MAVS NEWS:

[Smitty]

I think we're all using (and confusing each other with) the term "traditional" differently. 

Luka was absolutely not a "traditional" PG in the way I take that label's meaning. 

I keep seeing this conversation devolve into "heliocentric vs. ball movement," and I just can't believe our collective understanding of the game (quoted poster excluded) is so lacking in nuance. Using the example of Indiana (again), I think they moved the ball and ran a beautiful, rhythm-building offense the likes of which the league hasn't seen for quite a while. But, I think they were able to do that because they had (before the injury) possibly the best "traditional" PG in the league right now. 

You could convince me that some type of 5-out, dribble handoff system with lots of cutting that allows AD and/or Lively to make decisions at the top could work, but...if that's the plan, why on Earth is Daniel Gafford still on the team? He'd have no chance of thriving in an offensive system like that, and desperately needs to be on a team that plans to spam spread pick and roll. 

There are loads of ways to run offense, but they all depend on creating advantages, and I'm not seeing a way for the Mavs to do that at the moment. I suppose at this point we just need to see what else they do and then see how it looks, but I'm definitely not getting "contender" vibes at the moment unless we see a pretty big offensive add (in addition to the tpMLE guard).

Offensive philosophy is different than what I posted. What gets me irked is when people say player X is a “Position X”. What do they even mean? Like you say, Gafford and Lively and Davis are all Centers but they are very different players. Are they putting players in a box? Are you looking for something specific when you put a label on that position? Are we talking offensively or defensively?  This isn’t 1995.

I think you and I are on the same page when it comes to offensive philosophy. If you want to be a heavy PnR team, Gafford is great. If you want to be a 5-out team, AD is your guy. If you want a short roll passer and DHO guy, Lively is ideal. 

We don’t do deep dives in here on the nuance of offensive philosophies, but I’d love to grab a beer and do a deep dive sometime.

[KillerLeft]

Offensive philosophy is different than what I posted. What gets me irked is when people say player X is a “Position X”. What do they even mean? Like you say, Gafford and Lively and Davis are all Centers but they are very different players. Are they putting players in a box? Are you looking for something specific when you put a label on that position? Are we talking offensively or defensively?  This isn’t 1995.

I think you and I are on the same page when it comes to offensive philosophy. If you want to be a heavy PnR team, Gafford is great. If you want to be a 5-out team, AD is your guy. If you want a short roll passer and DHO guy, Lively is ideal. 

We don’t do deep dives in here on the nuance of offensive philosophies, but I’d love to grab a beer and do a deep dive sometime.

I've been trying, my guy! 

As to the first paragraph...I think how players synergize (not sure that's a real word, but I'm rolling with it) with each other matters. I wouldn't even know how to put these players in a box, because the nuances of what they're planning completely escape me. I keep waiting for some type of move that will indicate their direction somehow, and they keep just keeping everyone like Luka is still here. 

Essentially, this team is still set up to play pick and roll basketball - you'd just have to swap AD and Luka. Then, Gafford makes sense again instantly. I know what I need from Lively, from PJW and all the rest. But, we factually know THEY think they're building around AD (Harrison said as much in the presser, and I can't believe more people didn't freak out - it was my biggest takeaway).

I think the roster is 1995, personally. This roster would DOMINATE that era. In 2026??? I don't see it yet.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

On one hand, any team that's built around AD, Kyrie's ACL and Lively needs all the depth it can get. On the other hand, is there a position you would upgrade if you could trade 2-4 movable contracts for if you got back a better player making bigger money on a less than ideal contract?

Note: This assumes the Mavs add a PG like D-Lo, Schroeder or Paul

Ex: Nuggets need depth.

Klay, Naji, Hardy, Powell and OMax
For
Porter Jr

Or

Klay, Naji, Christie and Lakers 2029 1st
For
Derrick White and George Niang
(2 trades to make it compliant)

[Smitty]

I've been trying, my guy! 

As to the first paragraph...I think how players synergize (not sure that's a real word, but I'm rolling with it) with each other matters. I wouldn't even know how to put these players in a box, because the nuances of what they're planning completely escape me. I keep waiting for some type of move that will indicate their direction somehow, and they keep just keeping everyone like Luka is still here. 

