Luka Doncic Discussion: Moving On From The Mavs

agree that AD was already past his prime, and i was pretty sure we would maybe get two more years of high end production out of him at best.

regarding playing center--i think AD thinks he can shoot. the numbers don't suggest it, but i can't explain it...he just acts like he's expecting those shots to fall and is surprised when they don't. i also think the playing the 4 thing is also heavily about defense, where it's hard to grind against heavier dudes for 30+ mpg. i think we could have gone back to playing like we did in 2020 and been successful, but we never really tried it. it was clear that ham, redick, and i guess the front office never really believed we could.

i don't think they could fire him this quickly even if they disagreed--too many other things went wrong that were out of his control this year. BUT if they disagreed, they wouldn't have sent dumont on a press tour in the aftermath in support of the trade. if they were as baffled as the rest of us, they would have just kept quiet and said they let the gm do his job.

yeah, that injury is going to make it basically impossible to evaluate the trade on its supposed merits for dallas. the whole idea was that they could move a superstar and still contend for a short period of time. nico's bet was that AD's prime would last as long as luka's, basically (bad bet, imo, but that's clearly what he was thinking). but if irving misses nearly half that period of time, the whole thing is over.

 

You don't trade Luka for AD without the ownership being FULLY onboard. That just doesn't happen. I would even go beyond and say it's more a owner move than a GM one.

The ownership sets the vision and GM executes it. Gafford or PJ trades are GMs job. When you're trading your superstar and franchise face, it's in the owner's scope.
Nico may have started the idea, but it's still an owner call, imo

 

Looking forward to this one.

 

Look at Luka's stats at Dallas
Crazy insane.
Thank you,Nico

 

They have options..I fully expect them to make some moves.

Tinkerbell would fit in great there IMO, all they need is a couple of perimeter players. That team is going to be top 6 next season. Kyrie might not be out as long as you think either.

There is optimism Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving could be fully recovered and return from his torn left ACL by January 2026, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Wednesday.

There is also an expectation around the team that Irving will be able to play a good amount of the 2025-26 season upon his return, the sources said.

 

Full interview