Why the Mavs are Potentially Much Better Already...

[Kammrath]

If we assume that, who gets his minutes and more important, his ROLE (I think that's the point we're trying to say)? Is it Bullock?

I certainly don't want Luka playing 48 minutes like Durant did. There has to be a better replacement (Bullock can't create either and I'm expecting his defense to be similar to J-Rich's, Bullock is a better shooter for sure, but J-Rich did a bit of penetration/mid-range game, sometmes needed). If we get Dragic, then maybe we can talk. As long as the team is currently, there are no one capable of handling the ball besides Luka/Brunson.

Hey, maybe JB evolves into the secondary Ball-handler we need (would require an improvement to play 30mpg, some in the league view him as a starter in other teams, why not here?). He already does it with the bench mob. For now, the team did not get much better (as the thread proposed).

I would say Bullock will get the most minutes that JR once had. 

I get that JR was given a little playmaking role last year. But from my seat (and this is just based off of observation and not hard data), I felt like it added nothing to the team overall. I don't think JR having the ball helped anything and I don't think it will be missed at all (like even one little bit). 

I think this team as currently constructed is clearly counting on Luka and JB a lot.....and so did last year's team. I think the Mavs need a third guy to add to that (and I think they know that as well). I do not think that third guy needs to have a LARGE role, but just fill spot duty as needed. I think Dragic is ideal for that. But I think the Mavs have TIME, in the sense that they don't HAVE to do anything before the trade deadline (unless there is an injury to Luka or JB).

[Kammrath]

I really like JB, but offense was not his only problem. He was getting absolutely picked on on defense and couldn't do anything about it. That's why I am affraid it will be difficult to expect such a huge jump on both ends of the floor. Perhaps Clippers are just totally bad match up for him and he would do better against a team where primary creators are smaller than Kawhi/PG13 and can't abuse him in the paint.

JB's lack of length hurt him on BOTH ends in the playoffs this past year. He was effective on both ends during the regular season, but the LAC matchup and his first playoffs were not good for him.

[Jommybone]

This is a strange conversation. I can’t give any off-season credit for dumping JR when they could have accomplished the same thing by benching him. Sure, they get a TPE, and that’s nice. But it’s only relevant if it gets used. So far, dumping JR is the equivalent of benching him. Maybe worse cause you can’t even dream that he might have an epiphany. 

Speaking of which, why did the Celtics just extend him? Insanity in Boston. Worst off-season of all time potentially.

[Chicagojk]

This is a strange conversation. I can’t give any off-season credit for dumping JR when they could have accomplished the same thing by benching him. Sure, they get a TPE, and that’s nice. But it’s only relevant if it gets used. So far, dumping JR is the equivalent of benching him. Maybe worse cause you can’t even dream that he might have an epiphany. 

Speaking of which, why did the Celtics just extend him? Insanity in Boston. Worst off-season of all time potentially.

Celtics worst off season all time?   I don't understand.  Can you elaborate.

We will see if Richardson plays better in Boston.   I think they extended him a year to potentially have a trade asset at a solid # a year from now.   He needs to play better than he did a year ago.   Even if he plays to Philly Richardson, I think he would be a net neutral asset.

Besides that, The Celtics need to be thrilled with some of their young players performances in summer league.  Shroeder at 1 year at 5.9 is solid.   They probably will not be able to bring him back, but at this point he is probably an improvement over Kemba.   It is a TBD on the extension of Robert Williams but I have no problem with Smart extension.  They probably had to do something prior to the season with Smart.  Not sure how much Horford has left.    

So I put the Celtics offseason as treading water with some hope on the development of some young players.   In the end, they have two really good, young wings in Tatum and Brown who will make them competitive for a long time.    It will be tough for them to reach the Nets and Bucks level, but Brown and Tatum give them a really good young core where a couple smart moves may elevate their celling to contender.

