(10-20-2020, 03:21 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: I'm not saying Giannis to the Mavs is a probability, but I think it's funny that some of the people worried about losing Luka in FA are the same ones who seem scared to think big with team building.Whole-heartedly disagree. What we MUST do is make sure KP stays healthy. If that happens, we have just as many great players as the Champ Lakers have. As the Heat have. As the Nets have. As the Warriors have. None of those teams HAVE to HAVE 3 stars to be considered contenders, but we DO?
This is the era of the NBA we have for the foreseeable future. Players will team up through free agency, and so LA and Miami have an advantage for no other reason than because those are the two best places in our country to live, particularly during the winter months. There are a bunch of other places where players can be happy, too: NY, Boston, Chicago, GS, Houston, and yes, absolutely Dallas should be on this tier. Different individual people are going to rank these cities in different orders, but none of them is a small market, depressing place.
Since SOME teams are ALWAYS going to build like this for the foreseeable future, becoming "super teams," then in order to WIN, you must build a roster that's equal to or greater than a "super team." This is simply a fact. Not trying to build such a roster is essentially inviting a repeat of Dirk's career, only without the three shots at a title he got, probably.
Luka, Giannis and KP might seem like an absurd amount of talent, but in this era, it's really just the cover charge at the door, the price to get into the "contenders" club. It's where team building BEGINS, not where it ENDS. It doesn't have to be Giannis, but this team is 100% still missing something GREAT. Until they have it, all of the Josh Richardson, OPJ, Aaron Gordon "meh" guys are pointless. Luka isn't going to stick around to play on a team full of guys like that, with no flexibility. My strong feeling is that Giannis will leave Milwaukee for the same reason.
Riley is going to build a team in Miami. Boston is about to figure things out. The Lakers already have Lebron and AD, with improvement on the way. The Clippers will probably figure things out. The Warriors have more left in them. The Nets have a chance to be amazing.
Does anyone reading this expect Denver to win a championship with Jokic? I don't, either, and it's not about the player - he's amazing. It's because I have no doubt that Denver will screw themselves by not landing on the right plan. They're right where the Mavs were with Dirk. They don't know what to do with him. All of the teams in the previous paragraph are looking at Denver, Dallas and the other teams not listed with great players as farm teams right now.
Dallas HAS to get Giannis, or something else at or near that level, or it's game over. It is time to think BIG. This is absolutely the time for the Mavs to push their chips in for a move like that, and Luka is how they'll be taken seriously this time around. He is the franchise's ticket to the NBA inner circle. To gain respect in the NBA, you need to create a DYNASTY. Luka is that type of historical guy. Others will recognize this and find their way here to play with him if you stay flexible enough to capitalize on the right opportunities. It's the next two off seasons or never. If they aren't championship contenders when Luka signs that rookie max extension, then I think there's a decent chance that the extension will simply be a countdown to the moment Luka bounces.
NO, we HAVE to upgrade the other players into better fitting, better playing, well priced parts. If we get another star to say YES, we sell off those great pieces (getting draft and/or low priced assets in return) to make room for the other star.