants to play PF, but is it really worth it if this causes others to play out of position?  So how about bringing Lively off the bench?  PJ can do some center stuff to take some of the banging off AD.  A front court of AD, PJ, Cooper allows both Cooper and PJ to fit into more advantageous roles.  Cooper will still need to be a secondary creator.

The negative for me is I think Lively would be ok coming off the bench.  I think I would still like to get him to finish games but that opens a lot more can of worms.    It is just an awkward fit and Lively, in my mind, should be one of our top 4 players moving forward.  Tough if that guy is not on the floor at the end of games.

In this scenario, Gafford is moved.  It also gives you some time.  If this team does not look like a contender-ish team, then you can make a pivot.  Fire Nico, move AD and reset.   

Just thinking out loud.

(05-28-2025, 07:53 AM)Smitty Wrote: The Paul rumor has grown on me, as has the Gafford to ATL idea. I've said before that I want to keep things simple this offseason and try to have some sense of continuity.

Step 1: Draft Cooper Flagg
Step 2: Trade Gafford for Pick #22 (Walter Clayton Jr.)
Step 3: Trade Hardy for a future SRP
Step 4: Sign Chris Paul
Step 5: Sign Kai Jones to standard contract
Step 6: Ink Kyrie to a new 3-year deal
Step 7: Sign PJW to a 4-year extension

Irving | Paul | Williams
Klay | Christie | Clayton Jr.
Flagg | Naji | Martin
PJW | Omax
AD | Lively | Jones | Powell

(05-28-2025, 07:57 AM)Winter Wrote: Things are going to change a little after the draft and again in free agency. There's no good way to predict precisely how this unfolds for the starting lineup for next season. I think it's likely though that AD will understand the he cannot be wedded to one position with the current roster.

No one from the FO will say this publically, but Cooper Flagg is more important than AD. Whatever positions people end up playing, CF's skill set will try to be maximized. There's a lot of time to figure out what the best position is for CF, but really AD's interest in playing the PF position is secondary now to the team's overall function. The mission of the front office is not to appease a superstar's demands of playing a particular position. AD knows this. He's been around the block.

Interestingly, the FO will have to predict some of this starter lineup stuff before they make a trade, and maybe before the draft. They are going to imagine the starting lineup long before we know anything.

(05-28-2025, 07:53 AM)Smitty Wrote: The Paul rumor has grown on me, as has the Gafford to ATL idea. I've said before that I want to keep things simple this offseason and try to have some sense of continuity.

Step 1: Draft Cooper Flagg
Step 2: Trade Gafford for Pick #22 (Walter Clayton Jr.)
Step 3: Trade Hardy for a future SRP
Step 4: Sign Chris Paul
Step 5: Sign Kai Jones to standard contract
Step 6: Ink Kyrie to a new 3-year deal
Step 7: Sign PJW to a 4-year extension

Irving | Paul | Williams
Klay | Christie | Clayton Jr.
Flagg | Naji | Martin
PJW | Omax
AD | Lively | Jones | Powell

(05-28-2025, 09:28 AM)michaeltex Wrote: FWIW, I am interested in seeing what Williams can do with a little stability in his team status and an offseason to work on skills needed for keeping the DAL job. I know he's under sized a bit, but he brings a pace and energy that is often needed. Flagg seems to like to up the pace, so I could see them combining to bring a new dimension to the offense if Williams continues to develop.

(05-28-2025, 09:28 AM)michaeltex Wrote: I assume this includes time at PF for AD? Otherwise the frontline gets vulnerable really quickly. 

(05-28-2025, 09:42 AM)michaeltex Wrote: General question about team direction...

As it stands today, it appears that the team is (still) in win NOW mode despite the addition of a (potentially) new face-of-the-franchise. At least they are trying to run parallel timelines. Win now to justify the expense of AD/Klay/Kyrie and "young guns" with Flagg/Lively/Christie/maybe Williams or a draftee. Most theories say to pick a lane and make commitments accordingly. So I'm trying understand if we can actually have our cake and eat it too and I wonder what some of the deeper thinkers on the board feel about the two pronged approach.

I just think back to Luka's draft and how the team looked so different when he joined. But instead of developing organically, the MBT mortgaged future draft capital on bringing in established talent like KP. Granted the initial talent cupboard around Luka was so bare it was embarrassing, but after KP didn't work out, it got really difficult to add young talent to complement Luka's timeline. DAL isn't really flush with picks for the next few years, but does sub-optimizing for the older guys now hurt team growth in the future?

(05-28-2025, 07:57 AM)Winter Wrote: Things are going to change a little after the draft and again in free agency. There's no good way to predict precisely how this unfolds for the starting lineup for next season. I think it's likely though that AD will understand the he cannot be wedded to one position with the current roster.

No one from the FO will say this publically, but Cooper Flagg is more important than AD. Whatever positions people end up playing, CF's skill set will try to be maximized. There's a lot of time to figure out what the best position is for CF, but really AD's interest in playing the PF position is secondary now to the team's overall function. The mission of the front office is not to appease a superstar's demands of playing a particular position. AD knows this. He's been around the block.

Interestingly, the FO will have to predict some of this starter lineup stuff before they make a trade, and maybe before the draft. They are going to imagine the starting lineup long before we know anything.

(05-28-2025, 07:40 AM)Smitty Wrote: I've said this numerous times since the lottery win. AD is a 5. PJW is currently a better player than Lively. Sorry, that'll hurt some feelings, but it's true that Lively regressed his sophomore season and played even fewer games than the first. Lively off the bench, while limiting his minutes is the way to go. You simply tell AD he's a 5, getting the #1 overall pick changes things...

(05-28-2025, 05:38 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: Just thinking out loud.

I think Lively is so important in whether this thing works out or not.  I believe he is a winning player.  A unique player.  Although, what if he is the person to have the diffit conersation with over PJ and maybe Klay?  Fact is, PJ is not a small forward.  Sure he can play there, but it is not his strength.  He is a PF.  Cooper is not a SG.  He is a SF/PF wing combo.  Asking him to start his career at SG to fit the current roster is a lot to ask.  We all know AD wants to play PF, but is it really worth it if this causes others to play out of position?  So how about bringing Lively off the bench?  PJ can do some center stuff to take some of the banging off AD.  A front court of AD, PJ, Cooper allows both Cooper and PJ to fit into more advantageous roles.  Cooper will still need to be a secondary creator.

The negative for me is I think Lively would be ok coming off the bench.  I think I would still like to get him to finish games but that opens a lot more can of worms.    It is just an awkward fit and Lively, in my mind, should be one of our top 4 players moving forward.  Tough if that guy is not on the floor at the end of games.

In this scenario, Gafford is moved.  It also gives you some time.  If this team does not look like a contender-ish team, then you can make a pivot.  Fire Nico, move AD and reset.   

Just thinking out loud.