08-05-2021, 04:29 PM
After reading the last couple pages of the thread, I would agree with what others have said that 1) our new playmaker doesn't have to be Dragic, but on the other hand, 2) if not him, who? Looks to me like the only player left on the FA board who would be adequate is Jackson, and that's going to entail a separate move or two to make happen (i.e. the pivot to operating under-the-cap).
I mean, look - we all know that Brunson is pretty decent at generating his own shot, but we've also seen that he's iffy at getting teammates involved. He's not good enough for the role he's filling right now. All of the best teams in the league have at least two players whose presence makes you guard them. We've also seen that the Mavs have fallen apart catastrophically without Luka on the floor. I know there's all of the calls for Luka to improve his conditioning, but even if he becomes the world's most fit athlete, no player in the league is expected to carry a team for 48 minutes a game. We need an additional player who can 1) create his own shot, and 2) get his other teammates involved. I don't know how good Dragic is at 1) at this stage of his career, but he's far better than anything else we have aside from Luka at 2). I see him as a placeholder for until this FFO gets their poop together.
Then there's the issue of placating Luka. After what's happened on the FA front these past four days, dynamically placating him is a team need. We're skating on thin ice. ML, with all due respect, I was disappointed with your post about the issue of Luka wanting Dragic vs. Luka demanding Dragic. At this point, the NMBT would be gravely foolish to regard anything worded as the former as not having the weight of the latter. If Luka wants Dragic, make it so.
I will admit that if Toronto is demanding Brunson, DFS, or a future first for Dragic, they're off their rocker, and all of us would be pretty furious with that if it happened. But if the Mavs aren't going to get Dragic, by buyout or trade, they'd better scramble for plan Z real darn quick. To go into next season without another playmaker is to punt the season - if they haven't already done so by not achieving enough this offseason.
I mean, look - we all know that Brunson is pretty decent at generating his own shot, but we've also seen that he's iffy at getting teammates involved. He's not good enough for the role he's filling right now. All of the best teams in the league have at least two players whose presence makes you guard them. We've also seen that the Mavs have fallen apart catastrophically without Luka on the floor. I know there's all of the calls for Luka to improve his conditioning, but even if he becomes the world's most fit athlete, no player in the league is expected to carry a team for 48 minutes a game. We need an additional player who can 1) create his own shot, and 2) get his other teammates involved. I don't know how good Dragic is at 1) at this stage of his career, but he's far better than anything else we have aside from Luka at 2). I see him as a placeholder for until this FFO gets their poop together.
Then there's the issue of placating Luka. After what's happened on the FA front these past four days, dynamically placating him is a team need. We're skating on thin ice. ML, with all due respect, I was disappointed with your post about the issue of Luka wanting Dragic vs. Luka demanding Dragic. At this point, the NMBT would be gravely foolish to regard anything worded as the former as not having the weight of the latter. If Luka wants Dragic, make it so.
I will admit that if Toronto is demanding Brunson, DFS, or a future first for Dragic, they're off their rocker, and all of us would be pretty furious with that if it happened. But if the Mavs aren't going to get Dragic, by buyout or trade, they'd better scramble for plan Z real darn quick. To go into next season without another playmaker is to punt the season - if they haven't already done so by not achieving enough this offseason.
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