11-19-2020, 12:29 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-19-2020, 12:32 AM by KillerLeft.)
Great, great night, for so many reasons. I'm so excited I can barely type.
1) The Green pick - at first, this was underwhelming, especially because of the players who unexpectedly fell to that spot. But, seeing the rest of the plan, I'm so relieved about this, in hindsight. I thought at first this guy would have to contribute heavy minutes from day one for the team to be good. HE DOES NOT. Now, all of a sudden, there is time for him to grow into the promise that his athletic ability dangles. He's a 2-3, imo, which means he really can't be raw on offense at all and play crunch-time minutes.
2) Tyrell Terry was in the top 10 on a lot of people's mocks. He's not big, and he'll never be an All-Star PG, but he COULD be another Seth Curry, and honestly, I think he'll be BETTER. If you liked the fit of Curry/Luka, his size shouldn't bother you. He's better off of the bounce than Curry (like a cross between Curry and Burke in the playoffs, kind of?) and I think he can contribute off the bench from day 1. He might even grown into a secondary playmaker at some point. Great value at that point in the draft, but AGAIN, I was underwhelmed when the pick came in because I was like "HOW THE HELL IS HE GOING TO PLAY BEHIND CURRY??" I never really considered him for the Mavs because obviously, you can't have TWO undersized combo guards playing heavy minutes. But...
3) THEN CAME ONE OF THE BEST TRADES I THINK THIS TEAM HAS EVER MADE, AND EVERYTHING BECAME CLEAR.
4) Josh Richardson is not a savior. He's not an all star, he's not even a difference maker, really. But, he IS a TWO WAY PLAYER. He is unquestionably a starting guard who can and will add veteran (but not TOO veteran) savvy and toughness to this team. He was weaned into the league in Miami, and we all know how they handle their business there. He spent much of last season speaking low key (in a professional way) about how much more organized Miami was than Philly and how much more accountable everyone was there. He's a winning player in the NBA, imo. He'll instantly be the team's best defender and HE IS GOOD ENOUGH ON OFFENSE FOR HIS BALLS NOT TO SHRIVEL IN THE LAST FIVE MINUTES AGAINST GOOD TEAMS. He'll shoot WAY better here, like he did in Miami. I wouldn't call him a playmaker, per say, but he's better in that area than THJ, Curry or DFS - THAT IS FOR SURE. This is an upgrade, and a player that we spent a week at some point here imagining as a trade target for #18.
5) BUT THAT'S NOT ALL, they got Kamm's darling, Tyler Bey, and much lower than we thought he'd go! Kamm thinks he's a wing, but I don't. I think he can switch onto wings for 10-15 seconds at a time (eventually) but imo, his way onto the floor is Dwight Powell's path. Small ball big. ENERGY. He's going to run the floor like he's on fire, and he will often be the best athlete on the floor (how often can you say that about a Dallas player). He'll be the rim running roll guy when he plays, and Kamm thinks he'll shoot some 3's, eventually. If he does, great. As KP ages, this is the dude who's going to cover up for him on defense. Willie Cauley WHOOOOO?
6) But the absolute best part, imo, and this is a difficult thing to express, is the PLAN! They did not throw assets out the window for old, broken down win now types. We all assumed they would, and while that is the right approach some years (even if your fans hate it) it was NOT the right move for this season. They are NOT going to win a championship this season. Far, far from it, in fact, and NOTHING short of adding Kawhi or Lebron was going to change that. We've all been super depressed about their lack of assets with all their draft capital going to Porzingis, and they very easily could've gone all-in to win as much as possible over the next couple of years in order to make those draft picks really not matter. But they didn't - they were honest with themselves, and they added youth. Not only that, but I think they might've added the RIGHT youth.
Somehow, in the midst of the trade CHAOS going on right now with draft capital (a currency they don't possess) flying all over the place, they managed to turn one role player on a good contract into MORE draft capital and a starter who, while not a home run addition, fills a very real need for them. AND HE'S NOT A MILLION YEARS OLD.
They got FOUR interesting players today without having any assets to trade. They formed a plan and stuck with it. They tricked teams into thinking they wanted Poku and Bane in order to make it more likely to succeed.
Luka
KP trade
Tonight
The Mavs are having a masterful stretch to start this decade off right, imo. I promise I'm not trying to be a homer. I really, truly feel this way.
