02-28-2023, 02:41 AM
(02-27-2023, 06:01 PM)SkenfromLMF Wrote: GUYS this is why we study history...
CUBAN is the one who gave up on the draft and it happened long before Carlisle and Donnie took the reigns.
The first draft that Cuban oversaw was the 2000 draft. Dallas had the 9th pick and Don Nelson had already circled Etan Thomas on his draft card. Dallas also held a pick in the '20s.
The conversation, between Nellie and Cuban centered around who the most NBA ready player in the draft was. Nellie's answer was Courtney Alexander. When the draft hits Courtney Alexander is on the board and Nellie is sticking to Etan Thomas (as the biggest upside player). Cuban goes out and buys Orlando's pick (actually a deferred pick that would be protected) to Orlando, so that Dallas can draft Alexander. At that moment in team history Nellie (and Donnie) had the highest regard among drafting FO's because in '98 they made the Dirk/Nash draft day splash.
What happened is that Cubes ended up with 3 picks in the absolute worst draft in the last 25 years. He was absolutely disgusted with the results and vowed to never again trust fate to the draft (outside of a high lottery pick). He basically killed all resources that the scouting department allocated to the draft and Dallas had to roll blind unless they were in on a top level pick. Not sure much has changed other than what Nico brings to the table organically. Dallas still neglects drafts as a rule (think about the Harris/Podkolzine draft Nellie out; and the Green/Terry/Bey draft Donnie out) and is really going through the motions. The Luka-Brunson draft is the kind of draft that turns a franchise into a perennial contender, and we are spinning our tires because we let JB go. Ultimately the draft that seals this version of the events happened in the 2013 process. Cuban sold our pick twice to move down for MAX CAP opportunities while his PBO/GM is saying draft that guy. Milwaukee did and the rest is...
History
But on the other hand, draft was the only thing they did well since they drafted Luka. Sure they missed on a couple of second rounders (Terry hurts), but there were more hits than misses lately. The problem is more, as you point out, that Mavs are always looking for short term success and neglecting long term team growth. They were always looking to put win now teams around Dirk and they were looking to put a win now team in the whole "Luka era". That is why they never have assets that might be traded or might develop. That's why they never seem to be able to build a dynasty. Just not enough patience and smart team building. Just look at Kyrie trade - first opportunity they jump for the "star", no matter how much of a gamble it is and no matter that the fit is questionable (not on offense, not worried about that at all).
What I can't understand. Even when they do the gamble for a star, they do it halfway. They traded for KP. They had max cap space before signing him to his new contract, yet they did nothing with that. Huge missed opportunity to either add serious pieces around Luka/KP or get more assets selling that cap space. They trade for Kai leaving huge hole at big wing while already having same center problem they had last season, yet they don't go all the way to fill that hole and actually build something close to a contender.