Dallas Mavericks Hire HC Jason Kidd and GM Nico Harrison

[NYRaider]

1 hour ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Well yeah, they will be trying to sign someone ASAP. Never said otherwise. 

 

[NYRaider]

3 hours ago, J-ALL-DAY said:

Well yeah, they will be trying to sign someone ASAP. Never said otherwise. 

They're kind of in a strange spot this off-season though. The FA class is pretty damn terrible, they could go after a veteran PG like Conley/Lowry on a short term deal or offer younger guys like Lonzo Ball/John Collins big deals but that'd limit their cap space in 2022 when the real stars hit the market. 

I think trying to swing a trade of KP for Love + Sexton would be a great move for them. Because if a star commits to signing with them they could always package draft assets to a bottom feeding team to dump Love's expiring deal. Plus Sexton is set to hit RFA next summer but would be a huge help for Luka this season if they want to be competitive. If they swing and miss on the big stars they could match Sexton's offer sheet but if they land a big FA or two they could just let him walk. 

ETA: Thoughts on this potential strategy @Bullet Club

Edited June 25, 2021 by NYRaider

[TheRealMcCoy]

Thanks Dallas! 

[TheRealMcCoy]

2 hours ago, NYRaider said:

 

Duds vouched yesterday too. Interesting that multiple teams have tried to get him.

This is an interesting bold hire.... Kidd not so much

But, who knows? Maybe he learned in his time here and will be better than his past stops, but how much better? I don't know.

[NYRaider]

1 minute ago, TheRealMcCoy said:

Duds vouched yesterday too. Interesting that multiple teams have tried to get him.

This is an interesting bold hire.... Kidd not so much

But, who knows? Maybe he learned in his time here and will be better than his past stops, but how much better? I don't know.

His influence at Nike and relationships with basically every elite player in the league and all of the top agents in the league could prove to be invaluable for the Mavericks in their free agency pursuits. The Lakers and Warriors went down similar routes hiring agents that had never been GM's before and those guys helped them acquire LeBron/AD and Durant. And I'd say that Nico probably has even more connections/influence from his time at Nike than Rob or Leob did as former agents turned GM's. 

I think another interesting aspect in all of this will be Nico's ability to sell guys on how coming to Dallas, playing with Luka, and winning could increase their marketability. Especially considering his connections to Nike still and the fact that while he was at Nike he helped guys like LeBron and Durant become global superstars that sold insane amounts of shoes and merchandise despite playing in smaller markets. 

[TheRealMcCoy]

20 minutes ago, NYRaider said:

The Lakers and Warriors went down similar routes hiring agents that had never been GM's before and those guys helped them acquire LeBron/AD and Durant. And I'd say that Nico probably has even more connections/influence from his time at Nike than Rob or Leob did as former agents turned GM's. 

No doubt. The agents turned GMs were the reason I didn't bat an eye at the Nico news.

20 minutes ago, NYRaider said:

I think another interesting aspect in all of this will be Nico's ability to sell guys on how coming to Dallas, playing with Luka, and winning could increase their marketability. Especially considering his connections to Nike still and the fact that while he was at Nike he helped guys like LeBron and Durant become global superstars that sold insane amounts of shoes and merchandise despite playing in smaller markets. 

Those are good points and they're going to have to. They can't afford to have him unhappy.

He's probably the most valuable asset in the NBA right now.

[NYRaider]

3 minutes ago, TheRealMcCoy said:

No doubt. The agents turned GMs were the reason I didn't bat an eye at the Nico news.

Those are good points and they're going to have to. They can't afford to have him unhappy.

He's probably the most valuable asset in the NBA right now.

And Nico's connections from Nike with players and agents across the league are probably significantly higher than what the other agents turned GM's had. Even though he's obviously no longer with Nike I think his influence to get guys preferential treatment there due to his ties with the company will also be a huge selling point for him when recruiting guys.

[Mox]

2 hours ago, NYRaider said:

They're kind of in a strange spot this off-season though. The FA class is pretty damn terrible, they could go after a veteran PG like Conley/Lowry on a short term deal or offer younger guys like Lonzo Ball/John Collins big deals but that'd limit their cap space in 2022 when the real stars hit the market. 

I think trying to swing a trade of KP for Love + Sexton would be a great move for them. Because if a star commits to signing with them they could always package draft assets to a bottom feeding team to dump Love's expiring deal. Plus Sexton is set to hit RFA next summer but would be a huge help for Luka this season if they want to be competitive. If they swing and miss on the big stars they could match Sexton's offer sheet but if they land a big FA or two they could just let him walk. 

ETA: Thoughts on this potential strategy @Bullet Club

It's tough because they need more secondary scoring but they also need to improve defensively. Something I've seen brought up that makes a lot of sense to me is instead of going the expected route and getting guys who space the floor but can't create for themselves they need to get guys who are balanced offensively. The attention Luka gets makes it so much easier for guys who can create for themselves to get off any shot they want. Just look at Brunson/THJ (aka the only guys on Dallas who can create a bit for themselves, and Burke to an extent). Someone like Sexton fits that mold to a T. However, he's a small guard and that's the last thing Dallas needs defensively. Love is a complete waste period. 

The other tough part is only a year ago KP was awesome in the postseason. He could defend too. When he's on he can be dangerous, and when he's off he can be a complete liability which he was this postseason. If he gets back to the prior years form he's a perfect fit with Luka. If he doesn't, then he's a spot shooter who can't defend on a terrible contract. I can't say whether it makes sense to gamble on him returning to form or not. They are in such a weak position in terms of assets that I don't want them to do anything rash that sets them back further.

[NYRaider]

18 minutes ago, Bullet Club said:

 Someone like Sexton fits that mold to a T. However, he's a small guard and that's the last thing Dallas needs defensively. Love is a complete waste period. 

Sexton would take such a huge amount of pressure for Luka to carry the load offensively though and in Cleveland he was asked to defend 2's while in Dallas he'd be defending point guards. Love is a waste but again he'll be on an expiring deal after next season so if you're planning to make a big splash move in free agency you could likely dump his contract to a bottom feeding team along with some draft capital to free up the space to be able to do so. 

In this fantasy scenario I'd move Porrzingis and Josh Green to Cleveland for Kevin Love, Collin Sexton, and Larry Nance Jr. I'd then look to sign someone like Nerlens Noel to a minimum deal in free agency. 

Sexton - Luka - Finney - Nance - Noel