01-31-2021, 03:13 PM
(01-31-2021, 03:05 PM)hakeemfaan Wrote: Donnie has hit spectacularly on Dirk and on Luka. Yes one of them might have been a no brainer but there were teams that passed on him. However overall I would characterize Donnie’s tenure as disappointing. Dirk should have multiple titles here. Dirk had his flaws too but there was a stat about transcendent players leading their team to perennial playoffs and Dirk was the only guy with one title.
If you get stars to come like the Nets or Heat you can see that nothing else matters. Else you have to have a plan If you see Riley, the one thing he always has stressed is a dominant force at the 5 spot. Adebayo was not an accident. Coincidentally that seems one of Donnie’s biggest flaws. He always seems to get it wrong in terms of the strength needed to play down low. Even though the two times Dirk made the Finals he had the best centers alongside him, it is as if Donnie refuses to learn.
Agree that Nelson has been largely disappointing, when his tenure is viewed from a bird's eye view. Agree the 5 spot has been a recurring issue.
But, I feel like I see adjustment from Nelson and the Mavs. I feel like what they've been attempting has been adjusted this time around, maybe not in every way that matters, but in enough ways to give me some hope.
I HOPE that they're not 100% results oriented with their self-analysis, and that they don't overreact in one direction or another. I think the PROCESS they've employed over the past few years is a good one, and sometimes even surprisingly good, even if some of the individual moves weren't successful. I think the best chance they have is to continue to make conservative, calculated decisions and not reach for too much too quickly. They made a big swing on the KP thing, and that might've been a mistake, but I can't say I wouldn't have done the same at the time.
I hate watching this team right now, and I'm as depressed about it as anyone, but I refuse to knee-jerk about all the things that had me feeling excited and hopeful just months ago. Those things were true at that time, not some elaborate mirage.