What would you have done as GM that would have gotten you an A+ this off-season?

[mavsluvr]

I'm hoping that Luka plays this game with the MBT next week.  Saying something like this - So you what me to sign this extension, tell me how you are going to improve the team this offseason.  Please don't tell me we are running the same team back from last season.

For me, I was hoping for 3 new starters, a new C, PF and G combo.  So yes, I was/am hoping they trade KP.  I would of used THJ money to fill another spot and then Bullock could replace JRich for the TPE as stated by Soog.  Also, anyone not named Luka can be traded in the "I'm King for a day plan".

What's happening now seems like Cuban hired a new GM/Coach and gave them the same rule book of how to operate.  So, here is hoping Luka takes up the King for a day task next week when sitting down w/Cubes, Dirk, Nico, Fin and Kidd.

LOL, I suspect that if that delegation is winging their way to Slovenia for a signing ceremony, the visit is not going to include a come-to-Jesus tirade by Luka. 

To your larger point, I think the bolded part appears to be accurate, based on what we have seen so far. I can't point to any negotiation mistakes (although we're not really in a position to know), but their ability to attract free agents and their dependency on that line of talent acquisition does not seem to have changed. 

I suspect that Luka signed off on an overall strategy before he went to the Olympics, and was maybe updated during. His public position is that he is staying out of the personnel matters, which is a good position for him to take vis-a-vis the media. I would imagine that any concerns he has over what they are doing will be relayed to the new brain trust, and probably already has been, to the extent they exist. 

Will he refuse to sign the extension over them running it back? I don't think so. Luka is probably realistic enough to realize that they aren't going to contend this season, no matter who they get or don't get (assuming Kawhi or LeBron or a game-changer like that doesn't show up on the doorstep). But, agree, the clock is ticking. Cuban can't assume Luka will have the extraordinary loyalty that Dirk did.

[KillerLeft]

Tons of great points made in here, especially by @"DanSchwartzgan" who has a knack for taking an accurate and fair bird's eye view of both the Mavs' actions and alternatives. 

I really don't have a single complaint with any of the moves the Mavs made this summer, so far. I think they could all be sneakily effective. But, I agree with those who are disappointed that the difference maker this team needs has not been added over the past few seasons. Is it fair to wonder whether there was ANY possible way to do that? Yeah, probably. It's still a disappointment. 

But (and I know this isn't "new" conversation, sorry) the thing I'd like to think they could've done differently is move on from KP. Could they have somehow added a difference maker (or maybe 1-2 more Bullock types) that way? Maybe they tried, and it just wasn't possible, idk. But, it sure seems like they're doubling down on the idea that they already have their second difference maker, and as close follower of the team I find it quite difficult to hold out hope for that right now, though I am giving it my all.

[soog]

LOL, I suspect that if that delegation is winging their way to Slovenia for a signing ceremony, the visit is not going to include a come-to-Jesus tirade by Luka. 

To your larger point, I think the bolded part appears to be accurate, based on what we have seen so far. I can't point to any negotiation mistakes (although we're not really in a position to know), but their ability to attract free agents and their dependency on that line of talent acquisition does not seem to have changed. 

I suspect that Luka signed off on an overall strategy before he went to the Olympics, and was maybe updated during. His public position is that he is staying out of the personnel matters, which is a good position for him to take vis-a-vis the media. I would imagine that any concerns he has over what they are doing will be relayed to the new brain trust, and probably already has been, to the extent they exist. 

Will he refuse to sign the extension over them running it back? I don't think so. Luka is probably realistic enough to realize that they aren't going to contend this season, no matter who they get or don't get (assuming Kawhi or LeBron or a game-changer like that doesn't show up on the doorstep). But, agree, the clock is ticking. Cuban can't assume Luka will have the extraordinary loyalty that Dirk did.

I would disagree on the “same playbook” narrative.  

1) When was the last time the Mavs dumped one of the beloved boys in blue for space?  The last time they did that, what did they have to give up to get the contract off?

