07-05-2021, 10:26 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-05-2021, 10:31 AM by dirkfansince1998.)
(07-05-2021, 10:02 AM)Kammrath Wrote: No disagreement.....
....BUT the Mavs shot themselves in the foot by not tanking properly in 2017 (before Luka) OR tanking properly in 2019 (in Luka's 1st season to try to keep that pick).
The Mavs SHOULD have had one more "closer to elite" talent in the fold, maybe two if luck was on their side. Instead they ended up with only Luka.
In large part I blame RC who is on the record saying in that time:
Maybe the philosophy came from above RC and it wasn't his fault, but IMO he was one of the guys who never really seemed interested in the draft and that might have permeated the whole front office for 13 years.
Agree on the not tanking probably part. Also think that RC wasn´t the right coach for a team that was trying to lose. In the end the established coaches think about themself and their reputation. Pop, RC, Spoelstra. Most coaches won´t lose on purpose. That´s why Bird moved on from RC. Contention window for Indiana closed and they started the rebuild. Spurs are in a similar situation right now. Pop is squeezing the the best possible results out of a mediocre roster but they lost in the play in tournament.
I think Donnie was really high on the draft most of the time. As he should because scouting (especially in europe) was his job before he became the GM. RC prefered vets and win now players (like most coaches) but looking back at the roster construction of the last few years I really think that he had no influence on most of the decisions (see Rondo). I blame RC for the late season wins from 2017-19 that cost the Mavs lottery positions but I don´t think that the overall approach of trying to win with mediocre vets like Barnes/Matthews is on him. Cuban (with Dirks support) tried to take short cuts and chased big names. We all know the Donnie/Giannis/Cuban saga. We also know how the Mavs used 2nd round picks. PR stunts instead of searching for the best available player.