MAVS NEWS:

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/YahooSports/status/1872423...h1FNqPQgOA&s=19

[Mavs2021]

https://x.com/YahooSports/status/1872423...h1FNqPQgOA&s=19

I can´t lie. If Orlando came to me right now and said Wagner, Suggs, their 2025 1st for Luka, I´d think about it. He´s this reckless with his body at age 24, what´s he going to look like at 27 at 80M/year, if he does not change his bad habits?

Can you do that trade? Probably not, cause you look like a moron, if he decides to get in shape in the weaker Conference and is a virtual lock for the conference finals every year for the next decade, but this is truly disappointing.

People make this comparison to Harden, but Harden imho is a surpreme athlete underneath his off-season hobby to live in strip clubs. Yes he had a habit to play himself into shape the first 15-20 games, but he also only missed 25 regular season games in his first eight years in the league and is still eating up minutes at age 35. Or take Rodman as another example. Dude was partying all night, jumped on a treadmill an hour before the game  to warm up and then shut down Karl Malone and snatch 20 boards, while probably BUI (balling under the influence).  Luka is not a great athlete in that sense; terms of health/fitness/maintenance imho.

After seeing the latest interview from Dakari Johnson about Westbrook, I´m still kind of disappointed we did not sign him for the minimum. Every teammate of his says he´s the hardest worker and the nicest person. I´m kinda disappointed Dirk wasn´t the guy in his final year, because Luka needed/needs somebody that gets on his ass and challenges him every day. Carlisle surely was that guy, but there was too much other bad stuff happening.

Divac was a complete moron to pass on Luka, but his concerns/assessment of his unprofessional habits relating to his father seem to have been validated ever since his mother disappeared from the public eye and his father has taken over.

Really down on Luka right now. I have rarely enjoyed a game he´s played this season. Certainly not as much as the games he did not play. I´m looking forward to the game tonight more, cause he ain´t playing.

[BigDirk41]

Really tough news for Luka and the Mavs.  I hope we can steady the ship when he is out and not overwork Kyrie while doing it. 

Anyone know the cardio conditioning you can do when out with a calf injury?  Also, how do you keep your lower body ready...especially important for a guy like Luka who relies so much on this base strength.

I swear there hasn't been a player who has confused me more on his conditioning than Luka.  It is not just the beginning of the season.  Several times during the season I feel he looks in rough shape and than at times he looks fine.  Add minor injuries and it is even tougher to tell.  Then you see him play 45 minutes in a a game.  He keeps a lot of things private, so it makes it even tougher to know what his offseason programs are and how disciplined he is during the season. 

I am not a pro athlete.  Heck far from it.    I do stay healthy.  I don't drink much.  I can't drink beer.  I get bad cramps in my right calf just after just 1-2 beers.  I wonder how much Luka drinks during the season.  I am sure most players like to drink or whatever a lot.  This season from Luka got off from a bad start from the beginning.  Is it just bad luck (probably) or was it bad planning?  In last playoff run he had a bad knee.  In the playoff WCF run he missed the first few games of that series.  If Jalen didn't play awesome, there was a chance that could have ended our run in the first round.    Wasn't he hurt in our non playoff year after Jalen left?  Unfortunately, these injuries are popping up often.    Time to re-evaluate things?

He should be able to swim or stationary bike, but I don't see him swimming..lol. I'm honestly concerned he may not get right by the playoffs. In a month, he'll probably put on 20 lbs. I'm sure they will sit him another couple of weeks after that before they review his status again. Once he's cleared, he'll have to get into game shape and I would think a 7 day ramp up would be the quickest they would attempt that after sitting so long, but we'll see. This is definitely putting the Mavs season is serious jeopardy imo.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Maybe this is the wake-up call he's needed. A month is a long time to recoup. He needs to take ownership of his conditioning before he can reach the next level.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

I swear there hasn't been a player who has confused me more on his conditioning than Luka.  It is not just the beginning of the season.  Several times during the season I feel he looks in rough shape and than at times he looks fine.  

Classic water retention from excessive drinking.

I used to look like a completely different person after a weekend in Vegas with the boys.  Would take me 7-10 days to get rid of all the bloating.

[Chicagojk]

I would start Grimes. I bet Kidd would like to start Din but you really need to stagger Spencer’s minutes with Kyrie. Although Din may close several games.