[DallasBasketball]

I get that JR was given a little playmaking role last year. But from my seat (and this is just based off of observation and not hard data), I felt like it added nothing to the team overall. I don't think JR having the ball helped anything and I don't think it will be missed at all (like even one little bit). 

I support this. +77

[RedFlag41]

JR handling the ball was a negative for the team. It usually resulted in live-ball turnovers and an easy score for the opposing team. The Mavs will not miss JR in the playmaking department.

[KillerLeft]

JR handling the ball was a negative for the team. It usually resulted in live-ball turnovers and an easy score for the opposing team. The Mavs will not miss JR in the playmaking department.

Yep, absolutely nobody is saying otherwise, though for some reason, that's being made the argument. 

What people ARE saying is that the NEED for someone to handle the ball (who isn't Luka) INSTEAD of Josh Richardson is still very much a factor in their opinions of the off-season. Richardson was a failure in that spot, and is now gone, but no other, better-fitting offensive option (ball-handler, not exclusively off-ball) was placed back into that space. 

Again, I'd have been fine if they had gotten Dragic or someone better - Dragic level at least, and I'm happy as a clam. Feels like we're looking at another season where Luka gets completely swamped during the last 5 minutes of games against good teams, to me. I suppose Brunson might take another MAJOR step forward, but I hope they're not banking on that.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

JR handling the ball was a negative for the team. It usually resulted in live-ball turnovers and an easy score for the opposing team. The Mavs will not miss JR in the playmaking department.

I wouldn't put him and playmaker in the same sentence.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Celtics worst off season all time?   I don't understand.  Can you elaborate.

We will see if Richardson plays better in Boston.   I think they extended him a year to potentially have a trade asset at a solid # a year from now.   He needs to play better than he did a year ago.   Even if he plays to Philly Richardson, I think he would be a net neutral asset.

Besides that, The Celtics need to be thrilled with some of their young players performances in summer league.  Shroeder at 1 year at 5.9 is solid.   They probably will not be able to bring him back, but at this point he is probably an improvement over Kemba.   It is a TBD on the extension of Robert Williams but I have no problem with Smart extension.  They probably had to do something prior to the season with Smart.  Not sure how much Horford has left.    

So I put the Celtics offseason as treading water with some hope on the development of some young players.   In the end, they have two really good, young wings in Tatum and Brown who will make them competitive for a long time.    It will be tough for them to reach the Nets and Bucks level, but Brown and Tatum give them a really good young core where a couple smart moves may elevate their celling to contender.

"Philly" JRich was almost as bad as he was in Dallas. If he can revert to "Miami" JRich, that will be a win for Boston.  Maybe Udoka can re-light the fuse, who knows.

[mavsluvr]

Tyler Watts assesses offseason performance.

Tyler notes that several Mavs' deficiencies were exposed in the playoffs, and examines how the Mavs did in resolving them, noting that there is still time to shore up the remaining issues. 

5. Depth

The Clippers brought on seemingly endless reinforcements, while the Mavs were forced to count on Boban. 

At best, they acquired two new rotation pieces, although Sterling Brown has no history of playing big minutes in the playoffs. 

Depth:  Still questionable, to put it mildly. 


4.  Defense

Mavs were a disaster defensively. 

Bullock and Brown have size and athleticism, but both rank as slightly below-average defenders for their positions. They probably rate as slight upgrades to the roster, but neither is a game-changer or lockdown option. 

Defense: Kidd will try to upgrade with a new scheme, but the talent just isn't there to make a major jump. If the Mavs could acquire another player who even marginally improves the defense, that could be huge. 


3.  Rebounding

The Mavs' struggles on the glass last season cost them games.

Bullock averages 3 rebounds/game, same as Richardson. Brown averages 4, which is above-average for his position, but not enough to enable the team to make a leap. 

Rebounding:  Nothing has been done to fix the problem. 


2.  Secondary playmaker. 

Arguably the team's biggest need. The Mavs lost their playoff series as a result of their horrible performance in non-Luka minutes. Neither Bullock nor Brown is a ball-handler or playmaker. 

