What would you have done as GM that would have gotten you an A+ this off-season?

[soog]

LOL, I suspect that if that delegation is winging their way to Slovenia for a signing ceremony, the visit is not going to include a come-to-Jesus tirade by Luka. 

To your larger point, I think the bolded part appears to be accurate, based on what we have seen so far. I can't point to any negotiation mistakes (although we're not really in a position to know), but their ability to attract free agents and their dependency on that line of talent acquisition does not seem to have changed. 

I suspect that Luka signed off on an overall strategy before he went to the Olympics, and was maybe updated during. His public position is that he is staying out of the personnel matters, which is a good position for him to take vis-a-vis the media. I would imagine that any concerns he has over what they are doing will be relayed to the new brain trust, and probably already has been, to the extent they exist. 

Will he refuse to sign the extension over them running it back? I don't think so. Luka is probably realistic enough to realize that they aren't going to contend this season, no matter who they get or don't get (assuming Kawhi or LeBron or a game-changer like that doesn't show up on the doorstep). But, agree, the clock is ticking. Cuban can't assume Luka will have the extraordinary loyalty that Dirk did.

I would disagree on the “same playbook” narrative.  

1) When was the last time the Mavs dumped one of the beloved boys in blue for space?  The last time they did that, what did they have to give up to get the contract off?

2) When was the last time the Mavs pivoted to quickly signing non-star talent when their plan A didn’t pan out?  Most years they wait for the stars like Kawhi to not choose them then pick pieces off of the scrap heap.

What I see this year is the quick execution of a plan rather than the “we’re going to be opportunistic” approach that has historically been taken. Bullock was targeted, he wasn’t a left over.  People might say the end result was the same, but the way we got here was very different.


And now to answer my own question:

1) Ball or Powell - We need someone who can put up points and defend. I would have preferred Ball or Norman Powell.  I would have made one call about the interest of either and moved on quickly to resigning THJ.  I don’t think it would have been worth the risk of waiting on them and losing THJ in the process.  I’m great with the resigning even at that price.

2) Holmes - He would have been my #1 free agent priority after signing a guard.  Good young talent, fits the budget, seemingly attainable, and right timeline.  I would have happily happily “overpaid” for him.

3) Fill out roster - here you could still do the Brown signing, pursue Dragic, sign Boban etc

Current starting line up:

Luka
THJ
DFS 
KP
Holmes

I don’t love the KP/Holmes pairing, but I like the building blocks.

What is that off-season so far?  C?

Here is where the pipe dream starts

4) After landing Holmes I’d be doing everything I could to move KP.  My target is Tobi.  Philly wants to move him so he is get able.  Contract matches well.  You need a third team though.  I have to think there is some bottom feeding team who would facilitate, maybe something with the Kings? Or Charlotte?  Maybe Orlando? If not Tobi, I’d look for another starter caliber player at SG or SF so I could shift DFS down to PF.  I’m really just looking for a starting caliber player to create a better balance in the starting 5.

Imagine if you can pull that off, you now have:

Luka
THJ
Tobi (or some other lesser player, or an SG with THJ at SF)
DFS
Holmes

I think Brunson is good as a secondary ball handler off of the bench even if he disappeared in the playoffs.  He has a much longer resume that supports his ability that outweighs that performance.

I think Dragic still happens eventually.  Ujri needs a win to save face after all of his public posturing, otherwise people will see he’s bluffing.  My guess is Dragic gets bought out for maybe $12m so Toronto can say they won then he still signs for vet min.  Still not a bad payday for him. 

So after everything I’d be looking to start the season with something like this.

Luka/Brunson/Terry
THJ/Dragic
Tobi/Brown
DFS/Maxi
Holmes/Powell/Brown

What’s interesting is that if I look at what I’ve proposed, I wouldn’t change that much. I’m essentially saying after whiffing on Ball and Powell, I would have just preferred Holmes instead of Bullock and WCS.  And the pipe dream portion of my proposal is still possible, even if very unlikely.