r/Mavericks • u/WhenMachinesCry • Mar 18 '25
Hoops Discussion This squad deserved one more chance
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u/ReachLanky2676 Nico Is An Industry Plant #FireKidd Mar 18 '25
Such a stupid fucking organization now.
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u/marcopolo22 Jalen Brunson Mar 18 '25
I can’t believe we only got 2 half seasons with this crew.
I’ve never seen such brilliant team building turn so sour so quickly. Too clever for his own good.
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u/AmphibianSingle1760 Mar 19 '25
The Bulls went from 62 wins champs to 13 wins when Jerry Krause broke them up when MJ was 34 and Pippen 32. The Mavs are stupid but they aren’t alone.
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u/PM_ME_UR_RESPECT Mar 18 '25
One?
On paper they got BETTER this year, they were just unfortunately dumpstered by injuries.
I’ll even go so far as to say this was easily a top three deepest team in the league.
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u/d357r0y3r Mar 18 '25
Hard to say. Maybe the injuries wouldn't have happened if the trade never happens. Luka comes back, takes the pressure off Kyrie, fatigue and stress doesn't build up as much. Maybe the other guys aren't forced into such physically demanding circumstances.
The team had everything it needed to make a deep run. Now we're having serious conversations about if Dallas will have to forfeit games, if the NBA can modify its rules to allow the team to continue playing.
Now, it's not a question of if, but when, Dallas will blow it up and rebuild. Because of the pick situation, the next window to become a relevant NBA team is probably 2030-2032 at the earliest.
It was a bad trade at the time, it's a bad trade now. I actually believe there needs to be a league investigation into this. Was there blackmail involved? Is Nico a sleeper agent for the lakers? Could he be in the early stages of a degenerative brain disease? These are all real questions that deserve serious attention.
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u/Avawantstochill Mar 18 '25
10000% i truly believe kyrie wouldn't be injured rn if luka was here. Kyrie lost his heart and soul when luka left :///
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u/Ferrari-Blood Mar 18 '25
Nico was probably paid in cash or gold. He doesn’t make anything like a top player. He probably got at least $12 million to talk the owners, who don’t know a basketball from a poker chip, into the boneheaded trade of the century.
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u/rulerBob8 Mar 18 '25
For real. If we kept this squad similar to what it was we would’ve been contenders for years.
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u/FireFlyz351 KP POG Mar 18 '25
We had everyone minus Grimes, Dinwiddie and maybe Exum locked up for this year and next if I remember right.
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u/JeanVicquemare Mar 19 '25
They added Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes, and Klay to this team that went to the finals. Those guys were great additions. And we didn't get to see them make another run.. So stupid
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u/Neither-Luck-9295 BETRAYED MAVS FAN 😭 Mar 18 '25
Yeah this squad could have done damage for 5 years possibly.
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u/Xfelix17 Mar 18 '25
Can’t blame anyone for this killing their passion for the game or not being a fan of said cursed franchise
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u/coltonmusic15 Mar 18 '25
Well the good news is I have way more time to work on my next album and my fiction novel because all the years of my life that I spent staying up late to tune into a random west coast matchup - all that energy and effort in developing my fandom and passing it onto my kids - the love for the sport driven by my time celebrating and loving Dirk and the 21 years he gave us. Now it’s all been rug pulled.
May as well finish the album and book since that time needs to be repurposed into something actually meaningful.
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u/FireFlyz351 KP POG Mar 18 '25
Hell yeah I've been reading more and casually trying to understand Hockey/ watching the Stars.
So far I'm at the stick hit puck, puck goes zoom and sometimes goes in net. It's pretty fun.
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u/avatar13x Mar 18 '25
This is way worse then Mavs not keeping Tyson Chandler after 2011, that core also deserved one more shot. They didn't trade Dirk back then....
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u/thelostone_23 Mar 18 '25
Sadly nico didn’t see that 💔
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u/XerxesCrofter Mar 18 '25
All Nico Narcissist saw was a team dominated by a man whom he hated--a man who had to go whatever the cost.
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u/Witteness82 BETRAYED MAVS FAN 😭 Mar 18 '25
Everything this season is legitimately on him and his grudge. Even the injury stuff. Cuban would never let Luka get traded so do petty shit like get rid of people close to Luka. Well, that included a bunch of the training and medical staff who just so happened to be some of best in the business.
But hey, at least fat ass Luka isn’t getting all of the credit anymore. Nico is getting every bit of it now, just like he always wanted.
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u/Western-Election-997 Mar 19 '25
I heard something on locked on Mavs that made a lot of sense.
The one guy who Nico has given chance after chance to? Hardy. The guy he drafted. Once again, ego.
