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Fastbreak

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  1. The end of the Dallas Mavericks' season marks the beginning for a few franchise-altering questions
    1:57 AM CT     Tim MacMahon ESPN 
    DALLAS -- ONCE AGAIN, the Dallas Mavericks changed plans during a bizarre final week of what Luka Doncic described as "a very disappointing season."
    A few days after declaring he'd play so long as the Mavs had even the slimmest of postseason hopes, the franchise announced Doncic would sit out after playing the first quarter in Friday night's home game against the Chicago Bulls, joining co-star Kyrie Irving and four other healthy core players on the bench.
    Doncic had scored 11 points in the first quarter, chuckling with fellow European and foe Nikola Vucevic on several occasions, neither taking a game both franchises preferred to lose too seriously despite the fact that a loss would eliminate the Mavs from play-in contention.
    But Doncic trotted back out onto the American Airlines Center court to open the second quarter. After going through the motions on a defensive possession, Doncic posted up on the right block, made a spin move and drove to the basket, pump-faking before laying the ball in for his 719th bucket of the season.
    Seconds later, Doncic committed an intentional foul and checked out of the game, his season over, barring another sudden shift in the franchise's strategy.
    The intention was for Doncic to be showered with a standing ovation by the sellout crowd on "I Feel Slovenia" night as he walked off the court. That didn't happen. Instead, there was a smattering of confused clapping.
    It was an awkwardly fitting unofficial ending to a season in which nothing has unfolded as envisioned for the Mavericks, who took less than two months to morph from buzzing about a blockbuster trade -- a risky win-now move considering Irving's pending free agent status, among other factors -- to blatantly tanking in the regular season's final week.
    The Mavs broke a tie with the Bulls in the lottery standings with the loss, standing alone with the 10th-best odds with one game remaining in the regular season. That's a critically important distinction for Dallas, which owes the New York Knicks a top-10-protected pick as the final payment for the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
    "It's not so much waving the white flag," coach Jason Kidd said after the 115-112 loss to the Bulls, attributing the call to essentially pull the plug to Mavs governor Mark Cuban and general manager Nico Harrison.
    "Decisions sometimes are hard in this business, and you have to make hard decisions. We're trying to build a championship team, and sometimes you got to take a step back.
    "Understanding with this decision, this is maybe a step back, but hopefully it leads to going forward."
    There's a strong sense of urgency within the organization to expedite the process before Doncic loses faith in the Mavs' ability to build a contender around him. He's wrapping up the first season of a five-year, $215 million supermax contract with a player option for the final season.
    Team sources have acknowledged to ESPN that fear exists that Doncic, who publicly and privately expressed extreme frustration this season, could consider requesting a trade as soon as the summer of 2024 if Dallas doesn't make significant progress by then.
    "He'd like to be here the whole time," Cuban said this week when asked about Doncic's long-term optimism. "But we've got to earn that."
    Kyrie Irving, left, Luka Doncic and the Mavericks have lost eight of their last 10 games to fall out of play-in contention. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
    CUBAN SMILED WIDELY as he stood in the Crypto.com Arena corridor outside the visitors locker room on Feb. 8. Dallas had just defeated the LA Clippers in Irving's debut with his new team, and the Mavericks were the talk of the NBA, at least until news of Kevin Durant's trade to the Phoenix Suns broke soon after.
    Cuban, who has avoided the media spotlight much more since Harrison replaced Donnie Nelson as Mavs general manager, was basking in the glory of making such a big splash at the moment. The victory bumped Dallas to fourth in the West standings, and the Mavs believed they had upward mobility.
    Dallas had desperately been seeking a co-star to pair with Doncic since the superstar's rookie season, when it took its first big swing on the Porzingis deal. Irving, an eight-time All-Star with a NBA Finals Game 7-winning shot on his resume, certainly fit the profile.
    But trading for Irving -- and giving up two starters (Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie) plus an unprotected 2029 first-round pick -- was a big gamble. It was understood before the deal with the Brooklyn Nets was done that there would not be any discussions about a contract extension.
    "We've got those Bird rights," Cuban said before laughing and realizing that he said the same thing about Doncic's former sidekick, Jalen Brunson, last summer after he starred during Dallas' surprising run to the West finals.
    "I know what you're going to bring up!" Cuban said. "But I think it's a different set of circumstances."
    The circumstances that led to Brunson's departure to the New York Knicks in free agency are a sensitive subject in the Mavs organization. They are also subject to some dispute, as Cuban made a point on Wednesday to publicly deny the year-old claim by Brunson's father, Rick, that the Mavs were informed in early January 2022 that the guard would sign the four-year, $56 million extension he was eligible for if it was put on the table at that time.
    Dallas didn't put the deal on the table until after the trade deadline, when Finney-Smith accepted an identical offer. By then, it was clear that Brunson would command much more as an unrestricted free agent. He ended up getting a four-year, $104 million deal from the Knicks, who had hired his father as an assistant coach, the third time Rick Brunson has worked for Tom Thibodeau.
