MAVS NEWS:

[Dundalis]

In my opinion luka isnt a winner. Yes he is talented and a great player. But the problem with him is he is so ball dominant on offense with no off ball offense in his bag. that’s why he gets godly stats. And also the Whinning to refs thing. There is a reason why he hasn’t won MVP up until now despite having godly stats.

He has attitude problem and his playstyle is  only for himself. Never led his team to 55+ wins in regular season. Play no defense.

Not really sure how you can have watched what Luka did in that Finals run and say that. That Luka was playing through injury that hampered him pretty severely and did what he did against far superior squads throughout that run is not something non winners do, period. That he was totally gassed carrying the team and came up against a way more talented team in the Finals with zero support from his teammates should not be used against him IMO.

First, you're fighting ghosts here. I doubt anyone here would deny that Luka is, to date, the second best player ever to put on a Mavs jersey. Likewise, he gave all of us levels of joy and a respite from life's ills that are hard to measure. PERIOD. FULL STOP.

However, the question posited was whether on October 28, 2026, we would rather build around a 27 year old Luka or a 19 year old Cooper. With all due respect (truly), your response was built on past accomplishments and  emotions.  Again, I get it, Luka did some great things, but that's in the rear-view mirror. 

I suppose if you want to use your resume for Luka as a barometer or measuring stick for Cooper, I'd ask, whether you think Flagg will get the Mavs to an NBA Finals before his 27th birthday. If you're asking me, I say, yes, and take that bet everyday and twice on Sunday. 

What makes me so sure? I think Luka thinks he wants to win. But I KNOW COOPER DOES.

What do I mean? I have no doubt that anytime Luka is near a basketball court he wants to be the best player on it. Yes,, he wants to win. But I truly don't think he wants it as much as he thinks he does. Too many times he's said the quiet part outloud.: that he doesn't have it in him to condition himself to play long into his 30s. Now, I appreciate his honesty, and he doesn't owe anyone to play any longer than he wants. That said, conditioning IS a part of winning. 

On the other hand, I think Cooper wakes up nearly every night in a cold sweat wondering what he could be doing to get better. I would also wager that if a "basketball guru" told him that 5 years of abstinence would help him to get to a championship, I'd bet he'd strongly consider it.

 Likewise, how many of us are 40+? Remember how easy, relatively speaking, life felt, physically, in your 20s? And then in your 30s there was a bit of a hitch? Then, suddenly, somewhere in your 40s your body fell like it was hit by a bus (enjoy it it now, you 20 year olds!)?  I love Luka, but I think one year he's gonna go from being All NBA to suddenly being played off the court. In the last few years he's missed a ridiculous amount of games and that's when his body is at its peak, better than it ever will be in his life. Knowing how Luka's temperament is, I wonder what he'll be like when his game gets hard. Like hard-hard. If he's a player capable of being a knockdown shooter, but physically he can't get to his spots (and is still a sieve on defense). How much would a coach play him?

Again, this isn't meant to bash Luka at all. I'm merely, analytically, looking at his future game. I mean, as bad as February 2, 2025, was, is it possible that the Mavs caught basketball lightning in a bottle, where we enjoyed Dirk's career, immediately pressed reser, then we enjoyed a top 5 talent like Luka in his peak years (never experiencing anything but "Luka Magic"), immediately pressed reset, and then getting to watch someone who could be the best player in the league? 

Hey, there's no way the Mavs get Cooper without losing Luka. Yeah, it was some sh-tty tasting medicine, but I'm happy the Mavs backed into Coop.

Curious how you'd apply that logic to someone like Shaq, or Jokic. Sure conditioning helps a lot with being in the best position physically to win, but ultimately its about the performance. Luka was predominantly hampered in the Finals vs Boston due to carrying the team through grueling series against teams with much deeper talent, playing through an injury that clearly heavily hampered him, yeah he could have been in better condition, but without the injury he's probably a lot less hampered than he was that affected his performance, not to mention getting virtually no support from his teammates in that series. Luka has never had the benefit of playing with the quality of teammates the likes of SGA, or Tatum had during their championships, and I'd say he'd unequivocally have a ring if he did. I think people underestimate how inferior the Mavs rosters were during both the WCF and Finals runs compared to some of the teams they came up against and beat.

Masai may build a team around Coop of much higher quality and depth than Luka ever had, and he wins a ring but Im not sure that immediately validates Luka being less of a winner, though I know that will be the narrative across the league if Luka doesn't win one.