(11-20-2019, 10:27 AM)SportPsychMav Wrote: If you watch him as a 16/17 year old he literally plays exactly the same.
If anything Rick didn't hinder his development which is an accomplishment in itself, he stepped out of his way.
And the frontoffice cleared the path for him by trading all the egos who stood in his way as well.
Everyone still on the team isn't staying in his way anymore.
Luka was a veteran and professional player as a rookie, of course Rick likes him. He also likes seasoned rookies.
He is a special person, not everyone fits with him, but it would be very weird to say he developed Luka.
He likes a certain type of personality and work ethic in his players, a level of maturity.
Luka is a unique mix of boy/youth/child and old man player.
I give Rick credit for enabling, but not for developing him.
"Special players like this need to be trusted," Carlisle says.
That's what Rick deserves a lot of credit for in my opinion.
Luka is better than he was last season. He is developing.
I'm not trying to argue the Rick is responsible for what Luka is. If you don't like the word "develop" as applied to Luka, that's fine. Or if you want to say that Luka is primarily responsible for his own development, I won't argue against that.
The discussion about whether Rick can develop young players is an old one around here. If folks want to engage in that discussion then I think the Mavs' approach to undrafted players and second rounders over the last few years, what Rick has done with those players, and the fact that many of those players are currently contributing to a winning record with the Mavs is a powerful argument. But I'm fine with including Rick's work with Luka as well. Rick doesn't just tell Luka to do whatever he wants. He still coaches Luka.