**Official Luka Doncic Thread**

[daeve]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

They had to trade KP.

He didn’t fit the offense.
He couldn’t play defense.
He couldn’t stay healthy.
He made too much money to have all those limitations.

They had to do something. Dinwiddie was great last year. Not so much right now. Wood has been great in spurts, but oddly still gets held back by Kidd.

When you look at this roster, you can see they’re going nowhere. Last year they started slow, but it was different. The defense was good. They just had shooting woes and Luka was fat. Fixable issues. I don’t think what they are dealing with now is fixable.

he's playing really good defense this year though... and he's sitting 17th in the league in EPM.

It should maybe be a bit concerning that they couldn't make it work in Dallas

[smalltown]

Originally Posted by TSonn

maybe the Mavs can make a play...

Problem with this is the Mavs and any trade is they have no real immediate assets to trade. No picks in this coming draft. No interesting young players. No underpaid/over-performing vets.

They also have no cap space. It's why they brought in a guy like Campazzo and then waived him to bring in Walker. They don't have a lot of flexibility to make roster moves.

Any trade would have to be a heavy future pick over pay and that will cripple them going forward. They're not in a good space for the next couple years.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by daeve

he's playing really good defense this year though... and he's sitting 17th in the league in EPM.

It should maybe be a bit concerning that they couldn't make it work in Dallas

What was his EPM with the Mavs last year? What was it in 2020-21?

The guy missed 70 of 203 possible games with the Mavs, not including the playoff games he missed. He was out all the time. They had to move on. Can’t count on a guy like that.

[NBAicons]

Originally Posted by smalltown

Problem with this is the Mavs and any trade is they have no real immediate assets to trade. No picks in this coming draft. No interesting young players. No underpaid/over-performing vets.

They also have no cap space. It's why they brought in a guy like Campazzo and then waived him to bring in Walker. They don't have a lot of flexibility to make roster moves.

Any trade would have to be a heavy future pick over pay and that will cripple them going forward. They're not in a good space for the next couple years.

Really good points that many people probably don’t realize. I’m not sure I see Luka ever winning a chip with the Mavs.

[Asian62150]

Unless you're a huge market and all-star FAs flock to you or demand a trade to your team, you have to build through the draft.

First you need draft picks (Mavs don't have many as others have said), then you need to use those picks wisely (Mavs don't have a good track record of drafting or developing well).

And I don't mean taking Luka with the 3rd pick. You gotta find the Kawhi/Klay/Giannis in the middle of the 1st round, the Jimmy Butler at the end of the 1st round, the Draymond Green and Ginobili in the 2nd round.

Objectively, the best thing for the Mavs is if Luka gets hurt and sits out the season. Mavs get the 1st overall pick and Wemby and Luka can win 5 out of the next 10 championships. Luka's comeback and the Mavs "resurgence" would lock up the MVP, too.

I'd hate to see Luka get hurt, but that's the clearest path to being a long term contender.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by TSonn

If the Bulls blow it up - maybe the Mavs can make a play for DeRozan. IMO - he'd be a great addition as a guy who can get his own shot consistently and take some pressure off Luka. There's even that clip from all star weekend last year where Luka and DeMar are joking around about DeMar never missing a jumper.

THJ+Ntilikina+picks/fillers for DeRozan

Luka
DeMar
Bullock
DFS
Powell

With Dinwiddie leading the bench crew (Kleber, Green, McGee, Hardy) and getting minutes in crunch time if he's cooking.

What's in this for the Bulls?

-Terrible contract
-League minimum guys who's only played 29 mins this season
-Picks. But with THJ being a negative asset, how many first rounders would you have to include for this guy? It would be a lot.

Honestly, I don't think Dallas can trade for an established all star level guy. Best bet is for the front office to try to pull off some magic and take talent in order to grease another team's deal, the way Cleveland did when they got Jarrett Allen for the Milwaukee Bucks' 1st round pick.

But that won't be easy.

I won't say that there is no way they can improve this roster in the short term, but the front office is going to need to be smarter than everyone else.

[TSonn]

Originally Posted by tjforce

What's in this for the Bulls?

