Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[KillerLeft]

I think you're way wrong. 

"Not only did I consider those things, I explicitly said so in the post. ".... You really didn't truly consider those things. You gave lip service to them, then clearly treated them as being impossible. when it's incredibly likely that one, or even both, of those will come into play.

Look, I get it, YOU have criteria for trading picks, and didn't think this met your criteria. That's fine. But you are saying ALL of us endorse your criteria, so that ALL will evaluate like you in 2029, and that's what I see as 100% nonsense.

And if you think things like that can't possibly matter, then you aren't paying attention to how Mavs fans respond to having a pick traded.

We were without a pick the summer after Luka, and it was a top-10 pick. No one really cared, frankly.

The same came when the 1st pick for KP was made, even though KP's production had been spotty. And even now, do we wish the Mavs had not rolled the dice? Or are we yearning for Keon Johnson, whoever that is? Crappy picks are not missed.

YOU guaranteed that "100%" of Mavs fandom would whine about the 2029 pick. Yet if it's Moe Ager Jr, and it could be, it will be closer to 0%. Or if Kyrie has helped Luka propel the Mavs to a Finals run, same thing -- no one will be bothered. You know it, I know it, we all know it. And I know you're not guaranteeing Mavs world will cave into total and persistent nothingness soon, are you?

It's not about the picks for most of us. We just see them as tools, and it's about the results. We all operate in that mindset (except perhaps you), and no one (including you) knows what the results will be for the Mavs in 4-5 years. Let's see what happens.

I must not have articulated my thinking very clearly, because what you’re arguing against is mostly not representative of it.

I agree with a ton of the above. Most, actually.

Where I differ is that yes, I do wish the Mavs had not rolled the dice on KP. I didn’t call that one beforehand, so this is definitely dependent on hindsight, but that big miss has helped open my eyes to the risks involved in these trades. I would MUCH rather have the players those picks will become (or better yet, the chance to use the picks in an actual good deal) than the memory of watching Porzingis fail here. 

You want the Mavs to identify talent and then negotiate better than other teams. You’re always talking about it. I agree. Simply put, I want them to get those “big swings” RIGHT.

I am not about hoarding picks. I see them as tools, too. Tools that need to be chosen at the right time to do the right job. 

I am saying that once the Mavs do not win a championship with Luka/Kyrie, and maybe even if they do, THAT summer is going to be frustrating in that it will be yet another lean asset situation that they’ll have to work around, long after he’s gone. I don’t believe in the pairing enough to have pulled the trigger on it (though will root for him while he’s here). The example you use about the year after Luka’s draft isn’t really comparable, Imo, because we were all looking at the face of the franchise grow and entertain us. WORTH IT. A top-10 pick years after the trade target is gone? Ridiculous, imo. Maybe the Mavs will still be great at that time and it will be an inconsequential pick. In that event, it won’t be so bad, and I’m sure that’s what they’re hoping. Too much risk for me. 

2011 was amazing. It didn’t stop all of us (and make no mistake - we were all in this boat at some point) from feeling super down about the wheel-spinning DECADE that followed. I wish I could bookmark this so we could refer back once the Kyrie era is over, because I’ll be mildly surprised if anyone even cares he was ever here by the time that pick gets made. Fans are “what’s next” creatures.

What I’d like to see is a team that consistently makes smart decisions and executes them to a level better than the competition. That is, I believe, what you want, too.