MAVS NEWS:

[KillerLeft]

So the question is what does not standing pat mean?  Is this team going to be a contender with a disgruntled AD and no significant roster updates?  No?  Then "lets try it with those guys" either ends up in a futile effort that costs draft assets, or it ends up in an all in mindset that likely involves an AD extension and the future assets getting sent out in a huge gamble that two mid 30s oft injured stars and a 19 year old can lead the team to a short window championship.   

I get the argument that the market for AD might just not be there at the TDL, and if that is the case you wait until the offseason.  But I am deathly afraid of "lets try it" turns into "we are all in" and we end up in an even deeper hole than we were after we traded for KP.

I think that's too extreme a viewpoint, and if my NBA fandom has taught me anything, it's that we're not as good at predicting this stuff as we think. I can't remember what version of this board we were in during 2011, so I can't give any links, but I can tell you that very, very few of us were believers in that team. The prevailing wisdom was that the team was too old, not talented enough, and that the nails had already been hammered into the coffin of Dirk's era. There were members of this community who refused to believe, even during the Finals. 

All I'm saying is this: the combination of Flagg, AD and Kyrie might actually be much better than we can predict sitting here today, especially if Flagg's progression continues at this rate. They all fit on the court, style wise, after all, so isn't it really just a matter of how good the kid is, and how quickly, along with filling the right pieces around them? And, don't the Mavs already have the "good role players" part of team building in place? Is it really that impossible to think they could shuffle those good players to teams needing them for equivalent pieces that fit with the Mavs' trio a little better, if needed? Does that really constitute "going all in?" 

I'd submit that, since the Mavs don't really have access to their own draft capital for a while, it's worth a try. Flagg is young enough to where the second act of his career can start right about the time we get to the point where the cupboard has more draft capital in it, no? I mean, in 2031, he'll be about the age Luka was when they traded him. I don't...REALLY...see an emergency situation here, at least not at the moment. 

Frankly, the prospect of Flagg getting seasoned enough to be deadly while there's still juice left in Kyrie/AD's careers seems like one of the more plausible outcomes to bet on, given the alternatives. There's simply no way to turn the assets on hand into the kind of draft capital needed for a rebuild and we all know it. Sure, they could liquidate into a ton of picks, but without their OWN picks, such an endeavor has a very low likelihood of success. 

Don't get me wrong - I'm not advocating for trading picks from way down the road for guys to help "win now," especially if they're late 20's or early 30's types, but switching PJW out for a SF who's roughly the same quality of player but might fit with Flagg better? That's just one example, mind you, not a suggestion, but idk...I can see it.