Mavs still believe they will ultimately acquire Dragic. They are hoping he is bought out, so they don't have to give up assets. 

Secondary playmaker: If they don't get Dragic, they need to get somebody. Going into the playoffs with no improvement is untenable. 


1.  Second star. 

This need has to be filled to win a championship. KP serving as a spot-up shooter and scoring 13 PPG doesn't cut it. 

KP has the talent to be a second star, although his injuries are becoming worrisome. Kidd is invested in turning him into that star, which is great, but it's not a sure thing. 

Second star: Mavs cannot contend with Luka and 14 role players. KP is a possibility. TBD. 


TL;DR.   This review concludes that the Mavs improved their depth a little bit, slightly improved their defense, did nothing to address their rebounding or playmaking needs, and are still trying to turn KP into their second star. There is still time to address these five needs before the Mavs go into the 2022 playoffs.  

https://thesmokingcuban.com/posts/dallas...ree-agency

[JamesConway]

https://twitter.com/grantafseth/status/1...77216?s=21

That’s it. That’s the best they could do. A MLE guy is their addition, the rest are fringe Nba players. Also - as always- we made zero moves to improve the asset base of this team so once a star caliber player gets moved we will once again just read about DAL not having the assets to get a trade done.

What an underwhelming offseason. It’s pretty much the same we’ve been used to for a long time. 

We’re still working with a competitive disadvantage at the main decision making positions. Just like the last decade. Yuck.

[KillerLeft]

Tyler Watts assesses offseason performance.

Tyler notes that several Mavs' deficiencies were exposed in the playoffs, and examines how the Mavs did in resolving them, noting that there is still time to shore up the remaining issues. 

5. Depth

The Clippers brought on seemingly endless reinforcements, while the Mavs were forced to count on Boban. 

At best, they acquired two new rotation pieces, although Sterling Brown has no history of playing big minutes in the playoffs. 

Depth:  Still questionable, to put it mildly. 


4.  Defense

Mavs were a disaster defensively. 

Bullock and Brown have size and athleticism, but both rank as slightly below-average defenders for their positions. They probably rate as slight upgrades to the roster, but neither is a game-changer or lockdown option. 

Defense: Kidd will try to upgrade with a new scheme, but the talent just isn't there to make a major jump. If the Mavs could acquire another player who even marginally improves the defense, that could be huge. 


3.  Rebounding

The Mavs' struggles on the glass last season cost them games.

Bullock averages 3 rebounds/game, same as Richardson. Brown averages 4, which is above-average for his position, but not enough to enable the team to make a leap. 

Rebounding:  Nothing has been done to fix the problem. 


2.  Secondary playmaker. 

Arguably the team's biggest need. The Mavs lost their playoff series as a result of their horrible performance in non-Luka minutes. Neither Bullock nor Brown is a ball-handler or playmaker. 

Mavs still believe they will ultimately acquire Dragic. They are hoping he is bought out, so they don't have to give up assets. 

Secondary playmaker: If they don't get Dragic, they need to get somebody. Going into the playoffs with no improvement is untenable. 


1.  Second star. 

This need has to be filled to win a championship. KP serving as a spot-up shooter and scoring 13 PPG doesn't cut it. 

KP has the talent to be a second star, although his injuries are becoming worrisome. Kidd is invested in turning him into that star, which is great, but it's not a sure thing. 

Second star: Mavs cannot contend with Luka and 14 role players. KP is a possibility. TBD. 


TL;DR.   This review concludes that the Mavs improved their depth a little bit, slightly improved their defense, did nothing to address their rebounding or playmaking needs, and are still trying to turn KP into their second star. There is still time to address these five needs before the Mavs go into the 2022 playoffs.  

https://thesmokingcuban.com/posts/dallas...ree-agency

Thanks for this. I am unfamiliar with Tyler Watts, but this seems like an extremely unbiased, right-down-the-middle take on it all to me.

