Highest scoring duos so far this season: pic.twitter.com/r6odbz0zhr

— Extra (@extrastats) December 3, 2025

Ah yes, the notable scorer CHEET HOLMGREN

Interesting the Lakers have the 3rd best record but just the 14th best net rating. That's a pretty massive disparity.

Busy work day, what is up with the CP3 stuff?

zgolfz85 said:

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Busy work day, what is up with the CP3 stuff?

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The Clippers had a plane issue and flew into Atlanta late last night. Lawrence Frank flew in to meet them and at 3am told CP3 to fly back to LA because he wasn't going to be with the team anymore.

Ty Lue apparently doesn't like CP3 and refused to talk to him, despite Paul trying to work with Lue.

But because of the cap, the Clippers can't cut him. So they are kind of stuck with CP3 on the roster, but not. And Cp3 had already declared it was his last season, so it was going to be his farewell tour from the end of the bench.

Guitarsoup said:

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zgolfz85 said:

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Busy work day, what is up with the CP3 stuff?

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The Clippers had a plane issue and flew into Atlanta late last night. Lawrence Frank flew in to meet them and at 3am told CP3 to fly back to LA because he wasn't going to be with the team anymore.

Ty Lue apparently doesn't like CP3 and refused to talk to him, despite Paul trying to work with Lue.

But because of the cap, the Clippers can't cut him. So they are kind of stuck with CP3 on the roster, but not. And Cp3 had already declared it was his last season, so it was going to be his farewell tour from the end of the bench.

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Awkward

Spaceship said:

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AD is playing well right now. Hurry up and trade him before he gets hurt again.

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And before you win too many to actually tank and get Peterson or Dybansa.

So, question preferenced by the fact that the Luka trade was the worst trade in NBA history:

How many healthy AD games makes it worth keeping him? 60? 50? What's the magic number? He's obviously very good/great when on the court. And has a rare combination of skills. There's no other version of AD out there.

I look at all the superstar injuries and it seems guys are dropping like flies. Even for the Mavs, Gafford and Lively struggle staying healthy.

Again, I hate the trade, but recurring injuries seem to be more common across the league, not just with AD.

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How many healthy AD games makes it worth keeping him? 60? 50? What's the magic number?

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Ignore what is in the past and consider the future more than a magic number. The real magic number is what another team is willing to give to take AD.

From an outsider looking in:

* Cooper Flagg is a foundational piece of any franchise
* Nembhard looks like he can be a solid piece
* Gafford is an elite rim protector
* Lively is very good, but worries about health
* PJ Washington is a pretty ideal D&3 forward on a team-friendly contract. He can't be traded until after the season
* Max Christie is a very good rotational piece.
* Naji Marshall is a solid rotational piece
* Mavs have the 26 pick, then don't control their own pick until 31
* Kyrie is an elitely talented PG, but teams may shy away from him due to issues pre-Mavs.

I would actively shop AD with the understanding that I don't have to move him if I don't want. He makes sense on a lot of teams. What's the value to the other teams? If I could get ending salary, off Martin, 2 firsts including 2026, and Coby White from Chicago, I probably do it.

I would actively shop Lively, because I don't believe in his health. If you can get a decent pick in this draft or next, you might need to consider it.

Anyone else outside Flagg is up for grabs. But I wouldn't want to move anyone without getting the obviously better end of the deal.

I would absolutely tank this season because the 26 class is that good, and you need a 2nd player next to Cooper. Cooper is the type of star that can slot in next to basically anyone.

Guitarsoup said:

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Quote:

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How many healthy AD games makes it worth keeping him? 60? 50? What's the magic number?

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Ignore what is in the past and consider the future more than a magic number. The real magic number is what another team is willing to give to take AD.

From an outsider looking in:

* Cooper Flagg is a foundational piece of any franchise
* Nembhard looks like he can be a solid piece
* Gafford is an elite rim protector
* Lively is very good, but worries about health
* PJ Washington is a pretty ideal D&3 forward on a team-friendly contract. He can't be traded until after the season
* Max Christie is a very good rotational piece.
* Naji Marshall is a solid rotational piece
* Mavs have the 26 pick, then don't control their own pick until 31
* Kyrie is an elitely talented PG, but teams may shy away from him due to issues pre-Mavs.

I would actively shop AD with the understanding that I don't have to move him if I don't want. He makes sense on a lot of teams. What's the value to the other teams? If I could get ending salary, off Martin, 2 firsts including 2026, and Coby White from Chicago, I probably do it.

I would actively shop Lively, because I don't believe in his health. If you can get a decent pick in this draft or next, you might need to consider it.

Anyone else outside Flagg is up for grabs. But I wouldn't want to move anyone without getting the obviously better end of the deal.

I would absolutely tank this season because the 26 class is that good, and you need a 2nd player next to Cooper. Cooper is the type of star that can slot in next to basically anyone.

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I'd take that deal for AD without thinking twice

Holy crap that's funny.
And I can't stand Brooks.

Blatant hold

Conspiracy Bill decided that Jason Kidd was intentionally not playing Ryan Nembhard to get Nico fired

hph6203 said:

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Mavs are fooked if they play for the playoffs this season and let AD/Kyrie age out of utility.

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Correct. This is a one shot opportunity. Mavs really need to be drafting top 8 with a chance to get lucky and go top 4. It's really hard to see a future title path with a Flagg led Mavs team without getting another star. Getting to the top of this draft is easiest way to get there.

