Team Tank 2022-23

[Mavs2021]

The Mavs have done a better job building the Knicks team than their own.

That´s a good way to put it.

[SwisherPrice]

I actually want them to stand pat at the deadline. That's the best way to keep tanking...it's over, there's nothing that can be done this season!

[Jym]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...281%29.jpg

[Scott41theMavs]

Watch them screw up day one of the official tank by winning this game.

[BigDirk41]

This is going to get bad now. Tank here we come

[SkenfromLMF]

Watch them screw up day one of the official tank by winning this game.

Kevin Harlan level jinx right there sir!

[dirkfansince1998]

Only two games behind OKC and Portland. Shared 10th. Only three games behind Washington and Chicago. Shared 7th.

[MarkAguirreWrathofGod]

Almost ready to hop aboard this train. A top-10 pick in this loaded draft could totally change this teams trajectory. I know there is a LONG way to go in this season, and the tanking will reach absurd heights later in the season, but what are the odds of us KEEPING our pick if it lands top 10?

You could be looking at an under 28 core of Wood, Luka, Top 10, Green, Hardy heading into next season. One year closer to bad contracts becoming more moveable. Din and Reggie expiring (or traded) THJ easily moveable, Bertans only 5m guaranteed after next season. Extend Green at 15m. Wood at 20m. Powell at TMLE. Gets us to approximately 115m without cap holds for open spots (including top 10 pick contract.)

Expected cap of 134m in 2023-2024 with possible jump up to 150m range for 2025-2026? So we could potentially trade 3 future picks for an OG and still have room to sign another 25m player potentially in 2025. Long way of saying— I wonder if there is a way to keep the window open AND keep improving the team.

Anyone smarter than me want to chime in on the feasibility of this direction? It all would hinge on a soft tank for top 10. Keep said Top-10 pick, Green and Hardy off the table. Move the olds (sans DFS, Maxi, Powell as “culture guys”). Trade for a young vet ala OG. Access to Full MLE. Maybe even acquire assets for Dinwiddie and Bullock and THJ.

Questions: if we keep our 2023 pick, are we looking at 2027, 2029 as the first ones we can deal unprotected?

[dirkfansince1998]

If the will is there (it isn´t) the Mavs could easily end up with a bad enough record to keep the pick.

[Chicagojk]

https://twitter.com/GlobalScouting_/stat...1321537536

[Kammrath]

[F Gump]

Catching up to those early tankers and truly atrocious teams is never as easy as losing a few games, because the teams you are chasing are losing too.

And because there are so many bad teams in the East, Mavs have to get about where LAL is or lower, to be assured of a top 10 pick.

Here's the task now. They have to lose about 2/3 of their remaining games to have a solid shot at successfully getting that top 10 pick. Or to put it another way, they can only afford to win 9-10 games over the entire remainder of the season. When you see it in those terms, and know the PLAYERS are going to play to win, it's hard. You probably have to get Kidd's cooperation in setting lineups to make it work, unless you get lots of help from the injury monster with key players (like Luka).

[Mavs2021]

Catching up to those early tankers and truly atrocious teams is never as easy as losing a few games, because the teams you are chasing are losing too.

And because there are so many bad teams in the East, Mavs have to get about where LAL is or lower, to be assured of a top 10 pick.

Here's the task now. They have to lose about 2/3 of their remaining games to have a solid shot at successfully getting that top 10 pick. Or to put it another way, they can only afford to win 9-10 games over the entire remainder of the season. When you see it in those terms, and know the PLAYERS are going to play to win, it's hard. You probably have to get Kidd's cooperation in setting lineups to make it work, unless you get lots of help from the injury monster with key players (like Luka).

They already got all the help they need. DFS/Kleber/Green missing extended time. Wood breaking his thumb. Doncic twisting his ankle. They could easily use this to strategically tank the next four weeks by focusing to shift the ball-handling duties toward Green and Hardy.  That´s what the Warriors did with Curry and especially Draymond. Sure those were legit 4-8 week injuries, but they didn´t try to rush them back. They exhausted all the long-term options. And they weren´t starving for a young partner for Luka and looking at the deepest draft in years.

These top ten picks legitimately all look like insane athletes with great size&speed, who play hard all the time and are extremely skilled. The solution is so obvious.


It´s the only reasonable path forward. I know Luka won´t like it at first, but that´s why you are the front office and he´s a basketball player. You need to make the best decisions for the franchise.

