https://www.youtube.com/live/t07sxvbeJ3E
Press conference coming up.

Luka probably got a boner in the shower…

DannyDuberstein said:

---

shack009 said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

Zachary Klement said:

---

rsf0626 said:

---

Nico must have inklings that Luka wasnt going to re-sign here. This is the only thing that makes sense at the moment

---

Kind of wild to think he would just walk away from a 5-year $345 million super-max deal.

Honestly, I think Nico was just being a complete dumbass here...the return makes no sense. They should have gotten way more for Luka.

This feels like a type of deal in fantasy football that one of your buddies texts you about and you are so shocked they'd even propose the idea that you have to try and act like you aren't too excited so they will actually propose it in the app.

---

I don't think Luka would have walked away, though. I think he would have signed it and just kept half assing his conditioning like he has been. There isn't really a history of European stars forcing their way out like there is with American stars (Kawhi, AD, Durant, Harden, etc)

---

Yeah, Luka wasn't at risk of leaving in free agency. He'd have been leaving $100 million on the table.

I'm probably coping, but the Mavs were absolutely going to be stuck in a cycle of Luka being perpetually overweight and unhealthy while also always wanting to play in Euro tournaments. Luka loves representing Slovenia and he was never going to be a guy who would take a summer off to recover. He also wasn't going to be a guy who took conditioning or reshaping his body seriously. He may do that now with a new "f you" mentality, but there was no inkling of that changing while he was here.

ETA: He still was a top 3 player with the conditioning and injury issues, so I'm not just ****ting on him. But let's also not act like we hadn't been talking about his weight and his on court antics before the finals run. The finals run made a lot of talking points go away, but we kinda got a glimpse of his capped ceiling against teams that can switch and will make him defend.

---

The problem with this logic is they traded him for aging big that doesn't stay on the floor either

---

I agree, but they can at least say they got a top 10 player, when healthy. People are just mad at the deal and are acting like AD is washed. He does get injured, but he's only had 2 seasons where he's played less than 56 games. He played 76 last year and he's only missed about 5 so far this year.

If AD is healthy, you by default have an elite defense. He's also an elite post player who you can run offense through.

Defense will be stupid good when you have both him and Lively available.

Guitarsoup said:

---

J.P. 03 said:

---

Yeah it would have been nice to ship him to OKC in return for that mountain of future picks they're sitting on, but I get not wanting to trade Luka within the division. Dude might earn the scoring title just from the games he played against the Mavs in that scenario.

---

Divisions don't really matter anymore in the NBA. You play the Lakers as much as the Thunder, Spurs or Blazers. But send him to the East and you only see him 2x/year plus only in the playoffs if both teams make the Finals.

---

This is what I was thinking, trade him to the East, see what is available to get back

Infection_Ag11 said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

Just a hypothetical, If you are trading for a win now player to fit with the team sansLuka, what deal do you want?

I'm guessing Milwaukee said no to Giannis, and that would be my first call over AD.

No prospect and 8 picks, like PG, since they Niko said they wanted a win now trade.

---

There's no way to get adequate player compensation for Luka. It's like trying to trade Jokic, nobody would give up the kind of personnel resources needed to make that deal "even". The only way to do it is a ton of picks.

---

Even those generally turn out pretty bad unless the other team collapses or shouldn't have made trade in the first place.

The Paul George trade worked for OKC and the Durant trade will work for Brooklyn, but the majority of the time, when you trade away the best player, you lose the trade.

From the Mavs POV, I would be most interested in a deal with Orlando focused on Paolo or Wagner plus Black and picks.

But you almost never get fair value trading out the best player unless it was a stupid trade to begin with.

Niko talking about building the team and the culture and defense wins championships.

Infection_Ag11 said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

Just a hypothetical, If you are trading for a win now player to fit with the team sansLuka, what deal do you want?

I'm guessing Milwaukee said no to Giannis, and that would be my first call over AD.

No prospect and 8 picks, like PG, since they Niko said they wanted a win now trade.

---

There's no way to get adequate player compensation for Luka. It's like trying to trade Jokic, nobody would give up the kind of personnel resources needed to make that deal "even". The only way to do it is a ton of picks.

---

And picks are pretty overrated by fans. The 5 picks that Brooklyn just got for Bridges will all be in the mid to late 20s. They aren't premium picks.

Zachary Klement said:

---

https://www.youtube.com/live/t07sxvbeJ3E
Press conference coming up.

---

This guy makes me want to start breaking stuff.

Niko: Teams were loading up to offer him and we had to worry about a supermax.

