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2024 - 2025 Dallas Mavericks Season Thread - This time we're not happy to just be here.


gsoda3

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7 minutes ago, horn4life said:

At least Cuban disavowed endorsing the trade.  But that's what happens when you give up control.  You become along for the ride.

He did? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure he does, but I haven’t seen anything he said publicly. He likely has contractual obligations that prevent him from criticizing team decisions.

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I think Nico panicked about the next contract and the new ownership group was too green to understand the consequences. And I think Pelinka took his buddy to the cleaners. 


Yeah not buying any of this. Luka could have been shopped this summer and pretty much every front office in the league would be involved. This would have been Lebron 2010 in terms of where will he end up. Dallas could have sat back and had other front offices outbid each other.

But yet they trade him for an aging, often injured AD and one single pick 5 years from now? Lol sure thing. And traded him to a team that is well connected to the owners at that.
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And here's the rub for me: if Nico genuinely thinks he can't build a roster around Luka and win a championship, then I'm not interested in that person being the GM of my team. If he actually felt that way, he should have resigned and we would have had dozens of qualified candidates banging down there door to get a shot with this roster and assets. 

When this boils down, it's a decision to keep Nico vs Luka and I think anyone is picking Luka 100 times out of 100. Nico just nuked our organization for the next 7 or 8 years and won't have to be around to see the consequences of it. What a shitty fucking time. 

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I could see Dallas ownership saying to Nico "Trade Luka. Keep it quiet."

The secretiveness is the key here. Not letting other teams join the trade talks is clear malpractice. You don't do that as a GM unless ordered to IMO. So Nico has a directive, and contacts to the only GM he knows he can trust, someone he's had a relationship with for many years.  

I'd guess their plan is to tear it all down and start over after 2026 season. Whether that's to move the team or sell it or whatever, I don't know. 

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https://x.com/ringer/status/1886429739952304324

“I’m not exaggerating here,” said the second Western Conference executive. “It probably would have been the biggest haul in NBA history,” if the Mavericks had canvassed the league for the best offer. “This dude is a perennial MVP [candidate] at 25, most likely heading into his prime. It would have been four firsts, three [pick] swaps, two awesome players, one young guy who may hit.”

 

Edited by Don Johnson
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12 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

How many of you would be apathetic if we make a championship run with AD and this current version of the team? How many would be all in like you are now?

 

I'd watch, but I don't think I'd be emotionally invested.

Best case scenario would be convincing myself it’s a Major League situation and that the cunt owner is angry af about it, especially if it involved taking down the Lakers along the way. But there is zero chance, we’ll be lucky to make the playoffs, but who cares anymore really.

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1 hour ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Do you even Seattle SuperSonics bro?

Apples and oranges. Nobody was pining for a move to OKC other than that particular ownership group. So sure, the other owners went along with it, maybe even in part thinking that they could go back with a new expansion team in Seattle at a later date and get paid again. OKC sure as shit wasn't on the hot list of expansion destinations. The league owners had no problem with that. But Vegas? That's a completely different ball game. A move there takes money out of the owners pockets. Nobody gives a shit about bumfuck Oklahoma. 

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16 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Apples and oranges. Nobody was pining for a move to OKC other than that particular ownership group. So sure, the other owners went along with it, maybe even in part thinking that they could go back with a new expansion team in Seattle at a later date and get paid again. OKC sure as shit wasn't on the hot list of expansion destinations. The league owners had no problem with that. But Vegas? That's a completely different ball game. A move there takes money out of the owners pockets. Nobody gives a shit about bumfuck Oklahoma. 

Um. No. 
1) the owners and the league don’t need to “want it” they only would need to allow it. Can you think of the last time they stopped a move? Do you know what every move that did happen involved? A new stadium in the new city and a failure of the old city to give away enough to make a new stadium happen.

2) moving does not take money out of the other owners pockets unless the league loses value or TV contracts become less expensive. And of course, Vegas offers synergies to alternative revenue streams that are growing, as opposed to declining TV viewership.

3) As I said, moving to Vegas is plan B and is connected to a new stadium and casino gambling. Plan A is staying in North Texas and building a new stadium and a Casino. Casino gambling is the requirement for the Adelsons. Staying in Dallas is optional.