2) When was the last time the Mavs pivoted to quickly signing non-star talent when their plan A didn’t pan out?  Most years they wait for the stars like Kawhi to not choose them then pick pieces off of the scrap heap.

What I see this year is the quick execution of a plan rather than the “we’re going to be opportunistic” approach that has historically been taken. Bullock was targeted, he wasn’t a left over.  People might say the end result was the same, but the way we got here was very different.


And now to answer my own question:

1) Ball or Powell - We need someone who can put up points and defend. I would have preferred Ball or Norman Powell.  I would have made one call about the interest of either and moved on quickly to resigning THJ.  I don’t think it would have been worth the risk of waiting on them and losing THJ in the process.  I’m great with the resigning even at that price.

2) Holmes - He would have been my #1 free agent priority after signing a guard.  Good young talent, fits the budget, seemingly attainable, and right timeline.  I would have happily happily “overpaid” for him.

3) Fill out roster - here you could still do the Brown signing, pursue Dragic, sign Boban etc

Current starting line up:

Luka
THJ
DFS 
KP
Holmes

I don’t love the KP/Holmes pairing, but I like the building blocks.

What is that off-season so far?  C?

Here is where the pipe dream starts

4) After landing Holmes I’d be doing everything I could to move KP.  My target is Tobi.  Philly wants to move him so he is get able.  Contract matches well.  You need a third team though.  I have to think there is some bottom feeding team who would facilitate, maybe something with the Kings? Or Charlotte?  Maybe Orlando? If not Tobi, I’d look for another starter caliber player at SG or SF so I could shift DFS down to PF.  I’m really just looking for a starting caliber player to create a better balance in the starting 5.

Imagine if you can pull that off, you now have:

Luka
THJ
Tobi (or some other lesser player, or an SG with THJ at SF)
DFS
Holmes

I think Brunson is good as a secondary ball handler off of the bench even if he disappeared in the playoffs.  He has a much longer resume that supports his ability that outweighs that performance.

I think Dragic still happens eventually.  Ujri needs a win to save face after all of his public posturing, otherwise people will see he’s bluffing.  My guess is Dragic gets bought out for maybe $12m so Toronto can say they won then he still signs for vet min.  Still not a bad payday for him. 

So after everything I’d be looking to start the season with something like this.

Luka/Brunson/Terry
THJ/Dragic
Tobi/Brown
DFS/Maxi
Holmes/Powell/Brown

What’s interesting is that if I look at what I’ve proposed, I wouldn’t change that much. I’m essentially saying after whiffing on Ball and Powell, I would have just preferred Holmes instead of Bullock and WCS.  And the pipe dream portion of my proposal is still possible, even if very unlikely.

[ItsGoTime]

For me, the only thing I might consider is turning THJ into more value contracts (Bullock would be one).  I would have loved Batum.  Maybe Theis or Holmes (given we know what they got in perfect hindsight).  Patty Mills?   I guess if I were king for a day and could make people come here and could know dollar amounts in advance, I might have done Holmes/Theis plus Batum plus Bullock and would not have kept WCS.  But, there is a reason the Hardaway’s and Trent’s and Powell’s and Fournier’s of the world all got $18mm.  I’m afraid my value contract approach would have missed Hardaway’s ability to hit 3’s at a high volume.

See, you ended your brow beating of those of us that don’t see a big difference between this current team and last years team on paper (on paper Bullock plays 50 games next season with a possible hold your breath that he makes it to the postseason) with this paragraph that was what some people were asking for before this stage of FA started.


To Soog, what you are asking for is for us to rehash what was talked about for months before we got to this point. If you didn’t read that discussion, I can’t help you other than to tell you to go back and read what has already been said. Makes no sense to go through it again to me at least (sorry, I just have little energy to do that research and work to copy and paste for you, I hope this is not coming off as harsh cause I’m not intending it to be).

