MAVS NEWS:

[Smitty]

I think you were the one who posted his on/off impact earlier on this very page. When you have a player this impactful, you wait and let him figure out how to play a full season. This board seems to believe that health only decreases over time, but with certain types of players who are as young as lively, I submit that it can actually improve. See Tyson Chandler, Marcus Camby, etc. I just don’t think you give up on him at this point, nor do I think it should even be crossing our minds.

Now, that doesn’t mean you give him a huge contract, but there’s a world in which he doesn’t command one from any team and that might play in the Mavericks’ favor, long term. 

For now, we just watch. Of the four qualified centers on this team, he is the one I would trade last.

There’s never been a doubt in my mind that he impacts winning. The old saying that availability is the best ability has always been my thing with him. Your post has helped bring me down a level though. I can’t remember the poster that’s been hammering the trade Lively drum, but I’m not there and will probably never get there. I just don’t want the Mavs to hand out a big contract on a kid that doesn’t play.

Same feelings I have for AD to be fair.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

^ That's me.

1. We need to trade one of the 5 front court players for a back court player. Even if Kyrie Irving is back in the second half, this team has no young point guard for the future. Kyrie will be 34 this season.

2. I agree Gafford is the worst of the 5 front court players. But he also has the lowest trade value. He's also locked into a new reasonable contract. He also has the least injury history of the 3 centers.

Based on them both being hurt all the time and both having more trade value than Gafford, I think the logical choice is to trade either AD or Lively for a young guard or assets that can get us a young guard.

3. I'd much rather trade AD. I don't think this is a contending team like a few others on the board do. But I don't think Nico will.

[Chicagojk]

Davis out at least two games with a calf sprain.  Seems like we had another calf sprain last year

[Jym]

Davis out at least two games with a calf sprain.  Seems like we had another calf sprain last year

Don't rush him back you weirdos 
Hopefully we have a more competent staff in place this year

[Jmaciscool]

Davis out at least two games with a calf sprain.  Seems like we had another calf sprain last year

I think I've seen this film before...and I didn't like the ending.

(Admittedly I did not have quoting a Taylor Swift song to describe an AD injury on my bingo card tonight, but here we are...)

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/grantafseth/status/1984403...23524?s=61


Nico master plan is hiring the worst training staff for two years allow us to load up with prospects before hiring a competent staff ?

[Chicagojk]

#3 would be worst case for me.  Sure, I understand of the dreams of getting a top 5 pick, but there is a ton of risk there.  Yes, you could get a high pick but man does it really complicates things.

I am taking  wait and see on this season and will not get too frustrated..outside of injury.   I want to take a 20 game portrait and then will probably do it again at game 50.   Right now with the toughness of west and the awkwardness of the early Mavs, I think #2 is most likely.   So that probably gets you a top 15 pick anyway.   You can find a good player there.   OKC found J. Williams in that range.   I think it would also make it really hard to bring back Nico.  

I am rooting for #1.  I can't see myself rooting for a tank outside of the last month.   Unless a big injury run hits.   On the same side, I will not be despondent if they don't win games.

We are just 6-7 ( ) into the season but another reason I think #2 is the most likely ending is watching teams like Memphis and Portland.  Neither are contenders, but they will battle and get some wins.   40-45 wins maybe.   I am not sure the Mavs are better than either.    I think they have the higher ceiling, but so far you can't be very impressed by the Mavs start.   I think only Kings, Pelicans (who have some of the similar issues as the Mavs) and Suns are the clear floor of the west.   I am not sure I can confidently put the Mavs over anyone else in the west in the early season.

Also, what is with the lack of info on injuries?  I get it, they don't like giving info out.  I just feel like after last year, the Mavs should really try to be as transparent as possible.   Although, I guess they are busy in a lawsuit with the Stars

[Winter]

I tend to think the Mavericks identity is a work-in-progress. We still don't know much about how it can function as a team except that it has real needs for playmaking that are absent right now.

One thing I will say is that Nico went all in on Anthony Davis. He was supposed to be something that gave us an edge (according to Nico). If he isn't that by the end of the year, then Nico's plan is a complete failure by every measure. There would be no other way for ownership to see that. Forget the players for a minute. If the Mavericks turned into a lottery team this year, it would be indefensible not to fire Nico. He made a huge gamble and lost... and lost terribly.

