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He could be the missing piece to a great team...or he might be a diva and sink the ship.

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The Mavs handled the KP situation; not concerned about some guy on an expiring contract.

Exactly. This is going to be much different than KP who was the only player on the roster with a max deal and a 'star' ego. Wood will either fit in or get out. Nothing about his salary or NBA pedigree will dictate how the Mavs have to treat him like it did with KP.

I know highlights are just that, but I enjoyed watching this. After sleeping on it I see only upside in this deal. He's athletic for sure. Maybe he's not a great defender but he is an instant upgrade to the lineup that made it to the Western Conference Finals. If he can be convinced to trust Luka he will be really good for us.

Seems like he should be a decent fit with maxi on the court, right? If we can play them both together and both can stretch the floor, with Maxi's defense helping cover for Wood's defensive liabilities (if his defense turns out to be bad), then that could be lethal.

Agreed, I see little downside to this deal outside of the small possibility that our #26 pick turns out to become something better than Wood is now. Chances are slim that you're getting a starter at the bottom end of the 1st round. Wood could end up solving a lot of our deficiencies for the upcoming season and maybe beyond. He just needs to understand how to fit into a winning teams culture and not become a distraction.

Post All-Star break totals.

His career 38% 3 point shooting is as good any anyone on the team, and it's been getting better. Not bad for a 4/5

Top 3 last year:
Dinwiddie 40.4%
DFS 39.4%
Brunson 37.3%

just need him to get to 2-3 blocks a game. rebounds are already there. if we can magically put another 10-20 pounds on him, would be great

Enzo The Baker said:

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At least Boban stays in Texas.

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But is it the end of this?
https://instagr.am/p/Ce2Ox_lD4T8

Any Tatum>Luka takes should be put to bed after last night lol

Zachary Klement said:

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Any Tatum>Luka takes should be put to bed after last night lol

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He looked so flat and unconfident to end that series

Harry Dunne said:

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Good move for both sides. Mavs gave up scrubs and a lottery ticket for a guy that could be the difference.

Houston not going to be good for at least a couple of years. No point in keeping a veteran who is not a leader and is taking away minutes from guys who might be a part of the future.

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Mavs also gain roster room for adding options.

So it's been a few days and nobody has brought up that one of our favorite former Clipper is going to federal pound me in the ass prison?

https://www.si.com/nba/2022/06/14/montrezl-harrell-facing-felony-drug-charges-traffic-stop-kentucky

Wonder if he's brave enough to call someone in there the same thing he called Luka…

Happy draft day eve! You'd think that being a Mavs fan would make me hate the NBA draft but for some reason I've always loved it. It's so easy to consume at just 2 rounds and 5 positions and a single player picked from Serbia in the 2nd rd could be a 2 time MVP. The possibilities are amazing.

As for Dallas, it sounds like the Mavs are definitely going to make a move to get back into the 2nd round of the draft.

Guys I'm fairly confident they'd target if they fall below 35ish:
- Christian Koloko - C
- Ishmael Kamagate - C
- Trevor Keels - G < this would shock me but saw a Twitter report about mavs targeting him.
- Josh Minott - F <this is the guy I have a source who said the Mavs snuck him in for a pre draft workout and would target had they kept their pick at 26. So if he's available at all in the 2nd, I think the Mavs move aggressively to get him.

I also don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that the Mavs make a move to get back into the first round in a certain player falls. Teams like Charlotte or Philly have picks they don't want to keep or would get rid of for the right price and I do think Dallas could afford the price tag if they desired (aka take back bad money for expirings).

M.C. Swag said:

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Happy draft day eve! You'd think that being a Mavs fan would make me hate the NBA draft but for some reason I've always loved it. It's so easy to consume at just 2 rounds and 5 positions and a single player picked from Serbia in the 2nd rd could be a 2 time MVP. The possibilities are amazing.

As for Dallas, it sounds like the Mavs are definitely going to make a move to get back into the 2nd round of the draft.

Guys I'm fairly confident they'd target if they fall below 35ish:
- Christian Koloko - C
- Ishmael Kamagate - C
- Trevor Keels - G < this would shock me but saw a Twitter report about mavs targeting him.
- Josh Minott - F <this is the guy I have a source who said the Mavs snuck him in for a pre draft workout and would target had they kept their pick at 26. So if he's available at all in the 2nd, I think the Mavs move aggressively to get him.

I also don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that the Mavs make a move to get back into the first round in a certain player falls. Teams like Charlotte or Philly have picks they don't want to keep or would get rid of for the right price and I do think Dallas could afford the price tag if they desired (aka take back bad money for expirings).

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Interesting, I like minott the most of the college guys and like kamagate out of France. I'd be good with either of those guys.

Nikola Jovic would be fantastic.

Pvilleaggie said:

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Nikola Jovic would be fantastic.