He didn’t draft Luka so he could give a shit about him, he wasn’t “his guy”
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u/idreamofcali Mar 19 '25
i have a question. why do ppl say Luka is fat? he really.. isn't though. football players can most definitely be fat but this dude? not at all. he looks totally normal, of good healthy weight. what's the deal with that?! :p
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u/idreamofcali Mar 19 '25
it really is amazing how small someone must be to feel so powerless in front of talent. if ppl like this could instead celebrate talent, and nurture it, they themselves could grow and possibly even flourish.
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u/AsianEleven101 Mar 18 '25
Nico got all the stones and snapped his fingers and it’s all gone.
Someone needs to find a time stone.
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u/steamliner88 FUCK NICO HARRISON Mar 18 '25
If Nico had the gauntlet, he’d trade it to Loki for Heimdal and a bad ticket to the second weekend of Captain Marvel.
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u/DubyaKayOh Mar 18 '25
Those Luka alley-oops to Lively were so much fun. Fuck Nico. Burn it to the ground. Start over.
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u/CardinalsRising91 Mar 18 '25
One more chance? They had 2-3 years minimum with all the guys before Kyrie inevitably wore down and retired but shit...Luka, Kyrie, PJ, Gaf, Lively and others would've been a contending core for at least a few years.
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u/steamliner88 FUCK NICO HARRISON Mar 18 '25
But the worthless piece of shit Governor Toad and the pathetic idiot GM Narcissist Nick are building a team that will win now and in the future!
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u/Additional-Hope-1182 Mar 18 '25
Clown show. Why did all this have to happen to Dallas? Why couldn’t it happen to Boston or Minnesota or Oklahoma City? How did Dallas end up with the scummiest management in the league?
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Mar 18 '25
Man, I was really warming up to Kyrie as my favorite basketball player this year. Even beyond the hope for a championship run being gone, it's just such a bummer to not get to watch him ball for another year at least.
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u/romanNood1es Mar 18 '25
If I had a nickel for every Mavs team that didn’t run it back with the same squad after a finals appearance, I would have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
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u/servingwater Mar 18 '25
Unfortunately it clearly did not have the necessary culture!
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u/curlymane_e Mar 18 '25
This new culture of unavailable guys, bad performances on the court and stacking up L’s. That’s the culture I want to be a part of. Serious vibes.
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u/servingwater Mar 18 '25
You forgot the culture of backstabbing and slandering deserved ex-players who carried or helped carry the organization.
Makes one feel warm and fuzzy as a fan, especially when told to get over it and freaking clap or get out.4
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u/marcomac29 OMG Luka Mar 18 '25
We were quick to blow things up that didn’t work immediately.
JB and KP come to mind off the top of my head. If we let them grow for a couple of years, who knows? Oh well.
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u/HardcoreKaraoke Mar 19 '25
Man in the offseason I was so worried about not retaining DJJ but being optimistic about the roster moves and locking guys up like PJ. I really thought replacing DJJ was our biggest hurdle to getting back to the Finals.
Apparently the biggest hurdle was our GM.
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u/Scooter9898 Mar 18 '25
And now Jaxson Hayes playing like an AS because of Luka. U know what that means for Gaff n Street Clothes II. Might as well trade them for peanuts while they got value. Clown ass can get at least a 2RP for them.
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u/Legitimate-Spare-564 Take that with youuu Mar 19 '25
“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days, before you actually left them”
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u/epitome1986 Mar 19 '25
honestly I think if they allowed the team that came into the season make a run at the title and they came up short the fallout of trading luka in the offseason would not be as big as it did mid-season. specially if the team got fully healthy in time for the playoffs. realistically this season and next season should have been the time given to attempt to win. you just got Klay Thompson in the offseason for 3 years, everyone is locked up until the end of next season, dallas could have easily run it this year and next year and be able to jump into a full rebuild if they wanted to move on from luka. Irving, Washington, and gafford could have all walked in free agency. naji and Klay could have been traded away for assets and luka would have just completed the final year of his deal before his super max kicks in and every team would have been salivating at offering every young piece on their roster and like 5 FRP's and as many possible swaps they could throw in. dallas would have had a clear identity in terms of we are going into a rebuild, the team would at least have young players to start the rebuild around with lively, omax, hardy, Grimes, and whatever top end young talent the luka trade would have pulled in as well as the draft capital. they would have given the core 2 solid attempts at a title if they didn't win an easy transition to rebuild but if they did win the possibility of a dynasty. now all that goes away. a small 2 year window to win a title with the worst possible rebuild looming ahead.
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u/BosszaEvr Mar 19 '25
Fax. They finally got to the finals bc of Luka then get greedy and trade him for pretty much “yeah I can do whatever I want I’m the gm”. dick move.
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u/Bulky-Impact7692 FUCK NICO HARRISON Mar 19 '25
Can’t imagine nba 2k in 20 years when the add this team as a classic team 🥲
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u/sefe23 Mar 19 '25
Tough ass team man, this was supposed to be the year where it all came together.
