MAVS NEWS:

[KillerLeft]

The NBA would set up shop again in Seattle before Vancouver I believe. Even though only 145 miles separates them.

I used to think it was a crime that Seattle's team was stolen. But, have you been to Seattle lately? It's a dumpster fire, basically. It's difficult for me to imagine such a place being able to safely host NBA games.

[Chicagojk]

Hollinger mention in latest summer league article


Rookies who shined

Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks: Forget that he made 5 of 21 in his first summer-league game; summer shooting percentages are basically worthless. Flagg passed the eye test with flying colors, roaring down the lane for giant dunks, handling the ball like a point guard despite nominally being a 6-8 power forward and showing comfort shooting pull-ups off the dribble. A nitpicker would have wanted to see more activity on the glass, but Flagg was unsurprisingly the best rookie in Vegas

[Chicagojk]

As we head into the dead days of the nba, I was thinking who has the most to prove next year. I sort of view next year as a developmental year to set up the following year. Maybe they surprise or disappoint and continues can be made.

1) Anthony Davis- can he stay healthy. Can he be a majnly power forward. Can he really amplify our centers. Lively and Gafford are not long in the tooth Dwight Howard or fringe rotation player Jace McGee. They are both good to really good players. Can AD really shine with these type of players. Can he be the best player on a contender? My guess is no, but it will be a year for him to shine.

2) pj washington- I hope he signs his extension. His role this year will be different. He may only play half of his minutes at PF. I don’t think he is a small forward but can he play it effectively for solid minutes? On defense he probably is not going to be asked to defend a lot of bigger players. So can he guard the quick wings or guards on the perimeter. I think he is better defending pf types. So it will be key how he guards smaller players. Lastly can he match his three point percentage from last year. I still feel like teams are perfectly willing to let him shoot despite a better than average percentage.

Nico- he gets no respite for an injured Kyrie. He was gifted Flagg. They are still really short on creation. If this team is where I expect them to be next year, Nico’s job should be on the line. He thinks this team is a contender. Time to show it. No big trade to try to prove him right either.

I had Kidd on my list earlier in the summer but he was able to get an extension by some shrewd moves. I still think he has a lot to show with this odd group of good players.

[mvossman]

As we head into the dead days of the nba, I was thinking who has the most to prove next year.  I sort of view next year as a developmental year to set up the following year.  Maybe they surprise or disappoint and continues can be made.

1) Anthony Davis- can he stay healthy.  Can he be a majnly power forward.  Can he really amplify our centers.  Lively and Gafford are not long in the tooth Dwight Howard or fringe rotation player Jace McGee.  They are both good to really good players.  Can AD really shine with these type of players.  Can he be the best player on a contender?  My guess is no, but it will be a year for him to shine.

2) pj washington- I hope he signs his extension.  His role this year will be different.  He may only play half of his minutes at PF.  I don’t think he is a small forward but can he play it effectively for solid minutes?  On defense he probably is not going to be asked to defend a lot of bigger players.  So can he guard the quick wings or guards on the perimeter.  I think he is better defending pf types.  So it will be key how he guards smaller players.  Lastly can he match his three point percentage from last year.  I still feel like teams are perfectly willing to let him shoot despite a better than average percentage.

Nico- he gets no respite for an injured Kyrie.  He was gifted Flagg.  They are still really short on creation.  If this team is where I expect them to be next year, Nico’s job should be on the line.  He thinks this team is a contender.  Time to show it.  No big trade to try to prove him right either.

I had Kidd on my list earlier in the summer but he was able to get an extension by some shrewd moves.  I still think he has a lot to show with this odd group of good players.

Nico has the most to lose.  He turned a finals team into a lottery team while alienating the fanbase.  If this team misses the playoffs again after falling backasswards into Flagg, can he really keep his job?

AD has the most questions which you laid out.  I'm afraid the answer to most of them will be no.

I don't think Kidd has much to prove at this point.  He has overachieved when Nico doesn't tank his roster.

[DallasMaverick]

As we head into the dead days of the nba, I was thinking who has the most to prove next year.  I sort of view next year as a developmental year to set up the following year.  Maybe they surprise or disappoint and continues can be made.

1) Anthony Davis- can he stay healthy.  Can he be a majnly power forward.  Can he really amplify our centers.  Lively and Gafford are not long in the tooth Dwight Howard or fringe rotation player Jace McGee.  They are both good to really good players.  Can AD really shine with these type of players.  Can he be the best player on a contender?  My guess is no, but it will be a year for him to shine.

2) pj washington- I hope he signs his extension.  His role this year will be different.  He may only play half of his minutes at PF.  I don’t think he is a small forward but can he play it effectively for solid minutes?  On defense he probably is not going to be asked to defend a lot of bigger players.  So can he guard the quick wings or guards on the perimeter.  I think he is better defending pf types.  So it will be key how he guards smaller players.  Lastly can he match his three point percentage from last year.  I still feel like teams are perfectly willing to let him shoot despite a better than average percentage.

