MAVS NEWS:

[KillerLeft]

@noahweber00

Cooper Flagg on his relationship with Dirk Nowitzki:

“I’ve met up with Dirk a couple times. He’s just voiced to me if I ever need anything he’ll be around and he wants to be in my corner and be there for me…I would love to be able to meet up with him soon and grow our relationship. Obviously he’s a legend here in Dallas, so that would be amazing for me…”

Wow, an 18-year old kid already understands how to get on DFW's good side better than any of the adults who've been running this team recently.

[KillerLeft]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6800940...workplace/

With the losing, the injuries and the negativity mounting, league sources said Dumont was hearing from the man whose choice to sell the team to him opened the door to this disaster in the first place. Cuban, who still owns 27 percent of the team, was known to be frustrated with Harrison for freezing him out after the sale and not consulting him on the choice to trade Luka Doncic. League sources say he made his case to Dumont over the last several months that Harrison was steering the franchise in the wrong direction.

Last summer, Kidd contemplated leaving the Mavericks to go coach the New York Knicks. There was mutual interest between the two sides, league sources said, but the Mavericks refused to let Kidd leave and rewarded him with an extension. That gave Kidd power in any disagreement with his front office. He had more years on his contract than any of them.

If only they hadn’t said goodbye to a generational talent who was one of the best of all time at that very thing. “It’s the losing,” said a league source who spoke with Dumont about why Harrison was fired. “Can’t get off to a start like this (after making a trade like that) and survive.”

Multiple team sources told The Athletic it was illustrative of part of a larger pattern of Harrison’s poor hiring practices and perceived lack of accountability. In May, Harrison was forced to fire athletic performance director Keith Belton, who did not have proper certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, as first reported by ESPN. Earlier in the season, Belton had gotten into a heated argument with one of his superiors over the handling of Dereck Lively II’s return to the court. The incident was serious enough that it required the involvement of the human resources department.

Besides hiring unqualified people for important roles, Harrison also didn’t have much tolerance for anyone who disagreed with his way of doing things, multiple team employees told The Athletic. Casey Smith, the Mavericks’ long-time director of health and performance, was let go weeks before the start of the 2023-24 season. Smith was widely respected throughout the NBA and had strong relationships up and down the Mavericks’ roster. But he wasn’t retained, team sources said, in part because he sometimes pushed back on Harrison’s rigid way of doing things.

Thanks for posting this, SH!

I worry that the emboldened portion will turn out to be the last of Harrison's major blunders, the effects of which might last almost as long as the Luka trade. I wish they had let Kidd go to NY and gotten picks for him, frankly.

[BigDirk41]

Thanks for posting this, SH!

I worry that the emboldened portion will turn out to be the last of Harrison's major blunders, the effects of which might last almost as long as the Luka trade. I wish they had let Kidd go to NY and gotten picks for him, frankly.

I don't know Kidd's new contract details, but at least the new owners are rich enough to eat the money if the new GM decides he isn't the best coach moving forward. Kidd is the perfect coach to tank, but if the plan is to win, he needs to go imo.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

Maybe with Dirk‘s help they can get it done one day. It’s certainly a longshot but man that would be sweet.

I would bet it's 100% that Luka returns to the Mavs someday. It may not be in his prime, but at the very least, in the twilight of his career, he'll finish out as a Mav. Players tend to, once egos disapate, find their way home, one way or another. Whenever he does return, the homecoming will be glorious. Janitors will be on standby with massive buckets and squeegees because there will be so many tears. 

"WHO THE F--- IS CHOPPIN' ONIONS UP IN THIS THREAD??!!??!!??"

[mvossman]

I would bet it's 100% that Luka returns to the Mavs someday. It may not be in his prime, but at the very least, in the twilight of his career, he'll finish out as a Mav. Players tend to, once egos disapate, find their way home, one way or another. Whenever he does return, the homecoming will be glorious. Janitors will be on standby with massive buckets and squeegees because there will be so many tears. 

"WHO THE F--- IS CHOPPIN' ONIONS UP IN THIS THREAD??!!??!!??"

Really hard to see that happening if Dumont is still here.  That bridge was burned to the ground.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Wow, an 18-year old kid already understands how to get on DFW's good side better than any of the adults who've been running this team recently.

