http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26099992/starting-again-dirk-pondering-one-more-year

If Luka can improve his free throw shooting, and protecting the ball better- he will be an even more scary player than he currently is

Couldn't stomach that Grizzlies game. Worst game of the season- rivals the home game against the Knicks in November

Comeback tonight on the road against the Nets!

Lmao it go so much worse tonight against the Nets. I never thought i would see a mavs team get blown out this bad two games in a row

I'm sad the Mavs are actually tanking. We better keep this pick and nail it...cuz this feels so dirty.

They have the 9th worst record right now. This next game against the wizards is super important to lose. They basically have the same record as us

M.C. Swag said:

---

I'm sad the Mavs are actually tanking. We better keep this pick and nail it...cuz this feels so dirty.

---

They're not tanking- they just flat out suck

True Anomaly said:

---

M.C. Swag said:

---

I'm sad the Mavs are actually tanking. We better keep this pick and nail it...cuz this feels so dirty.

---

They're not tanking- they just flat out suck

---

They definitely aren't good, but losing back to back games by 30+ to the Nets (who are decent but not great) and the Grizz (objectively bad) is beyond "just awful." The amount of run Devin Harris gets and the minutes that Dirk is getting with the starters is the obvious "organic tank" maneuver.

I understand it but there's a middle ground between losing with intent vs being embarrassed. It feels dirty and I don't like the message it's sending to Luka and/or KP.

Tanking is when Carslisle would put out his worst lineups at the end of close games last year. It was pretty blatant. Being plain bad is when your second best player is Tim Hardaway Jr. That is what the Mavs are right now. Luka is the only offensive play maker on the entire roster. The team is dead in the water when he is off the floor. The Mavs aren't tanking. If they get into a close game against Washington then you will see Luka on the floor and they will be trying to win.

Yep, they are playing this correctly. The only "tanking" they are doing is playing dirk. That's a smart move for tanking. And if it's a last year we definitely owe it to him to let him play big minutes down the stretch. It's a win win situation.

It's a fairly fruitless discussion. I'm firmly in the camp of "they're not tanking, they're just bad". Others believe they truly are tanking. We're never going to really know, so we'll just have to agree to disagree.

True Anomaly said:

---

It's a fairly fruitless discussion. I'm firmly in the camp of "they're not tanking, they're just bad". Others believe they truly are tanking. We're never going to really know, so we'll just have to agree to disagree.

---

Keep it mind, they're not mutually exclusive. I believe this team is both BAD and TANKING. Losing the way they lost to the Grizz and Nets is beyond just being 1 or the other. It's honestly one of the most embarrassing 2-game stretches i can recall from a Carlisle coached team.

Tonight's game was a masterclass in tanking.

Tied for 7th worst record right now. 7th alone would be around a 32% chance of keeping the pick. The best they could realistically get to is 6th worst (Memphis is two games "ahead" in that spot right now).

The schedule is pretty difficult to finish the regular season. Carlisle probably won't have to try to tank in many of the remaining games.

Whether they are tanking, or just bad...I'm getting kind of giddy at the idea of them winning the lottery! Talk about supercharging the rebuild!

And yes, I know they are still looking at a roughly 75% chance of giving the pick to Atlanta and moving on.

Yea, lottery night could be franchise changing. Will be fun.

Team tank is very happy about whats going on.

Woke up this morning and simed the lottery on Tankathon. First try got the #3 pick. I think it's going to happen

Just an article about the Mavs' draft position:

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/3/7/18254319/dallas-mavericks-lottery-odds-keep-draft-pick

I know he's a Mavs employee, but I'm in complete agreement with all of this

Think he technically works for Fox Sports

PatAg said:

---

Think he technically works for Fox Sports

---

While a portion of his paycheck may come from Fox Sports, he has admitted that he's basically an employee of the Mavs

I just really don't get that opinion. It makes absolutely no sense to me. A response to his tweet sums up my opinion perfectly. I've copied it below.


"I don't fully understand this reasoning. By 2022 shouldn't KP and LD be entering their primes? Wouldn't we rather add a top 5 pick now and sacrifice what will likely be a much worse pick in 22? A top 5 pick doesn't preclude you from signing a solid FA this year does it?"

Yea im with you. Obviously it depends on the potential offers we could make but in a vacuum, I'd like to draft a guy who could actually play with LD/KP.

I agree that Zion is the only player in this draft that I would be really excited about. But in general, I'd rather see the Mavs have a good asset NOW rather than worry about something that might happen later.

If nothing else, pretend they get the 3rd pick. What kind of trade value does that have? Might Atlanta take that, give you a 1st of their own next year and the pick we owe them and maybe more?

Imagine the trade value if you landed at #1 and didn't think ZW was a future HOF'er?

Something I thought of a week or so ago along those lines.

Not saying ZW isn't a stud, and won't be a huge asset to whoever he goes to, but if we land the #1 pick, do we trade it? Get a #3-4 pick and future 1st rounders?

Would love to draft RJ this year though, he would fit really well with our spacing.

COAg15 said:

---

Something I thought of a week or so ago along those lines.

Not saying ZW isn't a stud, and won't be a huge asset to whoever he goes to, but if we land the #1 pick, do we trade it? Get a #3-4 pick and future 1st rounders?

Would love to draft RJ this year though, he would fit really well with our spacing.

---

Personally, the only pick I'd favor trading is actually Zion. There is such a drop off between him and the next prospect, that it actually inflates his value even higher. If we could flip Zion for say whoever is #2 and their next year's pick, that's awfully enticing.

Also, I'm firmly in the camp that if it's at all possible, I would 100% trade Zion for AD (only with the commitment that he'd sign an extension). I know that nobody likes him anymore but the dude is a stud and would fit PERFECTLY next to KP. He's also only 25 and could easily mesh with Luka's timeline.

tl;dr - If we somehow landed the #1 pick, I'd be totally open to shopping offers to see if there's a king's ransom out ther. If we land #2-4, I'd probably just keep it and draft the best prospect that fits.

Yea, I'd be on board to shop the #1 if we land it. Zion's athleticism should fit well next to Luka, but I keep getting the feeling that he is being massively overrated. I could see him being a much much much better version of Anthony Bennett, meaning his game is based so much on his size/athleticism advantage over college players that he will not be a complete stud at the NBA level. I think his floor is high because he is so athletic that I don't ever see him being a complete bust. But he doesn't have a great shot, he doesn't have great handles, he doesn't seem to have great vision and playmaking ability. So I'm not sure why everyone thinks he's a sure fire hall of famer.

I agree that he's the clear #1 pick, but I don't understand all the hype about him being the best prospect in the last 10 years. For instance, if you give me the choice of Zion or Luka, I'm picking Luka every time. So if someone is willing to give up a ton for the #1 pick, as I'm sure teams will be willing to do, then I would be all ears.

Zion COULD wind up being a slightly more versatile Julius Randle, which would be a good player, but not what you'd want from a #1 pick.

The Dirk standing O's never get old

PatAg said:

---

The Dirk standing O's never get old

---

the Dirk boxscore 0's are though

Nice little 15 point night so far. Within 40 points of Wilt now.

another terrific tank performance