MAVS NEWS:

[KillerLeft]

I hate to stick up for Kidd, but I don't know that you can pin O-Max on him. The Mavs just really weren't in a position to develop a player that raw while he was here. Those were actual competitive seasons, after all.

But, I also wouldn't be so fast to blame it on the front office. Sometimes you have to take a risk on a raw player, if the potential payoff is worth it. You just do. If O-Max had developed a bit more quickly, his physical tools would've made him a great steal of a prize for an already competitive team. I have no problem whatsoever with a small bet on that potential.

Sometimes, timing and circumstances for the team and player just don't align correctly. It is what it is. If there was a mistake made along the way, I'd say it was dumping him this past summer in the name of bringing Dante Exum back, but tbh even I, the biggest landowner on all of O-Max island, was in favor of that. Looking back, that mistake was just a symptom of a bigger one: thinking a team built around the singular and specific Luka Doncic could replace him with an 18 year old (even a great one) and stay competitive. If the Mavs had known then how ridiculous of a notion that was (they probably should've, even if we here couldn't agree about it), then they'd have probably kept O-Max around, and this season would've finally been his chance to get on the floor.

Even still (sorry Smitty, cover your eyes), O-Max isn't a fit with Flagg, imho, so it's not the end of the world, even if this current upward trend in his development continues. It should be mentioned that it's a big "if," but "if" he keeps getting better I say good on him. The Mavs need a different sort of player than they needed when they were building around Luka, anyway.

[mvossman]

With all due respect (and you deserve a lot), OMax wasn't a miss as seen with his play this year. They just didn't develop him correctly, which is on Kidd, not the front office. The miss was dumping him instead of Exum, but even I would have done that at the time.

Not sure 35 games at 15 minutes per is enough sample to make any conclusions about what OMax is as a player.  I hope things work out for him, but I would want to see more sample before I'm willing to claim he was not a miss.

[cow]

I might have said it before, but O-Max's build locomotion reminded me lot of Dennis Rodman, at least in his defensive stance and I thought it had the potential to be as effective defending on the perimeter as the Worm was back in his Bad Boys days. That's not to say I thought it be as good as Dennis as pound for pound, he's was the best rebounder ever and a far more versatile defender, not to mention an underrated BBIQ (mostly due to his antics). That's a long winded way of saying I had high hopes for him and I'm glad to see him find success.

Fit with Flagg will always be weird to me, especially when the roster is in more of a position of beggars can't be choosers, but I digress.

[ThisIStheYear]

Cuban’s Plan Powder was visionary, he was just ahead of his time. Back then, it was a terrible idea with Dirk still close to his prime. Right now, it’s the right move. Take it slow. Don’t eat up future cap space unless it’s for a possible 2nd star.

[Chicagojk]

I think a lot of the roster decisions will be based on who they pick in the draft and sign in free agency and how some of the players on the roster finish the season.   I think in todays cap, you don't need to have all the players at the same age or stage in development.  You can have a nice mix (as long as you don't make a mistake on a big contract).    I personally would not like having PJ, Marshall, Martin, Klay, Middleton all on the roster.    Although if they moved 1-2, I would be fine with them back.   This is all dependent on them looking good on the court the remaining part of the season. 

I am not saying they need to try to win at all costs next year, but if they get a good pick this year, lets put some good veterans around Coop.  He is ready to compete now.   Putting him in winning situations is what great players grow with.    Not saying you do this by selling the future, but at the same time don't fill the roster with 10 guys in their early 20's.

[vfromlmf]

Agree with that. My depth chart for next season is

G: Kyrie | x | x
G: Christie | Klay | AJJ
W: Middleton | Naji | Martin
W: Flagg | PJW | x
C: Lively | Gafford | x

If the Mavs land one of the top-4, I think the rookie starts and Middleton (if Dybantsa, Wilson, or Boozer), or Christie (if Peterson) moves to the bench.

If the Mavs pick 6-10 you're likely looking a a guard and I'd probably bring him off the bench. Castle played 27 mpg and won rookie of the year.

I honestly don't see much in free agency beyond Middleton that interests me unless trades are made or Mavs get lucky in the lottery. If you trade Gaff for a '27 FRP, you sign Bagley. If you draft Caleb Wilson, you look for guard help. The good news is this team has a lot of options at this point.

[F Gump]

With all due respect (and you deserve a lot), OMax wasn't a miss as seen with his play this year. They just didn't develop him correctly, which is on Kidd, not the front office. The miss was dumping him instead of Exum, but even I would have done that at the time.

