MAVS NEWS:

[cow]

See...it goes back to what I brought up the other day. The elephant in the room we're all just talking right past is: some people think it's pointless to try to be good next year, despite the Mavs having no incentive to be bad. Others assume they can and will find a way to be "good" next year, in some sort of relative way. Some feel as hopeless as the first group, but still expect the Mavs to make decisions based on the attempt to be good, given said lack of incentive to be bad. 

What we need to know is the direction the Mavs will chose or have already chosen, and we're just throwing spaghetti at the wall until we have that context. Every single one of us is assuming something, at least a small thing, and that's coloring our individual outlooks. 

If you think this is about to be a "start over" situation, a '31 first is a great asset to get. If you subconsciously believe there's a world in which next season doesn't suck, exchanging a current good rotation player for that seems unthinkable. It's where the Mavs decision makers are (and we don't even know who they are yet, really) on this spectrum that matters.

I think the answer is more likely somewhere in the middle of those extremes.  Not controlling your picks for the foreseeable future isn't ideal, but there is some freedom to it.  I don't think we'll have a contender for a while, but Cooper has shown enough to know that we will not be a bottom feeder and that's without the services of Kyrie, AD, Lively and shorter term injuries to our other role players.  Factor in a new running mate from the draft class and a year two bump for our centerpiece and you could roll out a very decent squad depending on which pieces get moved by the TDL/this offseason.  The freedom part comes in not having to make any moves just to make moves.  That's all dependent on Dumont's willingness to pay the tax, but I'm not sure it's safe to assume the preference one way or the other, especially before a GM is hired.  The power of standing pat, gives you negotiating leverage and we can sell off pieces when it makes the most sense and provides the best returns.  That's my half glass full look at the situation anyway.