If Nico tries to retain Finny Smith I think the Mavs lose Kyrie to the Suns or the Clippers.
Also I think Siakam is overkill if you snag Irving. The better move for them would be to drop the currently available 2027 and 2029 FRPs + Josh Green + THJ for Anunob at the deadline instead of waiting for the summer.
It was Finney-Smith or Josh Green, and they made the right decision or it sounded like they were going to take Chris Paul, Crowder, and picks from the Suns.
I think there’s a distinction between being toxic for an organization and toxic in the locker room. There’s really not a lot of evidence that he’s the latter, but plenty for the former.
Wonder what the Mavs next move is because they still have the same holes to plug, but now they also need depth at the wing. As I mentioned earlier, Anunoby is the dream scenario but the Pelicans have a way better offer. Not ideal but maybe calling the Pistons about Bojan makes more sense now.
Mavs should be calling about Naz Reid too.
This is spot on. Tim MacMahon, and Marc Stein were saying that players absolutely LOVE Kyrie for whatever reason. His issue is he clashes with the authority and front offices really bad. I don't think it will be so much Luka & him as it will be his relationship with Cuban, Nico, and Kidd falling apart.
That being said, he idolized Kidd and has a long-standing relationship with Nico from Nike. I don't know - we'll see what that actually buys you. Your hope is that Cuban and Co. kinda have a personality that lets players just, sorta, "be themselves". Then again, can you really make Kyrie happy for long?
I think available this year they have 2027 FRP and 2026 & 2028 FRP swaps. Their best young prospect is Josh Green and he’s doing great. A package for Anuonoby would have to be Josh Green + McGee + all the FRPs available… and both the Pelicans and Grizzlies have better offers. Suns & Blazers too.
They could definitely pick up Naz Reid and Bojan Bogdanovic though.
Mavs currently have '27 1st rounder available. '25 won't come open until the draft concludes, as they're still waiting to convey the '23 1st to the Knicks.
The Mavs either want a big defensive minded center, who can rebound a bit, or they'll look for an Anunoby-type at wing. I think the Knicks win the bidding for Anunoby, though. Honestly, I think they see Josh Green as Anunoby in another year or so. Very similar skill sets, one is more refined.
I saw somewhere that he was maybe responding to an article or reporter on TV speaking about a potential 3rd star to Dallas. I've always wondered in LeBron would maybe bail to go play with Luka since just loves him, and now Kyrie is there? Still doubtful, but interesting. No idea what this cryptic shit is.
My take as a very invested Mavs fan:
I really thought the Mavs were going to land Kyrie for Dinwiddie & DFS straight up. The '29 FRP sucks to give up, but it's six years away. The Mavs could only currently offer a two-year extension, sadly. So it really does make more sense for both parties to wait for free agency. Now what scares me is the obvious, "You just gave up Dinwiddie, DFS and a 1st to watch Kyrie break your heart and bail in the off-season to L.A."
Enter "
Plan Powder".
As any Mavs fan knows, this has a horrible historical precedence - the Mavs have not been succesful in free agency. That being said, if Kyrie bails, it opens about $30 million in cap space for the off-season. This is a relatively weak free agency, and I think the Spurs are the only team that have any potential max cap space. All that to say, losing Kyrie wouldn't be "ideal", but the Mavs could essentially swap Dinwiddie, DFS, that '29 1st and say THJ (who they want to off-load anyway), and open up about $45 million in room. I think it's very possible the Mavs, in a salvaging situation, could land let's say a Jerami Grant and another $10-12 million player, or a package of something like Bogdan Bogdanovic at wing, and Jakob Poeltl at Center. Ideal? No. But it wouldn't necessarily be the end if he leaves. As for the trade deadline, I expect them to try and move Wood & THJ, and see what's available. Wood is a rare center who can rim-run, shoot at a high clip, and even rim protect a bit - but the Mavs FO really wants to run offense through the guards have a stout defensive big to make up for the back court's defensive shortcomings. I'm open to holding the '25 & '27 1st rounders, and re-evaluating again this off-season. Then again, a 1st could land you a Rozier/Bogdanovic/Trent Jr.-type player.
tl;dr
Kyrie leaves, it would suck, but not AS bad as I originally thought.