The Athletic: Inside the Mavericks front office, Mark Cuban’s shadow GM…

[SleepingHero]

Another interesting thing - Cato is really agresive in getting his info out. He has been on basically every Mavs podcast yesterday discussing the article - 77minutes, Locked on, Moneyball,...

Now is it because Cato is being aggressive, or is it because all the Mavs podcasters are trying to get more info from Cato on this bombshell story to make their own podcasts jump in ratings?

Probably a little bit of both. I don't think Cato making the rounds means there's an ulterior motive to this story that you're perhaps implying (if not then you can ignore what I'm saying).

[omahen]

. I don't think Cato making the rounds means there's an ulterior motive to this story that you're perhaps implying

I did throw that out as an option to think about. Perhaps it is just a cultural thing, but in Slovenia when an article comes out you always ask yourself who is behind it. There is usually an agenda behind the written words. Might be things are working differently in US.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

I forgot Justin Anderson, Shane Larkin, and a host of others.

Like Jae Crowder is the best example in a decade of someone we let go that we shouldn’t have.

Don't forget Shake Milton.

[Chicagojk]

I appreciate everyone who is summarizing podcasts.  Thank you.  I hope to be able to listen to some when I have more time.   It is interesting.   The initial big wow for me when I read the article was the scorn Luka seemed to have to Harlabob.    It seems like from Cato's podcasts appearances that it is really more of a nuanced piece discussing how the front office should operate with different factions having different ideas.    The Luka and Harlabob mentions almost seems out of place a little now.   Not saying there are not issues and dysfunction will certainly run Luka off in time, but it just feels like a battle who should have Cuban's ears behind closed doors.   

I have always disliked the MBT term.   I think something needs to be changed.   Although not sure much can change if Cuban insists he has the loudest voice in the room.

[Mavs2021]

I appreciate everyone who is summarizing podcasts.  Thank you.  I hope to be able to listen to some when I have more time.   It is interesting.   The initial big wow for me when I read the article was the scorn Luka seemed to have to Harlabob.    It seems like from Cato's podcasts appearances that it is really more of a nuanced piece discussing how the front office should operate with different factions having different ideas.    The Luka and Harlabob mentions almost seems out of place a little now.   Not saying there are not issues and dysfunction will certainly run Luka off in time, but it just feels like a battle who should have Cuban's ears behind closed doors.   

I have always disliked the MBT term.   I think something needs to be changed.   Although not sure much can change if Cuban insists he has the loudest voice in the room.

MBT is beautiful. It can stand for whatever you want. Mavs Brainless Trio, Mugs Be Trading, Must Be Terminated.

[ClutchDirk]

Must Be Trolling..

[ClutchDirk]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mavericks/comme...c/um_guys/

[Hypermav]

Cato's source is in this picture and he is the only one smiling. 

[StepBackJay]

LOL ya the article seems to leave Donnie out of the firing squad doesn't it? I don't think the source was Donnie, I don't see him doing something like that. I believe it was people loyal to Donnie, which could include Finley and others, scouts and so on who don't appreciate Bob kicking them out of the room draft night.

This Mavs FO has been terrible. We fail at plan powder over and over again. Mavs offer Crowder a contract with probably less years than Phx did and so now he's in the Western Conference Finals and Mavs lose in 7 games. The MBT can't fathom for whatever reason that when they sign good players they can flip them or dump them later on. Crowder was the definition of a high floor player that you weren't going to get "stuck" with. And instead we split the MLE on two borderline NBA players.

[ClutchDirk]

humax02
15h



[/url]Another clue is that this user is active on [url=https://www.reddit.com/r/nba]r/nba,r/mavericks and on r/billsimmons. He used to be on the Bill Simmons podcast a lot of times before coming at Mavs.
I think this might be Bob burner account

[hakeemfaan]

I liked Wright. Yes he could be maddening at times in that he seemed to lose confidence in his shot. But he is a skilled multi tool player at a bargain price. Not all guys have that alpha mentality. We could have still found a rotation spot for him.

[burekemde]

It must be hard for Luka to watch Trae Young and Ayton still playing in playoffs. Luka is a born winner if there ever was one. Luka is far better player than the two mentioned. Yet their team FO (hawks and suns) has surrounded them with both better players but also players that fit their playing style. 