5) Having traded Luka Doncic, can you imagine the city of Dallas or the fans doing what it takes to replace the AAC?

This isn’t some conspiracy, it’s just not about sports. This is sports business. 

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
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and one more thing: of course a trade like this undermines the credibility of the league, but the whole league probably gets more valuable with Luka Doncic as a Laker than with the Mavericks. The Mavericks are like Milwaukee- great local fan base, some international fans that follow their foreign players, and no national bandwagon. 
AND the Venn diagram of international fans who love Luka but already liked the Lakers is a circle. 
 

in soccer terms, the Lakers are Man U, and the Mavs are … Crystal Palace, maybe?

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31 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

and one more thing: of course a trade like this undermines the credibility of the league, but the whole league probably gets more valuable with Luka Doncic as a Laker than with the Mavericks. The Mavericks are like Milwaukee- great local fan base, some international fans that follow their foreign players, and no national bandwagon. 
AND the Venn diagram of international fans who love Luka but already liked the Lakers is a circle. 
 

in soccer terms, the Lakers are Man U, and the Mavs are … Crystal Palace, maybe?

We're not Crystal Palace.  We're Arsenal.

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5 hours ago, LurkingHorn said:

And here's the rub for me: if Nico genuinely thinks he can't build a roster around Luka and win a championship, then I'm not interested in that person being the GM of my team. If he actually felt that way, he should have resigned and we would have had dozens of qualified candidates banging down there door to get a shot with this roster and assets. 

When this boils down, it's a decision to keep Nico vs Luka and I think anyone is picking Luka 100 times out of 100. Nico just nuked our organization for the next 7 or 8 years and won't have to be around to see the consequences of it. What a shitty fucking time. 

as soon as it was announced I've been waiting to see when Nico resigns/moves on.  has to be within a year.  getting paid to be the fall guy.

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Yeah, this was very clearly ownership and not Nico on his own. I actually expected him to come out the next morning and resign. They must be paying him a shit ton to be the face and I bet he's letting word out behind closed doors that it wasn't his decision to ensure he can still get GM work in the future. 

Edited by 'stache
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2 minutes ago, 'stache said:

Yeah, this was very clearly ownership and not Nico on his own. I actually expected him to come out the next morning and resign. They must be paying him a shit ton to be the face and I bet he's letting word out behind closed doors that it wasn't his decision to ensure he can still get GM work in the future. 


you make this trade in a fantasy basketball league and you get kicked out of the league. He has a 0.00% chance of ever getting another GM job. 

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Would the rest of the league cut Nico slack when he’s looking for a job in 2-3 years if this Adelson Vegas theory is true and he’s just an errand boy? Would he get a pass because they know he’s just being a good soldier? 
 

If not, why would he put himself in a position to have to be the face of this whole thing and not just peace out like DeLoss when told he needed to can Mack?

We’ll continue to find out more, but for now I think it was primarily Nico,  maybe a few others in his circle like Fin, that had some deep personal issues with Luka and went out on their own with this. Just personal animosity, mixed with hubris and incompetence.

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10 minutes ago, D_Goose said:

Would the rest of the league cut Nico slack when he’s looking for a job in 2-3 years if this Adelson Vegas theory is true and he’s just an errand boy? Would he get a pass because they know he’s just being a good soldier? 
 

If not, why would he put himself in a position to have to be the face of this whole thing and not just peace out like DeLoss when told he needed to can Mack?

We’ll continue to find out more, but for now I think it was primarily Nico,  maybe a few others in his circle like Fin, that had some deep personal issues with Luka and went out on their own with this. Just personal animosity, mixed with hubris and incompetence.

Fin = Mike Finley? 

 

I believe it was the Adelsons directing this move. NIco's been so so good thus far.  Doesn't make sense he wouldn't maximize the bid process unless he was distinctly told not to.  

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32 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

Fin = Mike Finley? 

 

I believe it was the Adelsons directing this move. NIco's been so so good thus far.  Doesn't make sense he wouldn't maximize the bid process unless he was distinctly told not to.  

The Hoop Collective was actually talking about this and he was actually about to overpay massively for Kuzma last year but Kuzma killed the deal and they went with PJ instead. They basically said even then he has not shown a lot of understanding of value when it comes to trades. He kind of lucked into that one. 

