06-18-2021, 04:19 PM
(06-18-2021, 04:14 PM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: KP looked better than ever prior to the 2nd injury. He wasn´t happy with his role but it´s not like he was a low maintenance guy in NY. Don´t think you can blame the coaches or even the GM for his decline. He simply wasn´t good. Of course that is going to tank his value. What are the options. Feature KP and risk a worse record. Luka probably won´t like that. Not an option. Go with the Mavs approach and limit his role. That´s basically the middle ground. Bench him. Let him recover and hope that he can improve when he comes back. KP won´t like that. He thinks he is ready to be a star player.
In hindsight it is easy to say that the Mavs panicked and rushed his return. Would he have more value if he had missed another season but looked like an allstar when he last played?
His integration back into the offense is a failing of Rick's. How Rick and the organization managed Luka and KP's relationship is a failing. I don't think Rick coached Luka very well either. He went from being too stringent to not being able to reign him in.
KP got what, 10 shot attempts in the playoffs? Yes, his confidence looked busted and he passed up open looks, but I think that's more of a biproduct of regular season failings and not working to get your max players involved in the offense consistently. I put most of that blame on Luka for being a bad teammate to KP (not to be confused with being a bad teammate as a whole) and Carlisle for not being able to coach his players.