ROSTER TALK: Mavs favs for Vogel if no HC job exists. Kyrie handshake deal?

[Time Machine Dirk]

I also think most teams would have issues building around Luka.  He's a transcendent offensive talent, but is a liability on the other end of the floor (some of that by his own choosing) and for as good is offensively, he's shown he doesn't naturally mesh with other players who need the ball.  KP was disaster but even Jalen, Din and now Kyrie feels more like a my-turn-your-turn situation than an offense.

In one way or another Luka is the issue. His biggest strength comes with a flaw at the same time: With less ball dominance his effectivity almost completely vanishes. The reason why it feels always like my-turn-your-turn is that Luka is still terrible off-ball, just standing on top of the three point line or on the side and watching or waiting to get a last second pass to bail out the possession. Either he is lazy, takes his rests in those situations or he doesn't really know what to do off-ball. (The fact that neither Carlisle nor Kidd could help him with that indicates that this one might not be on the coach.)

Watching last night's game I thought several times: Give me Miles Turner, a wing defender and a Jrue Holiday light, who can defend very well and keep the offense going when Luka is out, instead of Kyrie and we are good! Maybe it would be smart to look around the league and find a younger player who is under everyones radar and can be molded into this type of Jrue Holiday light.

Hot take: After first sceptical enthusiasm after the Kyrie trade I am not so sure anymore that this type of player - as good as he might be - will be the Mavs' and Luka's route to a chip. Remember: The two offensive stars in the backcourt without good defense experiment never was successful in the near past. Best example: Dame Lillard and CJ
At the moment the Mavs are basically the Dame-CJ-Trailblazers tbh, which is not a good outlook. Most important: We need a reliable rim protector to clean up the Luka blow-bys. Maxi isn't the solution to the puzzle, he is just one smaller piece which will enhance the necessary bigger piece.

Edit: Maybe Lonzo Ball would be the guard I would put next to Luka if he will ever be really healthy again. Caruso could maybe also work. However I'm not so sure he would be enough of a passer/floor general/creator.