This is a crosspost from my new blog Basketball Vibes, please follow!
Like Dante in the Inferno, we are going to descend into hell. Only this will be NBA hell. We will start in the Paradisio of well run teams and descend through teams in the limbo of Purgatorio and finally into the fires of Inferno. This is my subjective opinion, so let me tell you what I’m considering. I care about three main things: 1) quality of team right now; 2) quality of team going forward; 3) shrewdness of moves in the near past, really the last 3-5 years.
Paradisio
(30-26) CONTENDERS
Denver Nuggets—They have the best player in the league (Jokic), an amazing #2 (Jamal), #3 (MPJ), and #4 (Aaron Gordon). They have the best starting 5 in the NBA and just cruised to a title, losing only 4 games in the entire playoffs. The Nuggets look to retain everyone from their title run except defender/slasher Bruce Brown (Pacers, 1yr/$22.5m team option for a second year at $22.5m). Rookie Christian Braun may take a step forward next year after delivering great defensive minutes during the playoffs. Denver is in good shape for years—they even have a first round pick next year. Kudos to them for developing Jokic, not panicking when Murray got hurt, taking a risk on MPJ, and trading for AG. These are high quality moves that were not no-brainers—sometimes staying the course in the NBA is the hardest move.
Golden State Warriors—The 2022 champs’ title window is closing—but it’s not closed yet. Their core of Steph, Klay, Draymond, Wiggins, Looney, and GP2 is still around. They added Chris Paul, who could give them 15 high quality minutes a night if he can stay on the floor. They got rid of Poole, which I don’t love but they had to pick Draymond or Poole and I guess that’s how the cookie crumbles. Not sure what’s up with Kuminga, and they traded their 2024 picks away, but they did get Trayce Jackson-Davis from Washington which I honestly love (go look at his college stats!). I don’t think the Warriors will be very good in 3 years, but I do think they have another 2 years as contenders and that’s worth a lot.
Boston Celtics—The advanced-stats darlings got better this offseason. The Celtics have had plenty of playoff success in the Tatum Era: ECF appearances in 19-20 and 22-23, a finals run in 21-22. They made a good move trading Smart for Porzingis, even with the injury risk that Porzingis presents. I think signing Jaylen Brown to a supermax would knock this team down a notch, both in terms of upside and well-run-ness, but we have to wait and see. A supermax is just a lot to pay for a 2 VORP / 5.4 WAR player. I think it’s a good sign the deal hasn’t been announced yet, and who knows maybe the Celtics will make a big move involving Brown.
Sacramento Kings—After having a rough 16 years where their best finish was 9th place in the West in 18-19, the Kings are in good shape. Their core of Sabonis-Fox-Murray will be around for awhile and all of those players are still improving (Keegan Murray had an awesome first season). They signed Aleksandar Vezenkov out of Europe who shot 43.4% from 3 on 3.6 attempts per game in Greece last year, so maybe that’ll be something. Their big recent move was the Haliburton-for-Sabonis trade that confused a lot of people at the time (including me!) but has turned out great for both teams. Not much to say: running it back looks likely to work for 3-4 years.
Cleveland Cavaliers—They have a great young core of Garland-Mobley-Mitchell-Allen-LeVert. They picked up Max Strus from the Heat. They have defense, star power, and depth. Their 4-1 loss to the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs was disappointing, but this team figures to be good for some time and get a bunch of cracks at breaking through in the East. They even have a first round pick in 2024 before having no first rounders from 25-29 because of the Mitchell trade. The one big question I have about the Cavs is actually the Mitchell trade: would they be better off with Markkanen than Mitchell? Mitchell was a better player last year, but Markkanen is improving rapidly. We will see how it shakes out this season and continue to evaluate the trade, meanwhile they need to make a decision on Donovan in the next year with his contract up.
(25-23) ONE STAR FROM A TITLE OR THE CELLAR
Milwaukee Bucks—Since winning the 20-21 NBA Finals against Phoenix, the Bucks have embraced the “run it back” philosophy. They kept the core of Giannis-Lopez-Middleton-Holliday together. This offseason, they resigned both Middleton (3yrs/$102m) and Lopez (2yrs/$48m) and are betting on this aging core to stay healthy. If they can, they’ll be contenders in the East next year, but that’s a BIG IF. Lopez is heading into his age 35 season and Kris will be 32. Giannis is all-world, but I wonder what happens with him in a year or two if the title window looks closed: does he leave? The Bucks have a truly bleak draft capital situation with no picks in ‘25 or ‘26, and only a second rounder in ‘24 and ‘27. Their next first will be in ‘28. The Bucks look to be losers in the second half of the decade, particularly if Giannis departs.