While most of the fans suspect this failure right now, ownership will wait until there's proof - which likely won't come year's end.

Having said all that, I like many of the players on this team, and I do think it's possible for this team to play better. I don't mind waiting.

[Knutsen]

Took a coupe of games and Dwight Powell is our starting center… I‘m not sure this team isn’t completely doomed thanks to Nico. If there’s any chance to trade AD and everything not named Flagg for Giannis I‘d do it immediately.

[omahen]

We are just 6-7 ( ) into the season but another reason I think #2 is the most likely ending is watching teams like Memphis and Portland.  Neither are contenders, but they will battle and get some wins.   40-45 wins maybe.   I am not sure the Mavs are better than either.    I think they have the higher ceiling, but so far you can't be very impressed by the Mavs start.   I think only Kings, Pelicans (who have some of the similar issues as the Mavs) and Suns are the clear floor of the west.   I am not sure I can confidently put the Mavs over anyone else in the west in the early season.

Also, what is with the lack of info on injuries?  I get it, they don't like giving info out.  I just feel like after last year, the Mavs should really try to be as transparent as possible.   Although, I guess they are busy in a lawsuit with the Stars

I think Utah will also be at the bottom of the West with Pels, Suns and Kings, but otherwise it will be a bloodbath. Portland is an early positive surprise. They have a bunch of good defenders and their lineups are clicking really well early. San Antonio also made a big step forward, as long as Wemby can stay healthy. 

New Orleans are perhaps worst run franchise in the league. Giving up an unprotected FRP to move up a couple of spots in the draft should be a firing offense. Especially since the player they liked so much isn't really any factor, barely cracking the rotation. They are 0-5 even though they are fully healthy, a luxury they can't count upon with Zions injury history. Atlanta must really be smiling no matter how their season will go, as it looks like they will have a very, very good draft pick next year. Not ulikely it even ends in top 5. 

Sacramento is another royal mess. Their team makes zero sense for modern NBA. A bunch of offensive bettas that can't play defense. It must really suck to be their fan, if there are any left after decades of suffering. 

Phoenix screwed up their big all in move and put themselves in a situation where tanking doesn't make sense as they don't control their picks, but they simply don't have anything left to build a competent team. Unless they strike some gold late in the draft, they are up for years of suffering. 

Other observations early in the season. Minny seems stuck. They are good but not contender level good enough. They desperately need a competent PG as Conley age finally caught up with him and they didn't strike with Dillingham (so far). Gobert started the season looking as one of the worst contracts in the league. They have a young star that is still improving, they have solid pieces in Randle, McDaniels, DiVinzenzo and Reid, however everything else looks meh and they don't have the assets to significantly improve. I think they can have a solid regular season, but I think their ceiling is low. 

Clippers are deep but very, very old. Similar could be said about GSW. I think it is inevitable that they will face injuries and we will see how they will be able to navigate through season then. Memphis is also sort of stuck, but they do have a bunch of draft assets to improve around Ja and JJJ, who are still only 26 years old.

[Chicagojk]

I think Utah will also be at the bottom of the West with Pels, Suns and Kings, but otherwise it will be a bloodbath. Portland is an early positive surprise. They have a bunch of good defenders and their lineups are clicking really well early. San Antonio also made a big step forward, as long as Wemby can stay healthy. 

New Orleans are perhaps worst run franchise in the league. Giving up an unprotected FRP to move up a couple of spots in the draft should be a firing offense. Especially since the player they liked so much isn't really any factor, barely cracking the rotation. They are 0-5 even though they are fully healthy, a luxury they can't count upon with Zions injury history. Atlanta must really be smiling no matter how their season will go, as it looks like they will have a very, very good draft pick next year. Not ulikely it even ends in top 5. 

Sacramento is another royal mess. Their team makes zero sense for modern NBA. A bunch of offensive bettas that can't play defense. It must really suck to be their fan, if there are any left after decades of suffering. 