    Those Bird rights ended up being irrelevant. Cuban claims now they never had a chance to prevent Brunson from joining his father and Leon Rose, the Knicks president who is his godfather and former agent, in New York.
    "We didn't know what the bid was," Cuban said Wednesday. "They never gave us a number. Knowing the numbers now, I would've paid it in a heartbeat, but he wouldn't have come anyway. There's just no possible way that it was about money."
    Cuban's comments came one day after Doncic, after his declaration that he wouldn't be shut down unless play-in hopes were completely extinguished, bemoaned how much the Mavs' chemistry had declined this season and admitted that the team sorely missed Brunson.
    "A lot," Doncic said, shaking his head and gritting his teeth into a pained grin. "I mean, amazing guy, amazing player, for sure."
    Doncic had grown impatient with the Mavs' mediocrity early in the season, when he was playing at an MVP-caliber level while carrying a historically heavy workload. For the first time in his career, Doncic enthusiastically engaged in personnel discussions with the front office, as sources told ESPN that he pushed for a major upgrade despite the Mavs' limited trade assets.
    The Mavs pounced after Irving made his February trade request following the fizzling of contract negotiations with Brooklyn, which was hesitant to fully guarantee a long-term, maximum contract for a player who missed more games than he played during his Nets tenure.
    Kidd and Doncic made it clear they wanted the deal done. Harrison and Cuban made it happen.
    "I don't see any risk at all," Harrison said days later. "I actually see the risk in not doing it."
    But Irving didn't prove to be a difference-maker for Dallas despite averaging 27.0 points and 6.0 assists in 20 games for the Mavs. Dallas won only eight of those and lost five of six that Irving missed after joining the team.
    "Just understand, we're getting better," Kidd said after a March 13 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, which Doncic and Irving missed due to injury, dropped Dallas to a game under .500. "It's just a matter of, can we be healthy in time to make a stretch run? And if we're not, that's just the season. No one's dying."
    The Mavs got healthy, but they still couldn't win. Doncic and Irving formed one of the league's most dynamic offensive duos, but the Mavs couldn't consistently outscore opponents due to their awful defense and poor rebounding.
    The Mavs went 5-11 when Doncic and Irving were both in the lineup, a .313 winning percentage that ranks as the worst by a pair of All-Star teammates since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
    "I'm getting traded to a new work environment, and it's just a lot of newness," Irving said after a March 29 loss in Philadelphia, part of a stretch of seven in eight games. "I'm trying to introduce myself to everybody, figure out, you know, who do guys go to on the team to confide in off the court? Who is our coaching staff as people? Upper management, who are they as people? What do they expect from me? ...
    "What does our future look like? I think that now, again, just where we are in the season, and where other teams are positioned already, it kind of looks like a bit of a clusterf---."
    The Mavs never fought their way out of it. Cuban also made it clear that he hopes Irving is a part of the future, saying that re-signing the All-Star guard will be the franchise's top priority this summer despite the disappointing results after the trade.
    "If I was a betting man, I guess I would say he would be back," Kidd said Friday night. "Why would I say he wouldn't?"
    Can the Mavs be outbid?
    "I don't know," Cuban said Wednesday, a couple of nights before Irving wore street clothes and sat next to him in the courtside baseline seats by the Mavs' bench. "I guess there's always too high a price, depending."
    THE HOME CROWD booed the Mavericks on March 25, when the short-handed, lottery-bound Charlotte Hornets built an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter. After the Mavs' comeback attempt fell short, Kidd wondered why the boos didn't come earlier.
    The Mavs later proved that it hadn't yet hit rock bottom, losing to the Hornets again 36 hours later as Dallas continued to lose its grip on controlling its own postseason destiny. But this was a new low.
    It was that night that Doncic admitted that he'd never been more frustrated during his five-year NBA career, pointing to the Mavs' struggles and unspecified problems in his private life.
    "I think you can see it with me on the court," Doncic said. "Sometimes I don't feel it's me. I'm just being out there. I used to have really fun, smiling on the court, but it's just been so frustrating for a lot of reasons, not just basketball."
    He was wearing a black T-shirt with white letters that read, "ALL I NEED IS SUVO NESO AND RAKIJA." It's a Serbian slogan that loosely translates to, "All I need is dry meat and a local brandy."
    Doncic will get the chance for plenty of rest and relaxation, much sooner than anticipated, after the Mavs plummeted to 11th in the West and assured that their season will end Easter Sunday.
    Doncic showered and changed into sweats at halftime Friday, watching from the bench as his teammates blew a 13-point lead to the Bulls in the last two quarters. He seemed loose and relaxed as the Mavs' fate was sealed, covering his mouth and laughing before the game's final possession, when Dallas' pair of two-way players McKinley Wright IV and A.J. Lawson attempted three potential game-tying 3-pointers, none of which drew iron.
    As the Mavs' disappointing season essentially came to an end, Doncic appeared relieved. A member of the Mavs' staff who knows Doncic well nodded when this observation was shared with him and said, "Good eyes."
     
