Yesterday, 04:26 PM
I hate to stick up for Kidd, but I don't know that you can pin O-Max on him. The Mavs just really weren't in a position to develop a player that raw while he was here. Those were actual competitive seasons, after all.
But, I also wouldn't be so fast to blame it on the front office. Sometimes you have to take a risk on a raw player, if the potential payoff is worth it. You just do. If O-Max had developed a bit more quickly, his physical tools would've made him a great steal of a prize for an already competitive team. I have no problem whatsoever with a small bet on that potential.
Sometimes, timing and circumstances for the team and player just don't align correctly. It is what it is. If there was a mistake made along the way, I'd say it was dumping him this past summer in the name of bringing Dante Exum back, but tbh even I, the biggest landowner on all of O-Max island, was in favor of that. Looking back, that mistake was just a symptom of a bigger one: thinking a team built around the singular and specific Luka Doncic could replace him with an 18 year old (even a great one) and stay competitive. If the Mavs had known then how ridiculous of a notion that was (they probably should've, even if we here couldn't agree about it), then they'd have probably kept O-Max around, and this season would've finally been his chance to get on the floor.
Even still (sorry Smitty, cover your eyes), O-Max isn't a fit with Flagg, imho, so it's not the end of the world, even if this current upward trend in his development continues. It should be mentioned that it's a big "if," but "if" he keeps getting better I say good on him. The Mavs need a different sort of player than they needed when they were building around Luka, anyway.
But, I also wouldn't be so fast to blame it on the front office. Sometimes you have to take a risk on a raw player, if the potential payoff is worth it. You just do. If O-Max had developed a bit more quickly, his physical tools would've made him a great steal of a prize for an already competitive team. I have no problem whatsoever with a small bet on that potential.
Sometimes, timing and circumstances for the team and player just don't align correctly. It is what it is. If there was a mistake made along the way, I'd say it was dumping him this past summer in the name of bringing Dante Exum back, but tbh even I, the biggest landowner on all of O-Max island, was in favor of that. Looking back, that mistake was just a symptom of a bigger one: thinking a team built around the singular and specific Luka Doncic could replace him with an 18 year old (even a great one) and stay competitive. If the Mavs had known then how ridiculous of a notion that was (they probably should've, even if we here couldn't agree about it), then they'd have probably kept O-Max around, and this season would've finally been his chance to get on the floor.
Even still (sorry Smitty, cover your eyes), O-Max isn't a fit with Flagg, imho, so it's not the end of the world, even if this current upward trend in his development continues. It should be mentioned that it's a big "if," but "if" he keeps getting better I say good on him. The Mavs need a different sort of player than they needed when they were building around Luka, anyway.
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