The more I listen to pods, the more I think this is just Nico thinking he's the smartest guy in the room. Maybe he may ultimately be correct about getting out of the Luka business, but he failed massively at asset management. All the good work of the past 2 seasons completely undone. We will never live this down. 

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45 minutes ago, D_Goose said:

Would the rest of the league cut Nico slack when he’s looking for a job in 2-3 years if this Adelson Vegas theory is true and he’s just an errand boy? Would he get a pass because they know he’s just being a good soldier? 

Because Luka to LA maximizes the value of the league, not to mention Nico’s former employer Nike. Everybody wins in this deal except fans of the Mavericks. 

If AD makes the Mavs better short term, or even he doesn’t,  Nico can sneak off with the league, Nike, and the Adelsons owing him a bundle, and then reemerge on top somewhere else a year or two later. 
Like the song says- the sun shines, and people forget. 
 

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I have to deal with Jerry and Nico now...

 

LIKE WTF?!?  Nico was literally doing great trades and offseason moves before this...he built up a legit team, when healthy, that would be a true title contender.

And ruined it overnight.

Fuck Nico.

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22 minutes ago, Drew said:

I have to deal with Jerry and Nico now...

 

LIKE WTF?!?  Nico was literally doing great trades and offseason moves before this...he built up a legit team, when healthy, that would be a true title contender.

And ruined it overnight.

Fuck Nico.

That's why this stinks of corruption. No GM is this dumb. I doubt it was even him wanting this. Sure, he will take ownership for it but this smells of coming down from the owners.

The only thing I can see, and this is 99% unlikely, let Luka get traded to LA for AD. Luka doesn't sign with LA after next season. Sign him back with some backroom agreement with Luka. But yeah, that isn't happening. Luka loves the limelight unlike Dirk. He loved it here but will love LA even more. 

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The reason you know it is fishy is it doesn't take any basketball acumen AT all not to do what Nico did.  You could take some dude who has spent a couple of years working in the basement of a procurement department at Bumfuck Corporation of America and he would know that if you have something of value you put it out there to multiple parties to see what the best offer you can get from the market looks like.  Even if you really like what Bumfuck Vendor of America has in terms of a product/service to offer you don't blindly enter exclusive negotiations with them.  

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On 2/2/2025 at 4:54 AM, Fastbreak said:


His career game highs for points, rebounds and assists are less than Luka’s career averages.

He might be good or he might be Josh Green 2.0. But he will never be Luka.

According to your GM he guards the other team’s 2 guard. I’m shocked that a SG might be guarding a SG on the other end. You have a GM worse than Sam Hinkie. Magnitudes worse. Trying to tell you that you will enjoy Christie when your franchise just got shipped out is no solace. I quit on a pro team in the NFL about a dozen years ago and just stopped following the sport. Had a bunch more free time in the fall that I have enjoyed ever since.

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9 minutes ago, Happy Gilmore said:

Im trying to remain positive that Kyrie and AD click going on a run, but gut feeling is this motherfucker is about to implode. If that’s the case Vegas can have’em. Fuck Nico and fuck those goofy ass owners 

I’d be worried about kyrie becoming Kyrie again now that the Mavs need him 

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I just watched the press conference. And I’m pretty convinced that Nico has no fucking idea what he is doing.

Other reports are saying the first deal in place had Knecht, Christie, AD the 2 picks and swaps. Then over time Pelinka worked over Nico with negative Luka talk and got it to this


I could honestly believe this - Pelinka knew he had him as soon as he got the call.
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I’d be worried about kyrie becoming Kyrie again now that the Mavs need him 

We have MASSIVE health issues. Despite our depth, I think we’ll struggle to keep a consistent starting group together, and that will force constant adjustments. That also puts a metric shit ton of pressure on the coaching staff and I just don’t see it working.

Happy to be wrong, I guess, but I don’t think I can bring myself to watch one way or another. I feel so deeply betrayed…
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7 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

I'm having a hard time watching highlight  clips of other games.

I couldn’t do it.
The music died on Sunday and I don’t know when or if I’ll be able to watch an NBA game again. This is the lowest moment I have ever experienced as a fan. Utter, complete, shock and betrayal. 

