10-19-2022, 04:45 AM
(10-18-2022, 08:46 PM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: In the Mavs price range? No proven players. Only upside kids like Jalen Smith or Thomas Bryant. Maybe the Mavs willingness to offer additonal years would have been enough to secure one of the guys in the 5-10m range. For me the addition of Wood was enough if all they wanted was a short term solution. With all the additional needs (big wing, playmaker) it feels like they invested a lot of their meager assets into bigs.
But that brings us back to the overall plan and idea of the people in charge. And it gives me a bad feeling because I don´t see any longterm plan. McGee feels like a three season stop gap. Mavs admitting that they don´t have the necessary talent and no way to add in the near future.
Leaving us with the usual Donnie era talking points. A trade in the future. Saving assets for the big move. Being opportunistic.
Mavs are acting as if they are contenders since year two of Luka era. Keeping the team together and investing assets in improvements around the edges. As you say, waiting for that one big move to happen (which might never happen). But not hoarding assets that would actually improve their position when such a player becomes available.
I hope they prove me wrong, but I think they are far from serious contender, as proven by results in last three years. Even when they made it to top 4 last season, I think they were much closer to the teams below them than teams above. I don't think Mavs improved, teams above them stayed mostly the same or better (Boston) and there are several teams below that have a much stronger outlook this season. Never in this three years they managed to generate a single asset.