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2022-2023 Dallas Mavericks season thread: Luka's first MVP

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Fastbreak

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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).
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LTtxfan

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5 minutes ago, Fastbreak said:

 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).

So Mavs need a better GM and capologist... I'll buy that.

But Kidd is a terrible Head Coach that needs to be replaced.  

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Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 47010

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I'll tell you this.
If we lose Luka because of Cuban/Kidd/Mavs mismanagement, it will be very difficult to regain my fandom. I don't know if I am unique in that regard or not, but that's how I feel.
I just don't feel the same for Luka as I did Dirk. Two totally different personalities and how they approach the game. Dirk was extremely locked in to get better during his career. Luka isn't. I believe he's on record saying he's not even a big fan of the NBA and the style of game played. He comes into camp overweight too often.

He's a great individual player but as far as making his team better and being a leader, not sure if he's ever going to be that or even cares to. It's going to be hard to pair him with teammates to be a legit contender because of his style of play.

I'm indifferent at this point if he leaves but that might be more of I'm just indifferent to this front office and Cuban for a long time now.
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closetohumping

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10 hours ago, Fastbreak said:

 
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).

Kyrie going to be able to stomach making less than Luka?

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idigTexas

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10 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

I just don't feel the same for Luka as I did Dirk. Two totally different personalities and how they approach the game. Dirk was extremely locked in to get better during his career. Luka isn't. I believe he's on record saying he's not even a big fan of the NBA and the style of game played. He comes into camp overweight too often.

He's a great individual player but as far as making his team better and being a leader, not sure if he's ever going to be that or even cares to. It's going to be hard to pair him with teammates to be a legit contender because of his style of play.

I'm indifferent at this point if he leaves but that might be more of I'm just indifferent to this front office and Cuban for a long time now.

This pretty much sums it up for me.  I've been more pro-Cuban than most over the years, mostly because he truly does love the team.  But this is what happens when a big fan comes into a lot of money and buys a sports franchise.  He has not done a great job of surrounding himself with real basketball people.  He got lucky with the Nelsons, end especially so with Dirk, but he tends to hire yes men.

I would love to see Luka reinvent himself, work on his conditioning, work on his free throws, dedicate himself to being the best defensive player on the team, and stop whining after every non-foul, but I'd be shocked if any of those things happened.  I'd be even more shocked to see him agree to restructure his contract for the benefit of the team.  I do not expect him to be a Mav in 5 years.  I'd almost prefer to build around Kyrie at this point, or blow it all up and start from scratch.   

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LTtxfan

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1 hour ago, Fastbreak said:

I think the 10th odds are locked in. The Bulls have the tiebreaker on the Mavs.  Of course, if someone jumps up then the Mavs lose the pick.

I just meant pre-lottery #10 pick.

Hopefully with #10 spot in lottery, Mavs get lucky and end up with a pick between #1 and #4 in the 2023 NBA Draft...

 

 

Edited by LTtxfan
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Loch Ness Monster

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12 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

I just don't feel the same for Luka as I did Dirk. Two totally different personalities and how they approach the game. Dirk was extremely locked in to get better during his career. Luka isn't. I believe he's on record saying he's not even a big fan of the NBA and the style of game played. He comes into camp overweight too often.

He's a great individual player but as far as making his team better and being a leader, not sure if he's ever going to be that or even cares to. It's going to be hard to pair him with teammates to be a legit contender because of his style of play.

I'm indifferent at this point if he leaves but that might be more of I'm just indifferent to this front office and Cuban for a long time now.

Yeah, Dirk and Luka's maturity are miles apart. Dirk was an emotional rock. Luka can be high fiving a teammate one moment then two minutes later he's giving said teammate a side eye and 15 feet behind the play because he's yelling at a ref. 

Mavs front office has definitely done a terrible job the last couple of years but at the same time feels like the organization is walking on egg shells around Luka sometimes. Hell, we had to trade KP at his low value mark because KP/Luka didn't get along for some reason. 

Sacramento supposedly made a franchise altering bad pick in choosing Marvin Bagley over Luka and they're doing just fine a short time later.

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idigTexas

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12 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

Cuban really fucked up...

Jalen-Brunson-3-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=a

Cuban has certainly fucked up a lot of things, but I don't put this one on him.  Brunson was going to the Knicks as soon as possible no matter what Cuban did, and the Knicks tampered to make sure it happened.  Brunson's father, of course claims the Mavs never offered to extend Brunson, but I personally believe Cuban on this one.   

