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

[KillerLeft]

I’m not disputing your right to be annoyed, just pointing out a flaw of hindsight with many on these boards.  If it is true that 100% of the people on this board will be pissed/annoyed, it is more about not owning the original opinions and using hindsight as the basis for the new positions.  I’ll point it back at me instead of others as it applies to me as well.

I can’t fault the Mav’s for the Porzingis trade as I was onboard with it at the time.  If memory serves me correctly, many of the talking heads also thought the Mav’s pulled off a great trade and I THINK many questioned why he wasn’t shopped for a better deal (memory was it came out of left field but I may be remembering that wrong).

While I am a little more critical of the Brunson fiasco because IMO, the Mav’s should have had a better read, in no world did I see Brunson turning out the way he has from where he was at the the TDL, which is where I believe things started to go south in the relationship.  I liked Brunson more than most on this board but at that time, I still had questions around his upside, team and Luka fit, defense, and his value relative to the cost to retain.  If we are being honest, many had the same questions at the time.  In one case (Porzingis), many are upset we made the move.  In the other (Brunson), many are upset we didn’t.  Both are operating from a position of hindsight.

Bottom line is that it would be intellectually dishonest for me to overly bash the team for moves that in hindsight turned out different than I hoped when I was very happy with one  and conflicted on the other at the time the decision was made.  Is it annoying that Porzingis has and still influences our flexibility moving forward?  Sure…but I don’t blame the Mav’s.  Is watching Brunson’s continued development annoying, absolutely and I am a little less forgiving on that one as they had him from the get go.

Everyone has their opinions on Capela and where the Mav’s are.  Personally, I believe the Mav’s are much closer than I thought they would be.  I also believe they are another year away from being legit contenders and will likely need flexibility to take the next step.  To me, trading the ‘27 pick for Capela would be reverting back to the Mav’s old ways of thinking.  

I like Capela and think he improves the team but not at the cost of the ‘27 pick. I don’t think he changes the contention timeline or improves our odds of taking the next step.  If others feel he is the missing piece, then I can understand their conviction for making the move.  Just own the ultimate outcome, good or bad and don’t let hindsight cloud your future positions.

Agree with this. 

I was WAY on board with the Porzingis trade, and have said so many times. That one is hindsight, for sure. I wasn't even scared when they gave him a max-extension before he put a uniform on. That SHOULD have scared all of us to death. We were so desperate (myself included) for the new, shiny Luka/star pairing that we were sure was going to wreck the NBA we barely gave it a second of worry. 

One of the things I find interesting about my sports fan hobby is to observe and learn from these patterns. I am fascinated with how these decisions affect success over TIME. 

While I was not anti-Porzingis trade, I was one of the first to point out that it wasn't working, didn't have a chance of working in the future, and would end with him being moved off of the roster unceremoniously. I was hoping they'd bite the bulleit and eat that sunk cost a full year before they did, and believe they'd be better off today if they had. 

I think it's pretty fair to say that the team's chosen method to deal with the Porzingis mistake was to search for other risky deals involving draft capital farther and farther down the road. The desperation of dwindling assets and passing time makes bigger and bigger risks seem like better and better ideas. Kyrie IS a star. Great, great player. The trade, ensuing contract negotiations and prospect of him playing out his next deal here without issue all came with an element of risk, some to a high degree, and that's without considering timeline fit, results, etc.  

Now, look at how great MOST of us (not all of us) feel about this off-season, wherein the Mavs simply had a pick and the MLE to deal with, just like most teams. Look at what they were able to do with all of that. They turned the pick into three assets, each bringing varying degrees of promise and optimism for the next few seasons. They were able to use the MLE to leverage a sign and trade for probably the best Luka-fitting FA on the market. 

Maybe others feel differently. I might have felt differently 5-7 years ago. But, where I am right now is this: if they just did THIS kind of work EVERY summer, or at least like three out of every five summers, they would be a contender in no time without any of these big risks. AND, that type of organic contention is sustainable over a longer period of time.