Flagg best skill for me is his mentality and hard working, he can be special for sure.

[Kidnova]

Really hard to see that happening if Dumont is still here.  That bridge was burned to the ground.

I doubt that's true.

[KillerLeft]

I don't know Kidd's new contract details, but at least the new owners are rich enough to eat the money if the new GM decides he isn't the best coach moving forward. Kidd is the perfect coach to tank, but if the plan is to win, he needs to go imo.

I agree, but if the implications of that article are true, it could be deeper than that. 

Does Kidd's contractual status (and the faith in him that prompted the extension offer) mean he's going to have a voice in the search for the next GM? Is that guy going to start his new job knowing he has to wrestle control of the organization from Kidd? Or worse, do they hire someone Kidd knows he can bully into doing everything his way?

Lots of potential for extension of the same old Dallas Mavericks problems.

[Jmaciscool]

Really hard to see that happening if Dumont is still here.  That bridge was burned to the ground.

Could be, but then again I thought the bridge between LeBron and Cleveland was thoroughly burned as well.

[Chicagojk]

I have trouble seeing him ever being back in Dallas.   LAL will treat him right and if they are smart will build a very good team around him moving forward.    Who knows though.

In all honesty a player like Cooper in a few years might be a perfect compliment to Luka.

[Mavs2021]

If Finley knew about the Luka trade before it was official, he´s not fit to work for the Mavs either. He should have leaked this to Luka and Stein/MacMahon to sabotage the whole trade. I´m sorry. That is weak sauce. He goes to Luka and says listen this dumb mofo wants to trade you. Talk to Cuban. Talk to Duffy. Talk to Dumont personally. We all got your back. You can´t tell me Nico could have pushed this through, if 99% internally speak out against it, including the part-owner.

I remember when Andre The Giant told the Fabulous Freebirds they were fired. They said you can´t fire us. He said either you or I do not work here anymore tomorrow. They were fired the next day. Luka was The Giant. Nico was just a power drunk piss ant.

I still can´t believe they did not stop the trade at any stage. That´s really what I find so highly suspicious. When Shams leaked it, I doubt it was officially submitted to the league office already. They could have said: My bad. Nico went rogue. We changed our mind. Or simply failed AD´s medical like that would have been any problem. LOL.

[mvossman]

Could be, but then again I thought the bridge between LeBron and Cleveland was thoroughly burned as well.

That was a very different situation though.  It was the Cleveland owner who was pissed at LeBron.  Not that surprised he got over his angst to bring back the best player in the NBA.

Is there even a precedent for what Dumont did?  Has there ever been a case where an owner traded a superstar without warning and then trashed him in the media afterwords?

[Jmaciscool]

That was a very different situation though.  It was the Cleveland owner who was pissed at LeBron.  Not that surprised he got over his angst to bring back the best player in the NBA.

Is there even a precedent for what Dumont did?  Has there ever been a case where an owner traded a superstar without warning and then trashed him in the media afterwords?

Sure the specifics are different, for me it was a situation where I thought there was no way LeBron ever plays in Cleveland for that same owner after all the animosity. But they surprisingly got past it.

[F Gump]

I agree, but if the implications of that article are true, it could be deeper than that. 

Does Kidd's contractual status (and the faith in him that prompted the extension offer) mean he's going to have a voice in the search for the next GM? Is that guy going to start his new job knowing he has to wrestle control of the organization from Kidd? Or worse, do they hire someone Kidd knows he can bully into doing everything his way?

Lots of potential for extension of the same old Dallas Mavericks problems.

If you are tired of the incessant negativity in this forum, maybe look in the mirror to see where it is coming from? 

Kidd has coached the Mavs to WCF twice and NBA Finals once, in a very short time. Yet you are on a post-after-post crusade to vilify him. I think your extreme hatred is misplaced and has you looking desperately for negatives, in the innocuous and in the normalities of the NBA world. 

If you don't believe me, then at least put a little faith in the acumen of people who evaluate coaches for a living. NY Knicks front office has been fairly astute in recent years, and Kidd was the guy they wanted. And Kidd is HIGHLY respected around the league. 

