Potpourri
1 Kidd has never said he had any idea of the Luka trade before it happened (except being told what was happening at the last minute, right before it went down). Nico also said Kidd had no clue. NO ONE has offered any evidence Kidd really had any part in it or knew.
2 After it was done, Nico said he knew what Kidd wants, so he didn't have to consult him. Is that true? Kidd never responded to that claim, never agreed with it at all, but never called out Nico for saying it. Did Kidd like the trade? When asked what he thought of the trade, Kidd said his job is to coach the players they give him. Very hands off answer.
3 My personal impression is he thought it was a stupidly done trade overall because the Mavs got worse, and ended up without a PG/offense creator. But he's never said a negative word about the trade, at least not in public.
4 I tend to think the Mavs went for a draft pick once Kyrie got hurt. They do that half-tank thing, that isn't really an all-out chase for getting them the great pick (except this time they got lucky) but they aim for a better pick right at the end. I say that because as bad as the product has been so far, I am not dismissive of the idea they are ALREADY thinking this year will be invested in getting a good pick, to have a long-term running mate for CF.
5 The Mavs extended Kidd's deal before the season started. So he has plenty of job security. Mavs can't afford to fire him now. I seriously wonder if this has been his #1 goal since the trade - if I have to coach with a badly assembled team, I want to get paid a lot.
6 Kidd has talked like all is well, and success is just around the corner with this new approach to roster construction, but he's smart enough hoops-wise to have seen in all the practices what's working (and it's not close at all). Maybe it was him playing the game to get that extension before the flaws in this roster became more evident?
7 The one thing that points otherwise is the coaching staff they have. They are way too good to be here to try to lose.
8 In between games the players talk a good game, but then play with their heads up their azz. It's like the team is out of shape, or has no energy. Odd. The rotations haven't been clear either, which doesn't help. As I think through it all, it feels like they are fighting an incredible lack of familiarity with each other. The one solution to that is time (on the court together, under pressure).
EDITED TO ADD - This team is Nico's vision, exactly what he has aimed for. It's resulted in a set of mismatched parts, with the hard-cap-limited money being spent weirdly, very inefficiently. Even though it has a ton of talent, getting players on the court that work well TOGETHER is really clunky. And Nico being in charge of trades to remake the roster is a recipe for even worse, given this monstrosity he has created and the way he makes things worse by his moves. NICO MUST GO - that's the next move. Until then, it's just gonna be about player development and shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.
1 Kidd has never said he had any idea of the Luka trade before it happened (except being told what was happening at the last minute, right before it went down). Nico also said Kidd had no clue. NO ONE has offered any evidence Kidd really had any part in it or knew.
2 After it was done, Nico said he knew what Kidd wants, so he didn't have to consult him. Is that true? Kidd never responded to that claim, never agreed with it at all, but never called out Nico for saying it. Did Kidd like the trade? When asked what he thought of the trade, Kidd said his job is to coach the players they give him. Very hands off answer.
3 My personal impression is he thought it was a stupidly done trade overall because the Mavs got worse, and ended up without a PG/offense creator. But he's never said a negative word about the trade, at least not in public.
4 I tend to think the Mavs went for a draft pick once Kyrie got hurt. They do that half-tank thing, that isn't really an all-out chase for getting them the great pick (except this time they got lucky) but they aim for a better pick right at the end. I say that because as bad as the product has been so far, I am not dismissive of the idea they are ALREADY thinking this year will be invested in getting a good pick, to have a long-term running mate for CF.
5 The Mavs extended Kidd's deal before the season started. So he has plenty of job security. Mavs can't afford to fire him now. I seriously wonder if this has been his #1 goal since the trade - if I have to coach with a badly assembled team, I want to get paid a lot.
6 Kidd has talked like all is well, and success is just around the corner with this new approach to roster construction, but he's smart enough hoops-wise to have seen in all the practices what's working (and it's not close at all). Maybe it was him playing the game to get that extension before the flaws in this roster became more evident?
7 The one thing that points otherwise is the coaching staff they have. They are way too good to be here to try to lose.
8 In between games the players talk a good game, but then play with their heads up their azz. It's like the team is out of shape, or has no energy. Odd. The rotations haven't been clear either, which doesn't help. As I think through it all, it feels like they are fighting an incredible lack of familiarity with each other. The one solution to that is time (on the court together, under pressure).
EDITED TO ADD - This team is Nico's vision, exactly what he has aimed for. It's resulted in a set of mismatched parts, with the hard-cap-limited money being spent weirdly, very inefficiently. Even though it has a ton of talent, getting players on the court that work well TOGETHER is really clunky. And Nico being in charge of trades to remake the roster is a recipe for even worse, given this monstrosity he has created and the way he makes things worse by his moves. NICO MUST GO - that's the next move. Until then, it's just gonna be about player development and shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.
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