Francis Macomber said:

---

TheRatt87 said:

---

People trying to make sense of the nonsensical because to accept the obvious truth destroys how folks have viewed sports for their entire lives. As I stated earlier in this thread, the NBA has devolved into rigged entertainment. The latest iteration of WWE.

The NBA is a multi-billion dollar business in decline. TV ratings are down 50% over the last 5-10 yrs and even more so over a longer period. White viewers are now a minority. And somehow, beyond all reason, the 25 yr old generational talent (a white guy no less) is traded for scraps to the most successful modern franchise in the 2nd largest market to replace the soon-to-be-retiring 40 yr old generational talent. Occam's Razor.

---

I am not sure you're clear on what Occam's Razor means, because it's like the opposite of how you're applying it.

---

You're right. All the convoluted attempts to explain the unexplainable are much simpler.

MW03 said:

---

Going to have to clip in for Skin's thoughts.

Feel like we have a lot of insight as to the why here. Tune in at 10 AM https://t.co/vP6sYTW0kb

— Jeff Skin Wade (@SkinWade) February 3, 2025

---

I listened to some of it....and skin does maintain professionalism and stays somewhat careful, as you'd expect.

I now think he's probably the most accurate in saying that Nico (and who knows what other portion of front office/ownership) looked at the league and saw OKC set up for the next decade with a young group of stars and a bounty of available picks behind them, looked at SA with Wemby and trade assets (this was before the Fox deal)and said hey, we've got to win a ship in the next 3-4 seasons cuz we're ****ed after that with the longevity these 2 teams and others are set up for. If that's indeed the case, I get it....I disagree with it and think it's a loser mentality, but I can kind of get the logic. However, it still doesn't explain the dog **** offer you accepted for Luka in return. That part I'll never understand.

It also begs the question -- would you rather have another ring and then be a bottom feeder for the next decade, or be playoff relevant for a decade (but no ring, maybe another finals run or 2)? I'm guessing everyone is going to say ring here and I'd agree, but many being NBA irrelevant for long stretches SUCKS

Legal Custodian said:

---

I personally would rather have Luka here for another 12 and fight for a singular championship than win one every 4-5 years with a revolving door of a roster.

We might be a large market, but the DFW fanbase (outside of the Cowboys) acts like a small market fanbase. We want loyalty from our players and go through the ups and downs with "our guys" rather than chasing rings with rosters that fundamentally change every 3-5 years.

The Stars with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Yeah we built around them with pieces that come and go, but the tenured length of those players, falling short twice, ups and down with coaches, all of that is going to make getting a cup incredibly special. Same way with Modano, Lehtinen, etc. in 1999.

The Rangers, while that WS was amazing, more people have romanticized the 2010-2011 teams that fell short because of the crazy road that team went on from 2005-2010. Most fans have a much bigger connection to that run than the out of nowhere 2023 title run.

---

can't disagree there. It wouldn't be an instant decision for me...ring tomorrow vs decade of bottom feeding, but I think I'd still have to go ring of course. But damn, there's nothing worse than sustained irrelevance in sports.

Having said that, this team with AD is still not a championship roster....WCF, maybe.

Trucker 96 said:

---

The issue is (1) they do have OKC's number with the current formula and (2) we have seen many pending dynasties collapse before ever getting started. Egos. Injuries. Contracts. We saw it in OKC before already. I would project nothing and fear nothing when it comes to other teams. Put the best team you can on the floor for the long haul

---

100%....which is why I think it's a loser mentality if that's really the logic the front office (or at least Nico) applied here

hph6203 said:

---

If this Super Max stuff turns into teams ducking the possibility by dumping superstars so they can avoid the luxury tax it's going to be the absolute worst thing that has ever happened to the league.

---

The problem isn't the super max, it's who was getting it. I may disagree, but I can at least understand why Nico would not want to give it to Luka.

They have to have the super max so guys like Ant and Giannis are incentivized to stay in the small market that drafted and developed them.

All fan bases romanticize their star players. Dallas is no different.

Would you rather have Dirk's championship or KG's?

Would you rather watch Dirk try to win a championship and fail for 20 years, or would you rather trade Dirk for KG and win one?

Nico came up with the wrong answer.

JW said:

---

All fan bases romanticize their star players. Dallas is no different.