Essentially, this team is still set up to play pick and roll basketball - you'd just have to swap AD and Luka. Then, Gafford makes sense again instantly. I know what I need from Lively, from PJW and all the rest. But, we factually know THEY think they're building around AD (Harrison said as much in the presser, and I can't believe more people didn't freak out - it was my biggest takeaway).

I think the roster is 1995, personally. This roster would DOMINATE that era. In 2026??? I don't see it yet.

I’m not a big fan of AD, even before the trade. But I still see this team being a heavy PnR team. No where near the rate with Luka. Flagg was an excellent PnR ball handler at Duke and you have 2 PnR Bigs. I think they’ll add Russell to the guard position also, and he’s above average there, if not him, then Paul, who we know is good. I think we’ll see more PnP with AD. What really worries me is late game situations and the inevitable AD iso’s leading to a pull up middy. That’s going to be a lot less successful than letting Luka going to work from the perimeter. 

Ultimately, I see this team being more “team ball”. I don’t know that it’ll look pretty, but Kidd has been consistent on getting players to push their limits offensively and I see multiple Wings scoring in different ways based on what the defensive gives them.

[Winter]

Personally, I think we're on track for a metric ton of mid-range jumpers coming from AD and Flagg. I think the paint is going to be clogged, due to lack of spacing (for a few reasons), so cutting, dribble penetration, the post pass...all options are going to be difficult for this team. That's my prediction. At this time, anyway.

I've had that thought for awhile. That's why I think that our perimeter shooting is going to have to be pretty good for this to be an effective lineup. I would think there will be open shots available. If we can hit them, we can stretch the floor a bit. 

I also think Kidd must know this. This lineup is going to be a challenge.

[myconsumerclub]

if you got Klay and Irving in there that is 2 shooters and if Cooper is shooting well then that is 3. Lively needs to develop his 3 point game as well. AD is horrible at shooting 3's for a 4 but good enough for a 5. This is probably the reason so many want to trade him off for parts.

[cow]

Ex: Nuggets need depth.

Klay, Naji, Hardy, Powell and OMax
For
Porter Jr

[DanSchwartzgan]

Talks about a lineup of:

- Cooper Flagg
- Klay Thompson
- P.J. Washington
- Anthony Davis
- Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford

I'm not the biggest DLo fan, but if something like this actually happens, it slots the TX MLE guard as a backup.

Flagg           (DLo)           BWill       Irving
Thompson    Christie        Hardy
PJW             Martin          
Davis           Naji             OMax
Lively           Gafford        Powell

I've kind of envisioned the stopgap PG starting and holding down Kyrie's spot.  But, that might not be true if this comes to pass.  I suspect Christie closes (he was already doing that in front of Thompson last season some).  The question is who moves to the bench when Kyrie returns?  

One note on the Exum speculation.  BWill is not guaranteed.  So, absent a trade or eating a contract (not likely), Exum instead of BWill might be the path.

[KillerLeft]

I'm not the biggest DLo fan, but if something like this actually happens, it slots the TX MLE guard as a backup.

Flagg           (DLo)           BWill       Irving
Thompson    Christie        Hardy
PJW             Martin          
Davis           Naji             OMax
Lively           Gafford        Powell

I've kind of envisioned the stopgap PG starting and holding down Kyrie's spot.  But, that might not be true if this comes to pass.  I suspect Christie closes (he was already doing that in front of Thompson last season some).  The question is who moves to the bench when Kyrie returns?  

One note on the Exum speculation.  BWill is not guaranteed.  So, absent a trade or eating a contract (not likely), Exum instead of BWill might be the path.

I know I sound like a broken record, but...looking at what you're proposing, it would feel significantly better to me if you moved PJW to the bench (or Lively, but that won't happen), traded either Martin or Marshall, moved DLo (or whomever) into the starting lineup and had Williams and Hardy compete for the spot you have DLo in here. Even better: throw another player in the Marshall or Christie trade (O-Max, Powell, Hardy - whomever) and bring Exum in to compete with the DLo guy to see who starts and who comes off the bench.

[Smitty]

I'm not the biggest DLo fan, but if something like this actually happens, it slots the TX MLE guard as a backup.