I myself have always kept a more wait and see approach to the offseason, cause in my NBA watching experience I’ve seen people take small and huge steps forward (as well as the opposite) year after year. So while I don’t think to this point we are a much different team, there is a TON of room for internal improvements from the Luka all the way down to Tyrell Terry. Some of our guys might also regress which will be unfortunate, I just really hope that doesn’t come from a role of high importance. 

We can start getting much more comfortable with THJ’s offense since he showed the first full year of great shooting wasn’t a fluke. That doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee he will continue doing that. Same with DFS offense, I THINK he will come back improved next year and really hope he either adds more dynamics to his offense or keep his efficiency at higher attempts from 3. That’s because he has shown improvement year over year and he’s still young enough to not have to transition his play style yet. I can go on for every player on the team but I won’t because that would make this even more an unreadable wall of text.

Of course I know those same things come with most of the players that have been talked about, that is why some of the others want the more predictable play from the star types, not a horrible approach, I just think we have to walk before we run (solidify the starters with well fitting, appropriate quality players) with smaller upgrades so we can continue to improve in the playoffs year-to-year and become the team that has attractive assets to get the bigger swing targets through FA or trade.

As tiring as it is for you guys to read yet another negative post, it’s equally frustrating to read how great these mediocre moves (that MIGHT turn out good to great) are. I myself am getting beat down from both sides trying to stay in the middle bere!

[cow]

Singed THT.  Planned the parade route.

[loki]

To Soog, what you are asking for is for us to rehash what was talked about for months before we got to this point. If you didn’t read that discussion, I can’t help you other than to tell you to go back and read what has already been said. Makes no sense to go through it again to me at least (sorry, I just have little energy to do that research and work to copy and paste for you, I hope this is not coming off as harsh cause I’m not intending it to be).

IMO it's a little different now that we have better information on what was actually possible. There was a huge amount of discussion on players that realistically had a 0% chance of landing in Dallas. How much would we have talked about John Collins if we had known Atlanta was going to offer $125M?

Now we know the price tag of most free agents, the players that were actually available in a trade, the going rate for draft picks, etc. It's much easier to evaluate the performance of the front office when you know what their options were.

[soog]

I see what you are doing Soog.  You are trying to use logic and facts and reality to try to diffuse people’s anger.  Well, it won’t work mister.  A year from now, no one will remember the nuance of your point.  What they will remember is we had $30 million in space and all we got was Bullock and THJ (back) and Sterling and Moses.  The narrative that will survive is this is the third off-season in a row blah blah blah blah.

I actually don’t think the issue for most is what we did.  It is what we didn’t do or could have done.  Bullock for the MLE seems like good value.  Sterling at $3 million is a contract with some risks and some nice upside.  With WCS being free next summer and Boban a year older, I don’t mind Moses as a developmental big (developmental in terms of he might be a good backup some day).

If you are going to make an argument for something different, it costs you THJ and you are probably operating under the cap.  Maybe NO or Detroit would do a S&T for Hardaway and send you something minor.  In the real world, we can’t make favorable trades happen just because we think they should.  Also, Bullock would eat cap space instead of the MLE if he is part of the plan.  I’m not sure Fournier/Bullock or Norman Powell/Bullock is any better than THJ/Bullock (and I’m really not interested in Graham at the cost of a first rounder).  As Chicago points out DeRozan would have cost THJ AND Bullock.

For me, the only thing I might consider is turning THJ into more value contracts (Bullock would be one).  I would have loved Batum.  Maybe Theis or Holmes (given we know what they got in perfect hindsight).  Patty Mills?   I guess if I were king for a day and could make people come here and could know dollar amounts in advance, I might have done Holmes/Theis plus Batum plus Bullock and would not have kept WCS.  But, there is a reason the Hardaway’s and Trent’s and Powell’s and Fournier’s of the world all got $18mm.  I’m afraid my value contract approach would have missed Hardaway’s ability to hit 3’s at a high volume.

Haha unfortunately reality has has gotten in the way of many dreams I’ve had in life.