1) The Green pick - at first, this was underwhelming, especially because of the players who unexpectedly fell to that spot. But, seeing the rest of the plan, I'm so relieved about this, in hindsight. I thought at first this guy would have to contribute heavy minutes from day one for the team to be good. HE DOES NOT. Now, all of a sudden, there is time for him to grow into the promise that his athletic ability dangles. He's a 2-3, imo, which means he really can't be raw on offense at all and play crunch-time minutes.
2) Tyrell Terry was in the top 10 on a lot of people's mocks. He's not big, and he'll never be an All-Star PG, but he COULD be another Seth Curry, and honestly, I think he'll be BETTER. If you liked the fit of Curry/Luka, his size shouldn't bother you. He's better off of the bounce than Curry (like a cross between Curry and Burke in the playoffs, kind of?) and I think he can contribute off the bench from day 1. He might even grown into a secondary playmaker at some point. Great value at that point in the draft, but AGAIN, I was underwhelmed when the pick came in because I was like "HOW THE HELL IS HE GOING TO PLAY BEHIND CURRY??" I never really considered him for the Mavs because obviously, you can't have TWO undersized combo guards playing heavy minutes. But...
3) THEN CAME ONE OF THE BEST TRADES I THINK THIS TEAM HAS EVER MADE, AND EVERYTHING BECAME CLEAR.
4) Josh Richardson is not a savior. He's not an all star, he's not even a difference maker, really. But, he IS a TWO WAY PLAYER. He is unquestionably a starting guard who can and will add veteran (but not TOO veteran) savvy and toughness to this team. He was weaned into the league in Miami, and we all know how they handle their business there. He spent much of last season speaking low key (in a professional way) about how much more organized Miami was than Philly and how much more accountable everyone was there. He's a winning player in the NBA, imo. He'll instantly be the team's best defender and HE IS GOOD ENOUGH ON OFFENSE FOR HIS BALLS NOT TO SHRIVEL IN THE LAST FIVE MINUTES AGAINST GOOD TEAMS. He'll shoot WAY better here, like he did in Miami. I wouldn't call him a playmaker, per say, but he's better in that area than THJ, Curry or DFS - THAT IS FOR SURE. This is an upgrade, and a player that we spent a week at some point here imagining as a trade target for #18.
5) BUT THAT'S NOT ALL, they got Kamm's darling, Tyler Bey, and much lower than we thought he'd go! Kamm thinks he's a wing, but I don't. I think he can switch onto wings for 10-15 seconds at a time (eventually) but imo, his way onto the floor is Dwight Powell's path. Small ball big. ENERGY. He's going to run the floor like he's on fire, and he will often be the best athlete on the floor (how often can you say that about a Dallas player). He'll be the rim running roll guy when he plays, and Kamm thinks he'll shoot some 3's, eventually. If he does, great. As KP ages, this is the dude who's going to cover up for him on defense. Willie Cauley WHOOOOO?
6) But the absolute best part, imo, and this is a difficult thing to express, is the PLAN! They did not throw assets out the window for old, broken down win now types. We all assumed they would, and while that is the right approach some years (even if your fans hate it) it was NOT the right move for this season. They are NOT going to win a championship this season. Far, far from it, in fact, and NOTHING short of adding Kawhi or Lebron was going to change that. We've all been super depressed about their lack of assets with all their draft capital going to Porzingis, and they very easily could've gone all-in to win as much as possible over the next couple of years in order to make those draft picks really not matter. But they didn't - they were honest with themselves, and they added youth. Not only that, but I think they might've added the RIGHT youth.
Somehow, in the midst of the trade CHAOS going on right now with draft capital (a currency they don't possess) flying all over the place, they managed to turn one role player on a good contract into MORE draft capital and a starter who, while not a home run addition, fills a very real need for them. AND HE'S NOT A MILLION YEARS OLD.
They got FOUR interesting players today without having any assets to trade. They formed a plan and stuck with it. They tricked teams into thinking they wanted Poku and Bane in order to make it more likely to succeed.
Luka
KP trade
Tonight
The Mavs are having a masterful stretch to start this decade off right, imo. I promise I'm not trying to be a homer. I really, truly feel this way.