[cow]

With Moses being part of the press conference today, it would seem MBT 2.0 are hoping he's more than just an empty calories guy who put up big numbers on a bad team.  Hopefully he can carve out a few minutes on a more consistent basis than Boban.

Wright -> Richardson -> Bullock (3rd time is the charm?)

I'm not willing to throw Nico under the bus yet.  Years of mismanagement isn't going to be turned around in one off season.  It was evident since the Nico/Kidd presser that the Mavs still have their eggs in the KP basket and the only substantial leap they are going to take is if he turns it around and becomes the guy they thought they traded for.  I think all bets are off after this season.

[ItsGoTime]

https://twitter.com/grantafseth/status/1...77216?s=21

When I look at that picture, I think how we used to sign every undersized PG we could find in the league (or outside too, sad face). Now we've moved to getting the most undersized wings we can in the NBA. So many guys that are so much bigger than this group of "wings" that will play opposite these guys. Not only do we have the weakest big man group in the NBA, we now have the weakest wings we can get. Just get bullied from every position except PG and mostly SG.

[Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo]

Wright -> Richardson -> Bullock (3rd time is the charm?)

The third guy in your progression should be Sterling Brown.
I know, different pay scale but..
In terms of play he can mimic JRich.
Sterling Brown can dribble, at least better than Bullock, probably even better than THJ and Green. 
Not much on the assist department though, but neither is Bullock known for that.

[mavsluvr]

I'm not willing to throw Nico under the bus yet

Certainly no reason to throw Nico under the bus. Bro's just the piano player.

[DallasBasketball]

When I look at that picture, I think how we used to sign every undersized PG we could find in the league (or outside too, sad face).



Now we've moved to getting the most undersized wings we can in the NBA.

I didn’t expect that.^ I thought you were going to applaud signing bigger guys, 6’6 and above. We got rid of Seth (6’3) and now have Bullock and Brown (6’6 and 6’5). I’d say we look better in the size department, but I agree we need some mass. Batum would probably have fit your criteria here at closer to 6’8.

[ItsGoTime]

I didn’t expect that.^ I thought you were going to applaud signing bigger guys, 6’6 and above. We got rid of Seth (6’3) and now have Bullock and Brown (6’6 and 6’5). I’d say we look better in the size department, but I agree we need some mass. Batum would probably have fit your criteria here at closer to 6’8.

Hmmm, for whatever reason I had Bullock and Brown at 6’5” and 6’4”. 6’6” and 6’5” is better than I thought when I posted that, but the bulk to be able to battle with Leonard/George types is the more important part. As a team, only Kleber has the chance to defend those guys well and he’s needed to guard the Morris types which he is not bulky enough for.

[Jason Terry]

Hmmm, for whatever reason I had Bullock and Brown at 6’5” and 6’4”. 6’6” and 6’5” is better than I thought when I posted that, but the bulk to be able to battle with Leonard/George types is the more important part. As a team, only Kleber has the chance to defend those guys well and he’s needed to guard the Morris types which he is not bulky enough for.

Bullock would guard the other teams best player last year. Against the Mavs he would guard Luka. He was good enough that we would try to switch to get him off Luka. In the games vs us he would also guard Hardaway when he was hot. He could even switch and cover immobile bigs like KP and Maxi. Bullock is more like having a 2nd DFS than people realize

[ItsGoTime]

Bullock would guard the other teams best player last year. Against the Mavs he would guard Luka. He was good enough that we would try to switch to get him off Luka. In the games vs us he would also guard Hardaway when he was hot. He could even switch and cover immobile bigs like KP and Maxi. Bullock is more like having a 2nd DFS than people realize

I can see that being the case knowing he’s 6’6” as opposed to 6’5”. That extra inch does make a bit of difference when guarding 6’7-9” players. His weight is the same as THJ’s (205), but if he plays with more force (like say a Tucker type) then that shouldn’t make a big difference, although he gives up 15 lbs to DFS who we saw couldn’t handle those bigger wings.