Los Angeles Lakers—The bubble champs really rescued their season last year with a bunch of great in-season moves. They ditched Westbrook and picked up DLo, and got Rui from the Wizards for picks. We all know the breakout Austin Reaves story. The Lakers had a strong finish and despite getting swept by Denver played them super hard in the conference finals. They’re brining back all of their key role players around a core of Davis and James. Offseason additions are Cam Reddish (2yrs/$4.6m), Taurean Prince (1yr/$4.5m), and Gabe Vincent (3yr/$33m). The Lakers would be devastated if Davis left or got injured, but can probably sustain some James decline with their depth and a step forward from Reaves. The Lakers even somehow have decent draft capital going forward. Overall they’re good shape—amazing shape if you judge them based on where they were half a year ago.
Miami Heat—The East champs are bringing back the Butler-Bam duo but lost key playoff contributors Max Strus (Cleveland) and Gabe Vincent (Lakers). As for bright spots: Tyler Herro will be back next season, Nikola Jovic looks to improve, Jaime Jaquez Jr. was a good pick, and the team is in the Dame sweepstakes. Not a ton to say about Miami until we see how Dame shakes out, but depth could be an issue next season. They’re lower on the list than other comparable teams despite Heat Culture because they’re light on draft capital over the next 2 years. I wouldn’t bet against Jimmy-Spo-Riley, though.
(22-20) LOTTERY ALCHEMISTS
Oklahoma City Thunder—The Thunder have a truly impressive young roster of Shai-Giddey-Dort-Jalen-Jaylin-JRE-Mann-Holmgren-Dieng. They were an almost-.500 team last year and look to be much better this year as a result of a step forward from their large cadre of young players and new additions Dereck Lively II (12th pick), Hunter Tyson (37th), and Keyontae Johnson (50th). OKC also has a silly amount of draft capital: 4 firsts in ‘24, four firsts in ‘25, three firsts in ‘26 and two firsts in ‘27. This gives them a ton of options: they can trade picks for players to make a title run in the next 2-3 years, or let their young core develop AND build for the future. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the 20’s are remembered as the decade of Presti and OKC. I would be even less surprised if other teams try to emulate OKC’s trade success and the way basketball teams are run changes fundamentally to do less star chasing and more draft building.
Utah Jazz—The Jazz are like the baby Thunder: they spent a year emulating OKC’s trade-your-stars-for-picks playbook and have a bright future because of it. They also benefitted from selling silly high. They traded Donovan Mitchell for Markkanen/Sexton/Agbaji, plus 3 firsts and 2 swaps. A year later, that looks like a steal for the Jazz: Markkanen took a huge step forward and Agbaji figures to be a rotation player at some point. The Rudy Gobert trade was even better for the Jazz, and I personally believe it’s the most lopsided trade in sports history: Gobert for Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, 4 firsts, a pick swap, and a few other players. Today, I don’t think you would trade Kessler for Gobert straight up because Kessler’s value is higher. I have no idea how they got Minnesota to agree to the trade, but props to the Utah front office. As a result, the Jazz have a young core of Markkanen/Kessler, sold role players, and a ton of draft capital. The Jazz picks this year were solid as well (I really like Hendricks and Sensabaugh). Going forward they’ll have to balance the desire to win now with getting the most out of their draft capital, which is tricky because their core is still extremely young.
San Antonio Spurs—Tank for 1 year and get Wemby. Pretty good deal. They’re also loaded with first round picks, having 3 in ‘24, 3 in ‘25, 2 in ‘26, 2 in ‘27, and 2 in ‘28. In terms of the now, they have a very young core of Wemby-Vassell-Sochan-Johnson. The elder statesman in that group is Keldon Johnson at 23 years old. The Spurs to me look a bit like a boom or bust proposition: none of their young players have put up solid advanced stats yet and you’re hoping they will take a step together. Devin Vassell is probably their most developed young player and he put up 0.7 VORP which translates to 1.9 WAR. He’d need to take a substantial step forward to get up into that 2+ VORP/5+ WAR range you’d like to see from a young star. There are a lot of question marks here, but also a ton of upside. You’d figure such a strong organization will be able to draft and develop, but time will tell.