We are not finishing top 6. The Clippers and Warriors have been trolling the whole season, but they will make sure they finish healthy AND top 6. That leaves one spot for us, the Suns, Pelicans and Wolves.

Turning over the 12th pick to the Knicks and watching Brunson, Barnes and maybe even KP finishing with better records than the Mavs next season won´t help his mood either. He can´t get more pissed than he already is right now. Rather now than in 12 months with the exit door half-way open already.

[BigDirk41]

I agree. The Mavs are in no man's land. The best path forward is to tank the rest of this season. Shut Luka down after the All Star break and play Green/Hardy 30 plus minutes a game. Maybe even play Bertans a good amount of minutes to potentially rebuild his stock. Finishing in the play in is all I can imagine even if they try to win.

[BigDirk41]

This is also assuming the Mavs don't have any huge trades in the works to actually compete this year.

[Chicagojk]

Mavs list Luka questionable tomorrow against the Pistons.   Even without Wood and Luka, if you cannot beat Detroit at home, I think any move they consider needs to be a future move.   The season is too far gone to make a big move hoping to get out of the first round (or even make the first round).   If you cannot beat Detroit, then you have to admit your handle on the team this offseason was wrong.  No need to compound that mistake.

*I am sort of joking about this, but not really.

[SkenfromLMF]

What if you can barely beat Detroit???

[F Gump]

Catching up to those early tankers and truly atrocious teams is never as easy as losing a few games, because the teams you are chasing are losing too.

And because there are so many bad teams in the East, Mavs have to get about where LAL is or lower, to be assured of a top 10 pick.

Here's the task now. They have to lose about 2/3 of their remaining games to have a solid shot at successfully getting that top 10 pick. Or to put it another way, they can only afford to win 9-10 games over the entire remainder of the season. When you see it in those terms, and know the PLAYERS are going to play to win, it's hard. You probably have to get Kidd's cooperation in setting lineups to make it work, unless you get lots of help from the injury monster with key players (like Luka).

Barely beating the bad teams in a home game, that's an indicator of who they are. But for purposes of tanking, a W is a W, and each one makes the possibility of a top 10 pick just a bit smaller.

Here's what I wrote above, but with an update --

"Here's the task now. They have to lose about 2/3 of their remaining games to have a solid shot at successfully getting that top 10 pick...[meaning] they can only afford to win  9-10  8-9 games over the entire remainder of the season. When you see it in those terms, and know the PLAYERS are going to play to win, it's hard. You probably have to get Kidd's cooperation in setting lineups to make it work, unless you get lots of help from the injury monster with key players (like Luka)."

[Mavs2021]

Barely beating the bad teams in a home game, that's an indicator of who they are. But for purposes of tanking, a W is a W, and each one makes the possibility of a top 10 pick just a bit smaller.

Here's what I wrote above, but with an update --

"Here's the task now. They have to lose about 2/3 of their remaining games to have a solid shot at successfully getting that top 10 pick...[meaning] they can only afford to win  9-10  8-9 games over the entire remainder of the season. When you see it in those terms, and know the PLAYERS are going to play to win, it's hard. You probably have to get Kidd's cooperation in setting lineups to make it work, unless you get lots of help from the injury monster with key players (like Luka)."

Oh they are locked into the play-in. They don´t have the talent to finish top 6 and the Thunder/Lakers/Blazers are not good enough to catch up. Despite the closeness of the standings, I´m pretty confident they´ll finish either 9th or 10th.

Cuban will never get it. Though to be fair, if he´s lost hundreds of millions on the crypto (who knows?) then his motivation for not tanking might be the additional play-off revenue. I wonder whether he still buys all the empty seats. Haven´t heard him brag about the sellout streak for a while. Cause last night the only profession bigger than the soldiers were the empty seats.

[F Gump]

To be fair to Cuban and Mavs, last night might have had MASSIVE no shows. They rarely sell walkup tickets. For this game the weather was bad, good odds of icy streets (that Dallas handles very poorly) and a crap opponent. Very tempting to those who had tickets to stay home and watch on TV instead.

In addition, I think Mavs price tickets to sell as needed for each game, and begin doing so from the day they go on sale. Tix for DET in late Jan would likely have been some of the cheapest all year, and if I paid just a few $$$, it's easier to say "Aw, screw it."