MAVS NEWS:

[Winter]

Flagg workout in Vancouver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg-WWmFFm24

[Smitty]

FIFY. 

Lively's propensity to get injured repeatedly is only talked about because it's been a major limiting factor in his ability to contribute each and every year. You're not the only one who hopes that he can find a way to stay healthy. 

There's also a financial concern looming - how do you pay him on the next contract, if he has another season where he gets dinged over and over and misses multiple chunks of the season? Lively's Next Contract is the question they will be dealing with in a year from now.

Oh, and fwiw, I don't think the Mavs are targeting him to play 25-32 mpg. Or Gafford either. I'm thinking when everyone is healthy, they will split 40 mpg, and maybe a bit less, which puts them each in the 18-22 mpg range. Matchups are likely to dictate how much of that goes to whom (when everyone is healthy). imo.

Agree with all of this completely. I’d argue that Lively’s inability to stay on the floor is not talked about enough. I can’t remember which poster it is that likes to talk in TOTAL minutes for the season. But it’s always been what I think of when I look at Lively. If he’s a 18-22 mpg guy for 40-50 games a year. That’s not a lot of impact throughout the season.

He needs to stay healthy. For his sake and the Mavs.

[david75090]

Saw this on my newsfeed...

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/article/kla...01110.html

[rocky164]

Klay’s value to the team appears to be MUCH more than just spreading the floor, hitting 3’s and playing timely defense.

[ballsrchr]

Klay’s value to the team appears to be MUCH more than just spreading the floor, hitting 3’s and playing timely defense.

Maybe I am as wrong, or was, about Klay as I was about Kyrie.  I hope so.  I don't mind eating crow--as long as we win (with a little class).

[Chicagojk]

I like Klay.  We will need his shooting and his leadership.  He seems to have a cool vibe too.  Although, to be honest I sort of hope Max makes a strong run at that spot.  Kidd had some nice comments on Max.   I am not sure if he is a heavy minute rotation player or a starter moving forward.  He does a lot of things well and I think he is a smart player.  He just needs to do the things he does well a little bit better.  Part of the maturation process.  Some breakthrough, others do not.

[KillerLeft]

I like Klay.  We will need his shooting and his leadership.  He seems to have a cool vibe too.  Although, to be honest I sort of hope Max makes a strong run at that spot.  Kidd had some nice comments on Max.   I am not sure if he is a heavy minute rotation player or a starter moving forward.  He does a lot of things well and I think he is a smart player.  He just needs to do the things he does well a little bit better.  Part of the maturation process.  Some breakthrough, others do not.

Regardless (almost) of how much Thompson has left to offer on the floor, I believe he was a stellar acquisition (at the price) for what he brings in the locker room and the added respect he brought to the team. But, even if Thompson has a ton left to give them on the floor they'll need someone like Christie to play effectively and reliably for this to work. A two-way guard who defends hard, has quick feet, can shoot enough to hold a defender and can handle the ball a little is exactly the guy needed, and Christie represents a chance to find that here on the roster. 

I agree - in some ways it would be preferable for that guy, hopefully Christie so it can happen soon and without additional trade cost, to outshine Thompson a little.

[michaeltex]

If DLive has put on 1-2" at age 21, should we expect additional growth from Flagg (age 18)?

Looking forward to see if the motion offense rollout is successful or a train wreck.

We all know this one doesn't count, just want to get through it healthy. Interested in seeing if any of the end-of-bench and camp signings show anything useful.

[F Gump]

IMO the Mavs will begin to show us the secret sauce that isn't yet factored into expectations, and is likely to be a big game changer for them. I think they are going to use their deep roster of superior athletes to create a new dynamic, and we will see a high-pace Mavs team that plays high-pressure defense to create easy offense, and that runs at every opportunity and uses that to create mismatches. No more plodding pace, or dribbling the air out of the ball.

[From Dirk to SCREW YOU Nico]

If DLive has put on 1-2" at age 21, should we expect additional growth from Flagg (age 18)?

Looking forward to see if the motion offense rollout is successful or a train wreck.

We all know this one doesn't count, just want to get through it healthy. Interested in seeing if any of the end-of-bench and camp signings show anything useful.

I would not "expect" additional growth from Flagg.  I am 6' 2" and haven't grown even a 1/16 of an inch since my 15th birthday.  Some people still grow after 20-21 and some are done earlier.  

I too am looking forward to seeing some semblance of an offensive "system".

[From Dirk to SCREW YOU Nico]

IMO the Mavs will begin to show us the secret sauce that isn't yet factored into expectations, and is likely to be a big game changer for them. I think they are going to use their deep roster of superior athletes to create a new dynamic, and we will see a high-pace Mavs team that plays high-pressure defense to create easy offense, and that runs at every opportunity and uses that to create mismatches. No more plodding pace, or dribbling the air out of the ball.

Pass that to me when you are done...

Seriously though, I hope you are right, but I haven't really seen anything over Kidd's tenure that screems secret sauce that is game changing.

