MAVERICKS 139, PELICANS 107

[omahen]

But then again, if Luka/KP figure out how to play offense together more consistently, Brunson continues to shine and they can get THJ right again (whether starting or off the bench) they might be closer than we think.

I think an awful lot of things would have to go perfect. That rarely happens. 

I agree, Lowry or someone else impactful on that level would've been amazing. They tried and couldn't get it done. That's on them, and I'm not saying we should just let them off the hook for it.

Most of us thought Mavs are one (very) good but not necessarily star player away from being serious contender. Combined with keeping the team, which based on how Miami got Lowry, would be realistically possible. But since they wiffed on Lowry or similar level of player, I wonder if the chosen strategy was really optimal. I said in the summer - when I look at this team I see a low ceiling team with limited available minutes for developmental players. Wouldn't perhaps make more sense (after Lowry didn't come through) to recognize two role players are not enough to make Dallas a contender so an alternative strategy is to develop assets. Perhaps target younger players with higher ceiling like THT, Caruso, Korkmaz, Monk? Spotlight a couple of own young players. Why the hell they didn't target Holmes since they value a center so much is beyond me. I find it quite difficult to accept that Bullock/Brown equals Lowry in terms of raising Mavs ceiling which they are trying to convince us.

You were also high on DeRozan, and I was not, but if I had known the offense was going to go in the direction it has this season, I might've thought differently about him, too. He's having a tremendous impact in Chicago, for sure. Still, guys like that don't want to come here to play with Luka yet, for whatever reason. I think that's pretty clear.

Not that I was high on him, I thought that he will be the target. Mavs really need to dig deep and recognize why good players prefer a team like Chicago (bottom of the league) than Dallas. The league is more and more player driven. It is not enough to convince a FA. Even players with contract can influence a lot where they will be traded to. At least of course the players that matter. Recruiting is crucial.

Btw. SnT seems to be the game lately and price for SnT (UFA ones) is of course much lower than trading for a guy with a year or two left on the deal. Unfortunatelly UFA class is really weak. I don't even dare dream about guys like LaVine or Beal. There is a steep drop-off after that. There is Warren, but he has been injured for almost 2 years and who knows how he will look. Mitchell Robinson or Nurkic might be a decent center alternative, way more upside than Powell/WCS. Who knows how much RoCo will demand, as he is getting old and wasn't exactly stellar in Portland. But RoCo-Bullock-DFS could form a decent wing defense next to Luka and KP (or Brunson-Kleber for example).