Flagg           (DLo)           BWill       Irving
Thompson    Christie        Hardy
PJW             Martin          
Davis           Naji             OMax
Lively           Gafford        Powell

I've kind of envisioned the stopgap PG starting and holding down Kyrie's spot.  But, that might not be true if this comes to pass.  I suspect Christie closes (he was already doing that in front of Thompson last season some).  The question is who moves to the bench when Kyrie returns?  

One note on the Exum speculation.  BWill is not guaranteed.  So, absent a trade or eating a contract (not likely), Exum instead of BWill might be the path.

Shooting is the biggest issue I see in the starting lineup. Next is playmaking. It’s different, that’s for sure. AD at the 4 just makes this whole thing difficult for me, but I don’t want to beat a dead horse.

In the end, I don’t really care who starts, they only play 10-12 mpg together in a regular season Kidd rotation. There’s 36-38 other minutes where the game can be won or lost.

[KillerLeft]

AD at the 4 just makes this whole thing difficult for me, but I don’t want to beat a dead horse.

That's the elephant in the room. It just won't work. Maybe they know that.

[Scott41theMavs]

That's the elephant in the room. It just won't work. Maybe they know that.

If "they know that," then it's got to be 100% that they're waiting for the right moment to trade either him or Gafford. That's three centers if AD isn't a four.

[Chicagojk]

“Chris Paul would be another Mavericks target at $5.7 million, but there is a growing belief that Paul — after starting all 82 games last season in San Antonio as a 39-year-old newcomer to the Spurs — is determined to play closer to his home base in Los Angeles if he indeed comes back for a 21st season.”

Via Marc Stein:

https://marcstein.substack.com/p/friday-...ntel-style

[Winter]

"Within his latest NBA rumor round-up for The Stein Line (Substack link), Marc Stein reiterates a report he published on Twitter earlier this week, writing that the Mavericks are “increasingly regarded as the favorites” to sign point guard D’Angelo Russell.

Dallas will likely be limited to offering free agents the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception, and Stein suggests Chris Paul will be another Mavs target using that MLE. However, there’s a growing belief that Paul would want to play somewhere closer to his home in Los Angeles if he continues his career, Stein explains."


From what I've heard from Kidd in press conferences is that they aren't necessarily committed to PG with scoring skills. They believe they can operate with the opposite - a scoring guard with some PG skills (D'Angelo). That may be true with Flagg. We'll see.

But it appears more and more likely that D'Angelo gets signed by the Mavs.

If he is signed, I have to hope his decision-making is more disciplined than what I've seen in the past.

[Chicagojk]

"Within his latest NBA rumor round-up for The Stein Line (Substack link), Marc Stein reiterates a report he published on Twitter earlier this week, writing that the Mavericks are “increasingly regarded as the favorites” to sign point guard D’Angelo Russell.

Dallas will likely be limited to offering free agents the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception, and Stein suggests Chris Paul will be another Mavs target using that MLE. However, there’s a growing belief that Paul would want to play somewhere closer to his home in Los Angeles if he continues his career, Stein explains."


From what I've heard from Kidd in press conferences is that they aren't necessarily committed to PG with scoring skills. They believe they can operate with the opposite - a scoring guard with some PG skills (D'Angelo). That may be true with Flagg. We'll see.

But it appears more and more likely that D'Angelo gets signed by the Mavs.

If he is signed, I have to hope his decision-making is more disciplined than what I've seen in the past.

Russell is better than a TPMLE Player but I am just not a huge fan.  I am glad we are not relying on minimums though.  He wasn’t good last year and not the connector I think we need with limited ball handlers.  If old man paul is not an option then he could be one of the better talent adds.

[Chicagojk]

So help me out here. If the market for Jaden, Omax and Powell is nil, what are our options to create another spot? If we released Powell could we sign minimum guy? Williams could be an option but that would sort of be a sucky thing to do. I get it is a business but he earned that spot LAST year.

Ideally I would prefer a 2-1 deal where we got a better fitting player, but what happens if that doesn’t open up?

[Winter]

So help me out here.  If the market for Jaden, Omax and Powell is nil, what are our options to create another spot?  If we released Powell could we sign minimum guy?  Williams could be an option but that would sort of be a sucky thing to do.  I get it is a business but he earned that spot LAST year.

Ideally I would prefer a 2-1 deal where we got a better fitting player, but what happens if that doesn’t open up?

