MAVS NEWS:

[Scott41theMavs]

I think you've got the depth chart right, but while I like Kai Jones as a cheap, 3rd center, I think in practice he'd actually be a cheap 4th center, and I don't think he's as needed if the plan is to keep Gafford. If they can move Powell, great, only Powell is expiring this season anyway, so I doubt they feel strongly enough about that to attach a 2nd or something. In fact, I'm not even sure there's much of difference there in a practical sense. I'd argue that in the event they got down to depending on either, I might rather have Powell's experience over Jones' athletic ability and potential. This is debatable, but for me it's officially a non-issue (again, if Gafford is staying).

To me, Powell, OMax, and Hardy are all roster clogs in any event. I'm hoping they can find a non-obnoxious (i.e., obnoxious would be having to attach a second) trade for one of them - preferably one of the younger two - to at least be able to retain BWill. Powell still has some value as a locker room presence, at least. I used to be one of the biggest OMax fans here, but I have to concede he isn't an NBA player. Sad.

[KillerLeft]

To me, Powell, OMax, and Hardy are all roster clogs in any event. I'm hoping they can find a non-obnoxious (i.e., obnoxious would be having to attach a second) trade for one of them - preferably one of the younger two - to at least be able to retain BWill.

Oh, for sure, but it has been widely implied that O-Max will be the guy moved, and that makes sense to me. He has no chance of succeeding here now with the glut of forward talent the Mavs have, and it's plausible that teams still want him. I'm not predicting they'll be able to move him for free, but of the three I find that he's the most plausibly moved, so I assume he'll be the easiest/cheapest to move. And, again, he has NO path to playing time this season. 

Powell and Hardy could both be useful here this year in a pinch. If the team finds itself needing to care whether they have Jones or Powell in the game then things have gone very, very wrong and it won't matter, anyway. If you tell me there's a Gafford trade lined up then I might prefer having Jones around to audition for an ongoing 3rd center role that could potentially last past this season. In that scenario, I prefer him to Powell. But, if I'm the Mavs and I'm keeping Gafford for another year or two, I think I'd prefer having Powell's veteran leadership and experience to ensure the best results this season, AND because his deal coming off the books at the end of this season, anyway.

I don't think they'll just cut Brandon Williams, though I suppose we won't know until we know.

[myconsumerclub]

B Will is definitely a keeper after last seasons progress I would imagine they cut or trade Powell, Omax, Hardy, and or Martin and in that order.

All are still capable of playing at a high enough level that they should generate some interest elsewhere. We already gifted Philly Grimes and that worked out well for them so it may look like we are stocked with guards who can play well. I would think Eastern conference teams are waiting to swoop in and take a few of our guys.

[myconsumerclub]

So, the roster at this point:

PG: (Kyrie)/Russell/Exum/BWill
SG: Klay/Christie/Hardy
SF: Flagg/Marshall/Martin
PF: AD/PJ/OMax
C: Lively/Gafford/(Jones)/Powell

So, 17 players, and have to get down to 15 if they still want Jones, and if they want to retain BWill on the main roster.

Sorry, know this is a superfluous post, but I just had to get it clear in my own mind.

The problem leaving Jones off the team means he can then sign elsewhere and go to a team like Denver. I would not want an efficient C/PF that hits over 80% of his shots getting passes from Jokic, not in the west period. Valanciunis is rumored to be thinking of going over to play in Europe so Denver is probably eye balling Jones and hoping we screw it up. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2522...ings-trade

I think we really need to think in terms of playing keep away with him right now and just sign him ASAP. I think we cut or trade Omax to make room for Exum and then to make room for Kai (83.6% FG%) we dump or sell off Powell who has an expiring contract so Boston or similar salary cap teams will likely want him to lower salary and provide his 3rd string center and towell waving talents. 

Kai easily gives us a guy that can score more effectively than most and he surely can do anything Powell can if not a great deal more. If he continues to improve he easily earn rotation minutes and force us to play PJ more at SF. He even hit a 3 last season and everything he did was as a new guy meaning under pressure to perform and boy did he. Every time he got on the court he seemed to pull off something special. With our injury history at center and PF I would think adding Jones is a no brainer. 

