06-18-2021, 08:37 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-18-2021, 08:59 AM by HanspardsShowerVoice.)
I know people are skeptical, but I think the Mavs job can be very appealing to Ujiri. The reason he's (prossibly) leaving Toronto is he is upset that Toronto's owners haven't done everything possible to make Toronto a premiere NBA franchise.
""But yeah, there is a lot of work to be done, honestly. I don't want to call out anybody here. But there is a lot of work we need to address. And, to be honest, me being back here, there is going to be a lot of things I have to address with ownership in terms of some of those things we need to really address with Toronto."
And no doubt Cuban might can be hard to work with and has a gigantic ego, but he'll leave no stone unturned to give the Mavs advantage. From being on the cutting edge of analytics to hiring Casey Smith to head the strength and condititoning/training staff, etc. Cuban will go all out. I think Cuban's reputation around the league as an owner is held in a lot higher esteem than it is among Mav fans and Dallas media. I think Ujiri is particularly bitter about Toronto having to play all year in Tampa, and reading between the lines it seems like he feels that the Raptors ownership didn't do enough to push on the league or the politicians whoever to remedy the situation. Cuban has no problems throwing a huge bitch to the league or whoever to go to bat for the Mavs.
Second of all, with Carlisle and Donnie gone and Voulgaris not under contract, he'll basically have a blank slate to build the infrastructure of the franchise how he wants it from the coaching staff to the scouting department to the analytics. He's not forced to inherit anyone.
Third of all, for all Cuban's faults, he is loyal to his guys ... almost to a fault, and offers organizational stability. The previous President/GM was been given 24 years with the franchise. The head coach was been given 13. After not getting past the 1st round of the playoffs in over 10 years, neither the firing of the Head Coach or the General Manager should be shocking but it is because Cuban doesn't like these kinds of changes. The next General Manager doesn't have to worry about the Owner waking up on the wrong side of the bed after a bad loss and firing you while you're halfway into implementing your organizational game plan.
Fourth of all ... he'll have a generational 22 year old superstar under contract for 4-5 seasons. Ujiri has already been to the Mountain Top, and now that's what he expects. He's not happy just being competitive and comfortable (see below). And you can't win an NBA Championship without a Luka caliber player, and they don't just call 1-800-GENERATIONAL-SUPERSTAR and order one off a catalog. Particularly if you don't play in the New York or California markets, and those gigs are currently taken. The Mavs have roster problems, but it's finding players #2-#5. You can find those guys, but you're not just stumbling into a Luka. Look how fast Morey took that Sixers job after leaving the Rockets and why? Because Embiid and Simmons were waiting there. And Embiid and Simmons were flawed as a pairing, and they're still flawed as we're finding in the playoffs, but at the end of the day these talents are rare and it's better to have them and have to figure out what to do with them than not have them and try finding them.
Look at this recent Ujiri quote and you can see where his head is at ....
Let me tell you something, guys: Everybody has forgotten what happened two years ago. OK, yes, we won. But nobody cares anymore, OK? We want to win another one. That's what you want to do. Yeah, you want to prepare yourself to win another one. Not play in the play-in game, not play in the playoffs, you want to win a championship. Everybody's like, 'Why don't you get into the play-in?' Play-in for what? We want to win a championship here, and we have to put ourselves in position.
Now the crux is how he will get along with Cuban ... and this is just a hunch of mine, but I think Cuban will be more amenable to giving the next GM/Team President more control than people think. This isn't 2005 anymore. Now he's a 63 year old man with a family and other interests like crypto or possibly politics. He's been running the Mavs like an internet start up that he built with his frat buddies and putting in that time commitment. But now, with all the sexual harassment scandals and this latest drama it's just been a series of headaches. I think he wants to step away from being at the socks and jocks level of running the organization and just enjoy his expensive toy and enjoy the the fun stuff like throwing a party at the games like Steve Ballmer and Joseph Lacob do. He just has to know that there is someone competent to hand it off to. Otherwise, why not just stick with Donnie?
""But yeah, there is a lot of work to be done, honestly. I don't want to call out anybody here. But there is a lot of work we need to address. And, to be honest, me being back here, there is going to be a lot of things I have to address with ownership in terms of some of those things we need to really address with Toronto."
And no doubt Cuban might can be hard to work with and has a gigantic ego, but he'll leave no stone unturned to give the Mavs advantage. From being on the cutting edge of analytics to hiring Casey Smith to head the strength and condititoning/training staff, etc. Cuban will go all out. I think Cuban's reputation around the league as an owner is held in a lot higher esteem than it is among Mav fans and Dallas media. I think Ujiri is particularly bitter about Toronto having to play all year in Tampa, and reading between the lines it seems like he feels that the Raptors ownership didn't do enough to push on the league or the politicians whoever to remedy the situation. Cuban has no problems throwing a huge bitch to the league or whoever to go to bat for the Mavs.
Second of all, with Carlisle and Donnie gone and Voulgaris not under contract, he'll basically have a blank slate to build the infrastructure of the franchise how he wants it from the coaching staff to the scouting department to the analytics. He's not forced to inherit anyone.
Third of all, for all Cuban's faults, he is loyal to his guys ... almost to a fault, and offers organizational stability. The previous President/GM was been given 24 years with the franchise. The head coach was been given 13. After not getting past the 1st round of the playoffs in over 10 years, neither the firing of the Head Coach or the General Manager should be shocking but it is because Cuban doesn't like these kinds of changes. The next General Manager doesn't have to worry about the Owner waking up on the wrong side of the bed after a bad loss and firing you while you're halfway into implementing your organizational game plan.
Fourth of all ... he'll have a generational 22 year old superstar under contract for 4-5 seasons. Ujiri has already been to the Mountain Top, and now that's what he expects. He's not happy just being competitive and comfortable (see below). And you can't win an NBA Championship without a Luka caliber player, and they don't just call 1-800-GENERATIONAL-SUPERSTAR and order one off a catalog. Particularly if you don't play in the New York or California markets, and those gigs are currently taken. The Mavs have roster problems, but it's finding players #2-#5. You can find those guys, but you're not just stumbling into a Luka. Look how fast Morey took that Sixers job after leaving the Rockets and why? Because Embiid and Simmons were waiting there. And Embiid and Simmons were flawed as a pairing, and they're still flawed as we're finding in the playoffs, but at the end of the day these talents are rare and it's better to have them and have to figure out what to do with them than not have them and try finding them.
Look at this recent Ujiri quote and you can see where his head is at ....
Let me tell you something, guys: Everybody has forgotten what happened two years ago. OK, yes, we won. But nobody cares anymore, OK? We want to win another one. That's what you want to do. Yeah, you want to prepare yourself to win another one. Not play in the play-in game, not play in the playoffs, you want to win a championship. Everybody's like, 'Why don't you get into the play-in?' Play-in for what? We want to win a championship here, and we have to put ourselves in position.
Now the crux is how he will get along with Cuban ... and this is just a hunch of mine, but I think Cuban will be more amenable to giving the next GM/Team President more control than people think. This isn't 2005 anymore. Now he's a 63 year old man with a family and other interests like crypto or possibly politics. He's been running the Mavs like an internet start up that he built with his frat buddies and putting in that time commitment. But now, with all the sexual harassment scandals and this latest drama it's just been a series of headaches. I think he wants to step away from being at the socks and jocks level of running the organization and just enjoy his expensive toy and enjoy the the fun stuff like throwing a party at the games like Steve Ballmer and Joseph Lacob do. He just has to know that there is someone competent to hand it off to. Otherwise, why not just stick with Donnie?