Purgaturio
ARE YOU COMING OR GOING?
New York Knicks—The Knicks were so lost for so long we just got used to the mediocrity, but the last year has really turned it around. They have a genuine core of Randle-Brunson-Barrett-Quickley-Robinson, plus up-and-comer Quentin Grimes. They don’t have the starriest of rosters but they are solidly constructed and deep. They made an actual playoff run last year and won a series. And they are rumored to be involved with plenty of free agents and trade pieces, so we will see how the rest of the offseason works out. They have a shocking FOUR first round picks next year thanks to past deals, along with 2 firsts in ‘25. I’m just curious to see how they land the plane here, but things should be exciting in Manhattan for the next half decade. If you have to nitpick, you’d say that the lack of a true first-team All-NBA star may hold them back from making super deep playoff runs.
Phildelphia 76ers—They have the reigning NBA MVP in Joel Embiid, an all-time great in James Harden, and solid up-and-comer Tyrese Maxey. But they also have Tobias Harris signed for $39.7m next year, a Harden trade request, no picks in ‘25, and fierce competition in the East. It doesn’t help that Embiid blames his teammates after every playoff loss. If you want my two cents, I think Philadelphia should trade Harden, Embiid, and Harris (if possible) and begin the rebuild right away around Maxey. Call it The Process². I don’t think they’ll get a better price for Embiid than right now, and I don’t think they’re winning a title with Embiid. That kind of move is hard to make though, so Philadelphia finds itself in Rich Man’s Limbo—fated to finish 2nd-4th in the East and make a 2nd round playoff exit. Who knows, maybe GM Daryl Morey works some magic and flips Harden for a piece that complements Embiid well (Dame?) and the Sixers make a real title run. If that happens, I’ll give them plenty of kudos and move them into Paradisio.
Memphis Grizzlies—This team is fascinating. They’re great at roster construction and terrible at culture. They play well without their on-paper best player in Ja Morant, and it’s that best player that is the epicenter of their culture problems. They even have a bit of draft capital, with 2 firsts in ‘24. They are a young team that is definitely rising and looks to be in West contention for the next half-decade. Their core of Ja-Bane-JJJ-Jones-Clarke-Adams-Tillman-Aldama is incredibly solid. They added tough-guy vet in Marcus Smart and ditched the toxic Dillon Brooks. And yet. The Grizzlies seem somehow fragile because of Ja’s woes, and even though their record says they are just as good without Ja, is that something you want to really bet on? We will see in the first 25 games, and there’s even a scenario here where Bane and Co. step up and it makes trading Ja seem possible.
Atlanta Hawks—I loved the Hawks in 21-22, but their 22-23 incarnation was underwhelming. They made a puzzling trade of giving up 3 first round picks for Dejounte Murray last offseason when they already have a ball-dominant guard. They’re sort of in permanent limbo hoping they will get a bit more out of Clint Capela. They also need more size and defense. And of course, Trae Young took a huge step backwards (4.8 VORP/13 WAR in 21-22 to 3.4 VORP/9.2 WAR in 22-23) and continues to be possibly the worst defensive player in basketball. I really like their young players in AJ Griffin, Onyeka Okongwu, and Jalen Johnson—maybe they get some improvement from those guys taking a step forward. On the other hand, their roster is clunky and they are basically rolling the dice and hoping their number comes up.
Chicago Bulls—This is a team that should work, but doesn’t. They’re the team with the biggest gap between how they would perform in 2K and how they perform in real life. They have a solid on-paper core of Vucevic-LaVine-DeRozan-Caruso with some reasonable role players. They have a young players that could develop into solid contributors in Coby White, Patrick Williams, Dalen Terry, and Ayo Dosunmu. And yet, they went 40-42 which was good for the 9th seed and a play-in game. They got knocked out by the eventual East champion Heat, which I suppose is a tiny moral victory. But it’s tough to figure out where Chicago goes next: they have two firsts in ‘24 if they want to go young, or alternatively they could flip them for a vet. But it’s tough to see a single vet boosting this group from the cusp of the playoffs to real contention. If I were in charge, I’d blow it up. It’s a boom or bust league.