-Terrible contract
-League minimum guys who's only played 29 mins this season
-Picks. But with THJ being a negative asset, how many first rounders would you have to include for this guy? It would be a lot.

Honestly, I don't think Dallas can trade for an established all star level guy. Best bet is for the front office to try to pull off some magic and take talent in order to grease another team's deal, the way Cleveland did when they got Jarrett Allen for the Milwaukee Bucks' 1st round pick.

But that won't be easy.

I won't say that there is no way they can improve this roster in the short term, but the front office is going to need to be smarter than everyone else.

Yeah it's tough. I'm sure other teams can offer a better package than Dallas. It might have to be Powell (expiring), Green (upside young player), and a whole lot of picks + salary filler.

I see someone suggested something similar over on SBNATION - that'd be a huge deal.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by TSonn

Yeah it's tough. I'm sure other teams can offer a better package than Dallas. It might have to be Powell (expiring), Green (upside young player), and a whole lot of picks + salary filler.

I see someone suggested something similar over on SBNATION - that'd be a huge deal.

Different sport, so bear with me, but it might make sense for the Mavericks to take a book out of what the Kansas City Chiefs did when they traded away superstar Tyreek Hill and used the cap space to surround Mahomes with a mix of reclamation projects and salary cap casualties and now have the NFL's #1 offense.

What I mean by that is instead of trying to find an all star running mate to put next to Luka, try to find 3-4 solid support guys. My guess is that Luka with a team of players around him that can all hold their onw will be tough, even if it's far from a super team.

Now how exactly do they do it? That's why their front office makes the big bucks. Most most every year you see some team make some savvy deals to improve the roster.

[Moneychrome20]

Originally Posted by TSonn

If the Bulls blow it up - maybe the Mavs can make a play for DeRozan. IMO - he'd be a great addition as a guy who can get his own shot consistently and take some pressure off Luka. There's even that clip from all star weekend last year where Luka and DeMar are joking around about DeMar never missing a jumper.

THJ+Ntilikina+picks/fillers for DeRozan

Luka
DeMar
Bullock
DFS
Powell

With Dinwiddie leading the bench crew (Kleber, Green, McGee, Hardy) and getting minutes in crunch time if he's cooking.

Derozan for that trash?

[tjforce]

The resurgence of THJ here lately

[ccssports713]

Originally Posted by tjforce

The resurgence of THJ here lately

Really the Mavs only chance is to play better from within. I love all these scenarios to get a Derozan type player. Zero percent chance of getting a guy of that caliber with assets the next few years.

THJ and Bullock have to be better, Kidd has to figure out his rotations and the last part is hoping a Kemba Walker or similar player can find a way to play like it's 2015!

Outside the box thinking: looking at Bulls roster, may be worth taking a flyer on a Coby White type player. Trade under performing for under performing hoping to add a spark. A type of player that has shown flashes but hasn't done much lately. A lot of season left but the Mavs have lost a lot of games they should have won so far, hopefully they can get things rolling.

[clocsta2323]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

Unless you're a huge market and all-star FAs flock to you or demand a trade to your team, you have to build through the draft.

First you need draft picks (Mavs don't have many as others have said), then you need to use those picks wisely (Mavs don't have a good track record of drafting or developing well).

And I don't mean taking Luka with the 3rd pick. You gotta find the Kawhi/Klay/Giannis in the middle of the 1st round, the Jimmy Butler at the end of the 1st round, the Draymond Green and Ginobili in the 2nd round.

Objectively, the best thing for the Mavs is if Luka gets hurt and sits out the season. Mavs get the 1st overall pick and Wemby and Luka can win 5 out of the next 10 championships. Luka's comeback and the Mavs "resurgence" would lock up the MVP, too.

I'd hate to see Luka get hurt, but that's the clearest path to being a long term contender.

dude this is the absolute dumbest thing i've ever seen transferred from mind to paper

[daeve]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

What was his EPM with the Mavs last year? What was it in 2020-21?

The guy missed 70 of 203 possible games with the Mavs, not including the playoff games he missed. He was out all the time. They had to move on. Can’t count on a guy like that.

fair - but it caps their ceiling, same thing that not re-signing Brunson does... and kind of why they're in their current predicament.

