MAVS NEWS:

[SleepingHero]

Where is everyone who flamed me last offseason for saying OMax isn’t an NBA player?

I still believe in OMax. Not sure if I flamed you but I think he got a pretty shit end of the stick here.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Where is everyone who flamed me last offseason for saying OMax isn’t an NBA player?

You're not by yourself. I've always said he was a project.

[F Gump]

I still believe in OMax. Not sure if I flamed you but I think he got a pretty shit end of the stick here.

I'm not so sure about that. It's not like other NBA teams see strong potential in him either -- any of them could have had him for free with his very modest contract, and not one was interested. 

To me he looked like a good athlete, but not a good basketball player. He lacked skills, and in the NBA, it's hard to be without the skills and land a role.

[SkenfromLMF]

I'm not so sure about that. It's not like other NBA teams see strong potential in him either -- any of them could have had him for free with his very modest contract, and not one was interested. 

To me he looked like a good athlete, but not a good basketball player. He lacked skills, and in the NBA, it's hard to be without the skills and land a role.

Is it that or is it that other NBA teams knew what Dallas wanted to do and the choice was: pay to have another team take him; or pay 1 million for the next 3 seasons...
Now I am not sure that I am necessarily comfortable with the evaluation skills of the person who ultimately made that decision, but O-Max will most likely be playing on a minimum contract somewhere.

[DallasMaverick]

Is it that or is it that other NBA teams knew what Dallas wanted to do and the choice was: pay to have another team take him; or pay 1 million for the next 3 seasons...
Now I am not sure that I am necessarily comfortable with the evaluation skills of the person who ultimately made that decision, but O-Max will most likely be playing on a minimum contract somewhere.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Wood

[F Gump]

Is it that or is it that other NBA teams knew what Dallas wanted to do and the choice was: pay to have another team take him; or pay 1 million for the next 3 seasons...
Now I am not sure that I am necessarily comfortable with the evaluation skills of the person who ultimately made that decision, but O-Max will most likely be playing on a minimum contract somewhere.

What you say probably makes my point, rather than contradicts it. 

Any team could have had OMax for free, with a tiny (barely over minimum) contract and at no cost other than to pay the contract. Logically the Mavs were also offering to pay his salary (to get ALL his salary off their cap in future years). Right?

You are saying a team with any interest whatsoever would rather take their chances in free agency (so they would assume NO ONE ELSE has any interest, or not really care) and pay him the minimum out of their own pocket (rather than have his salary paid by Mavs) - to me that (1) makes no sense, and (2) even if true, it says that the value placed on OMax by other teams is tiny, almost non-existent, WHICH WAS MY POINT.

I will add that if there is some value on OMax around the league, and Nico could not even get him moved "with salary paid" by Mavs, his negotiating skills are beyond abysmal. That should be GM 101 level of deal to be able to get done. As bad as I think he is, I can't imagine even he is THAT bad at getting a basic giveaway deal done.

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/dalton_trigg/status/1962911342655840477

Great newsa.   Not sure if we will see many formal Dirk and team partnerships for several reasons, but having Dirk and Cooper have some sort of relationship would be awesome.  I don't think he could have a better mentor than Dirk.   For both Cooper and his family.  That would be awesome.  Even if it was a checkin every once in a while.

[Chicagojk]

Marc Stein on the Dallas Mavericks starting lineup:
“I do think that at some point that the starting lineup will be tested at some point with Cooper [Flagg] at the 2 and PJ [Washington] at the 3. I feel pretty strongly about that…”
(via
@DLLS_Mavs

**************
I have some doubts how effective this will be early in his career, especially without playing with a guy like Kyrie.   Although if he can grow and thrive in this role, it opens up so many more roster building directions.  
)

[mvossman]

Marc Stein on the Dallas Mavericks starting lineup:
“I do think that at some point that the starting lineup will be tested at some point with Cooper [Flagg] at the 2 and PJ [Washington] at the 3. I feel pretty strongly about that…”
(via
@DLLS_Mavs

**************
I have some doubts how effective this will be early in his career, especially without playing with a guy like Kyrie.   Although if he can grow and thrive in this role, it opens up so many more roster building directions.  
)

That could easily mean two guys who's best position is center and two guys who's best position is power forward (we will see with Flagg).  I am guessing that experiment will not last long.

[Smitty]

Marc Stein on the Dallas Mavericks starting lineup:
“I do think that at some point that the starting lineup will be tested at some point with Cooper [Flagg] at the 2 and PJ [Washington] at the 3. I feel pretty strongly about that…”
(via
@DLLS_Mavs

**************
I have some doubts how effective this will be early in his career, especially without playing with a guy like Kyrie.   Although if he can grow and thrive in this role, it opens up so many more roster building directions.  
)

Like it is most every night, it depends on matchups. Some games it will look good, others not so much. That's my 2 cents anyway. I'm not going to be the guy that puts a cap on Flagg's ceiling and starts proclaiming what he is or isn't or what he can or can't do. Looking forward to seeing it play out on the court though...

