04-22-2022, 12:08 PM
I think the media (and even the fan base to a degree) assumed every player not named Luca was little more than a rotation player. I think this team was always better and had more talent than it got credit for. Even when Luca injured his calf, there were media guys saying this wasn't much more than a lottery team. So a lot of people bought the hype - which amounted to a team known as "Luca and some other guys".
Kidd was also underestimated. Probably because you couldn't measure what he had learned in Los Angeles as an assistant coach. People mostly just saw his failings as a head coach from years earlier. But if you read at all, there were a lot of players in LA who said Kidd was instrumental in building trust with the players. There were also some head coaches like Carlisle who thought he was ready for another chance. We - the fan base - were just reluctant to see that.
So really, the answer to the question is clearly both things.
Kidd was also underestimated. Probably because you couldn't measure what he had learned in Los Angeles as an assistant coach. People mostly just saw his failings as a head coach from years earlier. But if you read at all, there were a lot of players in LA who said Kidd was instrumental in building trust with the players. There were also some head coaches like Carlisle who thought he was ready for another chance. We - the fan base - were just reluctant to see that.
So really, the answer to the question is clearly both things.
![[-]](https://www.mavsboard.com/images/collapse.png)