MAVS NEWS:

[Smitty]

I don't believe in it, I just haven't decided it's a lost cause yet, especially because of an off-hand tidbit of info that doesn't contradict anything we knew, only something we assumed. There was never really a timetable put on his return this last time around, so for all we know he's right on target with his rehab - it's just that we don't/didn't know what that timetable was. 

What I do believe is that some players are so insanely impactful and valuable that they quite literally can't be replaced. IF Lively was healthy, there isn't another center in the entire NBA I'd want more outside of Wembenyama, Jokic or Adebayo, all of whom are in a different tier for offensive reasons. 

I don't get the handwringing over this, really. 

1) I don't think the team is going to be very good this year. What little chance they have to make an impact seems directly related to Lively's health, so I'd hope ALL Mavs fans were hopeful about it.

2) He's on a rookie contract. I don't think anyone is in favor of giving him a lucrative deal without a drastic uptick in the time he spends on the court. This simply isn't a decision that needs to be made now. I feel justified in the opinion that the best course of action with Lively is to hope for the best. There will be time for difficult decisions later, when we have more information. 

To contrast this situation, there are other players here who are already paid more than they're worth, given the circumstances of their current fit with Flagg and the changing roster. To me, THOSE are the "problems." You could tell me they'll play all 82 games every year of their current contracts and it wouldn't matter because they don't make the team better.

I get it, don’t get me wrong. There’s no reason to get rid of him… but you’ve been saying the same thing for 2 years. “What if”. At some point we need to live in reality. Counting on Lively to be part of the future Mavs is a bit of fools gold. That’s always been my only pushback. Of course he’s talented. Of course he’s impactful. But he’s not available. Period. Hopium is perfectly fine. I have a lot of it. I just can’t get to where you are is all.

I would love nothing more for him to be Tyson Chandler instead of Greg Oden.