Part of me loves the value contract approach, but I begin to be concerned about putting even more weight on Luka’s shoulders.  You really need one of those value contracts to turn into an “out perform” contract quickly.  And like you were saying, does adding McConnell, Theis, Bullock get you way ahead of THJ, Bullock?

[soog]

To Soog, what you are asking for is for us to rehash what was talked about for months before we got to this point. If you didn’t read that discussion, I can’t help you other than to tell you to go back and read what has already been said. Makes no sense to go through it again to me at least (sorry, I just have little energy to do that research and work to copy and paste for you, I hope this is not coming off as harsh cause I’m not intending it to be).

Read them all.

This is not the same exercise. We have more complete information now then we did then. We can complain that the Mavs didn’t sign Lowry, Lonzo, CP3, or Connelly, but now we know that none of them were truly available.  I was in favor of pursuing Lonzo, but now I see he had already picked Chicago so I have to pivot.  I liked Powell but he already had a deal lined up to return to Portland.  It looks like Fournier and Kemba were available, but I don’t like either of them on the Mavs, so I have to be ok with THJ.

What I’m attempting to do is have a conversation where we stop going through the same exercise from the last several months where we had complete information; I’m trying to have a new conversation with complete information where instead of complaining about our pipe dreams that had ZERO chance of happening, we discuss possible plan B’s that we would have liked more.

Let’s imagine we’re in the War room, it’s 5:01pm on Monday, we get off the phone with the agents of the top 4 FA PGs and they are going elsewhere, what do we do?

Sounds like a lot of people here would have quit their GM jobs then and there because they failed at Plan A.

[ItsGoTime]

IMO it's a little different now that we have better information on what was actually possible. There was a huge amount of discussion on players that realistically had a 0% chance of landing in Dallas. How much would we have talked about John Collins if we had known Atlanta was going to offer $125M?

Now we know the price tag of most free agents, the players that were actually available in a trade, the going rate for draft picks, etc. It's much easier to evaluate the performance of the front office when you know what their options were.

Sure the big discussion was on those targets as rumors came around, but in between, especially if you paid attention to Dan’s posts, there were all kinds of thoughts and options that were possible. 


The thing that this discussion brings about is the boo birds come out after every deal/signing someone posts to poo poo it saying we would never have been able to get that guy for reasons. It happens every year.

Omahen has it right thoughts to this point since the question has been raised at this point in the offseason with what we’ve done so far. I wouldn’t be as harsh as he has been on the FO for doing what they have with what the previous FO left them with, but in general he makes a good point that I gravitate towards (to this point).

[omahen]

I wouldn’t be as harsh as he has been on the FO for doing what they have with what the previous FO left them with, but in general he makes a good point that I gravitate towards (to this point).

I can't take that as excuse. They knew exactly what they are getting into and they took the job. They were not hired to draw excuses, but to make it happen. 

I think Mavs make problems by themselves. Cuban spends two month speaking how Mavs need to add a second man to Luka and then they deliver Bullock. If he would approach offseason realistically, fans wouldn't be dissapointed.

[KillerLeft]

I can't take that as excuse. They knew exactly what they are getting into and they took the job. They were not hired to draw excuses, but to make it happen. 

I think Mavs make problems by themselves. Cuban spends two month speaking how Mavs need to add a second man to Luka and then they deliver Bullock. If he would approach offseason realistically, fans wouldn't be dissapointed.

I think this is a pretty fair take, actually.

[Kammrath]

My GM approach:

Acquire Talented Tradeable Assets (Plan ATTA)



This means:

1) Never sign a contract that you know will not be immediately tradeable in either a neutral or positive way. 

2) Never do a trade where you know your net assets come out negative. Aim for positive asset building trades, but at least do neutral asset building trades. 