Nico- he gets no respite for an injured Kyrie.  He was gifted Flagg.  They are still really short on creation.  If this team is where I expect them to be next year, Nico’s job should be on the line.  He thinks this team is a contender.  Time to show it.  No big trade to try to prove him right either.

I had Kidd on my list earlier in the summer but he was able to get an extension by some shrewd moves.  I still think he has a lot to show with this odd group of good players.

PJ is pretty versatile. When Dallas play OKC, he’s mostly the one guarding SGA. And he’s typically the guy guarding the opponent’s best offensive player.

[KillerLeft]

If this team misses the playoffs again after falling backasswards into Flagg, can he really keep his job?

I'm almost 100% sure the answer is yes. I offer no opinion on whether that's a good or bad thing, nor do I even care at this point. I only mean that I see no indication of anything even remotely smoldering under his seat. 

I think the more relevant question is this: if the Mavs miss the playoffs again, will the new owners continue to allow their team to pay luxury tax money? THAT is what we should be worried about, imho.

[mvossman]

I'm almost 100% sure the answer is yes. I offer no opinion on whether that's a good or bad thing, nor do I even care at this point. I only mean that I see no indication of anything even remotely smoldering under his seat. 

I think the more relevant question is this: if the Mavs miss the playoffs again, will the new owners continue to allow their team to pay luxury tax money? THAT is what we should be worried about, imho.

Crazy.  Hard to imagine what it would take to get fired then.  As Gump pointed out if luxury tax is an issue you can thank that stupid Grimes trade as it will trigger repeater tax penalties.

[Kidnova]

I'm almost 100% sure the answer is yes. I offer no opinion on whether that's a good or bad thing, nor do I even care at this point. I only mean that I see no indication of anything even remotely smoldering under his seat. 

I think the more relevant question is this: if the Mavs miss the playoffs again, will the new owners continue to allow their team to pay luxury tax money? THAT is what we should be worried about, imho.

I'm not so sure that's true, but who knows?  Ownership obviously didn't want to fire him immediately, since they signed off on the trade.  Winning the lottery (literally) and landing Flagg brought back some fans and I'm sure made it easier for them to keep him for another season, but if (God forbid) AD goes down early in the season and this team wins 35 games, the public mutiny will be back on and somebody will need to be sacrificed.

[KillerLeft]

Crazy.  Hard to imagine what it would take to get fired then.  As Gump pointed out if luxury tax is an issue you can thank that stupid Grimes trade as it will trigger repeater tax penalties.

We can scrutinize the nickel and dime of it all, absolutely. What I'm worried about is: how long will this ownership group allow for even the possibility of any season, ever, for any reason, to go into the tax? They seem cool with it at the moment, but I've encountered a lot of speculation from back when the team was sold (that I missed at the time) about how frugal some people who know this family expected them to be when operating the team. 

Frankly, I worry more about THAT reaction to the fan backlash (in addition to the potential losing hypothetical that started this conversation) than anything. If they didn't like Harrison, he'd be gone already. I worry more about "oh, you want to boo me in my own arena? Fine, let's just not care as much about who's on this team. It's not as fun as I thought it would be." I think there's a decent chance it gets blamed on US, not on HARRISON.

[Chicagojk]

Looking at the D’Angelo Russell draft it is crazy how some drafts play out. KAY went first. Russell,went second. Followed by Okafor, KP, hezonja, cauley stein, mudiay, Stanley Johnson, kaminsky, Winslow. Myles Turner and Devin booker went late lottery ( booker was the third Kentucky player drafted). That turned out to be a pretty poor draft. Dallas drafted Justin Anderson.

[SleepingHero]

MFFL NATION (@NationMffl)
Cooper Flagg asked the Dallas Mavericks at NBA Summer League if he could’ve played in a third game, per @KeithSmithNBA
︀︀
︀︀“He shot like crap in his first game here (Las Vegas). Second game he dominated. We had a plan to play only two games. Cooper comes to the us and the coaches and asks to play a third game. We laughed and told him, ‘No. You’re good.’ And he goes, ‘I just don’t want people to think the good game was a fluke.’ All we could do was laugh, but it shows how much he wants to be great.” - Mavericks FO Executive

[Chicagojk]

First I have seen of this

Is Kai Jones still in the mix? Love the way he played last season.

Curtis: Jones should be in the same boat as Edwards since they both entered the NBA in 2021. However, the athletic big man missed the 2023-24 season and will enter his fourth season next year. He remains eligible for a two-way contract, but the Mavericks have a plethora of big men and arguably the most formidable frontcourt in the league. With Powell exercising his player option, it would be surprising if the Mavericks carried five players capable of playing the center position on the roster by the start of training camp.

https://archive.ph/nqKi5

[loki]

First I have seen of this

Is Kai Jones still in the mix? Love the way he played last season.