There is no way you can compare cp3, booker, bogdanovic, collins, gallinari and capela to our depth. If Luka had few of those or even just.one we win over Clippers.

That being said I dont think Luka is someone running away from troubles. It will get fixed.

[michaeltex]

I disagree right there.

False attacks/reports can do more damage than accurate ones, they plant doubts which is dangerous. 
Narrative can be way more important than facts for many people, as you can see in any political scene, and it matters.
Players has families who aren't as smart as agents/executives etc, who might look at those reports and whispers to their son/husband etc to not go there. 
Honestly, I think this was normal response by Cuban.

OK, after reading the thread and some of the linked content I think this is a tempest in a teapot. A LOT of frustration that the team couldn't move out of the first round and it looks like the current makeup is Luka + pile of crap. (I know that's an overstatement, but just trying to capture current sentiment). So now a report comes out that this analytics guy, reporting only to Cuban, is pulling strings normally reserved to Donnie/RC resulting in poor personnel choices, and that Luka and some of the other players don't like him enough he's now isolated from the locker room. The most damning insight is the 2020 draft decisions, if true. 

This would all be just passing waves in the ocean, except that it has been spun that Luka is (maybe, possibly, could be) not happy with the Mavs as a whole. At least that is inferred just from the story title(s) and reading the content. Luka, who is possibly the brightest young star in the league (no offense intended to Trae, Ja or any of the other young players), now has the slightest possibility of being available. In reaction, all the other teams' writers go batshit crazy writing about their wet dreams of getting Luka into their city and the original story gets waaay more airtime that it deserves. Hell, there was an article citing 2-3 ways BOS could trade for Luka within a few hours of the Cato news breaking.

It's a slow time for the team, there is frustration that the team hasn't progressed from last year (some might say its regressed), we are ready to see something done with certain personnel to address the situation, but nothing can happen until later in July. This is true for not just DAL, but a lot of other organizations as well. BOS, LAL, POR, MEM, etc.

IMO, this is all FO stuff and may result in some changes (Bye Bye, Bob?). But that's the extent.

Worth discussing here, certainly. Worth watching to see if anything happens, probably. Worth worrying about affecting Luka's commitment to the team, probably not.

[StepBackJay]

To me the easy fix to this is waving goodbye to Bob but then Cubes will have to get control of his own ranks.

[ItsGoTime]

The easy way to find out who blew the whistle is to do what he did a few years ago amid a sexual harassment scandal. Clear the top end out and get new faces to head up the team side of things. Get someone in like Cynt that has the skins on the wall to go toe to toe with MC, and for goodness sake, don’t let it be a guy that MC gets drunk with one night playing cards and becomes his best friend!

It’s got to be a strained relationship if it’s gonna work because the guy to reign MC in has got to give him tough love.

[ItsGoTime]

The easy way to make this Mavs team better is for MC to run for President!

[Hypermav]

Worth worrying about affecting Luka's commitment to the team, probably not.

Agree

[vfromlmf]

So what's the deal with this Reddit poster named march19_2005plsquit ?

Don Nelson Sr resigned on March 19 2005

[ClutchDirk]

So what's the deal with this Reddit poster named march19_2005plsquit ?

Don Nelson Sr resigned on March 19 2005

One of his posts...

I'm friends with Bob and do not appreciate this orchestrated attack by Nelson and his clique

[dynamicalVoid]

Just want to give props to Mark during this troubling moment...

A lot of people bang on MBT and claim they want an overhaul.   Donnie doesnt have it anymore,  RC not hungry, the FO is too comfortable, etc...

If this story is true...it shows that Mark was trying some things behind closed doors.   Whether it worked or not is a different conversation....Mark was tinkering...which is good, imo.

I listend to the full hour and 10 mintues of Mark on Bill Simmons podcast a few months ago...in that podcast Mark mentions that every successful business is run by math guys these days.   Thats probably not entirely true...but you get it.   

We can sit here and bash Mark for hiring a gambler...but maybe this guy does have a unique way of seeing the game with his spreadsheets?  Im just glad Mark is tinkering behind closed doors.