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13 hours ago, Party_Taco said:


We have MASSIVE health issues. Despite our depth, I think we’ll struggle to keep a consistent starting group together, and that will force constant adjustments. That also puts a metric shit ton of pressure on the coaching staff and I just don’t see it working.

Happy to be wrong, I guess, but I don’t think I can bring myself to watch one way or another. I feel so deeply betrayed…

oh this is going to be a complete dumpster fire.  this team is a MASH unit waiting to happen.  Nico is going to go down in history.  Although no one knows who the GM was that traded Kareem to LA, that was before the internet.

soon teams fans who screw up a trade will refer to being "Nico'd".  I guess it was an easy way for him to become (in)famous.

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11 hours ago, Party_Taco said:

I would straight up start watching Luka on the Lakers, but I fucking HATE the Lakers…

 

10 hours ago, threesheets said:

Start the thread bro. I got you.

 

I don't hate the Lakers.  I'll be watching Luka.  If there's a thread I'll be there.

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11 minutes ago, speed817 said:

Mavs just got robbed again!!! 🤣

 

9 minutes ago, pops said:

I think Nico had a stroke. 

I'm fine with the Caleb Martin trade.  Three days ago I would have been happy about this.  Now I can't feel anymore so whatever.  But Grimes was always going to be traded - he declined our contract extension offer before the season because he wanted to test FA.  We weren't going to let him Brunson us.  And Caleb Martin's at least a band-aid on our perimeter defense. He'll guard their best player at 1-3.  Alleviates pressure on PJ.  I don't like that we sent a 2nd rounder to them though.

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12 hours ago, Party_Taco said:

I would straight up start watching Luka on the Lakers, but I fucking HATE the Lakers…

Same. I want him to get the respect he deserves there. Multiple MVPS....but no titles. Let him move on to win those.

28 minutes ago, speed817 said:

Mavs just got robbed again!!! 🤣

This isn't close to true.   Ya'll just overreacting because everyone hates Nicole now.

14 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

 

I'm fine with the Caleb Martin trade.  Three days ago I would have been happy about this.  Now I can't feel anymore so whatever.  But Grimes was always going to be traded - he declined our contract extension offer before the season because he wanted to test FA.  We weren't going to let him Brunson us.  And Caleb Martin's at least a band-aid on our perimeter defense. He'll guard their best player at 1-3.  Alleviates pressure on PJ.  I don't like that we sent a 2nd rounder to them though.

I'm here.

And social media is going nuts about how grimes is better.  Cool. He might be. But he's getting phased out by Christie(who's younger and might already be as good and a much better defender) and Exum(better ball handler, better defensively) than Grimes.

Grimes was also going to get a nice big contract this offseason. Even if the Mavs weren't cheap, they wouldn't have the room to sign him.

Martin is also a 3, bigger wing which the Mavs needed.  And he has a very tradable contract under control for 3 more years.

It's not some "win" trade...but a decent "along the margins" trade of role players.

4 minutes ago, speed817 said:

Nico handing out picks like they are going out of style

They got a good contract, for a type of player they need, and gave up a guy who won't be here next season so actually found value in him.

I know why we all hate the Judas Nicole....but this was not a bad trade in the slightest.

Edited by Drew
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Caleb Martin? Y’all are mad about the Caleb trade? Good. Next I hope they trade all future picks to LA for the rights to Kwame Brown. I hope Kyrie demands a trade. I hope Nico gets Noro and shits himself at the presser where he shows off the colorful beads and pieces of hempen string he got for Kyrie. I hope that Jörmungandr and Hel break their chains, Fenrir swallows Odin, and that Surtr covers the earth in fire. Fuck Nico and fuck everything else.  

Edited by Bozo_Casanova
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1 hour ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Caleb Martin? Y’all are mad about the Caleb trade? Good. Next I hope they trade all future picks to LA for the rights to Kwame Brown. I hope Kyrie demands a trade. I hope Nico gets Noro and shits himself at the presser where he shows off the colorful beads and pieces of hempen string he got for Kyrie. I hope that Jörmungandr and Hel break their chains, Fenrir swallows Odin, and that Surtr covers the earth in fire. Fuck Nico and fuck everything else.  

That energy, I like it.

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