---

not just any star player though...it's a guy who seamlessly took the baton from Dirk after our blessed run (albeit a couple rings short of what could have been because of the Nash bs and the Cuban roster dump after 2011) and seemed like a total lottery winning ticket for us. We'd heard about the kid for 2-3 yrs leading up to that draft and then were shockingly gifted him by way of that boneheaded move by ATL. It seemed like destiny, still does.

shack009 said:

---

hph6203 said:

---

If this Super Max stuff turns into teams ducking the possibility by dumping superstars so they can avoid the luxury tax it's going to be the absolute worst thing that has ever happened to the league.

---

The problem isn't the super max, it's who was getting it. I may disagree, but I can at least understand why Nico would not want to give it to Luka.

They have to have the super max so guys like Ant and Giannis are incentivized to stay in the small market that drafted and developed them.

---

That is exactly right. If the Mavs think that Luka is going to be available going forward similar to Embiid due to laziness or injuries, it makes more sense. You just gotta get more and you have to shop him. Embiid's contract is an absolute disaster and so is Paul George's.


Nico clearly screwed this all up, but I am really interested to hear more come out and see what happens with Luka's health and physique over the next 5 years.

We welcome you to become Rockets fans. There's a special thing being built south of Dallas and its exciting to watch.

To hell with the Mavericks. You can go back when they deport Nico and ownership declares bankruptcy and Cuban takes it back over.

Yep. I buy the rumors that internally they were willing to do more. Why not? It's still highway robbery. But Nico didn't push hard enough to get it. And since they knew he didn't want to shop the deal, why be eager to give more?

You know what, Sure. Brian has a good idea. Let's unlock today's essay - FREE FOR ALL - https://t.co/7jL29diVx7 https://t.co/1ijy3aURE0 pic.twitter.com/r3EpOGm13n

— Bob Sturm (@SportsSturm) February 3, 2025

Amazing that Luka did not have a, " no trade" clause in his contract?

There's really so much more then they are telling us.

Let's see how Lukas health plays out.

Southlake said:

---

Amazing that Luka did not have a, " no trade" clause in his contract?

There's really so much more then they are telling us.

Let's see how Lukas health plays out.

---

You can only get it when you have played at least 8 years in the NBA and the only players with one are Bradley Beal and LeBron James.

In my insane delusions, Luka resigns with the Mavs this summer in a premeditated move to screw the Lakers. It would be the funniest thing ever

thegoodolag15 said:

---

The entire trade does not make sense in any capacity. If you traded Luka Doncic because you are worried about his conditioning and health, and you receive Anthony "Street Clothes" Davis? This is the dude who has proven to NOT be able to stay healthy through a season. There was no utilization of logic in this deal. This was Nico being wined and dined before getting bent over a table by another GM.

---

This is something that a lot of people have said. It's a misinterpretation of Nico. Nico is pretty obviously stating that it's Luka's own actions and decisions that are causing him to miss time and/or perform poorly.

Davis may miss time, but he isn't sustaining soft tissue injuries because he's not in shape. And when he is available you never have to worry about if he went out the night before or if he'll give 100% on every defensive possession.

Also Davis was available all of last season and has missed about 10% of games this year.

zgolfz85 said:

---

Legal Custodian said:

---

I personally would rather have Luka here for another 12 and fight for a singular championship than win one every 4-5 years with a revolving door of a roster.

We might be a large market, but the DFW fanbase (outside of the Cowboys) acts like a small market fanbase. We want loyalty from our players and go through the ups and downs with "our guys" rather than chasing rings with rosters that fundamentally change every 3-5 years.

The Stars with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Yeah we built around them with pieces that come and go, but the tenured length of those players, falling short twice, ups and down with coaches, all of that is going to make getting a cup incredibly special. Same way with Modano, Lehtinen, etc. in 1999.

The Rangers, while that WS was amazing, more people have romanticized the 2010-2011 teams that fell short because of the crazy road that team went on from 2005-2010. Most fans have a much bigger connection to that run than the out of nowhere 2023 title run.

---

can't disagree there. It wouldn't be an instant decision for me...ring tomorrow vs decade of bottom feeding, but I think I'd still have to go ring of course. But damn, there's nothing worse than sustained irrelevance in sports.

Having said that, this team with AD is still not a championship roster....WCF, maybe.

---

The thing with the Davis trade is that it isn't a "win now" trade. There is no ring coming. Luka is better than Davis today and going forward. So it was really a "lose now" trade.

Go check the standings, the Mavs are 9th in the West. I think SA is better now after adding Fox. The Mavs are probably about even with GS now and will battle it out for 10th and the play-in. At this point the only interesting things to monitor for the rest of this season is just how toxic it will be at the remaining home games, whether Nico will ever show his face, whether a drunk fan attempts to assault Nico at any point (his address was already floating around on Twitter), and whether Adelson or Dumont will ever show their face again.

jeffdjohnson said:

---

zgolfz85 said:

---

Legal Custodian said:

---

I personally would rather have Luka here for another 12 and fight for a singular championship than win one every 4-5 years with a revolving door of a roster.

