Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[F Gump]

I do see that sentiment.  I think there are a lot of folks that would not make a Kyrie trade in the offseason unless the Mavs are blown away.  Then at the TDL if the Mavs are hovering around 500 and threatening a play-in spot many of those same folks would be mortified at trading Kyrie for assets ("we could make the playoffs!").  It's not an overt never-trade-Kyrie, but effectively it plays out that way.  Its hard to trade away a fan favorite.

Your thinking that some have a never-trade-Kyrie sentiment is way off. You want to label it that way, because it's an easy target to claim that others aren't open-minded, but it's not what you claim it is at all.  

The pushback against trading Kyrie is NOT about Kyrie being a fan favorite per se (although he is) nor about a desire to never trade him necessarily, but rather against the idea that the Mavs MUST find a Kyrie trade, and accept "the best offer anyone makes" (whatever that may be), and that Kyrie has only minor value to the Mavs themselves, and that it's kinda now or never. 

In your mind, you assume a value that will go down-down-down. Some of us reject that, with very good reason. 

The reason why I wanted Presti so much is that he clearly understood the fallacy in that now-or-never mentality. The smart GM will wait until the price is right, and when you have a valued asset, the market will come to you. Teams NEED talent, and sometimes need it desperately. Being the one desperate to make a deal (gotta do it now), that's the formula for making a horrible deal (see Harrison, N.). I would hope Masai gets it.