I have to think this has been gamed out by the front office. There generally is some way to get rid of empty bench players, so I'm guessing they have targeted all the options. I would be surprised if B Williams isn't added along with the incoming PG. After that, I can't tell anything. Exum is an unknown.

[Smitty]

@spotrac
If Cooper Flagg is a superstar, the financial path forward is wild.

Rookie Contract
2025-2028: $62.7M

30% Supermax Extension
2029-2033: $359M

35% Supermax Extension
2034-2038: $509M

Total: $930M, and Flagg will be 31-years-old!

[Smitty]

"Within his latest NBA rumor round-up for The Stein Line (Substack link), Marc Stein reiterates a report he published on Twitter earlier this week, writing that the Mavericks are “increasingly regarded as the favorites” to sign point guard D’Angelo Russell.

Dallas will likely be limited to offering free agents the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception, and Stein suggests Chris Paul will be another Mavs target using that MLE. However, there’s a growing belief that Paul would want to play somewhere closer to his home in Los Angeles if he continues his career, Stein explains."


From what I've heard from Kidd in press conferences is that they aren't necessarily committed to PG with scoring skills. They believe they can operate with the opposite - a scoring guard with some PG skills (D'Angelo). That may be true with Flagg. We'll see.

But it appears more and more likely that D'Angelo gets signed by the Mavs.

If he is signed, I have to hope his decision-making is more disciplined than what I've seen in the past.

If he gets back to what he was doing last season, he’ll be an efficient scorer and playmaker. 18/7 type guy. If he looks like he did this season, then we’ll be calling for Nembhard over him. Good gamble for $5M, especially when you consider need. I’ll stay optimistic. I’ve had enough doom and gloom for a while.

[DanSchwartzgan]

Shooting is the biggest issue I see in the starting lineup. Next is playmaking. It’s different, that’s for sure. AD at the 4 just makes this whole thing difficult for me, but I don’t want to beat a dead horse.

Last year's version of DLo doesn't help the shooting, but it looks like that was an aberration compared to the rest of his career.

A few other thoughts:

Lively shooting 3's changes everything.  Is this the year that gets unleashed?

Flagg/AD PNR's will be unstoppable.  Then add in Lively in the dunker spot?  AD isn't your typical Powell/Gafford type player as the roll man.  He hesitates in the lane rather than going all the way to the basket.  At that point, he can go to work with all sorts of moves.  Either he or Flagg will have an advantage.  You can't help off of Lively or its a dunk and you probably can't help off of PJ or Klay in the corners.

BTW, they played some inverse of this last year where Lively was the roll man and AD was in the dunker spot.  Also deadly.  Lively doesn't have all of the moves that AD has, but he's so good as a short roll passer.  You don't need much space between those three in order to score.

If you watch offensive highlights of Flagg, they got him advantages in all sorts of ways besides a traditional PnR ball handler at the top of the key.  In fact, that was a small part of his offense.  He is similar to AD as a roll man in that if he gets the ball just inside the free throw line and has options.  Either he's a bucket or he flings it to Lively for the jam.  Duke set all sorts of picks or handoffs on the left side of the floor to get Flagg moving to his right with an advantage.  Once he's rolling downhill, he's really tough.  If we can put the other teams guard into the defensive action (probably by Klay setting a screen for either the ball handler or AD), then things get challenging for the defense pretty quickly.

All of this doesn't even mention the advantage we will have rebounding.  I do think AD and Klay are less than ideal as fast break players, but Lively and PJ fly down the court.  

I think bench shooting is actually a bigger problem than it is with the starters.  Maybe that's why a self-creator like DLo is needed.  No one from among Christie, Martin, Naji or Gafford is a plus shooter from distance.  Exum was.  Maybe that's why they have interest in him returning.

I think this is a top 3-5 defense and I think there are too many good players for it to be a bottom 10 offense.  What really matters is clutch scoring.  Can AD or Flagg create a shot for themselves (and hit it) late in the game with the clock running down.  No matter what your offensive and defensive ranks are, so many NBA games come down to getting a bucket when you absolutely have to have it (or getting the offensive rebound and putting it back up).  I think we will be able to do that well enough to be around .500 until Kyrie comes back.  At that point, Klay helps the shooting for the second unit and we are a much better offensive unit.