2021-2022 MAVS NEWS: 4th in West | WCF loss [ARCHIVED]

[mavsluvr]

Takeaways:

1. Bob sounds like the arrogant social misfit he’s reported to be. Didn’t even care what happened because he had already decided he wanted out. Which apparently happened right after he started getting competitive with Donnie because Donnie had acted, subtly, like he wanted Bob gone. Right.

2. Bob’s data—not Bob—was dictating lineups to Carlisle. Probably because Carlisle is a genius and Bob’s data was awesome. Uh huh. Sure.

3. Donnie, indirectly it seems, was burning bridges on his way out, helping Cato with his article and torching his chances to GM elsewhere in the NBA. 

Is anyone surprised to see another soap-opera attack on Mavs management rather than basketball analysis on ESPN? I’m ready to quit clicking their links.

I get your frustration, but I think I have a little different take. As a preface, I don't have a dog in this hunt -- just trying to convey a sense of what is being reported. 

Regarding your comments --

1. Bob has admitted his abrasive personality isn't for everyone. Did say that he tried to fit in at first, until Cuban made it clear that was exactly what Cuban didn't want him to do. Said Cuban knew there were deficiencies in the organization, and specifically wanted Bob to call them out. 

2.  Not sure I understand what you are saying there. Believe his point was that Bob had input, but no one dictated anything to Carlisle except Cuban. [Other sources have suggested that Rick thought he "had" to follow Bob's recommendations absent a clear reason not to. We don't have enough information to judge that one way or another, but that very fact is an indication that there were some organizational problems with communication.]

3. Donnie was not technically a source for Cato, according to Bob. However, Bob thinks that someone with Donnie's blessing chose to execute a "suicide" mission with those leaks and take Bob down with him. To my mind, Bob's one-sided report is just one more piece of information seeming to indicate a certain level of organizational dysfunction. 


I am certainly not here to be an apologist for ESPN, but I wouldn't characterize this as an "attack" on Mavs management. Many fans find these front-office issues interesting, and I think they were just reporting Bob's views on the matter. If Donnie would agree to an interview, I'm sure they would be equally happy to relay his side of the situation. I didn't get a sense that ESPN was expressing a view of its own, for or against Cuban. I think it's hard to really fault a news organization for reporting the news. 

Of course, I think I understand why you consider this type of article distasteful, and you are certainly well within your rights to stop clicking on those links. In my mind, the continued reporting of this situation isn't just rehashing the past, since it is somewhat of a baseline for determining to what extent these problems are solved by the changes in personnel or whether they still remain.