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The guys I really wanted at 26 were
Laravia (Wake Forest)
Wendell Moore (Duke)

I had my eye on Jalen Williams (Santa Clara) a couple months ago when I saw the Ringer mock draft him to us. He's a 6'7 wing with a 7'2 wingspan that shoots 40% from 3 and led his team in assists. He's a physical freak who would fit perfect on the team….unfortunately his stock has skyrocketed and is probably going top 20. But IF he were to fall to 26ish…I'm going to lose my mind if the Mavs don't try to trade up for him lol.

What pieces do you see the Mavs using to get back in the draft?

Seeing rumblings that JB is telling teammates that he is returning to Mavs. Will be interesting to see what the deal is.

Old School Brother said:

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Seeing rumblings that JB is telling teammates that he is returning to Mavs. Will be interesting to see what the deal is.

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HOPE SO!

Latest reports from Woj saying that the Mavs are on Kyrie's list if he was gonna get traded.. Not sure how to feel about that. Talent is undeniable but don't think he's worth the headache.

Texas Ag 15 said:

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Latest reports from Woj saying that the Mavs are on Kyrie's list if he was gonna get traded.. Not sure how to feel about that. Talent is undeniable but don't think he's worth the headache.

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Even if we were cool with the headache, which I'm not sure we are, we don't have the money, right?

We definitely dont have the money if Brunson resigns. We'd have to offload a few contracts in a sign and trade for it to happen. Think it's pretty unlikely of him coming here. I can't see him and Luka getting along very well.

Nope. Luka, and I love him, is a bit of a diva. One diva is manageable. More than one is a reality TV show.

Ol Jock 99 said:

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Nope. Luka, and I love him, is a bit of a diva. One diva is manageable. More than one is a reality TV show.

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First I've heard of Luka being perceived as a Diva…especially on Kyrie's level.

Would you prefer the term high maintenance? The constant griping at the refs, the unquestionable need to be the #1, the whole KP deal. It's almost like he's a young guy who has been a superstar since he was 15/16.

I'm not ranking him vs Kyrie or anyone else. And it is certain a good "issue" to have to deal with; his upside is way higher than any diva-ness.

Ol Jock 99 said:

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Would you prefer the term high maintenance? The constant griping at the refs, the unquestionable need to be the #1, the whole KP deal. It's almost like he's a young guy who has been a superstar since he was 15/16.

I'm not ranking him vs Kyrie or anyone else. And it is certain a good "issue" to have to deal with; his upside is way higher than any diva-ness.

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I don't disagree, just think he's one of the more manageable divas in the league. He's high maintenance for sure....and will likely even surpass Dirk at some point as my favorite player ever (besides MJ). I don't think he and Kyrie would mesh AT ALL.

Brunson>>>>Kyrie for a multitude of reasons, least of which is talent....but the other stuff matters, esp at Kyrie's age

Complaining about calls is not high maintenance, it's protecting yourself. I will never understand people that take the side of a relatively low paid observer over a maximally skilled individual at their profession.

Do you really think the average NBA referee is as good at their job as the average NBA player, let alone the MVP?

Complain all they want, I don't care, the referees generally deserve criticism.

hph6203 said:

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Complaining about calls is not high maintenance, it's protecting yourself. I will never understand people that take the side of a relatively low paid observer over a maximally skilled individual at their profession.

Do you really think the average NBA referee is as good at their job as the average NBA player, let alone the MVP?

Complain all they want, I don't care, the referees generally deserve criticism.

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I agree that refs are terrible, but the rest of your comments are straight gobblety gook nonsense. Anyone with eyes is annoyed with Luka's continual ref gripes. Hell, he gave opposing playoff teams probably 40 pts this last postseason by staying back and griping instead of running back to play defense. In my estimation, he probably cost us a game or two as some of those transition points came at critical times in the game and helped propel runs for the other team.

I say all this as the biggest Luka fanboy out there. He has a flaw...and it's griping way too much about non calls.

Nonsense. And I have eyes. The whining about Luka complaining is way more whiney than Luka's complaining. Coming from a perspective that complaining is weakness, complaining is not weakness.

Every great player ever complained to refs. Every. Single. One. And they did it a lot.

hph6203 said:

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Nonsense. And I have eyes. The whining about Luka complaining is way more whiney than Luka's complaining. Coming from a perspective that complaining is weakness, complaining is not weakness.

Every great player ever complained to refs. Every. Single. One. And they did it a lot.

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Chalk me up as someone who wishes he would complain less. It is very noticeable and annoying. You're right that a lot of good players do it, that doesn't make it less annoying. Can still remember Duncan acting like he never committed a foul before - as a fan it just makes you roll your eyes.

Luka has done nothing to make me think he is a diva, we will see over the next couple of years though.