Tank watch for the last ten days of the season

[DanSchwartzgan]

And notice all the guys you listed, Tatum was the highest pick at 3. It’s unlikely that the top-4 guys 3 become busts, but you never really know. I do think this draft is gonna have some studs coming out that are picked in the 10’s and 20’s.

Agreed.  Trading down for multiple picks would make some sense.  Personally, I'd also be fine with trading out of the draft for more of a known quantity.  Is there a RFA in 2027 whose team might not be able to afford them?  Anthony Black?  Cason Wallace?  There is more than one way to skin a cat.

Note that only 3 on the 2017 list were in the vaunted Top 8.  Remember all the talk that the Mav's were drafting 9th in an 8 player draft.  Most of that Top 8 turned out to be trash.  We have a Top 2 player from the 2018 draft on our roster currently making the minimum.  The surety of getting a sure-fire running mate for Flagg is not nearly as high as we'd like to think.

[loki]

I'm not that broken up about potentially missing out on Wagler, Brown, or Flemings since I think Philon is better anyway. It could end up being a blessing in disguise. But not maximizing their chances at moving up for a legit star to pair with Flagg is pretty inexcusable. The ping pong balls are going to have to bail them out again. I hope the new GM cleans house, including Finley and Riccardi.

[Dahlsim]

@Dan: Yup you pointed to that info plenty.

The Mavs planned to halfass the tank all year the and now they got their preferred result. 

That’s 100% on Finley and Riccardi.

That is also proof that they are not the right guys for this job Imo. Trading for Tyus, playing Middleton instead of buying him out, waiting too long to trade AD and not selling off any of the remaining veterans. They were also too proud to shut anybody down early.

Just two guys scared to make the call. I hope they finally get fired after this mess of a season.

The lottery can still save the Mavs but these two are the poster boys of a passive front office that is never gonna get the job done.

Right.  In terms of a tank war, it never should have come down to the last game of the season against an impossible-to-out-tank team like CHI. Esp. true for a franchise that has traded away its potential for lottery picks for the next few years. 

[Mavs2021]

Agreed.  Trading down for multiple picks would make some sense.  Personally, I'd also be fine with trading out of the draft for more of a known quantity.  Is there a RFA in 2027 whose team might not be able to afford them?  Anthony Black?  Cason Wallace?  There is more than one way to skin a cat.

Note that only 3 on the 2017 list were in the vaunted Top 8.  Remember all the talk that the Mav's were drafting 9th in an 8 player draft.  Most of that Top 8 turned out to be trash.  We have a Top 2 player from the 2018 draft on our roster currently making the minimum.  The surety of getting a sure-fire running mate for Flagg is not nearly as high as we'd like to think.

But that draft mostly fell apart on non-basketball matters. Teams have gotten much better imho profiling personalities and health.

Fultz with his shoulder condition/mental problems.
Ball had the messed up knee.
Jackson with his legal troubles.
Isaac with his injury history and coming to Jesus moment.
Malik Monk with his drug issues.

So basically from the top 14 picks, the only two that were "busts" for basketball reasons as far as we know were Ntilikina and DSJ. Everybody knew coming in that Ntilikina and DSJ could not shoot. That was the big gamble and they never learned how to. They still had seven year NBA careers and Ntilikina now playing for the absolute top tier teams in Europe. Also think DSJ has had awful agents or just not the personality for it, but he could probably be in Europe or China making more money than in the G-League.

There are not that many basketball related flops at the top of the draft anymore. You basically find the best players in the lottery. There is maybe one exception in every recent draft.

2018 Jalen Brunson.
2019 it probably was Goga Bitadze until NAW blew up.
2020 Tyrese Maxey.
2021 Sengun (I said before the draft he should be top 5) and Jalen Johnson
2022 Kessler, Eason, Watson, Braun ?
2023 George

Obviously depends on the draft class how far the good players last, but it´s really hard to find special players outside the lottery, since all teams have gotten so good. What I find interesting is that there seems to a trap region 7-11ish in very good draft classes, where teams feel obligated to reach for what a player could be on paper (like Ntilikina/DSJ) if they learn one crucial skill.

[Mavs2021]

Right.  In terms of a tank war, it never should have come down to the last game of the season against an impossible-to-out-tank team like CHI. Esp. true for a franchise that has traded away its potential for lottery picks for the next few years. 

They should have lost the Lakers game. Every other team managed to lose to Le Lakers even without Doncic/Reaves. I called exactly how the whole game would play out before it happened. Just like the Portland game they should have never taken a lead against those fragile teams. They could have easily finished 6th alone.

Also I secretly want Atlanta to get the #1 pick, take Dybantsa and then the NBA announce that they relocate the Pelicans b****rds to the East, so they have to see him four times a year for the next decade. I really see no other reason for these clowns to tank except keeping a top player out of their conference.

[Dahlsim]

They should have lost the Lakers game. Every other team managed to lose to Le Lakers even without Doncic/Reaves. I called exactly how the whole game would play out before it happened. Just like the Portland game they should have never taken a lead against those fragile teams. They could have easily finished 6th alone. ... 

The +/- of Jason Kidd.   He's a hall of fame competitor and proud NBA Champion Maverick that always played hard  known also for his elite high BBIQ. Clearly those are all +++ attributes for an NBA Coach, unless ...., the franchise gets into a tank war.   Add to that for Kidd, the team was the Lakers