Kidd is the Defacto DAL GM

[Kammrath]

Kidd is the defacto DAL GM.

This is by far the most disturbing revelation of this past offseason and early season.

1) Kidd refuses Dragic a spot and instead wants Campazzo (Dragic then shines in CHI while DAL clearly could use someone to help Luka get some rest from ballhandling/creation).

2) Kidd wants McGee and promises him a starting role (McGee then absolutely sucks).

3) Nico trades for Wood, then Kidd refuses to start him and refuses to play him in clutch minutes and refuses to give him starter level minutes while purposely trashing him in post game comments (Wood meanwhile plays REALLY well but then stops getting the ball in recent games).

4) It is reported all of this was done autonomously by Nico and Kidd and that Cuban was not involved or entangled with it.

• I like Nico listening to his coach as you need to do this as a GM. 
  
• I love Cuban staying out of things. 
  
• But I HATE Kidd as the defacto GM and talent evaluator. This team is going to go nowhere quick if Nico doesn't figure out a way to get Kidd in his place. But I am not sure how that is going to happen.
  

I am calling it now: I do not think this has a happy ending for us Mavs fans.

[KillerLeft]

I think there's enough info floating around to support your point #1, and that's rough. 

I don't know that I feel the rest of the bullet points have been confirmed. For example, for all we know, McGee could've been the choice of Kidd, Harrison, Finley AND Cuban. (not sure that would be better, but just saying)

Feels like preemptive jumping to conclusions to me, a little...though I share your concern over the direction the team is taking at the moment.

[Smitty]

It's easy for me to pile on Kidd because of the rotations and game management but it feels a bit like this is suggesting anything bad with roster building must have been done by Kidd and good (Wood) by Nico and I'm not willing to go that far. Kidd needs to be a better coach and Nico needs to be a better GM, that is clear.

[Kammrath]

McGee could've been the choice of Kidd, Harrison, Finley AND Cuban

It was reported by Cato (pretty certain that is who it was) that Nico and Kidd (that is who he named) made the roster decisions this summer without involvement from Cuban. 

All of the free agent signings scream Kidd. The trade screams Nico. And clearly Kidd has an issue with Wood, making it pretty clear that Kidd was not in favor of it in the first place. 

Yes, I am connecting dots. But this is not wild speculation. I may be off slightly on a point or two (they might need a little more nuance), but I am quite confident about the overall point.

[WildArkieBoy]

It was reported by Cato (pretty certain that is who it was) that Nico and Kidd (that is who he named) made the roster decisions this summer without involvement from Cuban. 

All of the free agent signings scream Kidd. The trade screams Nico. And clearly Kidd has an issue with Wood, making it pretty clear that Kidd was not in favor of it in the first place. 

Yes, I am connecting dots. But this is not wild speculation. I may be off slightly on a point or two (they might need a little more nuance), but I am quite confident about the overall point.

Why would a coach(JKidd) refuse to use or misuse an asset(CWood)?  Isn't that like tying one hand behind your back?

[sterlingmallory]

Kidd has a history of attempting to gain power over roster construction in his last two head coaching stops as well so I would not be surprised one bit if he has done it here already, especially with Nico having no prior experience in the NBA before now. Kidd and to a lesser extent Finley are probably more or less running the show until Nico gets up to speed.

[F Gump]

I don't see any issue with a head coach doing coach-y things, such as set lineups and decide rotations and dole out minutes in a way that fits the situation as he sees it. Where I would get concerned would be if he is NOT the one making such decisions.

[Kammrath]

Kidd has a history of attempting to gain power over roster construction in his last two head coaching stops

Exactly. The history is there.

[Kammrath]

I don't see any issue with a head coach doing coach-y things, such as set lineups and decide rotations and dole out minutes in a way that fits the situation as he sees it. Where I would get concerned would be if he is NOT the one making such decisions.

I definitely agree. But there is a line crossed when a coach goes out of his way to NOT play or best utilize a player that he didn't want in the first place. RC did that a couple times. I believe Kidd is doing it with Wood. It is an attempt to basically strong-arm the GM into doing exactly what you (the coach) wants in regard to roster construction. 

