Mavs have a leadership problem | Cuban and Harlabob argue on Twitter

[vfromlmf]

careful what you wish for, and what your attitude and perspective is.

Nothing wrong with expecting a great player to hold himself accountable to a higher bar. Some would say that's what makes a great player in the first place. Never satisfied, always hungry for more. Giannis might be the gold standard in today's NBA but there are others. Luka has similar traits but I think he can and probably will be better with maturity.

[fifteenth]

meh

I mean, a message board talking about what our superstar could do better to maximize himself doesn't equate to "not appreciating" him, in my mind.

[cow]

1) The bottom line is that, if the Mavs or Mavs' fans don't appreciate Luka, warts and all, there are 29 other franchises who would salivate for the opportunity to take on all of those Luka problems. Not saying that Luka doesn't need to mature, grow, and improve at all, so don't strawman me, just saying, careful what you wish for, and what your attitude and perspective is.

While I think everyone here appreciates Luka, warts and all, if you want to wax poetic a little bit, what is the best comp to Luka in the league right now?  I'd argue it is James Harden.  James is a little bit more of a gunner and Luka is a little bit more of a giver.  They are both transcendent on one side of the floor and sieves on the other end.  Houston could never build a winner around Luka and their GM was a hell of lot more creative and capable than anyone who has collected a check for the Mavs.  The Nets don't really scare me either though KD is transcendent enough to make them a true contender.  I guess that's all to say, it's going to take a very special front office to build a team around Luka to make us contenders and you are going to need the right coach.  Both of our new hires are stumbling out of the blocks to say the least.

-THJ at 20m is a huge mistake (NAILED IT)
-Bullock is another 3D guy that can't hit threes or play D.  
-Kidd playing THJ, Brunson and Luka together in the crunch is ridiculous.  

I guess you could argue that the flipside to Harden is Curry.  The skillsets are much difference but they are both all offense, no defense players.  Golden State did a good job building a team around their generational talent and still has them as legitimate contenders through a bunch of ups and downs.  

How much confidence do you have in a Mark Cuban run organization to do that with Luka?  I'm somewhere between 0-1%.  They had a hard enough time with Dirk and as I've been saying a lot these days, the average level of competency from front offices is way higher these days and the MBT have entrenched themselves as one of the worst in the league. 

What does it all mean?  I have no idea.  It's a frustrating situation that I don't see getting any better.  Our first test is coming up shortly though.  This is a mediocre team and I think a big win for the front office would be to not make any panic trades that further sacrifice future flexibility.

[Scott41theMavs]

This is a mediocre team and I think a big win for the front office would be to not make any panic trades that further sacrifice future flexibility.

How about "panic trades" that *create* future flexibility?

[cow]

How about "panic trades" that *create* future flexibility?

[KillerLeft]

[fifteenth]

[ClutchDirk]

https://media.giphy.com/media/l1J9RsK4cV.../giphy.gif

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/jc1053/status/146872...92992?s=21

Putting this here because I think not only do the Mavs have a leadership problem in the locker room, but the entire franchise as a whole.

https://twitter.com/haralabob/status/146...16226?s=21

Click on Voulgaris' tweet to see the entire exchange.

[KillerLeft]

I agree 100% with Voulgaris, personally.

[ClutchDirk]

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/146873...11584?s=20

[cow]

I'm 100% on board with Cuban regarding the ball change causing issues.  I think the NBA is foolish to make a switch.  At least it isn't as bad as last time.

Jeff's little attempt at Twitter drama is lame.

[hakeemfaan]

Putting aside Twitter drama, Cuban has to be blamed for hiring  a front office guy and then not clearly delineating responsibilities.  The incumbent was understandably insecure and the new guy was in a bad position to implement his ideas. 

Then the incumbent leaves the room on a draft night where the team has two relatively high picks and no repercussions there?  

This after a decade of poor management on the non basketball side of things that led to a total overhaul.  

Cuban has all the answers in front of the cameras but scratch even slightly below the surface and he comes across as an impulsive decision maker whose words about how detail oriented he is does not seem to match his actions. He owes yahoo big time for what he is today.  On the basketball side, Dirk and the willingness to overspend other owners initially helped him a lot. With the onset of the repeat tax, even the 2nd part has been affected.

[omahen]

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/146873...11584?s=20

Jordan Brodess on Twitter: "i love the idea that Cuban is paying all this money for a staff of analytic nerds possessing numbers we will never see, and he's just sitting in his basement on bball ref." / Twitter

[dynamicalVoid]

The Math guys lied.

"Its about numbers" they said...

"Chase percentages" they said...

"Championships will follow" they said...

...

Until...and I quote Bob Sturm...you realize "you brought a donkey to the Kentucky Derby"

Get some damn basketball players in here...Lord have Mercy.

I guess the Math guys forgot that players can all the sudden forget to shoot and have long stretches of being cold?  You need to have guys with basketball skills to fall back on if their shot isnt falling.

[fifteenth]

The Math guys lied....

Do you use tools when you fix things at your domicile? 

Do you really want to make the claim that sports teams shouldn't use math?

Do you think the Sturmanator shuns math? 

Should teams make sure to hide all the stats (ppg, apg, rbp, etc...) when it's time to evaluate a player? 

Is math prejudiced against skill?

[dynamicalVoid]

Do you use tools when you fix things at your domicile? 

Do you really want to make the claim that sports teams shouldn't use math?

Do you think the Sturmanator shuns math? 

Should teams make sure to hide all the stats (ppg, apg, rbp, etc...) when it's time to evaluate a player? 

Is math prejudiced against skill?

WHOAAA.  CALM DOWN!  IM NOT TRYING TO TRIGGER YOU!  YOU ARENT A BATTERY TO ME

Yes...I would say hiding the stats should be done first.   Find guys that pass the eye test for basketball fundamentals.   Once you have found that list of players.   Maybe go after guys with higher percentages from said list.   In reverse order you could be left with a roster similar to the Mavs.

[fifteenth]

WHOAAA.  CALM DOWN!  IM NOT TRYING TO TRIGGER YOU!  YOU ARENT A BATTERY TO ME

LOL. I promise that I was completely calm, with a grin on my face while responding to your anti-math post.   <--- just like that

Yes...I would say hiding the stats should be done first.   Find guys that pass the eye test for basketball fundamentals.   Once you have found that list of players.   Maybe go after guys with higher percentages from said list.   In reverse order you could be left with a roster similar to the Mavs.

Interesting. I don't think that's an terrible idea. I imagine NBA teams, including the Mavs do both and probably do each thing first at times and the other thing first at times. But that's just a guess.

[Mavs2021]

If Cuban says it´s the ball, it´s most likely something else. Given how the H&S protocols are starting to spin out of control again, I´d be not surprised if we go back to limited capacity or fully empty buildings again and that will improve shooting again.

[Benskix2]

I feel like Cuban is going hard after the balls here when he should be focusing on the shaft....
 that the team has been getting on some crunch time foul calls.