So to talk about this from our perspective... I don't think Klay has any trade value. With people being out, I don't think many moves CAN be made this season. They are going to want to see how the team plays together when everyone is back and AD's trade value needs to be rehabilitated when he is healthy. Same with Kyrie. I believe they miss the playoffs but are a 10-11 seed. The lottery doesn't get rigged for them again and they get a bust. 2026/2027 - I believe they try to run it back because of their late season resurgence. Klay is expiring and ultimately not dealt because there is no young return. Kyrie plays 85% of what he was and AD gets injured again. They trade AD for a lesser return and now the fall begins without their picks. 2028/2029 - AD/Kyrie/Klay gone and Cooper is decent not all-star on max contract. They finish high in the lotto.
I am agreeing that Nico was bad, just to be clear. Still, I think that Dumont and the rest of ownership should take at least half the blame on this. Nico actually made some pretty good moves prior to the Luka trade. Gafford, Lively, Washington, and Kyrie were all above-average acquisitions. I think that's pretty strong evidence that he's not bad at talent evaluation. He handled a superstar situation poorly, but I think the owner ultimately is responsible for that, given how big of an investment any superstar is. tl;dr: Nico was fine while Cuban was still the owner, then he sucked once new ownership came in. Doesn't seem like a coincidence.
Also, Nico pushed Cuban out only after Cuban was no longer formally the owner. Miriam Adelson and Patrick Dumont told Cuban that he would still be able to make basketball decisions, and then later Nico got sole authority. Ownership is the one that made the promise to Cuban and then went back on their word. Even if Nico was angling for that power, it's ultimately up to ownership to decide.
Its funny because before the season started all the podcasts I listen to were talking about the Mavericks like they were going to be a top 6 seed. Now they will just go back to saying they saw this coming the whole time.
This team was doomed the minute Cuban sold majority ownership. Now they're back to NBA gutter trash status with the likes of the Wizards, Pelicans and Hornets. What an utter ****ing fiasco that mirrors current events.
And so the Cooper Flagg era officially begins. I wonder if they can flip AD,Kyrie, and Klay within this year too for whatever they can to rebuild asap.
first it's obvious Nico owes Luka everything. Having Luka simplifies eveyrhing. Just get pieces around him. See how easy it was for the Lakers. If Nico was even half decent why would he even think about trading Luka espeically after reaching the Finals the previous year. now as to who's fault or who deserves bigger blame, here is the biggest question I have how did it all start? was it Nico's idea? was it ownerships idea? or someone elses? because Sham rfeported that Patrick said it was Nico's idea and Nico convinced Partrick and Patrick eventually signoed off, Patrick was taking repsonsibility for his mistake in being convinced by nico and eventually signing off but he was clear it was Nico's idea. I want to hear Nico's honest take on this.
It would have been better optics to get fired for not trading Luka, versus getting fired and blamed for actually doing it even though it was the owners that didn't want to pay Luka.
https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/m...irst-public-comments-after-luka-doncic-trade/ Nonetheless, 13 months into his family’s majority ownership of the Mavericks and his tenure as team governor, Dumont stands behind the controversial and widely panned trade of superstar Luka Doncic. Fully. Firmly. Unflinchingly. “It’s hard to make tough decisions,” Dumont said. “And it’s hard to make the right decisions when they’re tough. And it’s easy to do nothing. “But when you want to pursue excellence in an organization, you have to make the tough decisions and stand by them and keep going.” His general message is that trading Doncic, while shocking and painful to fans, was a necessary step toward building a culture that wins NBA championships, plural. Dumont said he doesn’t recall specific timeframes of when Doncic trade discussions became serious, but his level of involvement appears to be affirmation of what Doncic’s agent, Bill Duffy, told The News: “It was done at the ownership level. We understand it’s business.” Harrison told The News the trade was his doing and he alone in the coming years should be judged by its on-court results. That appears to be largely, but not solely, true. Dumont said he cosigned on the trade and emphasized his faith in Harrison was well-earned. “I’ve said it all along: In Nico we trust,” Dumont said. “You have to respect the track record. You have to respect his intellect. You have to respect his relationships and his judgment and his point of view and the way he communicates. “I respect that. Our whole family respects it.” Dumont made it clear to The News that he, too, is a big believer in culture, and in specific traits the Mavericks want in players. “In my mind the way teams win is by focus, by having the right character, by having the right culture, and having the right dedication to work as hard as possible to create a championship-winning outcome,” Dumont said. “And if you’re not doing that, you’re going to lose.” Dumont’s tone again turned forceful. “If you look at the greats in the league, the people you and I grew up with — [Michael] Jordan, [Larry] Bird, Kobe [Bryant], Shaq [O’Neal] — they worked really hard, every day, with a singular focus to win,” he said. “And if you don’t have that, it doesn’t work. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t be part of the Dallas Mavericks. “That’s who we want. I’m unwavering on this. The entire organization knows this. This is how I operate outside of basketball. This is the only way to be competitive and win. If you want to take a vacation, don’t do it with us.” It was pointed out to Dumont that when people read those comments, the assumption will be he is inferring that Doncic did not fit those winning culture qualities. “Look, I think there’s a lot of things that come into play when you decide the roster of the team,” Dumont said. “And culture is very important. That’s what we’re focused on.”