Either the Mavs have a "development program" or they don't. And if they don't, that's on the people who are in charge of the whole big picture. And if they don't integrate it with the coach, that's on the people who are in charge of the entire picture as well as the development person in charge. That's their job! The game of everyone saying "it's not my job" doesn't fly.

I actually think Kidd has done a reasonably credible job in integrating the prospects into the lineup and trying to get something out of them. He played OMax a reasonable number of minutes (and would have played him more, if he didn't get hurt at a very unfortunate time.)  But Omax has only played 500-ish minutes in MEM so far, he played even a bit more last season in DAL, and while here there's no question that when he played he couldn't shoot worth a lick. From anywhere, even FTs. He would turn down shots at times. Now in MEM he suddenly can shoot from everywhere and at a high rate? (That tells me something significant is missing in the development program in DAL.) 

With OMax, it's also possible we are looking at a small sample size thing, where the numbers are skewed because the great results are primarily against teams who are tanking their butts off. And maybe he's j-a-g. In which case, it's on the Mavs for picking the wrong guy in the first place.

But no matter how we got there, the Mavs got crap value for that pick. That's on the Mavs.

And my point is that the Mavs FO has to be able to have a plan, figure out how to turn "draft pick" into the right name, who then is trained in the right way, until they eventually have some real value. And it doesn't seem like they have that figured out at all, when the guy in the middle of it is Riccardi.

I want an expert.

[Winter]

You might be a bit harsh. You really roll the dice in the late first round.

In 2017, OKC chose Terrance Ferguson in the late first round. Sam Presti was the GM.

Does anyone know who Terrance Ferguson was? I don't. So that's on Presti. I mean everyone is an expert when they have a couple of good draft years. People quickly forget the bad ones.

Sometimes players just need a change. And of course, there's always the possibility Omax hasn't really changed much at all - as you pointed out. Maybe he's just having a good run. Josh Green had one of those when he got to Charlotte.

[mvossman]

I think a lot of the roster decisions will be based on who they pick in the draft and sign in free agency and how some of the players on the roster finish the season.   I think in todays cap, you don't need to have all the players at the same age or stage in development.  You can have a nice mix (as long as you don't make a mistake on a big contract).    I personally would not like having PJ, Marshall, Martin, Klay, Middleton all on the roster.    Although if they moved 1-2, I would be fine with them back.   This is all dependent on them looking good on the court the remaining part of the season. 

I am not saying they need to try to win at all costs next year, but if they get a good pick this year, lets put some good veterans around Coop.  He is ready to compete now.   Putting him in winning situations is what great players grow with.    Not saying you do this by selling the future, but at the same time don't fill the roster with 10 guys in their early 20's.

I agree with a lot of this, but who are these 10 guys in their early 20's?  Right now they have Flagg/Lively/Max.  They can add to that with a lottery pick and a very late first.  Best case for MLE is a Naji like signing who was 26.  There are not a lot of guys in their early 20s on the trading block.  You can quibble about what the mix should be between vets and development at the back of the roster, but at least half of the top 8-10 in the rotation are going to be vets.  Personally I would rather have most of those vets closer to their mid 20s than their mid 30s.

[F Gump]

You might be a bit harsh. You really roll the dice in the late first round.

In 2017, OKC chose Terrance Ferguson in the late first round. Sam Presti was the GM.

Does anyone know who Terrance Ferguson was? I don't. So that's on Presti. I mean everyone is an expert when they have a couple of good draft years. People quickly forget the bad ones.

Sometimes players just need a change. And of course, there's always the possibility Omax hasn't really changed much at all - as you pointed out. Maybe he's just having a good run. Josh Green had one of those when he got to Charlotte.

Presti's track record overall is great. So is your point that I am cherry-picking an unexpected miss under Riccardi amid a sea of great roster-development successes, where he's simply just like Presti? I can't make a case for that sort of success overall, to make me think Riccardi's the "expert" to bank on. Can you?

[FireNicoHarrison]

Agree with that. My depth chart for next season is

G: Kyrie | x | x
G: Christie | Klay | AJJ
W: Middleton | Naji | Martin
W: Flagg | PJW | x
C: Lively | Gafford | x

If the Mavs land one of the top-4, I think the rookie starts and Middleton (if Dybantsa, Wilson, or Boozer),  or Christie (if Peterson) moves to the bench.