A coach SHOULD have input in the roster construction, but he also needs to trust the talent evaluators and adjust his coaching to fit the talent he is given.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Kidd has had these kinds of problems in his previous tenures. Butted heads with Lawrence Frank. Bullied Larry Sanders into retirement. 
But his first year here was an unequivocal success so I’m not sure what to think. 

Mark Cuban the owner did say that his new GM Nico Harrison “is not there yet on player evaluation.” That was a big red flag to me that there isn’t a defined structure here so many were clamoring for after Donnie and Carlisle were gone. How do you hire a new GM and say this guy doesn’t know about player evaluation? Is he only here to negotiate contracts like at Nike?

[WildArkieBoy]

Mark Cuban the owner did say that his new GM Nico Harrison “is not there yet on player evaluation.” 

So, Mark admits to making a stupid hire?

[F Gump]

I definitely agree. But there is a line crossed when a coach goes out of his way to NOT play or best utilize a player that he didn't want in the first place. RC did that a couple times. I believe Kidd is doing it with Wood. It is an attempt to basically strong-arm the GM into doing exactly what you (the coach) wants in regard to roster construction. 

A coach SHOULD have input in the roster construction, but he also needs to trust the talent evaluators and adjust his coaching to fit the talent he is given.

I disagree 100% with your principle. I think it is way wrong. Coaches need to be deciding the coach-y things. The last thing I want to see is Cuban, or a protege, to micromanage the coach stuff. Ugh.

Frankly, I also don't trust your ability to read Kidd's mind, nor your assumption Kidd is deciding minutes using the most nefarious rationale possible. Quite a leap with such flimsy basis, all based on a super small sample size of games. Gotta say it feels like a Kidd-hater looking for a reason to hate and to try to get others to do so as well.

[Kammrath]

Kidd-hater

No need to label. Quite the contrary. I praised Kidd last year, repeatedly and thought he did much better than RC had been doing as of late. 

But the evidence and the results have changed this summer and early in the season. So I am in the midst of changing my opinion. 

If Kidd rights this ship, then great. I hope he proves me wrong. Then my opinion will change again.

[cow]

I think McGee was great in concept, the execution was terrible.  McGee on a 1 year $5M  contract to give a more versatile rotation made a lot of sense in my head and a 1 year contract gives you protection from him falling off a cliff.  But giving him 3 years and a starting spot is something else all together.  I'd honestly rather have given D12 a vet minimum to see if he could be rescued from the cliff he fell off of than 3YRs of McGee who had a more productive prior year.

[Chicagojk]

Do I want Kidd to have the grand vision to building a roster moving forward?  No.  Do I want Wood to play more?  Yes.

But I am not even close to saying Kidd is ruining a golden opportunity.   It will take 20-30 or more games to make a determination on Wood.   I have seen plenty of really good players who I want nothing to do with.   There are a lot of things that goes into my evaluation.  Some I won't have the access to.  Is he a good teammate?  Is he hard worker?  Is he reliable?   Does he make winning plays?   On the floor, I want to see him produce in big games when it matters.   This is where you find out which guys have it.  Some will take time to learn to play in big games, but a lot of empty stat guys just can't get it done when it matters.

Am I ready to say Kidd is the right hire long term here?  Nope.   Last year was a great first impression.    Lets see what he does this year.  I saw on twitter earlier today that last year at this time we were watching Luka and KP hi-fives.  So it wasn't always rosy last year.

[KillerLeft]

I don't care whose fault it is, and more to the point, we'll never know (even if someone on the inside tells us) so there's no point in arguing about it. 

AND, I agree that the coach should ultimately have final say in how the team gets played. 

However, I do think that successful organizations tend to reach a high level of harmonious synergy between the decision makers, so that the team is assembled with the coach's feedback in mind and then in turn the team is played very closely to what was in the GM's mind when assembling the roster. I don't think either of those two things can be executed in a vacuum to successful effect. 

At times over the years, the Mavs have shown signs that this requisite synergy has been lacking, so we know it's not a given that they're operating in peak form. I'm not ready to say that's the problem right now...or necessarily that there even is some huge problem right now, other than some decisions that are, in my opinion, not the best ones that could've been made. But, those choices could've been made with the full support of all involved.

