the NEW MBT performance - year in review

[soog]

I simply cannot understand all of the whining going on right now about how bad the Mav's management brain trust continues to be.

First off, this is a new crew of decision makers so it is illogical to lump anything they do in with the performances of the past. Secondly, they have already done a TON with very little to work with.  

Let's actually look at what Nico's team has done even though FA is not yet over.  Here is my score card. Let's start with the bad.

1. They lost JB for nothing - yes this hurts, especially when the team has experienced limited success in drafting and developing talent. To be honest though, I don't blame them for how things turned out. It is easy with hindsight being 20/20 to say they should have signed JB to an extension last year, but let me ask you - after his performance in last year's playoffs would you really expect anyone to be chasing him with the $$$ NYK threw at him.  Even then, the latest reports are that money wasn't an issue and that he has longed to play at MSG because he grew up shooting on those courts when his dad played there.  If you really want to place blame on anyone for losing JB it is on the old MBT for not setting up his first contract to make him an RFA. That is the primary point of blame and that falls on Donnie, not Nico.
   

Now let's look at the positives - what success has Nico's team had?

1. Brought in Kidd - He has surpassed all expectations. I thought this was a terrible hire before the season started and continued to think so after the first +20 games; however, he changed the culture here and ended up coaching this first round exit team to the WCF with arguably less "talent" than they had the year before (I was wrong about Kidd).
   
2. Unloaded KP and his contract - This is part of the "less talent" that I mention in point 1, but it was addition by subtraction. Not only did this immediately improve team chemistry and offensive flow through the subtraction of KP, it added pieces that performed very well next to Luka (and I was a huge hater of the deal - I was wrong here, too...)
   
3. Added Christian Wood - This was done with only a FRP and filler contracts. He adds a dynamic scorer and rebounder to the front court that the Mavs have sorely missed for YEARS! He can roll like DP and shoot like Maxi, while still putting up a fight on the boards in a way neither of them could. This was the biggest need of the mavs this offseason.
   
4. Picked up Hardy - This guy was a former projected #2.  They didn't have a pick in the draft. We have complained about how the mavs undervalue the draft and how they always trade away their picks. They just made a move for a guy many are saying could be the steal of the draft! And he is conveniently a combo guard which to me shows they were preparing for JBs departure.
   
5. Added McGee - This again bolsters the front court where the Mavs got DOMINATED all playoffs. This was a huge point of need, and news reports say they got him with a lower offer than what Milwaukee presented. Imagine how different the playoffs would have been if they could have even slightly reduced paint scoring and not lost the rebounding battle by an average of 9 reb/gm for the entire playoffs.
   

They did all of this with almost ZERO assets and ZERO cap space.  And I don't think they are done. 

Looking back at the year in review, would you honestly say the new MBT has been successful or not?