Luka never said that he wouldnt take the Supermax.

Never talked to any teams other than Lakers.

Talked with Rob Pelinka over the course of 3-4 weeks.

JKidd didn't know about it, but Niko knows the type of players and culture that Kidd wants.

NIko: I'm the one making the decision and Kidd supports me.

Easiest thing to do is do nothing.

Did Luka no longer fit that culture you want to build? Niko: I'm not going to talk bad about anyone. I think the players coming in fit our culture and will elevate our culture.

When we win, frustration will go away.

Owner trusts me to make deals.

If it doesnt work out, I will be judged for that. -Niko



-----


Kidd: Niko and I are aligned.

I was blessed to coach Luka, but I believe in the vision of what we want to build with Niko.

Defense wins championships. AD fits with Lively and Gafford. The window is to win now.

J Kidd casually dropping that Kyrie, Gafford, and PJ are also out today. This game is an absolute give away.

I will say the positive is this: Thunder struggle with size. Chet was supposed to be out 8-10 weeks and it has been 12. But he gets bullied by bigger, stronger players. They brought in Hartenstein, but he can't move outside on AD.

OKC is going to struggle with a big lineup of Gafford, AD, and Washington when JDub has been playing a ton at center for them and they are playing those under 6'6 lineups.

shack009 said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

I will say the positive is this: Thunder struggle with size. Chet was supposed to be out 8-10 weeks and it has been 12. But he gets bullied by bigger, stronger players. They brought in Hartenstein, but he can't move outside on AD.

OKC is going to struggle with a big lineup of Gafford, AD, and Washington when JDub has been playing a ton at center for them and they are playing those under 6'6 lineups.

---

Mavs are 3-1 against OKC this year and 3-0 without Luka. OKC isn't the issue lol.

---

Doesn't always translate to the playoffs. But I think AD will an even worse matchup problem for them. He absolutely crushed them last year while the Lakers were pretty bad.

OKC and Houston are the top two teams right now in the West. Having that type of frontcourt obviously makes a lot of sense against both those teams.

How do you not even ask the head coach of the team about it. Kidd must feel like a fool

TxAG#2011 said:

---

How do you not even ask the head coach of the team about it. Kidd must feel like a fool

---

There's no way Kidd didn't know.

Guitarsoup said:

---

TxAG#2011 said:

---

How do you not even ask the head coach of the team about it. Kidd must feel like a fool

---

There's no way Kidd didn't know.

---

He said he found out at the last minute.

Mavs still have to make a move also. We need to get Jimmy, Lavine, or Fox before the deadline. We can't run out lineups with Spencer Dinwiddie in the playoffs.

They are saying AD is going to play next to Gafford but Gafford probably has to be part of any deal because of salary. Gafford and Hardy are the two most likely and probably Christie also.

sure seems like Nico is just trying to acquire players he had relationships with from before becoming a GM. Probably just figure out who is on that list to see what other trades we might make

shack009 said:

---

J Kidd casually dropping that Kyrie, Gafford, and PJ are also out today. This game is an absolute give away.

---

Yeah the game is a give away, but that is the least of the Mavs problems. The bigger problem is that the 5-year future outlook (at minimum) of the franchise is a give away. The Mavs aren't even making the play-in this year. I think they finish behind GS, SA, PHX, and SAC for 12th in the West. I'm guessing the get the 10th best odds for Flagg. That is probably all the Mavs have going for them as a franchise at this time.

Look at the outgoing picks now to see how bleak it is:

CHA gets 2027 unless it is #1 or #2. So very likely you are handing over a top 10 pick by then. Keep in mind by 2027 Kyrie/AD are in their mid to late 30s, and that assumes Kyrie will even stay. It is all downhill by 2027, with no way to make yourself better.

OKC gets 2028 so there is another top 10 pick being handed over.

Either HOU or BKN get 2029 which will be another top 10 pick. By that point the Mavs will have gone 3 straight years with no capacity to make themselves better or younger.

2030 will be a swap with SA so that will be another top 10 pick handed over (Spurs should be in ~20 range by then).

Just going to be an absolutely bleak 4 year run. You are basically restarting the franchise in 2031. Nico will be long gone. The fans will be long gone. Just for comedy reasons I hope OKC, HOU or BKN and SA all get the #1 picks.

Guitarsoup said:

---

I will say the positive is this: Thunder struggle with size. Chet was supposed to be out 8-10 weeks and it has been 12. But he gets bullied by bigger, stronger players. They brought in Hartenstein, but he can't move outside on AD.

