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?

[BigDirk41]

I think losing Brunson for nothing is unacceptable and his original contract is unacceptable for any good franchise. Everything else since Nico has been here, I think he's done a excellent job with what he has to work with. I'm also assuming McGee isn't getting the full amount and they have enough left over to sign Hardy to a 3 year deal so he's a RFA and we control him. If they messed that up AGAIN, then I don't know what the heck to say.

[cow]

-The Brunson bridge was probably burnt by MBT1.0 but Nico was brought in for his relationship skills and not even getting a seat at the table is a failure on his part or at the very least, disappointing.
-Kidd is fine as a coach but I'm going to levy some of that relationship criticism against him like I did for Nico.  
-I didn't love the KP trade when it happened.  Bertans contract kicked a good chunk of the KP money down the road.  Adding a 2nd rounder continued our trend of giving those out like candy.  Dinwiddie was great and the regular season and pretty bad, save for a few games, in the playoffs.  My overall thoughts of the trade improve as it turns out that the JB insurance as needed.  Hopefully being further removed from the injury and seemingly having a bigger role on the team will let Spencer shine.
-The Wood trade is a homerun if nothing more than ditching four contracts that contributed almost nothing on the court (sorry Bubble!).  
-Love the move to get Hardy.  Hate his contract.
-Love the McGee move.  Dislike the contract.

[khaled1987]

Don't think that Brunson original contract was bad move at all by DN tbh, you get a high talented guard you believe in and put him under your control for 4 years, where you can assess whether to renew or trade him. MBT II didn't renew or trade him and that is on them. There is a need for some accountability there.


The Woods trade feels like DN regime, who was fairly opportunistic in trade market tbf and was generally his best attribute. 
Draft feels the same, 2 years and only Hardy to show for it. A 6'3 guard who is talented but not the most athletic. Feels like a player Donnie would have drafted. 

Was Kidd Nico hire? Feels like it was a package deal that was decided through Cuban/Dirk/Finnley.  Kudos for them though, and tbh I liked they brought in a high profile assistant for Kidd in Kokoskov but was underwhelmed he left and we didn't hire someone with big profile. 
Igor was probably the only high profile assistant (former head coach) we hired since Terry Stotts left for Portland in 2012. 


KP trade is the new one, the cut our loss and don't be stubborn wasn't really Donnie thing unless with expiring (Rondo/Odom etc) 
Bullock was good addition

Overall I would say it is B grade 

PS: While it was time for them to go, and they had their limitations I think folks are underrating old MBT a bit.

[fifteenth]

The new MBT exceeded expectations for their first run (21/22)

Be back in a year to weigh in on how they did for 22/23 :-)

[soog]

Don't think that Brunson original contract was bad move at all by DN tbh, you get a high talented guard you believe in and put him under your control for 4 years, where you can assess whether to renew or trade him. MBT II didn't renew or trade him and that is on them. There is a need for some accountability there.


The Woods trade feels like DN regime, who was fairly opportunistic in trade market tbf and was generally his best attribute. 
Draft feels the same, 2 years and only Hardy to show for it. A 6'3 guard who is talented but not the most athletic. Feels like a player Donnie would have drafted. 

Was Kidd Nico hire? Feels like it was a package deal that was decided through Cuban/Dirk/Finnley.  Kudos for them though, and tbh I liked they brought in a high profile assistant for Kidd in Kokoskov but was underwhelmed he left and we didn't hire someone with big profile. 
Igor was probably the only high profile assistant (former head coach) we hired since Terry Stotts left for Portland in 2012. 