The ones that got away:

1) Richaun Holmes (4 yrs/$55M) -- my number one disappointment, would have paid up to 4 yrs/$70M

2) Evan Fournier (4 yrs/$78M) -- would have preferred him to THJ as he can do more playmaking and is a year younger, would have paid 4 yrs/$90M

3) Alex Caruso (4 yrs/$37M) -- would have paid up to 4 yrs/$50M


Guys who seemed locked into their destination (so I won't fault the Mavs), but I would have paid them more:

1) John Collins (5 yrs/$125M) -- not sure he was leaving as he took a discount (starts at $21.5M, could have been $28M), would have paid 4 yrs/$115M

2) Lonzo Ball (4 yrs/$85M) -- seems his heart was set on CHI, would have paid 4 yrs/$90M



I am only disappointed in the Mavs not getting Holmes, Fournier, and Caruso. Those are the only guys I would have graded the Mavs higher for getting.

Overall the Mavs did the most important things so far this offseason:

1) Get rid of the weak link (JR): done.

2) Sign Tradeable Contracts (THJ, WCS, RB & SB) that fit and will help the team win: done.

3) Take on no negative assets: done. 

Grade: B

[soog]

Singed THT.  Planned the parade route.

I’ve been a big fan of his ever since people started talking about him.  I would have been ok going for him instead of Bullock.  Or as part of splitting the money THJ as Dan suggested.

[soog]

My GM approach:

Acquire Talented Tradeable Assets (Plan ATTA)



This means:

1) Never sign a contract that you know will not be immediately tradeable in either a neutral or positive way. 

2) Never do a trade where you know your net assets come out negative. Aim for positive asset building trades, but at least do neutral asset building trades. 



The ones that got away:

1) Richaun Holmes (4 yrs/$55M) -- my number one disappointment, would have paid up to 4 yrs/$70M

2) Evan Fournier (4 yrs/$78M) -- would have preferred him to THJ as he can do more playmaking and is a year younger, would have paid 4 yrs/$90M

3) Alex Caruso (4 yrs/$37M) -- would have paid up to 4 yrs/$50M


Guys who seemed locked into their destination (so I won't fault the Mavs), but I would have paid them more:

1) John Collins (5 yrs/$125M) -- not sure he was leaving as he took a discount (starts at $21.5M, could have been $28M), would have paid 4 yrs/$115M

2) Lonzo Ball (4 yrs/$85M) -- seems his heart was set on CHI, would have paid 4 yrs/$90M



I am only disappointed in the Mavs not getting Holmes, Fournier, and Caruso. Those are the only guys I would have graded the Mavs higher for getting.

Overall the Mavs did the most important things so far this offseason:

1) Get rid of the weak link (JR): done.

2) Sign Tradeable Contracts (THJ, WCS, RB & SB) that fit and will help the team win: done.

3) Take on no negative assets: done. 

Grade: B

Solid take.  On board with Holmes and Caruso. I’m not a fan of Fournier, but that’s just me.

---

I can't take that as excuse. They knew exactly what they are getting into and they took the job. They were not hired to draw excuses, but to make it happen. 

I think Mavs make problems by themselves. Cuban spends two month speaking how Mavs need to add a second man to Luka and then they deliver Bullock. If he would approach offseason realistically, fans wouldn't be dissapointed.

So am I understanding this correctly - you aren’t actually disappointed by the performance of the MBT, you’re upset about what Cuban said…?

[KillerLeft]

My GM approach:

Acquire Talented Tradeable Assets (Plan ATTA)



This means:

1) Never sign a contract that you know will not be immediately tradeable in either a neutral or positive way. 

2) Never do a trade where you know your net assets come out negative. Aim for positive asset building trades, but at least do neutral asset building trades. 