OKC is going to struggle with a big lineup of Gafford, AD, and Washington when JDub has been playing a ton at center for them and they are playing those under 6'6 lineups.

---

FWIW the timetable for Chet has always been late Feb/early March. After he got hurt, they said they'd provide an update on his return in 8-10 weeks (which is probly what you're thinking of).

TxAG#2011 said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

TxAG#2011 said:

---

How do you not even ask the head coach of the team about it. Kidd must feel like a fool

---

There's no way Kidd didn't know.

---

He said he found out at the last minute.

---

I know what he said. Niko is taking all the heat.

There is no way a GM trades a generational top 3 player in the league at 25yo without talking to the coach and the owner.

I think the Mavs still have a good shot at the play in with an outside shot at the 6. GS and SA are not good enough. SAC is extremely flawed, even though they have played the Mavs well in recent years. Plus SAC is going to trade Fox.

Mavs need the all star break as bad as any team to recover from injury. We'll be in good shape for a stretch run. If Lively is healthy for the play in, then we should be able to get in to the playoffs.

I'm aware that the timeline just shortened, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop talking about this season…

Guitarsoup said:

---

TxAG#2011 said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

TxAG#2011 said:

---

How do you not even ask the head coach of the team about it. Kidd must feel like a fool

---

There's no way Kidd didn't know.

---

He said he found out at the last minute.

---

We all know what he said. Niko is taking all the heat.

---

Im sure they told Kidd before but I seriously doubt they asked for his input.

Spurs won't make it unless the Kings accept being fleeced.

Guitarsoup said:

---

Spurs won't make it unless the Kings accept being fleeced.

---

In which case the Kings would not make it.

shack009 said:

---

I think the Mavs still have a good shot at the play in with an outside shot at the 6. GS and SA are not good enough. SAC is extremely flawed, even though they have played the Mavs well in recent years. Plus SAC is going to trade Fox.

Mavs need the all star break as bad as any team to recover from injury. We'll be in good shape for a stretch run. If Lively is healthy for the play in, then we should be able to get in to the playoffs.

I'm aware that the timeline just shortened, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop talking about this season…

---

The team was good enough to potentially make the playoffs even if Luka never came back.
We'll see if AD actually gets healthy and how much he plays, and if they play enough to figure out lineups.
The next few weeks of game will be crucial, if they fall too far I could get it snowball and certain players start sitting out and looking to leave in the offseason

Guitarsoup said:

---

TxAG#2011 said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

TxAG#2011 said:

---

How do you not even ask the head coach of the team about it. Kidd must feel like a fool

---

There's no way Kidd didn't know.

---

He said he found out at the last minute.

---

I know what he said. Niko is taking all the heat.

There is no way a GM trades a generational top 3 player in the league at 25yo without talking to the coach and the owner.

---

You can think whatever you want it's obvious Kidd didn't know about this until the deal was done

PatAg said:

---

shack009 said:

---

I think the Mavs still have a good shot at the play in with an outside shot at the 6. GS and SA are not good enough. SAC is extremely flawed, even though they have played the Mavs well in recent years. Plus SAC is going to trade Fox.

Mavs need the all star break as bad as any team to recover from injury. We'll be in good shape for a stretch run. If Lively is healthy for the play in, then we should be able to get in to the playoffs.

I'm aware that the timeline just shortened, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop talking about this season…

---

The team was good enough to potentially make the playoffs even if Luka never came back.
We'll see if AD actually gets healthy and how much he plays, and if they play enough to figure out lineups.
The next few weeks of game will be crucial, if they fall too far I could get it snowball and certain players start sitting out and looking to leave in the offseason

---

Yep, there are good players down the roster.

I don't see this team tanking. AD has a minor thing that won't go past the all star break. He could even play in the home stand leading up to it.

They aren't packing it in. The team is full of dogs and has very few guys in the last year of their deal. Gafford, PJ, and Naji are not the type of guys who just let games go. Grimes is the best guy in his final year and he needs to prove himself to get that next deal, so he isn't mailing it in.

TxAG#2011 said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

TxAG#2011 said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

TxAG#2011 said:

---

How do you not even ask the head coach of the team about it. Kidd must feel like a fool

---

There's no way Kidd didn't know.

---

He said he found out at the last minute.

---

I know what he said. Niko is taking all the heat.

There is no way a GM trades a generational top 3 player in the league at 25yo without talking to the coach and the owner.

---

You can think whatever you want it's obvious Kidd didn't know about this until the deal was done

---

or knew, but was against it and had no power to stop it.