Toronto Raptors—I agonize over where to place the Raptors. They won the finals with Kawhi in 18-19. They have a solid core of Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby. They drafted Gradey Dick which seems like an OK move. On the other hand, they just lost Fred VanVleet, they have no picks in 2024, their team isn’t particularly deep, they got rid of a good coach in Nick Nurse, and Siakam has been in trade rumors for two years straight. Their big move so far this offseason has been signing Dennis Schroder, which is unlikely to get this team out of the play-in and into the playoffs (they were the 10 seed last year in the East). It seems to me that Toronto is at a crossroads: land a star and level up, or trade Siakam and rebuild around Barnes & co. My preference is to rebuild because I think landing a star would be quite expensive at this point, but that’s just me.
BIG BETS, BIG RISKS
New Orleans Pelicans—When looking over rosters for this article I was like… damn the Pelicans have some dudes. If I had done this list last year, they’d be one of the biggest winners. Their core of Murphy-McCollum-Ingram-Valaciunas-Jones is solid. Dyson Daniels may be something. And they drafted Jordan Hawkins 14th overall, which seems like a pretty good pick. This team is betting on internal growth and development, which isn’t a terrible bet. To add to that, they have 3 firsts in ‘24, 2 in ‘25, 2 in ‘26, and 2 in ‘27. That’s pretty good draft capital. The big question here is whether to trade Zion: I’m a strong yes on this, but it’s always hard to trade a player with such fantastic upside.
Orlando Magic—The Magic are kind of like the baby Pelicans, betting on internal development and the draft. They have young players with potential in Wagner-Carter-Anthony-Banchero-Fultz-Suggs-Wagner-Houstan. I want to say “they added some players in the draft this year” but honestly I don’t love either the Anthony Black pick (6th overall) or the Jett Howard pick (11th overall). I personally think the Howard pick was one of the worst in the draft, although obviously I’m happy to be wrong on that because I hope everyone succeeds. I do like Andre Jackson at #36, though. The Magic hope Paolo takes a huge step in his 2nd year, and that seems like a pretty good plan for the season honestly.
Indiana Pacers—I’m lower on the Pacers than most. I think Haliburton is all-world and think the Pacers got the better of the Sabonis trade, but his injury concerns are real. Their roster after that—even after adding Bruce Brown for a year—is bleak. Buddy Hield and Myles Turner are good players, but are they the #2 and #3 on a contender? The pacers coming off a 35-47 season and are betting on Brown, Obi Toppin, the draft, and internal development to make up the gap. Here’s a bright spot: they had five picks in the 2023 draft including #8 Jarace Walker. But that very young group coming in seems to be a bit time-mismatched with the Haliburton-Hield-Turner group, who might age out of Indiana before the young guys are ready to go. Who knows, maybe Jarace is a star, Tyrese is healthy, and it’s all a moot point.
Houston Rockets—Houston turned Harden and Westbrook into lots of firsts, and have used their firsts to draft Jalen Green, Josh Christopher, Usman Garuba, Jabari Smith Jr, Tari Eason, and trade for Alperen Sengun. Unfortunately, I don’t love these picks and I basically think Sengun, Eason, and Green are workable players (call me out if I’m wrong about Jabari!). They signed Fred VanVleet this offseason, which is a great move for a young team needing leadership, but they ALSO signed Dillon Brooks which is a terrible move for a young team needing leadership. I want to know what other team was offering Brooks anywhere near $80m over 4 years. The upside for Houston looks like Sengun and Green taking massive steps, Eason improving, VanVleet providing leadership, Jabari getting on track, Brooks getting bought out, and the group of vets they brought in during the offseason providing stability. Who knows, maybe first year coach Ime Udoka can work some magic on the court and stay out of trouble off of it.
Washington Wizards—Before this offseason, the Wizards would have been a contender for worst run teams. But the organization wisely turned over its front office and has aggressively entered rebuild mode. The team dealt Bradley Beal to get out from his albatross of a contract and got a few decent players plus a pick for Porzingis. They ended up acquiring Jordan Poole from Golden State from this shuffle, which isn’t terrible. They drafted Bilal Coulibaly—Wemby’s teammate from France—and I personally love this pick. Put a pin in this but I think Coulibaly has an outside chance to be the best player in the draft—and certainly has a chance to be the best value pick in the draft. But the Wizards have a long way to go—and their big signing of Kyle Kuzma for 4 years/$102m isn’t likely to help much. I guess the plan is to build around Coulibaly, Poole, and young talent Corey Kispert. This is a fine plan, but the team is fairly limited on draft capital (a first rounder only in ‘25, then just the standard 1 first and 1 second going forward). I hope they draft well, pay their coaching staff, and invest in patience.