The ones that got away:

1) Richaun Holmes (4 yrs/$55M) -- my number one disappointment, would have paid up to 4 yrs/$70M


2) Evan Fournier (4 yrs/$78M) -- would have preferred him to THJ as he can do more playmaking and is a year younger, would have paid 4 yrs/$90M



3) Alex Caruso (4 yrs/$37M) -- would have paid up to 4 yrs/$50M


Guys who seemed locked into their destination (so I won't fault the Mavs), but I would have paid them more:


1) John Collins (5 yrs/$125M) -- not sure he was leaving as he took a discount (starts at $21.5M, could have been $28M), would have paid 4 yrs/$115M


2) Lonzo Ball (4 yrs/$85M) -- seems his heart was set on CHI, would have paid 4 yrs/$90M



I am only disappointed in the Mavs not getting Holmes, Fournier, and Caruso. Those are the only guys I would have graded the Mavs higher for getting.

Overall the Mavs did the most important things so far this offseason:

1) Get rid of the weak link (JR): done.

2) Sign Tradeable Contracts (THJ, WCS, RB & SB) that fit and will help the team win: done.

3) Take on no negative assets: done. 

Grade: B

I'm with this logic. I think it's astute. 

I don't know that I agree with all of your conclusions when applying it. I think it's debatable whether your proposed contract for Holmes (or Caruso, honestly) will actually end up abiding by your number 1 rule. 

With Holmes, I believe (but can't prove) from reading that they did make a run at Holmes. My takeaway on him is that either A) he didn't want to be here and should be in your "locked into their destination (or at least not Mavs)" category, B) the Mavs don't think he abides by your rule #1, even on the deal he got, or C) they simply didn't like him enough to abandon the over the cap approach and use space on him. I could be misreading the situation, but that's how I feel right now. 

Fournier, I can see your point. And, you're fair enough to make it clear that he's basically in the same tier as THJ, but that you like Fournier better. You might be right about that, but for me, the idea that THJ has been here and part of the turnaround (so far) and that both he and the team wanted to stay together carries quite a bit of weight.

[Kammrath]

With Holmes, I believe (but can't prove) from reading that they did make a run at Holmes. My takeaway on him is that either A) he didn't want to be here and should be in your "locked into their destination (or at least not Mavs)" category, B) the Mavs don't think he abides by your rule #1, even on the deal he got, or C) they simply didn't like him enough to abandon the over the cap approach and use space on him. I could be misreading the situation, but that's how I feel right now. 

Fournier, I can see your point. And, you're fair enough to make it clear that he's basically in the same tier as THJ, but that you like Fournier better. You might be right about that, but for me, the idea that THJ has been here and part of the turnaround (so far) and that both he and the team wanted to stay together carries quite a bit of weight.

Holmes:

1) Mavs may not like him at the number I do.
2) He may not have been interested in leaving.
3) Mavs may have not wanted him with KP and DP still around.


Fournier:

1) I think he and THJ are same level players generally, but give EF the edge for his playmaking ability.
2) I get the Mavs wanting to be cheaper and get THJ, the KNOWN fit with Luka. 


So point being: Even the guys I am disappointed the Mavs didn't get, I still can see WHY they might think otherwise. And frankly I am just a fan who knows way less than them and has access to way less data. So I implicitly will give them the benefit of the doubt.

They addressed what I saw as the single greatest glaring issue (JR) and did it quickly and really well. They also didn't burn assets in getting Dragic. Nico has quickly earned my trust based on these two things.

[cow]

I don't think we should have signed THJ but if the choice was going after THJ or EF, they did the smart thing by going after the sure thing.

[Jason Terry]

My GM approach:

Acquire Talented Tradeable Assets (Plan ATTA)



This means:

1) Never sign a contract that you know will not be immediately tradeable in either a neutral or positive way. 

2) Never do a trade where you know your net assets come out negative. Aim for positive asset building trades, but at least do neutral asset building trades. 



The ones that got away:

1) Richaun Holmes (4 yrs/$55M) -- my number one disappointment, would have paid up to 4 yrs/$70M

2) Evan Fournier (4 yrs/$78M) -- would have preferred him to THJ as he can do more playmaking and is a year younger, would have paid 4 yrs/$90M

3) Alex Caruso (4 yrs/$37M) -- would have paid up to 4 yrs/$50M


Guys who seemed locked into their destination (so I won't fault the Mavs), but I would have paid them more:

1) John Collins (5 yrs/$125M) -- not sure he was leaving as he took a discount (starts at $21.5M, could have been $28M), would have paid 4 yrs/$115M

2) Lonzo Ball (4 yrs/$85M) -- seems his heart was set on CHI, would have paid 4 yrs/$90M



I am only disappointed in the Mavs not getting Holmes, Fournier, and Caruso. Those are the only guys I would have graded the Mavs higher for getting.