I have no great love for Kidd, but he bought enough support from me last year to give this 20-30 games before I push the panic button.

[Scott41theMavs]

I don't care whose fault it is, and more to the point, we'll never know (even if someone on the inside tells us) so there's no point in arguing about it. 

AND, I agree that the coach should ultimately have final say in how the team gets played. 

However, I do think that successful organizations tend to reach a high level of harmonious synergy between the decision makers, so that the team is assembled with the coach's feedback in mind and then in turn the team is played very closely to what was in the GM's mind when assembling the roster. I don't think either of those two things can be executed in a vacuum to successful effect. 

At times over the years, the Mavs have shown signs that this requisite synergy has been lacking, so we know it's not a given that they're operating in peak form. I'm not ready to say that's the problem right now...or necessarily that there even is some huge problem right now, other than some decisions that are, in my opinion, not the best ones that could've been made. But, those choices could've been made with the full support of all involved.

I have no great love for Kidd, but he bought enough support from me last year to give this 20-30 games before I push the panic button.

The scariest thing about all of this is that if Kidd implodes, I have zero trust in Cuban/Nico to make a quality coaching hire.

[chaparral]

I think McGee was great in concept, the execution was terrible.  McGee on a 1 year $5M  contract to give a more versatile rotation made a lot of sense in my head and a 1 year contract gives you protection from him falling off a cliff.  But giving him 3 years and a starting spot is something else all together.  I'd honestly rather have given D12 a vet minimum to see if he could be rescued from the cliff he fell off of than 3YRs of McGee who had a more productive prior year.

I agree with this statement.  After the Wood trade I was hoping for Whiteside on a 1-year deal.  And use the RMLE on a wing.

[F Gump]

No need to label. Quite the contrary. I praised Kidd last year, repeatedly and thought he did much better than RC had been doing as of late. 

But the evidence and the results have changed this summer and early in the season. So I am in the midst of changing my opinion. 

It sure didn't take much at all, for you to go from being a "Kidd fan" to a Kidd hater. A few games and a gust of air, with your evidence simply being you "knowing" what Kidd is thinking. LOL

You've landed on him having thoughts of such an extreme self-destructive manner. That's nuts. Frankly, these are incredibly absurd ideas when you get right down to it, to think he has decided to sabotage the team (and his career, of course) because of some mythical dislike for a new player, for no reason whatsoever.

Are we to think that Wood is a finished product, that 29 other teams had no clue about, and whose only flaw is the coach? Or is it possible there's way more in play to getting him "coached up" than we see, and way more needed than minutes and play calls that cater to him personally? 

BTW you say Kidd "also needs to trust the talent evaluators and adjust his coaching to fit the talent he is given" -- and goodness, that is exactly what he has done since day 1 in Dallas. In fact, his approach (backed up by all he says when asked about roster needs, and by how they play) is that these players are the team, and we need to find a way to make THIS group work.

[chaparral]

Kidd is the defacto DAL GM.

This is by far the most disturbing revelation of this past offseason and early season.

1) Kidd refuses Dragic a spot and instead wants Campazzo (Dragic then shines in CHI while DAL clearly could use someone to help Luka get some rest from ballhandling/creation).

2) Kidd wants McGee and promises him a starting role (McGee then absolutely sucks).

3) Nico trades for Wood, then Kidd refuses to start him and refuses to play him in clutch minutes and refuses to give him starter level minutes while purposely trashing him in post game comments (Wood meanwhile plays REALLY well but then stops getting the ball in recent games).

4) It is reported all of this was done autonomously by Nico and Kidd and that Cuban was not involved or entangled with it.

• I like Nico listening to his coach as you need to do this as a GM. 
  
• I love Cuban staying out of things. 
  
• But I HATE Kidd as the defacto GM and talent evaluator. This team is going to go nowhere quick if Nico doesn't figure out a way to get Kidd in his place. But I am not sure how that is going to happen.
  

I am calling it now: I do not think this has a happy ending for us Mavs fans.

If we only knew who was really hired first?