(12-19-2019, 05:34 PM)fifteenth Wrote:There is no such quote, although he does say that this is a transition year, even for Luka, dealing with the "burden" of being an MVP candidate and maintaining his form and consistency for a whole season.(12-19-2019, 05:30 PM)Scott41theMavs Wrote: The entire premise of this guy's piece is that Luka isn't ready.
Can you post that quote for us?
For those who don't know, Tim Cato used to be with Mavs Moneyball, and I guess now writes for the Athletic. He can be seen and heard from at some of Rick's postgame pressers.
Tim seems like a good dude, and no disrespect to him, but this is pretty much a fluff piece. It's interesting to discuss, but this isn't based on sourcing or GM/agent type expertise. Basically, a writer/fan throwing out some ideas.
I don't necessarily disagree with him in some respects. I don't know if there is any history of an NBA team consisting mostly of guys who have never been to the NBA playoffs at all making any kind of a run there. The closest thing I can remember is the Thunder when they went to the playoffs for the first time. That is a very different experience from the regular season, and I don't think the Mavs are going to sacrifice any significant long-term asset to get a piece that makes them better now, but isn't part of the long-term plan, on the theory that they are contenders now.
Pretty much any trade consisting of Courtney Lee and a non-GSW second round pick is a low-risk deal, assuming they're not taking on salary past the 20-21 season. They would just be giving up a guy who never plays and a pick that is unlikely to turn into a valuable player, or to be of much value in the trade market, so whatever they get is gravy.
As far as other guys, I don't think any of the players not named KP or Luka is untouchable, but I would be surprised if the Mavs are willing to sacrifice the future for the present in hopes of making some kind of deep run this season. There is almost no one who is realistically available in-season who would be the kind of game-changer that could get them to that point in that short a time. I realize that Scott doesn't agree with that. I am just trying to assess how the Mavs are likely to see it. Maybe they'll surprise us, who knows?
I would imagine the team is keeping Luka apprised of the plans. And I agree with Scott that they will need to be aggressive about pursuing a championship, as they tried to be with Dirk. But also realistic.