Jordan

Do not build a new arena. Victory Park is perfect. DART access, walkable neighborhood, established entertainment district. Renovate what you have.

The new video board alone will transform the in-arena experience. The current one is functional but compared to what the Clippers built at Intuit Dome, it looks like it belongs in 2005.

Face-guarding Luka is the league blueprint now. Every team does it. The Mavs need a secondary creator who can punish teams for devoting that much attention to Luka. That is why Kyrie is critical.

The quieter ownership is actually better for basketball operations. Cuban was great but sometimes his public persona created distractions. Let the basketball people do their jobs in peace.

I want a rim protector. The defense leaks at the rim and a shot-blocker who can play 12-15 minutes would dramatically improve the team. You do not need them to shoot — Luka and Kyrie generate all the offense.

The real-time dashboards during timeouts is wild. Coaches can see which lineups are working and which are not in the middle of the game. That is a massive advantage.

The MLE is the most important $7.5M in the NBA for this team. Finding a wing who can shoot and defend at that price is the difference between a second-round exit and a Finals run.

Do not disrespect Dirk by making this a competition. Both are franchise legends. Dirk built this franchise from nothing. Luka benefits from the foundation Dirk laid.

Josh Howard at 29 was an incredible pick. He became an All-Star out of the end of the first round. You do not see that hit rate often at that draft position.

Trading up for Luka is the best move this franchise has ever made outside of signing Dirk. The fact that Sacramento took Marvin Bagley one pick earlier will be in basketball history books forever.

Victory Park during the 2024 Finals was something I will never forget. The streets were packed with fans watching on screens, cheering together. Dallas felt like a basketball city for the first time since 2011.

The 2024 Finals loss to Boston was a defensive loss. The Celtics shot 48% from three in the series. You are not beating that regardless of how many points Luka scores.

Every champion in 20 years has been top-10 in defense. That stat alone should tell the front office everything. Offense wins games, defense wins championships is a cliche because it is true.

Luka will be number one on this list when he retires. His production at this age is ahead of Dirk\'s pace. The only question is whether he stays in Dallas long enough to build the full resume.

Age is the elephant in the room. Kyrie at 34-35 is going to decline. The Mavs need to have a succession plan for the secondary creator role. Whether that is a trade or a draft pick, it needs to happen soon.

The Victory Park outdoor watch parties during playoffs are incredible. During the 2024 run there were 5,000+ people gathered outside AAC watching on screens. Electric.

A trade of one overpaid role player for a cheaper contract plus a pick is the move. You do not need everyone on the roster making $14M. You need good players making $3-5M on value deals.

The supermax for Luka is non-negotiable. You do not let a player of his caliber leave. The issue is everything below the top two contracts. The supporting cast deals are where franchises win or lose.

I was at Game 6 of the Finals. When the clock hit zero, grown men were crying in the stands. 2011 was 13 years of pain finally being released. Nothing in DFW sports has matched that moment.

Stars games are genuinely louder than Mavs games and it is not close. Playoff hockey at AAC is the loudest sporting event in DFW, including Cowboys games at AT&T. I will die on this hill.

Boston was just too deep. When you have 7 guys who can guard Luka at an above-average level, there is only so much one player can do. We need a third star.

The conditioning improvement is real. He looks like a different athlete this year. Faster, more explosive, and playing more games. Credit to him for putting in the work.

Agreed on the $22 burger. I made that mistake once and I think about it every time I go to a game. That burger personally offended me.

The Jimmy Johnson trade chart is outdated. The modern chart from PFF adjusts for the CBA rookie wage scale and the values shift significantly. Under the modern chart, trading back is even more advantageous.

Plato\'s Closet in Garland is actually great for vintage sports gear. Cowboys, Mavs, Rangers — the DFW locations get tons of donations.

The new kickoff rules have made kick return more important than it has been in a decade. Dallas needs to invest in a dynamic returner. CeeDee should not be fielding kicks.