AD is broken. Let us admit this and move on with a plan.

[meistermatze]

I’ve been saying this for weeks: AD is one injury away from completely ruining his career - or at least whatever trade value he had left.

People kept saying, “We’re not in a rush, we can hold on to him.”

That was utter bullshit back then, and it’s nothing but pure hubris now.

And surprise, surprise - he’s injured again. Anyone shocked by this hasn’t been paying attention.

He played 33% of all games with the Mavs. Since 2018/2019 he had ONE season with 76 games. The rest? 62 games max, a little over 60% on average! And this guy is not getting any younger.

The writing was on the wall from day one. That’s exactly why his value was so low. That’s exactly why we had zero leverage.

What really makes me furious is this collective delusion that AD is some kind of superstar and that we deserve a “nice return.”

This constant reality-denying nonsense is unbearable. Whoever trades for him now is an idiot. (Frankly, they were one before too — but let’s not open the Luka can again.)

So PLEASE, for the love of God: Get real. AD is not a trade chip. He is a burden.

And we should be happy to move him for a bag of beans - ideally one that comes with some form of cap relief.

Only if we accept this, we can collectively move forward and talk about realistic plans.

Thank you, that is all.

[jerryjohnson]

Depressingly accurate.

[SkenfromLMF]

So by this evaluation of AD, WHY would any team offer salary relief to take on this burden?

The only hope the Mavs have of coming out of this is a choice of:
A) pay to get off his money
B) play the contract out and get cap relief when it expires

We do not have the type of assets to pay to get off his contract and still have any hope of building a team around Flagg.

I am rose colored glasses hoping that this description of AD is more a reaction to scar-tissue from the Luka trade than actual objectivity toward him.

[mvossman]

So by this evaluation of AD, WHY would any team offer salary relief to take on this burden?

The only hope the Mavs have of coming out of this is a choice of:
A) pay to get off his money
B) play the contract out and get cap relief when it expires

We do not have the type of assets to pay to get off his contract and still have any hope of building a team around Flagg.

I am rose colored glasses hoping that this description of AD is more a reaction to scar-tissue from the Luka trade than actual objectivity toward him.

I think the OP is overly harsh, but there are arguments that AD has more value to some teams than he does to Mavs (who are building around a player that just turned 19).  There are or will be AD trades out there that make sense for both teams.

[F Gump]

And we should be happy to move him for a bag of beans - ideally one that comes with some form of cap relief.

The chance you will see that "bag of beans" trade for AD that you are hoping for is probably about 0 in a million. And maybe less.

[myconsumerclub]

Luka is gone buddy he isn't coming back sit down and imagine you are in a nice place with the sound of a waterfall in the background now repeat after me, wusah and keep saying wusah. Do that for 30 minutes and then go make yourself a nice cup of chamomile tea. Good times.

[meistermatze]

Luka is gone buddy he isn't coming back sit down and imagine you are in a nice place with the sound of a waterfall in the background now repeat after me, wusah and keep saying wusah. Do that for 30 minutes and then go make yourself a nice cup of chamomile tea. Good times.

It’s kind of funny that the accusation now is that I need to come to terms with Luka being gone - when it’s actually the other way around. I am already at peace with that.
This has nothing to do with Luka being gone. It’s over, and I understand that.

What we’re dealing with now is a new reality, and we should try to make the best of it. I’d even argue that the “keep AD” side should be the ones fully embracing this fact. To me, this looks like a classic sunk-cost fallacy: “We traded Luka for AD, so we can’t just move on from him for nothing.”

I’m fully aware we won’t get equal value in return - and that’s exactly why I want to make the best decision now, not later. Holding on to AD because of his perceived value doesn’t feel rational to me when every indicator suggests his body is breaking down right in front of us. Add to that the constant torture of waiting for the next injury every time he finally gets back on the floor.

[JamesConway912]

The Mavs need to move on while they still can. AD will never be more than a part timer again. It’s been 12 months.

His problems wont magically disappear even if you wait another full calendar year.

[SkenfromLMF]

No but in 18 mos his salary does...

[KillerLeft]

No but in 18 mos his salary does...

Nope. He has a player option for the following season that he’s 100% going to exercise if he hasn’t gotten an extension by then.

[speedkilz88]

Every morning the Lakers front office awakes to their own laughter on how they managed to get that shoe salesmen to give them Luka for a handful of shit.

[DallasMaverick]

As a fan, it’s tempting to want all the decisions to be made and finished, and to see something happen. But sometimes, what’s best for the team is to keep options open.

Maybe some desperate team makes a stupid high offer for a player you intended to keep. Or maybe a team is willing to trade a quality player cheaply, for whatever reason.

I’m fine with limbo about AD.

[Dahlsim]

every indicator suggests his body is breaking down right in front of us.

Possibly but to be fair, this last AD injury was a freak accident type.  Finger caught in Jersey, odd but could-happen-to-anyone type of injury, unrelated to the type of injury that you worry about recurring.

[FireNicoHarrison]

Last 5 street clothes injuries were from no basketball contact.

He is a soft budino like i said just after the trade. His body is done.