[jrnelson]

My latest Luke pickup and it's now my new favorite Luka card!! Big Thanks to fellow Luka collector dkcardman for the card!

[BigSeph]

Originally Posted by 2010GBPackers

No, but Giannis improved different aspects of his game each year until he became the best player in the league.

Don't get all bent out of shape about your boy.

Tell me, is Luka progressing, regressing, or plateauing?

I meant the inner drive to learn how to play without having to dominate the ball. The self-awareness that being the focal point for everything on offense leads to your teammates being bored and less energetic. The inner drive to get better at defense. Can you imagine what it's like for teammates to just stand around and watch Luka dribble the air out of the ball every possession?

Giannis' roster improved from him and Middleton, then him and Middleton and Brook Lopez, then him and Middleton and Brook Lopez and Jrue Holliday, then him and Middleton and Brook Lopez and Jrue Holliday and Bobby Portis.

Luka would KILL to have that supporting cast, which is what it finally took for Giannis to win one.

Watching Mavs games is watching one guy carrying a bunch of dead weight to close finishes and exhaust himself in the process. It's watching Reggie Bullock go 1-8 from 3, Finney-Smith go 1-7 from 3, and Dwight Powell brick layups and set screens and do nothing else.

Do you know what the Mavs success depends on? A single streaky shooter being hot. I bet their winning % when Tim Hardaway hits 8 or more 3s is close to 1.000.

That has NOTHING to do with Luka Doncic. That's a roster problem.

[TSonn]

Originally Posted by Moneychrome20

Derozan for that trash?

Better than what the Lakers could offer.

[Lone Wulf]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/364070461241

So what do we think is going on with this one? Just straight up fake? Any chance this thing is actually real? Back door copy? Regardless, it doesn't appear it would get through ebay's authentication. I am not bidding on it, just curious since it came up during a search - if it was real it would obviously be a monster card.

Love the description from the seller though lol: I AM ASSUMING THIS IS A REPRINT BECAUSE I GOT IT CHEAP

[Moneychrome20]

Originally Posted by TSonn

Better than what the Lakers could offer.

That’s like saying one pile of crap looks better than the other

Neither one have a shot at demar

[MrAnonymous]

Redemptions replacement finally filled...

[al3xmac10]

Mavs lead Suns 33-15 after 1st qtr:
don't let up.

[al3xmac10]

Don't let up

[RogerGodahell]

Hardy, the kid is special. 10 points in a min 'n a half. Time to make him the 3rd ball handler if they want to play to their full potential. They need him. He's a natural born scorer. Forget about Kemba and D.Rose play the kid.

[Bronconation24]

This kid is the mvp. Imagine if Cuban gave him another top 250 player beside him

[sethc1020]

Reading through a lot of the comments they are the exact same comments as last year at the beginning of the season. The sky is falling, everyone on the roster other than Luka sucks, this team isn't going anywhere, Luka will be gone in a few years, ect. ect..

Luka is playing at an MVP level and was phenomenal last night plus the team is starting to play better. I know its been an up and down start to the season but this is what happens when you add new players like Wood & McGee as well as getting THJ back in the mix. Similar happened last year except it was Kidd that was new. As a coach you have to run scenarios, plays, schemes and situations with different lineups to see what works best and how players respond. As the season goes on I think everything is going to shake out very similar as last year with Dallas a top 3-5 team in the West and making a strong Finals push especially if Green continues to mature. They are sitting at 12-11 as of right now, which sounds really bad until you realize they are only 4 games out of 1st place in the West.

I do agree that at some point they have to bring up Hardy but they don't need to rush it just yet. Let him continue to build his confidence up and when the time is right bring him up.

So just as I said last year about this time to all the Sky is Falling people, Dallas is going to be just fine and will be a team nobody will look forward to facing in the playoffs.

[RogerGodahell]

Look at what Hardy did in 1:45. Granted it was garbage mins but he was clearly the best player on the floor. So quick and smooth. I see him bumping into other players bodies to get separation on the inside finish. He's got 15 points in 9 mins of the last 2 games. He's too good for them to sit any longer especially when they're in desperate need of someone with his offensive abilities. Sure looks like a top 20 pick to me, i think they were right about that. I hope that opened Kidd's eyes and they start playing him more.