It's also crazy that he's 38% from 3 since he turned 19. Same thing happened at Duke where it looked like he would struggle with his shot, then he turned 18 and he shot over 40% from 3 the rest of the season.

Hes leveling up in ways nobody thought he would this soon. He's going to get 40 again this year.

If he continues to work on his handle and 3 point jumper, you're looking at a top 5 player in the league again. At 19 I think he's already a better scorer and defender than quite a few top 10-20 guys in the league on a one game basis.

Charlotte is a solid team with the 5th highest expected win percentage in the Eastern conference. They've also been really good since getting everybody (Brandon Miller) healthy. I heard on a podcast about a week ago that their starting 5 with Ball-Kon-Miller-Bridges-Diabate has a crazy high net rating.

And the Mavs still almost won the game despite Charlotte shooting 49% on 41 3s and the Mavs not having 4 of their 7 best players. That's with Gafford and PJ clearly not being themselves and Christie having an off night from 3.

It's frustrating right now, but with how good Coop is already, the Mavs are a solid team. Maybe pick one guy in the top 10 who can be a rotation player next season and the Mavs should be competing for top 6 in a year. All these clutch games are really good for the young guys as well.

I think Charlotte is going to keep the foot on the gas and knock the Hawks out of the playoffs after the Hawks refuse to make another deal so they can keep their Pelicans pick.

I'm a certified LaMelo hater, but the move I would really like to see them do is Jrue Holiday and Robert Williams for LaMelo. Get that veteran leader with two rings in there that can play defense, and bring some seriousness. Then Rob gives some more big depth with Diabate and Kalkbrenner.

I don't think you can actually win with a player like LaMelo at PG. Too injured, too little defense, too much an unserious volume guy.

Yeah I would hate to have Lamelo on my team because of all the stuff you mentioned. He's a worse, more injured, and even worse on defense version of Luka.

That said, if he's playing, he's scary to go against because if he has a good shooting game then they are almost impossible to beat. He's a good passer with good feel for the game when he is driving. He's got good chemistry with Diabate as well.

I would like to see him in a playoff series just to see if he changes his effort on the defensive end. I wonder if Charlotte wants to see it out this year also then reevaluate in the summer.

Oh yeah, I don't think Charlotte is going to make any big moves unless they get something stupid good dropped in their lap. They could have dangled the 27 Mavs pick and ending contracts like Sexton for AD and don't seem interested. They just need a veteran leader, even though Kon seems to be the person providing that. I just think Kon tops out as a #2 guy, not a MVP candidate and you pretty much cant win without an MVP candidate.

I hadn't watched lamelo in a while and didn't realize he had gotten so athletic. He has the ability to just blow by guys. If he were ever able to get his mind right and actually focus on playing smart basketball, he would be unstoppable. Im sure it will never happen, but I wouldn't be trading him for scraps when he has that potential.

Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel on a random Thursday night in January pic.twitter.com/Pc8HlFx9nj

— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) January 30, 2026

Tank watch looks pretty straight forward at this point. Clear separation by SAC, IND, WASH, NO, BKN, and UTA. I expect NO to end up in that 6th spot. The Mavs are just too far away though for NO to catch them. There is also starting to be some separation by the teams above the Mavs. CHA and LAC are playing very well and pulling away.

Looks like the tank zone for the Mavs will be between MEM, MIL and DAL for the 7/8/9 spots. The pick odds are basically a 29% Top 4 jump for the 7/8 spots and a 20% jump for the 9th spot. Hopefully the Mavs can out-tank one of MEM or MIL, but I don't think it is a significant difference here. We are talking 9% difference in jumping to Top 4. If the Mavs win a few extra games because Flagg is playing well, then so be it.

This is a very good draft probably through pick 15. The Top 5 are all obviously all very strong, but ultimately the difference between the 7th or 9th pick isn't likely to be massive. Those picks 6 though 15 will all have some weaknesses, it doesn't seem obvious who will hit and who will bust at this point.

Good news is the Mavs have the 3rd hardest remaining SOS in the league. Memphis is 11th and Milwaukee is 19th.

