2026 NBA draft thread

[cow]

None of us really KNOW who knew what or who did what

While I appreciate your sentiment that someone currently in our organization could be a successful GM, the bolded is why I think the best move is to look at someone with no connections to the Mavs.  While I'm inclined to agree that Nico went rogue just for the fact that you'd be hard pressed to find many people who would have made that trade, especially for the woeful compensation, there will always be a shadow of doubt for who was or wasn't involved and almost assuredly never know the truth. I still believe there is a ton of trust to be rebuilt with the fanbase and after decades of not-so-great front office work, it would be hard to get excited about someone that was in the front office when the Luka trade happen ed(the twenty ton straw that broke the camel's back).    Shooting for the moon also makes a ton of sense as after this draft, there isn't much to look forward to with the current state of our assets.  We can argue how much better this team will be if healthy, but I don't think anyone in their hearts believe we'll field a true contender.  We are heading into the dreaded middle ground of roster composition, not good enough to truly compete and no pick ownership should we be bad (highly possible due to injury concerns) to benefit from being a bottom feeder.  I'd argue we need a step or two above a successful GM, someone who is truly great that can sell a long term vision and shrewd enough to make moves to accomplish that vision while hamstrung by the previous administration.