KP trade is the new one, the cut our loss and don't be stubborn wasn't really Donnie thing unless with expiring (Rondo/Odom etc) 
Bullock was good addition

Overall I would say it is B grade 

PS: While it was time for them to go, and they had their limitations I think folks are underrating old MBT a bit.

re: Brunson - Donnie signed him to a 4 year deal with the 4th year being non-guaranteed instead of it being a team option.  If he had made it a team option, Brunson would have been a restricted free agent allowing Nico and his team to simply match any offer he received. As it is, Brunson was an unrestricted free agent and it is because of the contract Donnie signed him to. This is highly unusual for rookie contracts and this is what allowed him to not even give Dallas a seat at the table. Is anyone a big enough conspiracy theorist to believe JB's agent negotiated it this way because the plan was to leave for NYK all along?

re: Kidd - it was reported when Nico joined that he said he wanted Kidd as his coach. So it was a package deal of sorts, but it was Nico pulling the strings and laying out what Cuban had to do to get him to sign.

[omahen]

Mavs had three goals for this offseason:
1. Re-sign Brunson - obviously failed, so an F. Can they rebound from it using SnT? It could improve the grade
2. improve the center position - grade A
3. Bring a playof rotation wing. Incomplete

[KillerLeft]

Mavs had three goals for this offseason:
1. Re-sign Brunson - obviously failed, so an F. Can they rebound from it using SnT? It could improve the grade
2. improve the center position - grade A
3. Bring a playof rotation wing. Incomplete

A no-nonsense, fact based, sobering look at where we stand right now. Built off of the team's own publicly stated goals, to boot.

[Smitty]

Mavs had three goals for this offseason:
1. Re-sign Brunson - obviously failed, so an F. Can they rebound from it using SnT? It could improve the grade
2. improve the center position - grade A
3. Bring a playof rotation wing. Incomplete

They resigned Pinson though…

[Bayliss]

I'm just hoping that there is some kind of trade coming because I'm tired of the Mavs Amber Hearding it every offseason.

[Lucky Luciano]

I can tell you this. Last year and the year before we never got anyone as talented publicly stating they'd like to play for the Mavs. That guy was Kyrie. Just read a new post on Durants manager stating of the teams he'd like to play for (Not named suns or heat) and we made that short list as well.. Weather or not we can actually sign a larger name than Wes Matthews in recent years is to be seen but for sure promising that we are at least being mentioned as a destination "Top FAs" would entertain playing for is a huge improvement over the past.

Best thing we had before was some rumors that some guy was linked to us. This direct from the player's mouth asking for Dal is wonderful so far. We can definitely attribute that to our new coaching staff, front office, and recent success making it to the Western Conference Finals.

Too bad we don't have Powder this year lol!!!

[ItsGoTime]

I can tell you this. Last year and the year before we never got anyone as talented publicly stating they'd like to play for the Mavs. That guy was Kyrie. Just read a new post on Durants manager stating of the teams he'd like to play for (Not named suns or heat) and we made that short list as well.. Weather or not we can actually sign a larger name than Wes Matthews in recent years is to be seen but for sure promising that we are at least being mentioned as a destination "Top FAs" would entertain playing for is a huge improvement over the past.

Best thing we had before was some rumors that some guy was linked to us. This direct from the player's mouth asking for Dal is wonderful so far. We can definitely attribute that to our new coaching staff, front office, and recent success making it to the Western Conference Finals.

Too bad we don't have Powder this year lol!!!

Powder is reportedly not gonna get anyone KD.

[Chicagojk]

Mavs had three goals for this offseason:
1. Re-sign Brunson - obviously failed, so an F. Can they rebound from it using SnT? It could improve the grade
2. improve the center position - grade A
3. Bring a playof rotation wing. Incomplete

I think this is a good take.   Their run this year was great and they deserve props.  I just have trouble seeing how they can continue momentum next year.   The F carries higher weight than the A above for me.   

I really thought this upcoming year they would have trouble re-creating the same success.  But then the Wood trade happened.  I really thought they would swallow hard this year and pay the tax but keep the nucleus together, eventually clear out the large bench contracts and make that final move in the next year-18 months.   I always thought that was the plan and they were zero'd in on it.  I can envision that while still being a real tough out.   The path they are on right now is a little more tough for me to envision huge future sustained success.