We're still in a holding pattern as to whether Kyrie is playing this year or if AD is coming back, so projecting being a worse team than MEM or MIL over the last month or two of the season is hard. Also don't know if Gafford or Naji is on the team.

I know some are saying just shut Kyrie down for the season, but it would be good to get him back in live game action for about a month. I don't think it's a good idea for him to start next season having not played in an NBA game in almost 20 months.

jeffdjohnson said:

---

Tank watch looks pretty straight forward at this point. Clear separation by SAC, IND, WASH, NO, BKN, and UTA. I expect NO to end up in that 6th spot. The Mavs are just too far away though for NO to catch them. There is also starting to be some separation by the teams above the Mavs. CHA and LAC are playing very well and pulling away.

Looks like the tank zone for the Mavs will be between MEM, MIL and DAL for the 7/8/9 spots. The pick odds are basically a 29% Top 4 jump for the 7/8 spots and a 20% jump for the 9th spot. Hopefully the Mavs can out-tank one of MEM or MIL, but I don't think it is a significant difference here. We are talking 9% difference in jumping to Top 4. If the Mavs win a few extra games because Flagg is playing well, then so be it.

This is a very good draft probably through pick 15. The Top 5 are all obviously all very strong, but ultimately the difference between the 7th or 9th pick isn't likely to be massive. Those picks 6 though 15 will all have some weaknesses, it doesn't seem obvious who will hit and who will bust at this point.

---

New Orleans still has 10 games left against Sac, Milwaukee, Washington, Dallas, and Utah.

I think Milwaukee is committed to the tank at this point. They are four games out of the play-in and Giannis is probably never wearing that jersey again.

Dallas and Memphis I am unsure about. Both seem to be in the **** or get off the pot area. Memphis needs to trade JJJ and tear it down. But they don't seem like they want to. I feel like Detroit or Chicago would give them a really good offer for JJJ. Maybe Charlotte as he would be perfect there with Diabetes, Miller, Kon, and Ball. Because the Hornets have extra picks, they could actually trade Miles Bridges and ending contracts for JJJ and send out 1 first in each of the next 5 drafts if they wanted to.

For Dallas, I've been a proponent of tanking all season because of how good this draft is, but something that makes sense to me is trading Gafford to Houston for Steven Adams and a 1st. Adams is out for the year and Houston has Brooklyn and PHX's 1st next year, their own pick in 28 and the Dallas/PHX pick in 29 (Houston gets two most favorable of HOU, DAL, PHX and Brooklyn gets the worst of those) so Dallas could get the most favorable of the HOU, DAL, PHX pick in 29. Adams has a declining contract and makes about 4M less than Gafford next year. Houston is really screwed right now with Adams out and FVV out and really needs to make a deal because their window with Durant likely isn't long and the Spurs just showed how to exploit Durant on defense and Amen on offense.

I think bottom 5 are locked in with Kings, Washington, Brooklyn, Indiana, and Utah in some order but I believe in Doc Rivers and think Milwaukee and get into that 5-some and add Milwaukee to the group. Milwaukee owns the worst of NO/MIL pick, so even if they tank and their pick hits, they still get the Pelicans pick.

Then I think 7-9 are Memphis, Dallas, and NO. NO wants to win, Memphis and Dallas seem like they can't decide.

I think the Hornets make a run into the playin and either Atlanta or Chicago get knocked down. I think Chicago makes a move to improve at the deadline, but Atlanta doesn't because they are too scared to trade the Pelicans pick and have it go top 4. So despite an insanely easy February schedule, I think the Hornets overtake the Hawks and the Hawks are the last team in the lottery besides the play-in.

East play-in teams: Orlando, Miami, Charlotte, Chicago
West play-in teams: PHX, GSW, Clippers, Blazers

So pick two from each to fill up 11-14 in the lottery. I'll go with Orlando, Chicago, GSW and Blazers.

Orlando is making the playoffs IMO. They haven't had Franz and Suggs for most of their season and they're still 7th.

ETA: Bane-Suggs-Franz-Paulo-WCJ has a +18 net rating.

Vessel said:

---

Orlando is making the playoffs IMO. They haven't had Franz and Suggs for most of their season and they're still 7th.