Inferno
NEW OWNER SYNDROME ISN’T LIMITED TO NEW OWNERS
Phoenix Suns—New owner Mat Ishbia is certainly doing things. But I think they are not exactly smart things. They traded a very good player in Mikal Bridges, and solid pieces Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder PLUS four firsts and a pick swap for Kevin Durant. KD is a generational player, but he’s also 34 with a history of injuries. So that gives you two high usage rate guys in Booker and KD. And then Ishbia followed that up by dealing Chris Paul and a bunch of pick swaps for Bradley Beal. They didn’t give up too much in the Beal trade, it’s just like: is a ball-dominant shooting guard what your Book-KD core needs? If your team’s usage rate could go up to 120%, cool. But it can’t. And so one of your Book-KD-Beal guys is going to have to drop their usage rate which in turn is going to make them way less valuable. We saw this in reverse with Mikal Bridges, who went from scoring 17 a game on Phoenix to 26 a game on Brooklyn with dramatically improved efficiency. Phoenix needs guys who don’t need the ball in their hands and who can play defense. Ayton honestly complements this team well, but we’ll see if he sticks around or not. And I didn’t even get into how hamstrung they are going forward due to the cap and how vulerable they are to injury. New owners should hire professionals and listen to them is all I’m saying.
Brooklyn Nets—Another contender for worst run team last year that made some moves which got them out of the true lower depths. It’s going to take the Nets awhile a bunch of shrewd moves to become contenders, but at least they have a path. Last season, they dealt Durant and Kyrie for good returns. They have a solid-ish core of Mikal Bridges-Spencer Dinwiddie-Cam Johnson-Nic Claxton. They have a reclamation project that probably won’t pay off but maybe it does in Ben Simmons (who despite the awful eye test last year actually had a slightly positive VORP). They’re rumored to be suitors for Dame which I don’t love but hey, it is what it is. And maybe as an organization they’re working past their decade-plus of New Owner Syndrome. Their various deals robbed them of 2024 picks but from 2025-2030 they have solid draft capital that they can either use to add another star and compete now or take the long road and rebuild through the draft. The Nets are a work in progress, but they have options and they are no longer constrained by a few mercurial stars.
LA Clippers—Man, the Clippers. Where to begin. If only we were playing 2K and loading up your roster with wings could make you go 82-0. But alas, we aren’t. Kawhi Leonard is an all-world player that doesn’t communicate and also has what I have to imagine are terrible injury issues. Paul George has his own injury issues. The Clips added Russell Westbrook (and re-signed him this offseason) which I don’t hate but Russ requires being the center of gravity on your team and that limits how far you can go. The Clips have no draft picks in 2025 and 2026, and are missing their first rounder next year in ‘24. So you’ve got a trio of aging stars—two of whom are persistently injured. You’ve got some nice role players in Batum-Powell-Mann-Covington. You’ve got flashy but confused Bones Hyland, who regressed immensely in his second year after being a solid contributor for Denver in 2021-22. And what else? Not much. The Clippers have a mediocre present and a dismal future.
PLEASE HIRE PROFESSIONALS
Portland Trail Blazers—Portland got very, very lucky to get Scoot Henderson with the 3rd pick this year. But they are going to sell low on Dame after giving him a huge deal last year, and they just re-upped Jerami Grant (1 VORP/2.7 WAR) for 5 years $160 million. The Blazers have some young players that might be something: Anfernee Simons, Trendon Watford, Shaedon Sharpe, Keon Johnson, Nassir Little. But they are in full rebuild mode and trying to trade their lone superstar. I don’t know, I guess the strategy is to hope the young players develop, and if that doesn’t work, keep drafting players until a few work out? Cool cool cool, I hope the people in Portland have a toke and ~chill out~ while waiting for the rebuild to happen.
Charlotte Hornets—Oof. I’m not sure what Charlotte is doing. The Brandon Miller pick this year (#2 overall) is fine with me. But like, their highest VORP player last year was Mason Plumlee (1.8 VORP/4.8 WAR) and he was traded mid-season. LaMelo Ball only played 36 games. Outside of Miller, LaMelo, and Mark Williams, I’m not sure who they’re banking on to develop and carry the franchise. They are a bit light on picks in the next few years (no first rounder in 2024, no second rounder in 2025). They gave Gordon Hayward a ton of money to be a replacement-level player over 50 games last year. Idk, hire a real GM and hope to contend by 2030 or so is the best plan they got.