    Cuban catching a lot of criticism...  Mavs needs a better Head Coach.

    No coach could work with roster. This is who is under guaranteed contract for next year:

    Luka - 40m

    ————————-
    Hardaway Jr. 17.9m
    Bertans 17m
    Kleber 11m
    McGee 5.7m
    Green 4.7m
    Hardy 1.7m

    Right there is 100m. Below the line isn’t even a good bench. Even if the cap is 150m, if you bring back Kyriefor 35m and your #10 adds 8m. That means you would need to find 3+ starting level players for the min and the MLE. That ain’t happening.

    If they stay at #10, perhaps the best thing to do is to trade the pick along with Hardaway/Bertans and McGee to someone with space (Utah) for a couple of 2nd rounders and do a real reboot. If it’s Hardaway, then see if someone would take Bertans as an expiring (those aren’t worth the same as they use to however).
  2. The race to the bottom between DeSantis and Abbott is really quite something isn’t it? Wonder how the Florida greaseball is gonna out do pardoning a freshly convicted murderer??

    A 50 foot statue of the pulse nightclub shooter incoming.
    • Rage+1 1
  3. Where I live now (Singapore) there hasn’t been a homicide by gun in 20+ years. This is basically a country that is the size of Austin with a population larger than Houston.

    Gun ownership and Crime rates here are both incredibly low. How can that be? If the reason for guns is to stop the bad guys, in a country with no guns, how can there be no crime?

    Perhaps it’s the fucking guns?

    • Hook 'Em 3
    • Like 1
  4. One more potential sign and trade destination would be Philly (if harden leaves).

    It would have to be an almost straight up with Tobias Harris.

    So we have:

    1. Lakers: Beasley, Bamba and Vanderbilt

    I doubt the Lakers would do this. They have $86 million next year to Lebron and AD. Adding Kyrie on a $30 sign and trade gives them no flexibility.