[F Gump]

Pass that to me when you are done...

Seriously though, I hope you are right, but I haven't really seen anything over Kidd's tenure that screems secret sauce that is game changing.

We'll see. 

I think you may be overlooking how much Kidd deferred to Luka's preferences (as well he should have) and the significant change we kept seeing every time Luka was out for a period of time. It kept being a surprise how well they would play without him, and how different they looked. 

Pace and pressure offense and defense were hallmarks of Kidd's own game, and made a HUGE difference, but they didn't suit Luka at all, and those are ways to change a game considerably if you have the athleticism to pull it off. I think this team has that in spades - in particular, the insertion of Flagg into the mix gives them the potential to be super fast and super aggressive. And along with the different players, there's a set of highly-skilled coaches to design that new style.

[KillerLeft]

No more plodding pace, or dribbling the air out of the ball.

Music to my ears! Here's hoping!

[michaeltex]

Read an article (that I now can't find to link) about how Houston is hoping to re-ignite the "two big" concept by having a rotation of Sengun and Adams. They see the league swinging back to bigger lineups as these guys come with more skills than just standing under the basket for a rebound. Claimed part of the change was driven by a drubbing they got last season when AD+Gaff smoked them during a late season game. I don't remember it as I was still in Luka-remorse, but I guess they do.

[KillerLeft]

Read an article (that I now can't find to link) about how Houston is hoping to re-ignite the "two big" concept by having a rotation of Sengun and Adams. They see the league swinging back to bigger lineups as these guys come with more skills than just standing under the basket for a rebound. Claimed part of the change was driven by a drubbing they got last season when AD+Gaff smoked them during a late season game. I don't remember it as I was still in Luka-remorse, but I guess they do.

No doubt on the emboldened part, and that's the rub. How much skill does a big need to bring in order to survive against ALL teams, not just the ones who can't handle their size? Can the roster/coach identify and react to situations wherein that size isn't creating the advantage they hope, and is instead becoming a negative?

[michaeltex]

No doubt on the emboldened part, and that's the rub. How much skill does a big need to bring in order to survive against ALL teams, not just the ones who can't handle their size? Can the roster/coach identify and react to situations wherein that size isn't creating the advantage they hope, and is instead becoming a negative?

I think there are times when too big may be a disadvantage, but the thought was that more rebounding leads to more possessions. Plus you force the other team to match up to you instead of the other way around. 

Although, TBH, an aging Steven Adams is not a block I would want to build around. 

interested to see how the DAL experiment goes.

[Chicagojk]

Hmmm.....

Must be incredibly frustrting for Kidd if Exum is out with an injury.  Again who knows, but it may be he just doesn't have the body to play consistently in the NBA.  


https://x.com/mikeacurtis2/status/197563...18700?s=46&t=Fmdr94oXagcEyy75KJqaFg

[F Gump]

Hmmm.....

Must be incredibly frustrting for Kidd if Exum is out with an injury.  Again who knows, but it may be he just doesn't have the body to play consistently in the NBA.   

Very vague on Exum. We don't know if it's an injury, or if so, what is ailing. And the others (CM, DSJ) are fuzzy too - only half of the practice gets missed, what would that be about. Conditioning?

Jason Kidd said Caleb Martin & Dennis Smith participated in half of today’s practice. 
Asked about Dante Exum & Kidd said, “He’s just out. That’s all I can tell you.” 
On Daniel Gafford: “Daniel’s doing a little running…I think he’s feeling better so he’s going in the right direction.”

[michaeltex]

Hmmm.....

Must be incredibly frustrting for Kidd if Exum is out with an injury.  Again who knows, but it may be he just doesn't have the body to play consistently in the NBA.  


https://x.com/mikeacurtis2/status/197563...18700?s=46&t=Fmdr94oXagcEyy75KJqaFg

Exum must have something HIPAA related they can't talk about. Feels a lot like the WCS absences back around 2020. 

I guess he's guaranteed regardless? I'm really getting down on Exum (availability), Martin (fit?) and Hardy (regression).

Exum is on a 1-yr deal for ~$2.3MM, so that makes it frustrating, but bearable.

Martin is guaranteed this season and next at ~$10MM each with a PO for the 27-28 season, which he'll probably take unless his performance radically improves. IMO, this trade may be more egregious than the Luka trade. 

Hardy is guaranteed this season and next at ~$6MM per with a TO for the 27-28 season. So he might, eventually, be moveable as an expiring.

Almost feels like $16MM/season in dead money. Of course, they may get thrown in as filler for a bigger deal. We can hope that anyway.

[Winter]

Dalano Banton ?

Well apparently this guy is interesting. So interesting the Mavs want him to compete for a spot.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mavericks/comme...ed_former/

https://thesmokingcuban.com/dallas-maver...urt-battle

But not so interesting that I"ve heard about him. A 6'8" Point Guard who apparently can play, but maybe needs a little work on that shot.