You hate Kidd. You've made that clear. Got it. But I think he's part of the solution, rather than the problem.

[KillerLeft]

You hate Kidd. You've made that clear. Got it. But I think he's part of the solution, rather than the problem.

Yes, yes I do. And I think he is now the face of the problem. So, we just disagree. 

Sorry it's annoying you. I don't feel like it's anywhere remotely close to impacting every post I make, but I'll keep an eye on that.

Since he's the CURRENT head coach of the CURRENT team, I'd say it's pretty impossible to opine about the team without constantly judging his role in what's going on, so I can't guarantee I won't bring it up again, or even often, but...I'll keep an eye on it.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Both of you have strong argoments. No doubt.

I'm neutral on Kidd, i don't know if Doncic presence avoid him to coaching any offensive schemes. Maybe yes.

I think in this start of the season he just show to the world that Harrison should be fired (even he was involved in the trade) and Flagg at the point was a joke.

Our window is closed for at least 4/5 years so Kidd can't do so much damage.

[KillerLeft]

Our window is closed for at least 4/5 years so Kidd can't do so much damage.

Oh, my goodness. I sure hope that's not true. I don't think it is, necessarily.

[KillerLeft]

If you are tired of the incessant negativity in this forum, maybe look in the mirror to see where it is coming from? 

Kidd has coached the Mavs to WCF twice and NBA Finals once, in a very short time. Yet you are on a post-after-post crusade to vilify him. I think your extreme hatred is misplaced and has you looking desperately for negatives, in the innocuous and in the normalities of the NBA world. 

If you don't believe me, then at least put a little faith in the acumen of people who evaluate coaches for a living. NY Knicks front office has been fairly astute in recent years, and Kidd was the guy they wanted. And Kidd is HIGHLY respected around the league. 

You hate Kidd. You've made that clear. Got it. But I think he's part of the solution, rather than the problem.

Actually, I'll push back even more, because while you're interpreting this as an extension of my negative feelings about Kidd (you're right, to an extent) there's another side of the point I was making, and one that I'd think you agree with, given past conversations:

Don't you think the GM should be in charge of the coach, and not the other way around? That's kind of the danger I was alluding to in the post you quoted. If we're going to put an expert in charge of building the team, someone who can/will ultimately be judged on the merits of how he does it and if needed, be held accountable (something you and I have agreed on for years), then shouldn't that guy be able to have some say in whether or not the coach understands how that team is meant to be played? I mean, it's all a collaboration, obviously, but on the accountability scale, I believe the coach should not be more powerful than the GM. That's what I'm saying. You disagree?

[mvossman]

If you are tired of the incessant negativity in this forum, maybe look in the mirror to see where it is coming from? 

Kidd has coached the Mavs to WCF twice and NBA Finals once, in a very short time. Yet you are on a post-after-post crusade to vilify him. I think your extreme hatred is misplaced and has you looking desperately for negatives, in the innocuous and in the normalities of the NBA world. 

If you don't believe me, then at least put a little faith in the acumen of people who evaluate coaches for a living. NY Knicks front office has been fairly astute in recent years, and Kidd was the guy they wanted. And Kidd is HIGHLY respected around the league. 

You hate Kidd. You've made that clear. Got it. But I think he's part of the solution, rather than the problem.

Hard disagree on this one.  

Given the reports that he was "in alignment" with the Luka trade, that is already reason to let him go.

He has history of power struggles and trying to take over more control.  I have seen nothing to suggest that giving Kidd more FO control is a good thing.  The one move most linked to him is that ridiculous McGee contract.

He can do some good things as a coach and he has had some successes here.  But I also think he has some significant flaws, especially on the offensive side of the ball that were masked by Luka.  You argued over the summer that we were going to see some beautiful flow basketball now that Luka is gone, and we have seen nothing like that.

If your argument is that is because we were "stealth tanking" I would say that is unlikely, and its particularly unlikely it came from Nico (who was trying to rush AD back on the court to save his job).  So if Kidd was stealth tanking he was doing it on his own, and that gets back to the point above about his meddling.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Oh, my goodness. I sure hope that's not true. I don't think it is, necessarily

Which part? The window or about Kidd?