(07-02-2021, 08:10 AM)Kammrath Wrote: So this was the impression I got (after synthesizing what I heard):
Voulgaris was NOT "responsible" for the pick....but he WAS in Cuban's ear about Luka, praising him effusively as the next big thing and that Cuban would regret passing on Luka if he did. Donnie also liked Luka and wanted him. Voulgaris being on the same page as Donnie about Luka helped Cuban pull the trigger and give up the extra 1st round pick (because all his advisors were saying the same thing).
So the point wasn't that Donnie didn't like Luka, but that Voulgaris liking Luka so much helped 1) Cuban pull the trigger and 2) built Cuban's trust in Voulgaris as knowing what he was talking about (maybe even leading to his hire).
I will say about this "synthesis" the same thing I've said about the other possibilities as to how Bob has been operating - no one can think it happened like this, without also saying that Cuban has been the GM making the GM-type decisions for the Mavs.
If Donnie was the GM making the decisions, then Bob is taking his info to Donnie, who figures out how to value it along with what scouts are saying, and then pulls a trigger on what he thinks is best. But if Cuban is the GM, he gets input from Donnie, Bob, and others, decides what he likes, and it's his decision. And clearly we see it has been the latter path used by the Mavs.
Also this is NOT "typical owner behavior" around the NBA. It's very much the exception, and where we see owners operating this way, thinking they can be the basketball guy and outdo the pros, they tend to be pantsed and outclassed by the ones where the owners delegate and get out of the way.