Omax has a $3Mill. salary and Powell is $4Mill. 

Hardy at $6 Mill. has a decent enough 3 point shooting % at his young age to warrant keeping him and seeing if he can improve it another level. 

Martin should be given a pass late in the season when he came back from injury he may have not been fully ready to return to duty. I'd like to see what he can do here if given an offseason to fit in and being fully returned to health. 

Naji would be next on the totem pole to target in letting go and I would prefer to keep him and hope he develops a sense of restraint on 3's such that he learns his spots where he can hit a 3 and just focus on getting to the basket when he has the ball. 

We still have a 3rd 2 way to use and I believe using it on a center would balance things better since we do have a wing and a PG on 2 ways. We seem to be developing 2 way talent better than most teams. Sharp 7'5" and Cisse 6"11" along with Cooper, Kelly, and Nembhard as a starting unit in summer league may be very interesting to watch.

[Kidnova]

God Shammgod on emotional Mavericks farewell: ‘Didn’t think this was possible a month ago’

Shammgod, 49, sounded sincere when he said the Mavericks’ coaching opportunity, initially as part of Rick Carlisle’s staff, helped raise him.

“I’ve been very fortunate, being under a great coach like Rick Carlisle, and then going to another good coach like J-Kidd and being a part of one of the best organizations in the world,” he said. “And Mark Cuban, you know, probably one of the greatest owners in sports — but, to me, an even better person.

“There will always be a love relationship for me here in Dallas. I just appreciate everything Dallas did for me, as a coach and as a person.”

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/maveri...ason-kidd/

I don't know any other way to interpret this aside from being unhappy with the GM and new ownership.  Shamgod had nothing but great things to say about everyone he worked with in Dallas except no mention of those people specifically.

[Winter]

God Shammgod on emotional Mavericks farewell: ‘Didn’t think this was possible a month ago’



I don't know any other way to interpret this aside from being unhappy with the GM and new ownership.  Shamgod had nothing but great things to say about everyone he worked with in Dallas except no mention of those people specifically.

I thought I read somewhere (maybe Stein) that the Mavs wanted to keep him, but didn't know any details of an offer. And this was a more important assistant job at Orlando than the one he currently holds.

[Chicagojk]

Kyrie on when he will be back. I am taking the over on most predictions. First this is an injury you don’t want to rush back from. Second, Kyrie is someone who is very deliberate returning from injuries until he feels his body is ready.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/jL1n145F9D

[Chicagojk]

God Shammgod on emotional Mavericks farewell: ‘Didn’t think this was possible a month ago’



I don't know any other way to interpret this aside from being unhappy with the GM and new ownership.  Shamgod had nothing but great things to say about everyone he worked with in Dallas except no mention of those people specifically.

Yeah, the omission speaks volumes.  Did any of the others leave out Nico as well?  Doesn’t bother me about Dumont because he appears very hands off.  I was listening to locked on Mavs though and I guess he told them at the press conference that he listens to that show.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Yeah, the omission speaks volumes.  Did any of the others leave out Nico as well?  Doesn’t bother me about Dumont because he appears very hands off.  I was listening to locked on Mavs though and I guess he told them at the press conference that he listens to that show.

Doesn't sound like Dumont was hands-off to me when he decided to trade Luka.

[loki]

Kyrie on when he will be back.  I am taking the over on most predictions.  First this is an injury you don’t want to rush back from.  Second, Kyrie is someone who is very deliberate returning from injuries until he feels his body is ready.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/jL1n145F9D

The 2026 draft looks pretty loaded so Kyrie taking the whole year to recover isn't the worst thing in the world. Hopefully they have a good idea of his ETA by the trade deadline so they can sell a few pieces if needed.

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/mavsfilmroom/status/194186...38437?s=46

[Chicagojk]

“When people talk about him, they don’t talk about basketball with him,” Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison said. “They talk about all the intangibles. When you have a player who’s that good and they talk about the intangibles, that’s a guy who’s going to add to your culture.”