---

I just don't trust that team to be healthy. I like how the team is built a lot but I dont think they edge out Phily for the 6 seed. They also still have OKC twice, Detroit twice, Spurs, Rockets, Lakers, and Boston once.

Which play-in teams make it and don't make it kind of doesn't matter that much. I'm going with Charlotte vibes and Miami's superior coaching and experience.

And as I say that, Podcast Paul gets suspended nearly all the rest of the season.

The NBA has just suspended Philadelphia’s Paul George for 25 games for violating the league’s anti-drug program: pic.twitter.com/DiXs1bkbQP

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 31, 2026

He's not great and way overpriced, but he is putting up 16/5/4 and hitting 38% of his threes.

Lendeborg had a good game last night against Michigan State. I still like him for the Mavs. I just don't think there will be any guards there by the time the Mavs pick.

Wagler is going up boards after he dropped 40 last weekend. I tried watching a little of his game this week and he isn't as tall as I thought (saw him listed at 6'6")plus he had a 3 pointer blocked on a close out. He has a really low release and I got the ick.

Lendenborg isn't playing that great against he Big 10. Just 44/26 shooting for 15/7. I think he will drop out of the lottery.

Wagler is going top 6.

1/2/3 will be AJ/Booz/DP
4/5/6 will be Wilson/Flemmings/Wagler

But 7-16 will all probably still be really solid. If the Mavs can't get Peterson, Flemmings or Wagler, I like Coach Cal's newest PG star Darius Acuff then LaBaron Philon.

Last night was his best conference game outside of Maryland (lol). He had good OOC games against Auburn and Gonzaga. If he finds his 3 point shot again he'll be fine. I like that he fills up on stocks. Usually a solid defensive indicator.

I do like Acuff.

Vessel said:

---

Last night was his best conference game outside of Maryland (lol). He had good OOC games against Auburn and Gonzaga. If he finds his 3 point shot again he'll be fine. I like that he fills up on stocks. Usually a solid defensive indicator.

I do like Acuff.

---

Yaxel is just so old. I liked him a lot for the Spurs PF problem, but he's playing so bad against the Big 10 and he is older than Paolo Banchero, I just don't trust he will be good enough or have enough upside to take top 10 and probably not even lottery. I don't think he makes sense at all for the Mavs while they have AD, Flagg, Naji, and PJ. I'm going guard or center and trading Gafford.

Fair points. We'll have to revisit when we know where the Mavs are picking. Mavs have had terrible lottery luck until last year (hmmm). Before that Mavs had never moved up.

I'm just not sure if PJ is on the team next year. He's been so bad and maybe a change of scenery would do him well. There are rumors about his personal situation right now, he missed about a week of games for personal reasons. Even before that he had been struggling though. Mavs could trade Gafford and PJ to upgrade a guard spot.

I could also see OKC wanting to make a move for Lively because of his cheap contract. They have massive cap problems next year and supposedly Hartenstein is on the block right now to cut salary. Gafford is also way cheaper than Hartenstein.

PJ can't be traded until the off-season and at that point, you have to match the 20M contract. As a 30% shooter that 4y88M deal doesn't look as attractive as it did last year. I think he stays and hopefully can turn it around when he has a legitimate PG feeding him. If they could have traded him this year, his contract would have fit into someone's MLE so someone could have traded him just for picks and cut a ton of salary off the Mavs. PJ's not worth a first anymore but would have been before this season. I think he stays and they hope he can rehabilitate with a better team around him next year.

Remember when people said Hartenstein's contract was a steal? Pepperidge farms remembers. It was worth it for them to win a ring I guess, but now they have to deal with it.

Ever since you posted about Toronto ive been obsessed with getting Quickley on the Mavs because he's a perfect fit. You could trade PJ and Gaff in the summer for Quickley. You'll have to trade your problems for other people's problems.

Vessel said:

---

Remember when people said Hartenstein's contract was a steal? Pepperidge farms remembers. It was worth it for them to win a ring I guess, but now they have to deal with it.

