Because 2016-2017 is OVER!

Unless the Aggies are playing, I don't follow college ball. But Smith Jr. looks legit. Starter from game 1.

2017-2018 contract situations:

Dirk - 2 year, $10MM deal.
Barnes - Good through 18-19.
Matthews - Good through 18-19.
Powell - Good through 18-19.
Noel - Restricted FA. Mavs' priority to sign.
Harris - Team option. I don't see Mavs keeping him w/Smith coming in.
JJ - Signed through 18-19 (a year too long, but cheap).
Curry - Signed through 17-18.
Mejri - Another year.
Finney-Smith, Hammons, Brussino, Uthoff, Liggins - All team options. Need to sign DFS.
Yogi - Signed through 17-18.

2017-2018 starters as of today:

Dirk
Barnes
Matthews
Smith, Jr.
*Noel

6/29
Uthoff and Liggins traded to Houston for cash considerations.

Mavs are going to need to rebuild a couple more years but Smith in my eyes is a great start. If he can turn into a star and the Mavs sign one more great player in FA, they will have a really solid team with great role players/pieces.

AggieSportsGuy said:

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Mavs are going to need to rebuild a couple more years but Smith in my eyes is a great start. If he can turn into a star and the Mavs sign one more great player in FA, they will have a really solid team with great role players/pieces.

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It's tough, b/c I don't want to see Dirk's last year(s) in tank mode, but getting another top pick in 2018 may be the best thing long term.

I would trust that once the season starts they'll see how things roll out, and adjust their season strategy from there- like they did last season when they started out so horribly, and towards the end made a decision to tank.

What's more interesting is if this actually doesn't end up being Dirk's last season

Im expecting Harrison Barnes to be an all star.

I know resigning Noel is the Mavs top priority, but are we targeting any other players in free agency to add to the roster?

PatAg said:

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Im expecting Harrison Barnes to be an all star.

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Not in the West he won't.

The thing about all this top players moving West is it means good teams from the West are going to be in the lottery.

I'm not hearing any news about Nerlens. Not getting interest from any other teams? That has to be good news for Mavs right?

If Dallas wants to keep him, they will keep him.

There is this little whisper though. Atlanta is clearly in rebuilding mode.

I assume Dallas will match any Noel offer, right? Right??

I am kinda surprised not to see any news on releasing Harris yet.

Iowaggie said:

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If Dallas wants to keep him, they will keep him.

There is this little whisper though. Atlanta is clearly in rebuilding mode.

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Yea I know we will match any offer to keep him. I just meant that no news on nerlens had to be good for us bc if no other team makes an offer we can probably get him for cheaper.

Mavs will keep Noel- the only question is how much it will cost them.

We'll know soon- the moratorium apparently ends right now

Mavs close to deal w/ Dirk

2 years, $10MM. 2nd year a team option.

Dirk has saved (made) them so much money. Now if only there was someone else to sign in addition to Noel.

The Mavs can use their trade exception to go snag their choice of useful pieces from a number of teams looking to dump salary...and they apparently landed on Josh McRoberts?

Surely there's something else bigger in play here, right?

Haha maybe we are trying to tank this year.

mavsfan4ever said:

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Haha maybe we are trying to tank this year.

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Well it's pretty easy to argue that they're much better off missing the playoffs in 2016-17. No reason to claw back to the 7 or 8 spot in 2018. Get in the lottery again, and build through the draft. Maybe play the FA game next year.

The worst thing in the NBA is the dreaded " treadmill of mediocrity". In the last 5 or 6 years, Cuban would neglect the draft, let pretty good free agents go for nothing, and try to get that coveted " big fish". The only problem is that their pitch was terrible. They told the Stars that if they would come, the front office would build around them. NBA stars want to join something of substance, they want to be told that they're the missing piece. The failure to get big name free agents combined with no good young players being developed was a recipe for disaster.

Keep in mind that the mavericks still had a top 10 NBA player in Dirk throughout this whole duration. The Mavericks would usually get 7th or 8th seeds and get knocked out in the first round. The west is brutal, and unfortunately the Mavericks are in the west. If you're not going to be good, you might as well suck and get good young talent that you can develop on the cheap and retain easily with built in advantages granted by the CBA. I'm surprised that it took a businessman of mark cubans stature this long to figure it out.