[ThisIStheYear]

I’m not against the Mavs taking one more gap year while they control their own pick. They won’t have another one for years. But they need to approach the rest of the offseason differently in that case.

[loki]

I’m not against the Mavs taking one more gap year while they control their own pick. They won’t have another one for years. But they need to approach the rest of the offseason differently in that case.

I don't see that happening with Nico at the helm. They're going to have to stumble backwards into it like usual.

[F Gump]

I’m not against the Mavs taking one more gap year while they control their own pick.

IMO they WILL (and should) tank fully, if 1st 40-50 games suck while trying, because it's a VERY good (and deep) draft. IOW we wait and see how it looks at the deadline. 

Personally I think they will be too good.

FWIW under Kidd they have been in WCF-or-better every other year. When he has a good lineup to work with ...

[Kidnova]

IMO they WILL (and should) tank fully, if 1st 40-50 games suck while trying, because it's a VERY good (and deep) draft. IOW we wait and see how it looks at the deadline. 

Personally I think they will be too good.

FWIW under Kidd they have been in WCF-or-better every other year. When he has a good lineup to work with ...

Yeah, I think it's obvious this team will be missing a key piece until Kyrie returns, but even with him out I don't think this is a lottery team, barring injury, of course.

[KillerLeft]

I am not positing this to be negative, because I actually like that he has this mindset. But, just to temper our expectations, here's Kyrie failing to commit to the idea that he'll be back in time for the playoffs. He's not saying he won't be, so again, it's probably just about managing expectations, but I'd say there's a better than 0% chance he misses the entire season. 

https://x.com/KevinGraySports/status/194...1508594066

[SleepingHero]

I am not positing this to be negative, because I actually like that he has this mindset. But, just to temper our expectations, here's Kyrie failing to commit to the idea that he'll be back in time for the playoffs. He's not saying he won't be, so again, it's probably just about managing expectations, but I'd say there's a better than 0% chance he misses the entire season. 

https://x.com/KevinGraySports/status/194...1508594066

I am actually relieved to hear this. I am 100% on board for next season to be a “lost” season. Of course if we can be a competitive team, I’d prefer that, but next year is the last year the Mavs will own their draft pick outright for quite a bit. 

The timeline I’m on is Flagg’s. Picking up another great lotto pick to pair next to Lively/Flagg would be icing on the cake.

[KillerLeft]

I am actually relieved to hear this. I am 100% on board for next season to be a “lost” season. Of course if we can be a competitive team, I’d prefer that, but next year is the last year the Mavs will own their draft pick outright for quite a bit. 

The timeline I’m on is Flagg’s. Picking up another great lotto pick to pair next to Lively/Flagg would be icing on the cake.

Agreed. Flagg landing on the roster makes this next season kind of win-win scenario for Mavs fans. If they can be competitive, great - good basketball! If not, we get to see them pivot to the next era.

[Smitty]

I am not positing this to be negative, because I actually like that he has this mindset. But, just to temper our expectations, here's Kyrie failing to commit to the idea that he'll be back in time for the playoffs. He's not saying he won't be, so again, it's probably just about managing expectations, but I'd say there's a better than 0% chance he misses the entire season. 

https://x.com/KevinGraySports/status/194...1508594066

Kyrie tore his ACL March 3rd & had surgery March 26th. In the last 10 years, the average return to play in the NBA is 11.6 months (350 days). The fastest return to play is 9-10 months.

The most optimistic outlook is Kyrie coming back around Christmas, which is exactly 9 months post-surgery. The trade deadline is the first/second week in February, so about 10.5 months post-surgery.

My guess is that the Mavs are operating as if Kyrie will return between Christmas and the trade deadline, best case scenario. Impossible to know until Kyrie starts hitting key milestones in his recovery.

I don’t have any opinion on it at all, just thought I’d post some dates and data so that people can have some kind of baseline for even the most optimistic expectations.