Ever since you posted about Toronto ive been obsessed with getting Quickley on the Mavs because he's a perfect fit. You could trade PJ and Gaff in the summer for Quickley. You'll have to trade your problems for other people's problems.

---

I think Hartenstein's contract is still a steal and it is a team option so they can just let him go after this season.

But if they keep him and everyone else and bring in one rookie to replace Dieng, their tax bill will be 240-250M next year and no one has ever topped 180M.

I don't think Toronto wants PJ since they have Barnes, Ingram and Collin Murray-Boyles.

Even Sir Charles is piling on Antony Davis:

“He gonna be passing those passes to AD, well maybe not” pic.twitter.com/b87WLQ69Y7

— Dallas Texas TV (@DallasTexasTV) February 1, 2026

Even? What if I told you it was Barkley who gave AD the nickname "Street Clothes."

My biggest takeaway from the game last night wasn't even Mavs related, it's that the Rockets need to either be 1) in the Giannis sweepstakes, or 2) need to be trying to find a legit PG that can shoot or a PG AND some shooting. That team while talented I think is just a step below OKC, SA and Denver imo. The offense just doesn't operate at a high enough level. Maybe they see what Ja Morant would look like idk, but idk they need more.

Mavs kinda in the same boat at PG but they at least have Kyrie.

JKidd also nailed it on the refs. Particularly how they are officiating Coop.

It’s insane. When every touch was a foul , last month, he didn’t get any calls. Then the crew chiefs made the decision there should be more physicality, changing how they call the games…

— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) February 1, 2026

Tksymm7 said:

---

My biggest takeaway from the game last night wasn't even Mavs related, it's that the Rockets need to either be 1) in the Giannis sweepstakes, or 2) need to be trying to find a legit PG that can shoot or a PG AND some shooting. That team while talented I think is just a step below OKC, SA and Denver imo. The offense just doesn't operate at a high enough level. Maybe they see what Ja Morant would look like idk, but idk they need more.

Mavs kinda in the same boat at PG but they at least have Kyrie.

---

I don't think Giannis is the answer at all. They need a center to replace Adams and they need a PG to replace FVV. I don't think they are going to go after either, but they should. Their window is directly tied to Durant, and Durant is 37yo. He puts up the numbers and can be killer in clutch, but his defense isn't there anymore and the Spurs showed that by having 19yo rookie Dylan Harper isolate and abuse him.

If they don't make a move, they just wasted the best year they will have with Durant. It's only downhill from here. Durant has only topped the 65 game threshold once since the Kawhi Raptors season when Durant was on the Warriors. That's a long time ago. He's played just 274 games over the 6 seasons previous to this one. That's about 45 games per season. He has been fairly healthy the last couple years... but the man is still 37 with over 1300 NBA games plus international.

I think OKC, SA, Denver, and Minnesota would all beat them in a 7-game series right now. When the window is small, you have to make the moves to win during the window. A Reed-Jabari-Amen-Sengun team without Durant isn't really going to scare anyone.

Made my twice a year visit to Toyota Center for Mavs vs Rockets. Disappointing outcome but exciting game. A tradition for the last 20+ years I've lived here. Dirk prime, Luka, and now the Flagg era.

Hot take: Flagg is really good. Amazing to see his growth in just a couple of months. You can tell he wants to be THE guy. I'm excited about the future.

Losing B-Will hurt us, obviously. 13 points in 9 short minutes. He's such a spark off the bench.

The missed FTs (11!) just became comical.

The highlight though was my son getting Caleb Martin's autograph. I think he's 3 of 6 now on getting autos at Toyota Center. Caleb, Markieff last year, and Luka 3 years ago. Really wanted to get Klay's but he only signed a couple.

Do you remember where you were when you heard/read...or who told you?

It has been one year since the trade that broke the internet 😳

Luka Doncic is a Laker. Anthony Davis is a Maverick 😦 pic.twitter.com/9n6nqbLfPa

— ESPN (@espn) February 2, 2026

Ya, hell

one year since the Luka trade

pic.twitter.com/EXMC4gGrqP

— Slightly Biased (@BiasedSlightly) February 2, 2026

Had the flu when I heard about it last year, talking about kicking a man when he's down.