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Fastbreak

Fastbreak 3982

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Cuban has certainly fucked up a lot of things, but I don't put this one on him.  Brunson was going to the Knicks as soon as possible no matter what Cuban did, and the Knicks tampered to make sure it happened.  Brunson's father, of course claims the Mavs never offered to extend Brunson, but I personally believe Cuban on this one.   

There is zero evidence the Mavs offered a contract during the off-season/season. At the end of the year, you can’t blame Brunson for testing the market.

It’s like waiting to ask a girl to prom and being shocked she already has a date on the day of. They had their shot and they blew it…
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Vic Mackey

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There is zero evidence the Mavs offered a contract during the off-season/season. At the end of the year, you can’t blame Brunson for testing the market.

It’s like waiting to ask a girl to prom and being shocked she already has a date on the day of. They had their shot and they blew it…
They absolutely didn't offer. They tried to play it cheap and his dad knew this and told him to get far away from Dallas. And he did. Losing Brunson was huge for this team.
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Catdaddyhorn

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On 4/16/2023 at 7:09 PM, Fastbreak said:


There is zero evidence the Mavs offered a contract during the off-season/season. At the end of the year, you can’t blame Brunson for testing the market.

It’s like waiting to ask a girl to prom and being shocked she already has a date on the day of. They had their shot and they blew it…

Not only that, but everyone seems to forget that Brunson had unique rookie contract for a 2nd rounder.  There wasnt a restricted status provision within his contract because the Mavs anticipated going after free agents during the summer of '21 or '22 and didn't want the cap hold that comes with having that provision. Everything for the almighty cap space,  which has been Cuban's MO since he bought the Mavs. Abandon all attempts to seriously acquire talent through the draft and shoot for the moon, while hoping to land elite free agents who never come (which has yet to work during his entire Mavs tenure).  

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Dr Fear

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For those who don't know, they read picks in reverse. The Mavs want everyone to go in order from the bottom starting with NO then not have their name read at ten. I believe that puts them in the top 4. If someone goes out of order before them then they are probably gonna be at 11.
0d3e138f74fdfc16010c762f4a3065ff.jpg

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Fastbreak

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Not only that, but everyone seems to forget that Brunson had unique rookie contract for a 2nd rounder.  There wasnt a restricted status provision within his contract because the Mavs anticipated going after free agents during the summer of '21 or '22 and didn't want the cap hold that comes with having that provision. Everything for the almighty cap space,  which has been Cuban's MO since he bought the Mavs. Abandon all attempts to seriously acquire talent through the draft and shoot for the moon, while hoping to land elite free agents who never come (which has yet to work during his entire Mavs tenure).  

Almost every great player the mavs have had has been a draft pick. Yet they piss away picks and try to grovel to FAs.
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Catdaddyhorn

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13 hours ago, Fastbreak said:


Almost every great player the mavs have had has been a draft pick. Yet they piss away picks and try to grovel to FAs.

Yep I'll never understand it.  Cuban operates the Mavs as if we reside in LA or NYC. Dirk basically masked how atrocious the Mavs' roster was for much of his entire career, and Luka has done the same since he got to Dallas.  If we ever took the draft seriously as opposed to drafting south Asian novelty acts we would've played for multiple championships during Dirk's tenure.  Acquiring actual, worthwhile assets through the draft is the best way to acquire the elite talent Cuban craves, but he's too shortsighted to ever maintain that approach. 

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Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 47010

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A billionaire isn't a real person.  There are no consequences for wasting 2 generational talents.  
Cuban has long thought of himself as the smartest one in the NBA room despite years of evidence to the contrary.
Which is why he's the Jerry Jones of the NBA. Except his success is more recent than the Cowboys. He has no idea how to build a roster, yet he meddles. Just like Jerry and his family. As long as he owns the team, it will be the same shit year after year. I think he's a main reason free agents don't want to come here.

It was sad seeing Dirk's career end the way it did after the 2011 Finals. Every year was a different surrounding cast it seemed like.
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idigTexas

idigTexas 2284

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1 hour ago, statsman said:

How long does Luka have on his contract before he can leave as a free agent?

(I know the system is set up so the Mavs can pay him the most.)

I have the impression that Luka will want to be on a big market team, and wouldn't stay just for the most money.  He's the Anti-Dirk.

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