    2. Suns: CP3 and Payne

    This doesn’t really help the Mavs. The Suns don’t have a wing they could include with Paul.

    3. Philly: Harris

    This is probably best for the Mavs in the very short run. But they take on Harris at $39m. But between Luca, Hardaway (lol), Bertans (double lol) and Harris this would be basically capped out.

    4. Miami: Lowry and Jovic

    I think Spo would choke a bitch. Can’t see this happening.

    5. Chicago: DeRozan and Terry

    DeRozan is old but Cuban is stupid, so maybe he will go off 2018 film. I doubt the Bulls want in on the Kyrie experience.

    6. Minni: Gobert

    Gives the Mavs a rim protector. Gives Minni an out on a terrible contract. Cuban isn’t THAT stupid (welp).

    The other possibilities are 3 team trades. But once again there aren’t many teams who would take him. If would have to be moving some of the pieces above.

    No: NYK, BRK, BOS, CLE, UTA, SAS, HOU, MIL, GS, SAC, IND, POR, DEN

    Maybe: CHA, WAS (no contract assets)

    If you are for re-signing Kyrie, very few teams have anywhere close to a max slot and all of those are no list.

  5. Yep, this dogecoin thing is yet another example of Elon being surrounded by people afraid of pushing back and challenging him.  It's making this all look like he's a teenage sysop of a BBS back in the early 90s who has to control everything and thinks he can make people like the stuff that he likes through sheer force of will.

    As a former teenage bbs sysop, I am offended to be compared to this piece of shit

    • Haha 1
  6. Fit? This is Kyrie we are talking about, he doesn't care about that. He could wake up one day and decide he wants to play for the Kings, and sign for the MLE on a 1 year deal just because he can. He'll spout off on Twitter about how they oppressors want to control him and send him to a certain team, but THIS move is him taking control and sticking it to those men behind the curtain!
    That dude is just an oddball, he could retire and hang it up, and nobody would be surprised. 

    We are talking about a sign and trade to get the mavs something back. There are few options for that. I think the chances are:

    2% re-signs with the Mavs
    3% sign and trade
    80% signs with the lakers on some kind of strange structured contract
    5% signs somewhere else (probably Suns)
    10% retires/takes year off
  7. If Alonso actually had more pace, he would’ve got within DRS of Lewis at some point in the race. It was pretty obvious Lewis was managing the gap the whole time and the Mercs were just faster this race. Lewis had more pace left regardless of his radio messages. 

    There was only a few laps left and he was 1.5s back. He wasn’t closing that gap.
  8. Kyrie sign and trade with who?

    There are only a few options.

    1. Lakers. It would have to be Beasley, Bamba and Rui.
    2. Suns. CP3 would have to be included

    That’s about it. He doesn’t fit anywhere else. The wildcard perhaps is the wolves with a straight up for Gobert.

  9. Yeah I’m definitely gonna go look that up.  It was fixed.  Everyone is just scared to write about it.  Just gonna pour myself one more bourbon and cry myself to sleep over $cholz negs.  

    I’ll save you time. It’s never happened.
    • Hook 'Em 1
  10. Yeah, you can watch literally any game and be convinced it’s a possibility.  I choose to not buy it, in this instance.  But I won’t hold it against you, if you do.  Does it happen?  Sure.  

    4:44 left in the game. Miami scored to tie the game. It was their last basket. They won by 7 points
.

    Find another game in history with something similar. I’ll hang up and wait.
    • Hook 'Em 2
  11. Oh I watched it.  And I still don’t buy a fix.  Some shitty reffing?  Sure.  I’m sure the cabal wanted ‘’UConn vs Whale’s Vagina’’ over UT in the FF that’s being hosted in *checks notes* Houston?  Rightttttt

    Nothing to do with the the NCAA. It’s gamblers making money.

    This is exactly how the NBA ref cheating happened. Donaghy was given a team and a number. He made sure the team hit the number. The gamblers didn’t care if it was Boston or Sacramento winning.
    • Hook 'Em 2
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