Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[F Gump]

I think any trade for PG/#3 pick signals a rebuild strategy.

Obviously Mavs are in win-now mode but it wouldnt bother me at all if they moved AD for PG/#3 simply because I dont think this team has what it takes to win it all, or the right trade assets to get us there unless they are willing to part with the #1 pick.

I'd much rather just keep AD if that's all that's offered (a part time aged-out player in decline, with an abominable contract that will hamstring your payroll for 3 seasons, and pick 3 in this meh draft -- yuck), and it's not an especially hard decision. That's awful. (To be clear, I want NOTHING to do with PG, under any circumstances.)

But bigger picture, I think the approach of all-or-nothing (ie, we don't have enough to win a title yet, so let's throw everything in the pooper and start from scratch) is just wrong.

Even if NTI's claim that 'The Luka/AD trade made this a championship team' was clearly dolt-level stuff, they do have a significant set of talent. The name of the game is to amass enough talent to win it all, and it's hard to get good talent. Even after the stupid Luka trade, they were way far up the ladder of having what's needed.

From here, every move needs to be designed to get closer to the goal, not start over.

Let's be real. With the addition of Flagg, it closed the door on a teardown. His addition alone pushed them a couple of rungs up that "enough talent to win it all" ladder. This team that really needed another major talent just got one. We have no idea how close they already are.

This is NOT the time to hold a fire sale.

No one has said it yet, so let me be the first - we are already in the Flagg Era for the Mavs, and the clock is ticking already. (It does NOT start in 2 or 3 or 4 years down the road.) Tear it all down NOW, of all times? No way. Don't waste any of it. Figure out how to take THESE pieces, with some tweaks, and play for titles.