Curtis: Jones should be in the same boat as Edwards since they both entered the NBA in 2021. However, the athletic big man missed the 2023-24 season and will enter his fourth season next year. He remains eligible for a two-way contract, but the Mavericks have a plethora of big men and arguably the most formidable frontcourt in the league. With Powell exercising his player option, it would be surprising if the Mavericks carried five players capable of playing the center position on the roster by the start of training camp.

https://archive.ph/nqKi5

Assuming Omax is moved to clear a roster spot for Exum, Powell should be moved next to clear a spot for Jones. There are no minutes available right now, but there probably would be after an injury or deadline Gafford trade.

[Chicagojk]

I know Flagg hasn’t done anything yet but pretty cool looking at Vecenie’s first mock for 26 and seeing almost every prospect being 19 already. With some freshman being 20. Flagg won’t turn 19 until December.

Also Amen Thompson is going to be a stud and is really young, but he is 3 years older than Flagg.

Also AD is 6 years older than Luka but Luka is 8 years older than Flagg. Crazy how things change.

[KillerLeft]

I know Flagg hasn’t done anything yet but pretty cool looking at Vecenie’s first mock for 26 and seeing almost every prospect being 19 already.  With some freshman being 20.  Flagg won’t turn 19 until December. 

Also Amen Thompson is going to be a stud and is really young, but he is 3 years older than Flagg. 

Also AD is 6 years older than Luka but Luka is 8 years older than Flagg.  Crazy how things change.

I know man, it's awesome. 

They can afford to go hard to compete for these next 2-3 years, and if it works, great. If not, Flagg will still benefit greatly from being around that type of team right out of the gate. Then, he'll be right about the age of a usual rookie, only with tons of good experience (including multiple playoff series, hopefully). As long as they don't mortgage the future too much and leave themselves with no usable draft capital at that point, this situation is a dream, basically.

[Smitty]

With only two new faces this year, I'm curious what we think their stat line will be. Context matters, of course, but I was thinking through what I expect from each guy, and what I'd consider overperforming vs underperforming. Here's how I see it shaking out:

DLO: 70 GP, 30.0 MPG, 18.0 PPG, 6.0 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 2.0 TOV/g, 0.5 BPG, 45%FG, 38%3PT, 82%FT

Flagg: 75 GP, 30.0 MPG, 16.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, 7.0 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 2.0 TOV/g, 1.2 BPG, 46%FG, 36%3PT, 80%FT

[Chicagojk]

With only two new faces this year, I'm curious what we think their stat line will be. Context matters, of course, but I was thinking through what I expect from each guy, and what I'd consider overperforming vs underperforming. Here's how I see it shaking out:

DLO: 70 GP, 30.0 MPG, 18.0 PPG, 6.0 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 2.0 TOV/g, 0.5 BPG, 45%FG, 38%3PT, 82%FT

Flagg: 75 GP, 30.0 MPG, 16.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, 7.0 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 2.0 TOV/g, 1.2 BPG, 46%FG, 36%3PT, 80%FT

That would be a  good first year for Flagg and would set up a nice jump up the following season, I think.

Looking at the DLO numbers, I think that is too high.   Although, we are short on guards.   18 points and 6 assists just seems like too much Dlo for me.

[Smitty]

That would be a  good first year for Flagg and would set up a nice jump up the following season, I think.

Looking at the DLO numbers, I think that is too high.   Although, we are short on guards.   18 points and 6 assists just seems like too much Dlo for me.

Re. DLO, I did a bit of research to get to those numbers. I looked at the last 3 years for him and then factored in his usage with being a Kyrie replacement for most of the year and that's where I landed. I think he's capable of hitting those marks, but it wouldn't surprise me if he was inefficient like last year. Still, I think the Mavs will need him to be good DLO if they want to be competitive until Kai returns.

Re. Flagg. I looked at his college numbers. Factored in the betting lines. Then compared those to what PJW did last year, just because it’s a similar role.

[michaeltex]

With only two new faces this year, I'm curious what we think their stat line will be. Context matters, of course, but I was thinking through what I expect from each guy, and what I'd consider overperforming vs underperforming. Here's how I see it shaking out:

DLO: 70 GP, 30.0 MPG, 18.0 PPG, 6.0 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 2.0 TOV/g, 0.5 BPG, 45%FG, 38%3PT, 82%FT

Flagg: 75 GP, 30.0 MPG, 16.0 PPG, 4.0 APG, 7.0 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 2.0 TOV/g, 1.2 BPG, 46%FG, 36%3PT, 80%FT

I hope you're on target. Just raising the average FT% for the team should help with some games, as a team DAL was 22nd in FT%. All the big guys, AD/Gaff/DLive/PJW, all shoot 70% or lower on FTs.

[KillerLeft]

I think 18 and 6 is a very reasonable expectation for Russell.

Flagg is much harder to predict, I think. I could see it being way less or way more than what's predicted. We don't even know what his usual role will be yet, really.