08-25-2025, 01:13 AM
(08-24-2025, 10:52 PM)F Gump Wrote: So your answer to "there's nothing in-between?" is that EVERY unknown for these players and this season will play out with the "worst case possible" outcome? Good grief.
Yes it's easy to accept your assertion that Nico won't want to trade Kyrie or AD, at least not anytime soon, but mostly because they are huge talents and the Mavs need that. But how is that a disaster looming? The Mavs future does NOT revolve around them necessarily being traded, and at the first available moment. Let's see where this goes first.
But it's not so easy to accept that every coaching and lineup decision will be made with blind stupidity (with no recognition of what might be advantageous and what is not), every health unknown will turn out for the worst, every player development possibility will take way longer than people think, and so on.
Even with Nico being in charge (and my total distrust of what he might do), I just see the assumption that "everything that can go wrong will go wrong" as nonsense, and extremely lazy.
Why? Because by plenty of observation, we KNOW the coach and the players are way better than that. These are skilled professionals, and I expect they will figure things out in some manner that befits their basketball knowledge and experience. Assume EVERY unknown will happen to play out with the "worst case possible" outcome? It just doesn't work that way (unless you're tanking, of course).
Where will next season take them, and will they at some point shift directions on their current roster choices? Perhaps, but even that would be NBD. That's part of how roster-building works. Yes, some things will perhaps not work, but others may be an incredible success, and in total I believe there are way better overall possibilities for this roster than you want us to expect.
I have no idea where most of this is coming from. This is not the gloom and doom post that you are making it out to be.
If the Mavs are in the mode of trying to contend, then presumably a trade would involve sending out assets (and salary) to get a better player back. What team is going to want to send the Mavs an even better player for AD and assets? I simply think while the Mavs are in the first "window" they will likely ride or die with AD/Kyrie. I don't know why you are reading this as being negative?
I don't look at things from the worst possible perspective. I try to look at things objectively (like when I argued with you a year and a half ago that there were plenty of reasons not to give up on the season). I don't think this team currently has contending talent. Maybe you disagree. They took a massive hit on the Luka trade and another big hit with the Kyrie injury. That is a big gap to ask an 18 year old rookie to fill. I think the latest over/under for wins is 40. I have already stated I would easily take the over, so at least I am more positive than Vegas. Is it really that negative to suggest a team that Vegas thinks will finish 9th in the West is not a contender?