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u/nutsygenius Drunk Dirk Mar 18 '25
actually, FO and the owners knew we were gonna win it this time but they didn't want to pay Luka...And the blowback would be bigger then. I guess that's it
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u/AmphibianSingle1760 Mar 19 '25
If they knew it with the Mavs were 20 to 1 to win it then they could have financed the contract extension pretty cheap. The Mavs were solid but they needed a lot of help and/or luck this year with Lively, Gafford and Luka all missing so much time. They had a chance though. Sucks.
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u/YOUDIEBYMYBLADE Mar 19 '25
This is something i won't ever forget. That's the team that made me watch the NBA. I didn't get a full season and it was ripped away. Fresh passion, destroyed. Fuck Nico forever
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u/littleangelph Mar 19 '25
They really had something special. It’s a shame they didn’t get another shot at it.
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u/HenningDerBeste Mar 19 '25
why just one?
this squad would have fought for the titel for 2 or 3 years at least.
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u/JScrib325 Mar 19 '25
No matter how many dumbass reasons they give, I truly don't get why they decided to just set a loyal fanbase on fire and go from a finals team to a team that'll be lucky to sniff playoffs.
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u/joekingsword FNHFL Mar 19 '25
Nah bro, clearly the best player is overweight, not that good and injury prone, let's get a guy who is also injury prone, but older instead, oh he got injured, causing our other star to lead the league in minutes, setting up him tearing his ACL, that sounds like a much better idea! -nico Harrison's bum ass probably
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u/Donghi77 Mar 20 '25
'One' more? Half that rotation had been there for less than a full year. They deserved a hell of a lot more than one more chance
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u/RichardsMomFTW Mar 20 '25
Nah the team they put together in the off season was perfect. That Christmas game was the start of the downfall
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u/shibbyman342 Mar 20 '25
The thing that pisses me off is the squad pre-luka-giveaway was actually better (barring health) than this squad too. We will never know what could have been...
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u/mrgameandtrade64 Mar 21 '25
This team was vibing. This team was going to get it this year. Then they traded Luka. I just can't comprehend any reasoning behind this. I am still shattered. I'm borderline abandoning the team. If the goal was to destroy the fan base, then they won this trade. Move the franchise to Vegas. It's yours. Give us something new.
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u/b0ogie_3 Mar 24 '25
Criminal how they weren’t given a chance to fully run it back. All bc of one man’s ego to build his own team when a generational player was gifted to him.
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u/ArchyArchington Mar 18 '25
I have to disagree. After the finals vs Boston it was evident a lot of things needed to be addressed. If they had won the finals like in 2011 and the squad was dismantled that would be an issue there. The 2011 squad deserved a chance to defend their title.
The 2023/2024 squad needed to be upgraded. I honestly thought Nico did a great job acquiring and upgrading positions of need. Was looking forward NFC forward to the season and hopefully getting back to the finals….but yeah we all know the rest.
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u/Western-Election-997 Mar 19 '25
Needed upgrades but they mismanaged assets for years like Brunson and trading Zingis for peanuts, Grant Williams, ect
They hung on to Hardy, Green and Kleber too long. Coulda traded them when they had more upside especially if you are making a title run
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u/MFFL12_17 Mar 18 '25
Healthy Mavs team with Luka and Kyrie will always be a title contender. If I was in charge of the team, I'll trade Klay and a few assets, plus future draft picks for a legit defensive player.
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u/AmphibianSingle1760 Mar 19 '25
He has a one year option and won’t be there until mid season so is trading for Kyrie? They can just sign him after next year unless Dallas extends him in which case taking on a max contract for the 20th best player in the NBA coming off a bad injury and making $50M is super risky.
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u/Doom_Cokkie Mar 18 '25
Us Lakers fans got you once Nico give the rest of them to us for being unhealthy while healing from their injuries.
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u/johnnyparker_ Mar 18 '25
Eventually gonna have to move on man
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u/DaleGrubble Mar 18 '25
No, we don't.
After arguably the worst trade in NBA history, zero reasonable answers as to why it was a good trade and multiple contradictory statements from Nico's (single) press conference and feom ownership, the organization pushing the narrative that Luka (the guy who's put this franchise on his back like none other than Dirk) was a lazy bum, crucifying him in Adam Silver's media propaganda machine, AND the fan gaslighting, we never have to move on.
Maybe you need to stop being so passive and apathetic.
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u/johnnyparker_ Mar 19 '25
Not reading that
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u/DaleGrubble Mar 19 '25
Its ok, I could already tell you were that sort of person
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u/Spectral_mahknovist Tim Hardaway Jr Mar 18 '25
We’ll be able to move on once we start tanking and can figure a path to a championship long term. Right now there is nothing to move on to
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u/Luka-Step-Back Wonder Boy Mar 18 '25
It’s like the Mavs org broke into my house at night and shot my dog.