[F Gump]

I have some doubts how effective this will be early in his career, especially without playing with a guy like Kyrie.   Although if he can grow and thrive in this role, it opens up so many more roster building directions.  )

I don't have any disagreements with what you are saying -- but I would suggest that the Mavs themselves probably don't either. As I'm reading it, their planning for CF includes putting him in roles that they know he CAN'T yet handle, with the hope and belief that he will learn to handle them and perhaps even excel in those roles eventually. 

With the talent pool the Mavs are working with, if I was the GM or coach, I would be obsessed with the 80's era Celtics, because I see an incredible amount of similarities with that great team. The C's really didn't have what you would call a PG (at their peak, they had 2 ball-handling SG's or combo guards of the same ilk as Kyrie or DAR, and who regularly had lots of questions and doubts about them, even among C's fans). Their lineup also usually featured 2 bigs whose only job was to pound you to death on the inside with dunks, putbacks, short shots, postups, etc and who were so good at it that 3 of them reached the HOF (Parish, McHale, Walton). 

The key, of course, was Larry Bird, who could do it all and do it well. Flagg is not yet at that level, of course (because who is?) BUT he has shown an aptitude of doing it all and doing it well at his level, plus a track record of learning quickly to raise that standard when forced to do so by a new level of challenge. So to that end and become that team, I would have an everyday goal of turning an 18-year-old Flagg into what the C's got with a 23-year-old Larry Bird as soon as they can (but well before CF turns 23). Larry Bird wasn't "LARRY BIRD" when he was 18. 

Ball-handling drills, shooting drills, game situations that might overwhelm but force you to get way better, whatever it takes, to make Flagg become THAT guy, because I think he can. (I think Luka could have, also, but didn't want to be - he wanted to be the guy who shoots the most shots rather than makes them at the highest efficiency no matter what you do to try to stop him). With Bird on that team, Bird played anything from the ball-handler to the PF, and changed everything. I think CF has the tools, and he might have the mind and the drive too.

[mvossman]

Anybody else have concerns that we don't have an extension with PJ yet? I was hoping it was a done deal and they were simply waiting for it to be legal to announce, but that does not seem to be the case.

[loki]

Anybody else have concerns that we don't have an extension with PJ yet?  I was hoping it was a done deal and they were simply waiting for it to be legal to announce, but that does not seem to be the case.

Count me as concerned. I'll be pretty upset if they lowball PJ while giving their 3rd string center $18M/yr. Might as well trade him to the Lakers at that point because that's where he'll be signing next offseason.

[SkenfromLMF]

What you say probably makes my point, rather than contradicts it. 

Any team could have had OMax for free, with a tiny (barely over minimum) contract and at no cost other than to pay the contract. Logically the Mavs were also offering to pay his salary (to get ALL his salary off their cap in future years). Right?

You are saying a team with any interest whatsoever would rather take their chances in free agency (so they would assume NO ONE ELSE has any interest, or not really care) and pay him the minimum out of their own pocket (rather than have his salary paid by Mavs) - to me that (1) makes no sense, and (2) even if true, it says that the value placed on OMax by other teams is tiny, almost non-existent, WHICH WAS MY POINT.

I will add that if there is some value on OMax around the league, and Nico could not even get him moved "with salary paid" by Mavs, his negotiating skills are beyond abysmal. That should be GM 101 level of deal to be able to get done. As bad as I think he is,


I can't imagine even he is THAT bad at getting a basic giveaway deal done.

Quentin Grimes for Martin with a do-over... and we still came away screwed.

[myconsumerclub]

Maybe we need to have a plan to sacrifice some chickens to the basketball gods and get an extra measure of health for the team.

Who has the best fried chicken in town for such an event and does the moon need to be full for it to work more effectively?

I am partial to the Henderson's over on Abrams at Royal lane.

[Ghost of Podkolzin]

Re: PJ

Value to the team, I put PJ right after Flagg. Nico better not eff this up.

Dude is a great switching wing defender. Defensively, he’s fine at the 3. His 3pt shot just needs to stay at his improved level, improving to 38% from 32%.

[F Gump]

I am partial to the Henderson's over on Abrams at Royal lane.

+1

They used to be in the old E Dallas area near Central and Henderson, which is where I first tasted their chicken years ago. No longer there, but your location (and others in Oak Cliff and the suburbs south of Dallas) are still worth the effort.

FWIW Gus's in Memphis is the best I've ever run across, incredibly good taste, and they have a location now in Dallas (Deep Ellum area), but I haven't sampled it yet since it's been here.

[Smitty]

@ShamsCharania
Dallas Mavericks forward PJ Washington has agreed to a four-year, $90 million contract extension with the franchise, agent Kevin Bradbury of LIFT Sports Management told ESPN. Washington secures a new deal that keeps him in Dallas through 2029-30.

[Chicagojk]

@ShamsCharania
Dallas Mavericks forward PJ Washington has agreed to a four-year, $90 million contract extension with the franchise, agent Kevin Bradbury of LIFT Sports Management told ESPN. Washington secures a new deal that keeps him in Dallas through 2029-30.

a 50 million per year to run the blackjack table at a Sands Casino

Seriously, nice job Mavs.   He is a good player and should remain a good piece on the court or a solid asset.   The team building is not done and it is a little clunky.  I would rather have clunky but good players than clean without good players at this stage.

[Chicagojk]

Clippers desperately want the NBA to talk about this extension....pretty please.