Phoenix screwed up their big all in move and put themselves in a situation where tanking doesn't make sense as they don't control their picks, but they simply don't have anything left to build a competent team. Unless they strike some gold late in the draft, they are up for years of suffering. 

Other observations early in the season. Minny seems stuck. They are good but not contender level good enough. They desperately need a competent PG as Conley age finally caught up with him and they didn't strike with Dillingham (so far). Gobert started the season looking as one of the worst contracts in the league. They have a young star that is still improving, they have solid pieces in Randle, McDaniels, DiVinzenzo and Reid, however everything else looks meh and they don't have the assets to significantly improve. I think they can have a solid regular season, but I think their ceiling is low. 

Clippers are deep but very, very old. Similar could be said about GSW. I think it is inevitable that they will face injuries and we will see how they will be able to navigate through season then. Memphis is also sort of stuck, but they do have a bunch of draft assets to improve around Ja and JJJ, who are still only 26 years old.

yes, I forgot about the Jazz.   They will be bad and I assume they sell off veterans and maybe Lauri this year.  

I think GSW and the Clippers will be really interesting to watch.   I thought GSW would come back this year, but they look great so far.   They are my favorite offense to watch by far.   It will be interesting to see how they manage the season with their age.   For either team, a bad timing injury could really hurt.  Clippers are deep though. 

I never got the Minny hype.  They deserve a lot of credit for making the WCF the past two years and they have a great GM.  Plus a great player.  Although, they would get votes of who you would have for the next 5 years with teams.  I never got that.   Conley is old and Gobert is getting there.  It seems like they have a great player, some really nice pieces but I would not put them above 5-6 other teams moving forward.

[Chicagojk]

The Lively injury (whatever it is) has really hit me hard.   He missed most of the offseason after getting surgery mid summer.   In preseason, he got low minutes.    Then to begin the season, I thought his minutes were low.  He was in foul trouble for game 1, but the other two games I didn't think he played enough.   Then to have a knee issue is really tough.  More troubling, I did not see any place where he could have gotten injured.    This teams ceiling is so much lower if Lively is not able to reach his potential.  With him at his potential, they have a guy who impacts games and helps teams win.   The Mavs need more of those type of guys.

[KillerLeft]

The Lively injury (whatever it is) has really hit me hard. 

There has been so little news about it, I don't even know whether or not it has hit me hard yet.

[Chicagojk]

There has been so little news about it, I don't even know whether or not it has hit me hard yet.

I forgot to mention him not traveling to Mexico is concerning.   There may be a perfectly valid reason why he is not traveling, but the Mavs provide little confidence in anything they do.  Even Davis is traveling and is listed as out for the next two games.  For a team who has been at home for 5 games, you would think this short trip can be a good bonding experience.  Maybe I am reading too much and he is there now, but again the Mavs deserve no benefit of the doubt.

[Smitty]

@christianpclark
Jason Kidd was asked about Kyrie Irving in Mexico City. He ended his answer by saying, “We just can’t wait to get Kai back at some point. Hopefully it’s in the year ’25. Not ’26. But we’ll see what happens.”

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/mikeacurtis2/status/198478...41955?s=61

[SleepingHero]

Is it bad I'm hoping that AD lives up to his reputation this year and is out for 50+ games?

A top 3 pick to pair with Flagg this year would be incredible. Peterson on Kansas looks amazing.

[Jym]

Is it bad I'm hoping that AD lives up to his reputation this year and is out for 50+ games?

A top 3 pick to pair with Flagg this year would be incredible. Peterson on Kansas looks amazing.

A lottery pick and a fired Nico seems like a successful season to me

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

https://x.com/mikeacurtis2/status/198478...41955?s=61

Is there something Jason Kidd knows that the rest of the world doesnt?

[DanSchwartzgan]

A lottery pick and a fired Nico seems like a successful season to me

Obviously, I won’t complain if we get a Top 4 pick.  The point I tried to make the other day was that none of us are going to like what comes with that.  What comes with that is probably another injury filled season from Davis that further tanks his value.  If we could get a few good months from Davis (which probably kills the top four pick thing), the value we could get from in in trade might be substantial.  If he’s really bad or continues to be unavailable, then we are talking Dinwiddie/Bertans type packages if he can be moved at all.