NoahAg said:

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mavsfan4ever said:

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Haha maybe we are trying to tank this year.

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Well it's pretty easy to argue that they're much better off missing the playoffs in 2016-17. No reason to claw back to the 7 or 8 spot in 2018. Get in the lottery again, and build through the draft. Maybe play the FA game next year.

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Yea I would be thrilled if they tanked this year. But the traded for mcroberts doesnt make much sense whether you are tanking or not. If you aren't, seems like you could find a better player. If you are tanking, mcroberts is older and makes you a little better. So it doesn't make sense either way.

Mavs summer league on ESPN right now against Phoenix. Definitely some ugly basketball at times but it beats no basketball on TV.

Dennis Smith is looking really good so far. The wider lanes of the NBA will do wonders for him.

He had a really nice finish on an attack to the basket when there was a defensive switch in the 1st. Think it was Bender that switched to defend him and Smith blew by him and made a nice mid-air adjustment to score on the help defense.

That's what's even more exciting to me than the athleticism. He has an underrated feel for the game. I read that some felt that DSJ wasn't a perfect fit for the Mavs offense, but I believe he'll fit seamlessly, like Monta did a few years back.

He's definitely going to be fun to watch. He is so aggressive in attacking the rim, but what I am most excited about is the potential he brings as a shot creator. That's what the Mavs have been missing. We have tried so many options in trying to take some of the load off of Dirk that I forgot what it's like to have someone who could actually create on their own. We haven't had someone who can get to the rim or beat their man off the dribble to create a good look for an open shooter. That's what I'm looking forward to from Smith!

And as I type that last reply he absolutely destroys a fast break after a lazy pass. Looked like Tyson Chandler protecting the rim!

Yeah, I don't think character concerns will be a problem...

Smith and Jackson are on a whole other level compared to the rest of the guys on this floor.

Smith did very well today, especially considering he was guarded mostly by Josh Jackson. The season can't start soon enough!

Gotta get through the boring summer league and preseason first.

I've seen enough. Buying my DSJ jersey this week. He can do whatever he wants out there and doesn't force anything. Much more of a true point guard than I thought he could be. Tons of great passes and kick outs when he drives.

I'm high on dsj bc he doesn't seem to be killing it with athleticism. It's not like he's just blowing by everyone bc he's so more athletic. He has much more bbiq and is much more willing to make the extra pads than I thought. But he can still get to the rim when he wants. Im obviously a mavs homer but I'm much more impressed than I thought I would be.

And I admit suns' defense was bad, but he looked pretty good against Chicago with Dunn guarding him. Dunn is awful but his D is really strong.

mavsfan4ever said:

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I've seen enough. Buying my DSJ jersey this week. He can do whatever he wants out there and doesn't force anything. Much more of a true point guard than I thought he could be. Tons of great passes and kick outs when he drives.

I'm high on dsj bc he doesn't seem to be killing it with athleticism. It's not like he's just blowing by everyone bc he's so more athletic. He has much more bbiq and is much more willing to make the extra pads than I thought. But he can still get to the rim when he wants. Im obviously a mavs homer but I'm much more impressed than I thought I would be.

And I admit suns' defense was bad, but he looked pretty good against Chicago with Dunn guarding him. Dunn is awful but his D is really strong.

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His passes have looked strong, and speak to the hype about his court visibility

mavsfan4ever said:

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Yea I would be thrilled if they tanked this year. But the traded for mcroberts doesnt make much sense whether you are tanking or not. If you aren't, seems like you could find a better player. If you are tanking, mcroberts is older and makes you a little better. So it doesn't make sense either way.

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The Ticket today was talking about McRoberts is a placeholder for salary they can dump to go after Boogie Cousins next year. The belief is the Mavs will be going hard after him and are trying to preserve cap space this offseason (part of the reason Noel hasn't been inked to anything yet -- wanting to avoid long term/big money).

I respect Cousin's game, but he just feels like a lockerroom cancer at this point

We signed a new German!