Overall the Mavs did the most important things so far this offseason:

1) Get rid of the weak link (JR): done.

2) Sign Tradeable Contracts (THJ, WCS, RB & SB) that fit and will help the team win: done.

3) Take on no negative assets: done. 

Grade: B

Fair take right here ^

Begs the question, why couldn’t we sign and trade for Fournier sending J Rich to Boston when we sent him there for the TPE anyways? 

Could have kept THJ while also adding Fournier and keep the MLE for Caruso

No complaints if we end up with THJ/Bullock/Markkanen instead, but we’ll see what ends up happening

[omahen]

So am I understanding this correctly - you aren’t actually disappointed by the performance of the MBT, you’re upset about what Cuban said…?

Of course I am dissapointed by MBT. They set goals for themselves and didn't deliver. If the goals would be different, so would the strategy have to be. Not going FA way or at least selling cap space for assets that would help improve the team later. But this would have to be accepted 3 seasons ago, now it was too late. Now the only way was to double down on free agency, that is why "recruiters" were given their jobs, imho. And they failed.

I was defending MBT after first couple of days. I was fine they went over the cap. But I hoped they have further deals lined up. Unfortunately it is more and more clear, that is not the case. I still don't get why JRich trade is a good one. He wasn't a locker room cancer and his expiring deal could be useful anytime. They went all in on Lowry - that was the only reason cap space was needed. But they lost. Now they have the TE and I really hope they will find a way to use it. If not, that contract was just another asset lost. If they don't use the TE it is basically the same as if they would bought him out.

---

Begs the question, why couldn’t we sign and trade for Fournier sending J Rich to Boston when we sent him there for the TPE anyways? 

Probably because either Mavs were not interested at all (and I understand why, since we have THJ) and/or because Fournier wanted to go to NY.

[ItsGoTime]

Read them all.

This is not the same exercise. We have more complete information now then we did then. We can complain that the Mavs didn’t sign Lowry, Lonzo, CP3, or Connelly, but now we know that none of them were truly available.  I was in favor of pursuing Lonzo, but now I see he had already picked Chicago so I have to pivot.  I liked Powell but he already had a deal lined up to return to Portland.  It looks like Fournier and Kemba were available, but I don’t like either of them on the Mavs, so I have to be ok with THJ.

What I’m attempting to do is have a conversation where we stop going through the same exercise from the last several months where we had complete information; I’m trying to have a new conversation with complete information where instead of complaining about our pipe dreams that had ZERO chance of happening, we discuss possible plan B’s that we would have liked more.

Let’s imagine we’re in the War room, it’s 5:01pm on Monday, we get off the phone with the agents of the top 4 FA PGs and they are going elsewhere, what do we do?

Sounds like a lot of people here would have quit their GM jobs then and there because they failed at Plan A.

I get that, at the point I posted my first thought, there was very little discussion/input, I see some now since.


This is still what I posted last. A chance for the boo birds to poo poo on every thought. 

Let’s say, you as the GM wanted as you said Lonzo Ball as your top priority, beyond Kawhi or Lowry. What if before the rumors about Dallas being interested in Collins, you as the GM leak Ball as your top priority? You then pick up the phone and tamper like Chi did and sell him saying he is your top and only priority and you get your sell on and sell him on why he should come to the Mavs.

I think there is a better chance at getting him as opposed to going after Kawhi, then Lowry and so on. So this exercise becomes way too much of an alternate universe where the rules apply selectively.

Also, as demonstrated, tampering says this exercise starts way before 5:01pm on Monday.