This Mavs season….is interesting

The Mavs are a pretty good team when healthy…

With the busy-ness of the weekend I didn't realize we were facing Houston in the second half of the back to back w/ OKC. AD showed up big after laying an egg at OKC. He's back y'all!

Always good to beat the Rockettes.

Even tho we're a half game out of the play in I'd be ok trading AD for a haul of draft picks. I trust you smarter guys (Guitarsoup) who say this is the way. Without AD I don't see us being Washington, Indy, or NO bad tho.

When do we start seeing any kind of real update on Kyrie? Does he want to get back sooner than later? Or is he also looking toward next season and content with coming back way late to play a few meaningless games?

NoahAg said:

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Even tho we're a half game out of the play in I'd be ok trading AD for a haul of draft picks. I trust you smarter guys (Guitarsoup) who say this is the way. Without AD I don't see us being Washington, Indy, or NO bad tho.

When do we start seeing any kind of real update on Kyrie? Does he want to get back sooner than later? Or is he also looking toward next season and content with coming back way late to play a few meaningless games?

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Yeah, not my team, but I would certainly trade what you can for value and tank for the players in this draft. I really think this is a 5-7 star draft and the entire top ten should be really good.

I think if you don't you likely end up in the no-mans land like the Spurs were in the post-Kawhi with TheMarcus+DeRozan. 7th seed and 1st round loss. Some solid players, but not enough to challenge and bringing in a 2nd star to join with Flagg is really hard with loss of picks and some of the contracts.

I just don't trust AD and I think that Kyrie's value isn't going to improve. Get him back, show he can still cook and ship him.

Again, not my team, so maybe easier to say the way it should be. But I think tanking this year is the best opportunity to add the 2nd star to Flagg and a lot of the pieces in place (Gaff, Naji, PJ, Nembhard, Christie) are solid pieces for a long time.

I think you trade AD as long as you get an appropriate haul of picks and/or players back in return. Sounds simple but they literally just did the opposite with Luka lol. I also still think his overall value is pretty low and getting a partner to dance with that contract is easier said than done.

I think AD is a good enough player to where if no one meets your requirements for a trade you keep him and are fine with it because of how good he is. You do your best to limit his overall minutes and keep him healthy, and you'll still win a lot of games. Then you add Kyrie back and you are cooking again.

If AD didn't cost so much (and is only getting more expensive) I'd honestly lean keeping him completely, but the cost outweighs his skills at this point imo, even though I do believe Kyrie, AD and Coop could be downright lethal.

Yeah, he makes 58.5 next year and 63M the year after and wants an extension. Rich Paul (Klutch) is his agent.

I agree the Mavs can be a really dangerous team when all healthy, but you just can't count on AD/Kyrie/Klay to be healthy. You have to build around Coop's timeline, which is vastly different than Kyrie's and AD's. And you also have to consider OKC. Does a fully healthy Mavs playing as good as they can possibly play beat this juggernaut of a OKC team? I don't think any other team beats them if both teams are healthy. So you can stand pat and hope SGA gets hurt or try to hit the lottery again and hope that Flagg+Boozer+Nembhard is the winning combination in 2027-35.

Agree wholeheartedly, however, I don't think this Mavs team is bad enough to truly tank if you know what I mean. Simply put I think this team even without AD is undoubtedly better than the bottom four teams in each conference (those teams are wretched), and if they keep AD around healthy until the deadline they are probably a top half of each conference type of team at minimum.

Also, I don't think trading Kyrie is a good idea strictly from a Coop development perspective. I think having a PG like Kyrie could help Coop's game grow exponentially and that he'll be better off over the long run for it. Just my opinion on that.

Tksymm7 said:

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Agree wholeheartedly, however, I don't think this Mavs team is bad enough to truly tank if you know what I mean.

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Where there is a will, there is a way. Dwight Powell, DLo, Caleb Martin, and Jaden Hardy are still on the team.

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Simply put I think this team even without AD is undoubtedly better than the bottom four teams in each conference (those teams are wretched), and if they keep AD around healthy until the deadline they are probably a top half of each conference type of team at minimum.

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I wouldn't keep him around that long. I would get him gone sooner than later.

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Also, I don't think trading Kyrie is a good idea strictly from a Coop development perspective. I think having a PG like Kyrie could help Coop's game grow exponentially and that he'll be better off over the long run for it. Just my opinion on that.

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Kyrie turns 34 this season. While I agree having a PG with elite skills helps Cooper, I'm doing absolutely everything I can to get off the salaries of Kyrie, Martin, AD, and Klay.

If you can mainly take back expiring contracts and picks, you could have this for next year:

C Lively 7.2
C Gafford 17.2
F PJ Wash 19.8
F Naji 9.4
F Flagg 14.5
G Christie 8.3
G Hardy 6
G DLo 5.9
G Nembhard RFA

That's just 88.3M in cap on an estimated cap of $166.

Let's say Mavs get pick 3 and pick 10 (from Bulls via AD Trade). That's about $12M and $6M.

Add F AJ Dybansa and G Kingston Flemmings

Now you have about $60M to for any players you acquired from trades, Nembhard, and free agents, but you only have 4 roster slots to fill.

And hopefully with those trades, a pick or two for 27 and 29. Maybe Kyrie to Charlotte for Sexton and the 27 first back.

I think it is doable, but the Mavs have to have the stomach for full on tanking on a team that legitimately has a lot of talent when healthy.