If the Mavs pick 6-10 you're likely looking a a guard and I'd probably bring him off the bench. Castle played 27 mpg and won rookie of the year.

I honestly don't see much in free agency beyond Middleton that interests me unless trades are made or Mavs get lucky in the lottery. If you trade Gaff for a '27 FRP, you sign Bagley. If you draft Caleb Wilson, you look for guard help. The good news is this team has a lot of options at this point.

I'm not even sure if i want 4/5 players on that chart honestly... I hope we will have a better rotation because we have no picks.

[F Gump]

mvossman
I agree with a lot of this, but who are these 10 guys in their early 20's?  Right now they have Flagg/Lively/Max.  They can add to that with a lottery pick and a very late first.  Best case for MLE is a Naji like signing who was 26.  There are not a lot of guys in their early 20s on the trading block.  You can quibble about what the mix should be between vets and development at the back of the roster, but at least half of the top 8-10 in the rotation are going to be vets.  Personally I would rather have most of those vets closer to their mid 20s than their mid 30s.

I think we are all saying about the same thing and hoping for the same outcome, and merely wording it a bit differently. 

Going forward, the Mavs need some way to be competitive, where skills REALLY get tested and developed. To that end, this summer they will need (and have the opportunity to add, with a good pick and an MLE) a couple of players who can be here for a few years and be part of the core to build on. 

This summer getting a whole new roster won't happen, and shouldn't happen. In the additions, getting all kids about CF's age won't and shouldn't happen either. Getting only a bunch of geezers won't happen either. But bits and pieces of any of that could be useful, as they try to do several things at once. 

We have to realize that this roster will probably turn over, gradually, maybe 2-3 times in the next half-dozen years. So while they need to get some things figured out this summer, it's not their last chance at all. Some of these moves will be for "temps" who can fill a role here, and then perhaps be sold for value (for picks? for part of a package for a player that fits better here?). They are all stepping stones. In some sense, MOST of whoever you get now is a temp, in fact.

All that takes me back to my boring refrain. It's getting old to listen to, and getting just as old to write! But THE EXPERT GM (Presti, please!) is the one who needs to be here to figure this out and it's still the MOST IMPORTANT POSITION to fill, period. Figuring out the right mix, and how they need to swap out some of the existing core as they go, and if so who and at what price, is really a question for an expert. Get the expert!

[vfromlmf]

By the time the Mavs are ready to compete the only guy you can count on still being here is Flagg maybe Lively and hopefully the 26 Lottery Pick. Not saying I want that to be the case. It just is. Kyrie played at a star level before he got hurt. We’ll have to see if he’s still at that level when he returns. Middleton and Klay were stars but now they’re 20 min aging veterans.

Everyone else is a flawed role player. The Mavs can be competitive next year if they want to but I don’t expect them to be good. Certainly not a contender.

Honestly the best I’m hoping for is for them to play a fun, exciting brand of basketball and develop Flagg, Lively and The Pick …. and somehow trade their way into a ‘27 lottery pick.

[Winter]

Presti's track record overall is great. So is your point that I am cherry-picking an unexpected miss under Riccardi amid a sea of great roster-development successes, where he's simply just like Presti? I can't make a case for that sort of success overall, to make me think Riccardi's the "expert" to bank on. Can you?

No, I just think it's one dimesnsional when we discuss one person as the "expert."

Masai Ujiri was the talk of this board until he wasn't. That was only three years ago.

[F Gump]

No, I just think it's one dimesnsional when we discuss one person as the "expert."

Masai Ujiri was the talk of this board until he wasn't. That was only three years ago.

Ujiri? Pfft. He had some skills. But he was never ever my favorite. Of course, I would have liked him (and many many others too) being the Mavs' GM more than Cuban -- and still would --- because the Mavs so badly needed someone with skills that Cuban lacked. Lots of weaknesses. 

But Cuban is gone, and finding "better than Cuban" is not the standard. The Mavs don't need a GM. They need THE BEST.  

NBA competition starts at that GM level, with negotiation and evaluation and player development that all happen off the court, and there's no salary cap on getting that guy. Roster building is an art form, as is acquiring assets, and making them fit together, and negotiating with both agents and teams, and cap management, and making the right trades to win at the margins, and it all goes way beyond a few cap tricks and trade-match ideas. The top guy will also have the ability to hire the right guys to make it even better. If some other team has that guy that's The Best GM, you're always going to be competing at a great disadvantage. 

We've lived in that "greatly disadvantaged" world way too long. 

The time is now. Presti, please!