THE DETROIT PISTONS
Detroit Pistons—Last year, this team’s VORP leader was Bojan Bogdanovic (1.4 VORP/3.8 WAR). Bojan is a good player, but that’s a pretty rough situation to be in. Cade was injured and Jaden Ivey had a terrible season. Jalen Duren might be something, he had a good season at age 19. Detroit also was the biggest loser of the 2023 lottery: they had the league’s worst record by a lot (17-65) and got the fifth pick overall. They took Ausar Thompson. Cool cool. I hope Cade is healthy, Ivey improves his effiencey, Duren keeps developing, and Ausar looks like he’s playing in Overtime Elite. Oh, and the Pistons have no first rounder next year. If the Hornets can hope to contend by 2030, maybe the Pistons can contend by 2032.
HOW TO SQUANDER A FUTURE
Minnesota Timberwolves—Let’s roll the clock back a year to July 5th, 2022. The Timberwolves had just made a nifty trade where they sent Jake LaRavia (pick #19 in 2022) to Memphis for Walker Kessler (pick #22 in 2022). They are looking at a future of a dominant young rim protector in Kessler being paired with prodigy Anthony Edwards coming off his age 20 season where he scored 21 a game on plus efficiency. They have veteran Forward/Center Karl Anthony-Towns coming off a stellar 4.4 VORP/11.9 WAR season. The Timberwolves can imagine the KAT-Ant-Kessler trio playing together for years, with KAT being able to focus on offense and Kessler anchoring a stellar defense. The Wolves also have all of their picks going forward to continue to build or trade for stars. Then on July 6th, 2022—that all changes. Minnesota ships Kessler, Pat Bev, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and four first round picks to Utah for… Rudy Gobert. It turns out Gobert and KAT are a bad fit together, and Minnesota gets bounced in the first round versus Denver. Now the Wolves have a weird lineup, a lack of draft picks, and are going to struggle to avoid the play-in. They are banking on Ant doubling or tripling his VORP plus perhaps a KAT trade (I can’t imagine Gobert would return much at this point). It’s hard to think of a single move hurting a franchise more than the Gobert trade. And to be clear, I think Rudy is a good player! It’s just you don’t trade both your present and future for a single player, ever.
I WOULDN’T LET THE OWNER PLAY A BUSINESSMAN ON TV
Dallas Mavericks—The Mavs got Luka Doncic in the 2018 draft, and this was an all-world great move. Luka is a top 5 player in the NBA and was great right away. He put up 3.4 VORP/9.2 WAR in his first season at age 19. Last year, at age 23, he put up 6.6 VORP/17.8 WAR, which was second in the NBA behind Jokic (8.8 VORP/23.8 WAR). Luka is still getting better, and from that perspective the Mavs should have one of the brightest futures in the NBA. And yet, they don’t. They have made terrible move after terrible move, mostly marked by short-term panic that if they don’t do something then Luka will leave in several years. Like a Greek tragedy, they may lose Luka by trying to keep him. In 2019, their big move was acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the Knicks for three role players and two first round picks. Then, three years later they decided the Porzingis experiment was over and dealt him to the Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, losing a second-round pick in the process. In 2021-22, with a core of Luka-Brunson-Dinwiddie-Bertans they made the conference finals. And then they let Brunson walk for nothing because they didn’t want to pay him, dealt Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith , and another first round pick for Kyrie Iriving, and proceeded to miss the playoffs entirely in 2022-23 while being fined for tanking. Now the Mavs go into the 2023-24 season with a core of Luka, Kyrie (with a new 3 year contract) and offseason acquisition Grant Williams. It’s not clear to me how they will play defense, or what role players will fill out their rotation. To recap: the Mavs could have had a core of Luka-Porzingis-Brunson or Luka-Brunson-Dinwiddie, and they said no to both for a core of Luka-Kyrie-Grant plus fewer picks. The mind boggles. In the process they have destroyed their 2024 and 2029 draft (they have no picks either year), and are lacking second rounders for most of the rest of the decade. My guess is Luka asks out before his contract is up.