MAVS NEWS:

[KillerLeft]

Agreed, but I hope we don't spend any valuable assets on one.  We need to go the opposite direction to collect assets for the rebuild that is coming 3-4 years from now and hopefully with a new GM in hand.  By then, we should have a much better idea of what Flagg needs around him, though it should be a much easier task since Flagg is a two-way player unlike our GOAT and our Gone Too Soon.

I don't hold such a pessimistic view. 

For one thing, I'm not 100% sure the Luka trade is going to look AS bad as we think it will, given some time. I think we can be critical of the return, or of the strategy, except I get the strategy, and have said a million times I can understand the team wanting to be out from under Luka. Shams said just this week that Davis is worth 4-5 picks right now, today, so I don't kill the Mavs for just getting the one pick, honestly. Harrison is probably among the biggest believers in Davis that exist, so we can safely assume that if some people think he'd be worth 3-4 and others believe he's worth 4-5, Harrison is probably in the latter camp. That means, in his mind, he valued Luka at 6 unprotected picks in the deal. We don't have to agree with the assessment of either Luka or Davis, but I think it's a little more defensible from that POV. 

And, Davis IS really, really great when he plays. Sure, "when he plays" is part of the conversation, but it officially is with Luka, too. Count me in the camp that believes Luka's health and conditioning will trend downward in the coming years, not upward. 

The biggest issue I see with the idea they can't contend this season (other than injury concerns with Davis) is the idea that the roster would be set right now, if only Kyrie was healthy. I think he's an iso-scoring guard, and I think the team needs a guy who thinks in terms of play making...which brings us to the conversation we've been having about Flagg playing point forward on day 1. For some, "yeah, let's try that" is apparently a viable way forward from here, but I think that would be a huge mistake, personally. 

You say "but I hope they don't spend any valuable assets on one." I can't agree to something so binary. I agree that selling good assets for someone really OLD would be a mistake, if that's what you mean. But, for someone in their mid-to-late twenties? I don't see the problem, truly, especially since the "valuable assets" we're discussing are suddenly not locks for meaningful roles here, meaning (as I see it) that NOW is the time to cash in, or you risk having to sell lower on them later (when the reduced roles knock some of the shine off of them) or worse - losing them for nothing. I flatly don't think there's a role here for Gafford much longer, and I don't think there's nearly enough meat left on the bone for BOTH PJW and Naji Marshall, now that Flagg is here. 

Obviously, I hope they get a good deal for a good player, and I'm not saying they should give anyone away for something less than what those guys could do for you in the short term, but in a general way it makes a ton of sense to me to reposition the the salary structure so that not ALL of your good players are forwards and centers. Even Klay Thompson is basically more 3 than 2 these days, imho. The only guard on the roster I'm truly comfortable with (including Kyrie, who'll be an older player coming off of a major injury at some point, probably much later than we're assuming around here) is Christie, and I think he's probably a bench player still at this point. 

The roster is ridiculously lopsided. Something MUST be done about that before we can talk seriously about this team and whether or not they're any good, or even whether or not they should try to be.