We might be a large market, but the DFW fanbase (outside of the Cowboys) acts like a small market fanbase. We want loyalty from our players and go through the ups and downs with "our guys" rather than chasing rings with rosters that fundamentally change every 3-5 years.

The Stars with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Yeah we built around them with pieces that come and go, but the tenured length of those players, falling short twice, ups and down with coaches, all of that is going to make getting a cup incredibly special. Same way with Modano, Lehtinen, etc. in 1999.

The Rangers, while that WS was amazing, more people have romanticized the 2010-2011 teams that fell short because of the crazy road that team went on from 2005-2010. Most fans have a much bigger connection to that run than the out of nowhere 2023 title run.

---

can't disagree there. It wouldn't be an instant decision for me...ring tomorrow vs decade of bottom feeding, but I think I'd still have to go ring of course. But damn, there's nothing worse than sustained irrelevance in sports.

Having said that, this team with AD is still not a championship roster....WCF, maybe.

---

The thing with the Davis trade is that it isn't a "win now" trade. There is no ring coming. Luka is better than Davis today and going forward. So it was really a "lose now" trade.

Go check the standings, the Mavs are 9th in the West. I think SA is better now after adding Fox. The Mavs are probably about even with GS now and will battle it out for 10th and the play-in. At this point the only interesting things to monitor for the rest of this season is just how toxic it will be at the remaining home games, whether Nico will ever show his face, whether a drunk fan attempts to assault Nico at any point (his address was already floating around on Twitter), and whether Adelson or Dumont will ever show their face again.

---

The Mavs are 9th without a top 10 player for a majority of the games. Now you add that in Davis. You get the all star break to get healthy, and nobody needed it more than us. We also just need the rest for the guys who have played. Freaking Naji is dealing with some sort of black plague for 2 months. Christie helps with depth and Exum is working back in to shape. The depth is there.

The Mavs still have the second best roster in the west and won't drop in the standings unless the injury issues continue/worsen.

jeffdjohnson said:

---

zgolfz85 said:

---

Legal Custodian said:

---

I personally would rather have Luka here for another 12 and fight for a singular championship than win one every 4-5 years with a revolving door of a roster.

We might be a large market, but the DFW fanbase (outside of the Cowboys) acts like a small market fanbase. We want loyalty from our players and go through the ups and downs with "our guys" rather than chasing rings with rosters that fundamentally change every 3-5 years.

The Stars with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Yeah we built around them with pieces that come and go, but the tenured length of those players, falling short twice, ups and down with coaches, all of that is going to make getting a cup incredibly special. Same way with Modano, Lehtinen, etc. in 1999.

The Rangers, while that WS was amazing, more people have romanticized the 2010-2011 teams that fell short because of the crazy road that team went on from 2005-2010. Most fans have a much bigger connection to that run than the out of nowhere 2023 title run.

---

can't disagree there. It wouldn't be an instant decision for me...ring tomorrow vs decade of bottom feeding, but I think I'd still have to go ring of course. But damn, there's nothing worse than sustained irrelevance in sports.

Having said that, this team with AD is still not a championship roster....WCF, maybe.

---

The thing with the Davis trade is that it isn't a "win now" trade. There is no ring coming. Luka is better than Davis today and going forward. So it was really a "lose now" trade.

Go check the standings, the Mavs are 9th in the West. I think SA is better now after adding Fox. The Mavs are probably about even with GS now and will battle it out for 10th and the play-in. At this point the only interesting things to monitor for the rest of this season is just how toxic it will be at the remaining home games, whether Nico will ever show his face, whether a drunk fan attempts to assault Nico at any point (his address was already floating around on Twitter), and whether Adelson or Dumont will ever show their face again.

---

agreed. I think the Skin assessment of Nico pouncing on this gotta win in the next 3-4 yr window is the most plausible, but I don't know on what planet they believe adding AD and Max Christie to this roster makes up championship competitive.

It also makes me not want to ever hear another Nico opinion and makes me question how the **** he got so lucky with Ky, PJ and Grimes if he's this in love with AD. I get it if this is the pre Lakers, or even covid bubble AD....but not 2025 AD.

Mavs fans are vastly underrating AD just because he's the second best player in the trade and because we gave up our young sweet prince. He's still dominant.