(07-01-2021, 03:14 PM)Kammrath Wrote: I am becoming more convinced the more I ponder stuff that Donnie and RC did not have generally good eyes for talent.
Luka is one of the sole exceptions and I think I saw a report that Voulgaris was already advising at that time (in some form or fashion) and was pushing for Luka (though I don't doubt Donnie wanted Luka as well).
In the RC era their best draft picks outside of Luka and JB (which I think you are right to identify as "luck") were the ones they drafted on behalf of OTHER teams.
"Eye for talent" is the area the Mavs need to improve the most in...I am hopeful that things are about to get much better. But time will tell.
It's hard to say whether the problem was (a) the eye for talent of Donnie, TC, or both, (b) the development setup to turn potential into reality, or © the willingness of the upper-est management to allocate resources (ie, roster space, scouting dollars, skills teachers, and more) to create a pipeline of talent. But there's no question that such things haven't been better than other NBA teams, and it's on Cuban that he's let it languish so long.
I'm not convinced he has really changed that, however. It's not like he's replaced Donnie and RC with guys who are known to have a better eye for talent, or understanding and plan for development. Nico is clueless, and a babe in the woods in such matters - and who is here to teach him? Cuban? There's no Riley or West or Ujiri or Pop/Buford here that's been doing this forever with excellence.
On the idea that Bob was the one who found Luka and got him to Dallas, that's just nonsense. Luka was Donnie's baby from back long before Bob was around; Luka clearly has no affinity for Bob; and Bob wasn't even hired by the Mavs until 4 months after Luka was drafted. Sounds like one of those made up stories by someone with an agenda to make Bob look good and others look bad, in the recent chaos, even if it takes pure fiction to do it (not saying you). Maybe someone wanted to try to save face for Bob since his foray into draft control seemed so sucky in 2020?