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

[Jym]

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.

We'll see how long it takes for Kyrie to Kyrie himself out of here.
Someone longer term would have been nice, but it's hard for me to argue with the price we paid if he opts into that 3rd year and is headache free while he's here. We'll see if that happens. But if it does that's just about the smallest package you could imagine giving up for several years of a top 20ish player. His iffiness is exactly why he was so cheap