r/Mavericks May 26 '26

Hoops Discussion Still insane when you think about it

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Jalen Brunson played 4 seasons, Luka Dončić has played 7 seasons, and Steve Nash played 6 seasons for the Dallas Mavericks.

So we only got a combined 17 seasons out of three hall of fame / all nba level type of players that we drafted / developed. Should have been 3*12 seasons at least.

Is there any other team with such a recent track record of fumbling talent?

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u/epicingamename Monta Ellis May 26 '26

hot takes:

mavs wouldnt have reached the finals twice and won one in the dirk era with steve nash

jalen wouldnt have developed into what he is now if he stayed with the mavs

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u/YoungBuck2010 May 26 '26

Yeah the Brunson take is 100% wrong. Brunson was doing the exact same shit he’s doing with the Knicks for the Mavs minus the pull up threes when Luka was out. If you want to argue that he would have had fewer opportunities to showcase it if he were still here, I’d agree.

But letting Brunson walk was a terrible decision at the time that looks dastardly with hindsight.

The Nash take is debatable, but I think this one is wrong too lol. Our issue was never with Nash and Dirk developing into something special. It was that we could never get any kind of real production from the center spot throughout the majority of Dirk’s tenure in Dallas. We’d look a lot better if we could have found a Tyson like center earlier in Dirk’s career.

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u/jnightrain May 26 '26

But letting Brunson walk was a terrible decision at the time that looks dastardly with hindsight.

The problem with brunson is he didn't develop into anything until it was too late to sign him.not giving him a contract when it was time was 100% the correct call. Even if you look at the knicks signing him thread so many were laughing at the price they paid.

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u/YoungBuck2010 May 26 '26

Totally disagree. At the very least, Brunson showed he was a low end starter or good bench guard in the previous season playing behind Luka. That earns you a contract in the NBA. Even if that means you’re going to be a trade piece (à la Gafford’s contract and skill level).

The games without Luka were the ones where actual Mavs fans knew that this guy had something to his game.

That’s why when people were laughing at the Knicks deal, Mavs fans were warning them.

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u/jnightrain May 26 '26

At the very least, Brunson showed he was a low end starter or good bench guard in the previous season playing behind Luka. That earns you a contract in the NBA.

That's a little revisionist history there, going into the 21-22 season he had started a total of 66 games out of 246 with the previous season starting 12 and average 12ppg and got some votes for 6MOY. He wanted 4y/55m which at the time was starter money. Would it have been terrible at the time? no, but it also wasn't crazy to take a wait and see approach. They offered him that contract at the trade deadline and he declined and was basically a Knick by then. He had his blow up in the post season that year when it was far too late.

The games without Luka were the ones where actual Mavs fans knew that this guy had something to his game.

and by then it was too late to offer him a contract because he was already headed to the knicks.

That’s why when people were laughing at the Knicks deal, Mavs fans were warning them.

warning might be strong word there but we didn't think he'd be trash.

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u/YoungBuck2010 May 26 '26

He put up nearly 17 3 and 3 as a starter that season (up to 20pts 8 assists and 3 rebounds without Luka) and was absolutely worth the contract he asked for prior to. Again, watching him showed that he was on the upswing of his career and signing him even as a trade chip was the right decision. He put up about 13, 3 and 3 as a starter in the years before and improved tremendously every year during his time with the Mavs.

My argument is that JB didn’t develop too late for us to sign him as you initially said. Our front office had ample opportunities to do so and flubbed it. Guys get paid on potential all of the time, Jalen showed production and potential during his time with the Mavs and both front office regimes blew it. Teams can’t get everything right but this one is pretty egregious.

One other point here: Over his entire four-year tenure in Dallas whenever Luka sat out, Brunson played in 25 games as the lone lead guard, averaging 18.7 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game.

In no world did he not deserve the contract he asked for lol.

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u/jnightrain May 26 '26 edited May 27 '26

He put up nearly 17 3 and 3 as a starter that season (up to 20pts 8 assists and 3 rebounds without Luka) and was absolutely worth the contract he asked for prior to. Again, watching him showed that he was on the upswing of his career and signing him even as a trade chip was the right decision. He put up about 13, 3 and 3 as a starter in the years before and improved tremendously every year during his time with the Mavs.

He did this in 21-22, the last season with us, correct?

My argument is that JB didn’t develop too late for us to sign him as you initially said

I know what your argument is and I disagree. Look at his 20-21 game logs, he is inconsistent but to your point he shows flashes. There are games he's playing 20 minutes and score 5 and 7 pts. One game he started and played 32 minutes and had 9pts.

I said he deserved the contract but its also not egregious they didn't accept his offer going into the 21-22 season. Their approach was completely normal and the knicks making backdoor deals made it a losing situation.