The rotation actually fits better when on 1-3 is out. You obviously wish Luka was one of the healthy ones though.

[Chicagojk]

I’ll admit this is way to early and coming from me who was not a fan early in the season quite funny, but what is the salary range we can give Dinwiddie? What would you be willing to give him to resign him?

I think this stage in his career, din is no longer going to get paid as a starter. He probably isn’t a starter for a good team either. So fit and playing time will probably be important factors. Obviously money is king though. I just wonder what the teams thought of him being here in the future. If he is back then I would assume Exum and Hardy would not be back next year.

[SleepingHero]

@ShamsCharania
The NBA is suspending Dallas’ Naji Marshall for four games and Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic for three games after their fight Friday night when Nurkic struck Marshall in the head and then Marshall threw a punch.

[SleepingHero]

@ShamsCharania
NBA says it also suspended Mavericks’ PJ Washington for one game for escalating the on-court altercation.

[F Gump]

I’ll admit this is way to early and coming from me who was not a fan early in the season quite funny, but what is the salary range we can give Dinwiddie?  What would you be willing to give him to resign him?

I think this stage in his career, din is no longer going to get paid as a starter.  He probably isn’t a starter for a good team either.  So fit and playing time will probably be important factors.  Obviously money is king though.  I just wonder what the teams thought of him being here in the future.  If he is back then I would assume Exum and Hardy would not be back next year.

The number to re-sign SD should not be a big money number. IMO it's not more than BAE (which will be about $5.13M next season), but it might be minimum salary again (which, when you include league subsidy, will be about $3.64M). He's probably worth more than that to the Mavs, but maybe not to anyone else, and Mavs may be working with a hard cap obstacle again where every dollar matters.

It wouldn't surprise me if he and Dallas renew their vows. His age, role as a backup, and abysmal shooting numbers (37% overall, 32% on 3s) work against him being in higher demand than someone's 2nd-3rd stringer, and he has made himself somewhat of a home here.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6023440.../?login=ml&auth=login-ml


Luka's house was burglarized. This is
an epidemic that's exploded for high
profile athletes especially the NFL

[Smitty]

The Mavericks have a 1-6 record without PJ Washington this season.

They have a 40-14 record with PJ Washington since the trade.

[BoredAssistant]

Not an expert but if you're going to spend twenty or thirty thousand on jewelry, why not put a small chip in it to indicate location?

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

@ShamsCharania
NBA says it also suspended Mavericks’ PJ Washington for one game for escalating the on-court altercation.

I didn't see the game and can't find any video of PJ doing anything.  What did he do?

And I love that we have two badasses in Naji and PJ.  You have to stand up to punks like Nurk

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

I didn't see the game and can't find any video of PJ doing anything.  What did he do?

And I love that we have two badasses in Naji and PJ.  You have to stand up to punks like Nurk

He shoved Nurk, Nurk fell.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Re: Grimes... yes, he's shown flashes. I'm impressed with his ballhandling and rebounding. I knew the defense was elite and that his shot would start dropping.

I don't put much value in the "will there be enough minutes?" thing. You have to play your way into minutes. It seems like this discussion comes up every year, but it all shakes out with play and injuries.

[SleepingHero]

He shoved Nurk, Nurk fell.

Which looking at what occurred in the aftermath of the Rockets-Heat scuffle, it's insane that PJ got anything. Ridiculous he got suspended for that.

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

Which looking at what occurred in the aftermath of the Rockets-Heat scuffle, it's insane that PJ got anything. Ridiculous he got suspended for that.

Edit. Never mind. You can only appeal suspensions of 12 games or more.

[Chicagojk]

I don't know the answer so curious where would you rank the defense of the new guys: Klay, Grimes and Marshall. I think both Klay and Grimes look the part. It seems like Grimes has some lapses off ball. I have no idea about Marshall's defense to be honest.

would you rank them average, above average or below average so far?

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

I don't know the answer so curious where would you rank the defense of the new guys:  Klay, Grimes and Marshall.  I think both Klay and Grimes look the part.  It seems like Grimes has some lapses off ball.    I have no idea about Marshall's defense to be honest.

would you rank them average, above average or below average so far?

IMO, Klay and Grimes are well above average defenders at the wings.  Naji is a very good "body up" defender.  His defense reminds me of a PJ Tucker lite