The Curse of the Great Sloveno

You will remember the comparisons of the Luka trade to the Babe Ruth trade. The Ruth trade led to decades of futility for the Red Sox franchise. With the curse of the great Bambino in place, Boston went 86 years without winning a world championship. Will the curse of the Great Sloveno prevent the Dallas Mavericks from winning a championship for that long? If that’s the case, probably no-one reading this will ever see a Larry O’Brien trophy engraved with the Dallas name. Let’s move on from that morbid thought.

I bring the curse up because it hit this writer. I had a column ready to go which laid out a plan for improving the Mavericks. The main suggestion was to trade Anthony Davis. This could shed some payroll and maybe pick up some much needed draft picks.

After last night, so much for that idea. Street Clothes Davis is back on the shelf after ligament damage to his hand as he waved at a passing opponent. Three things are certain: Death, taxes and Davis getting hurt. Now that Nico has been fired there’s no GM dumb enough to give up assets for someone to occupy a seat on the bench.

So now what? I still say it’s time to tear down and start over. You have limited time before the trade deadline. Trade other veterans for draft picks and players with expiring contracts. Rebuild around Cooper Flagg. The number one pick is going to be an All Star for years to come. And he just turned 19! Others who are showing enough ability and health to keep on the roster are Max Christie, Ryan Nembhard, and Brandon Williams. I would also include Dereck Lively as untouchable if he could stay healthy. I really like Daniel Gifford, PJ Washington and Naji Marshall as role players, but there are availability and consistency issues there too. Oh go ahead and keep Dwight Powell too. He would probably play for free, and someone has to be the top towel waver. Put up the For Sale or Rent sign on everyone else.

Maybe this is a little harsh. Or maybe it’s the Curse at work. Or maybe I’m just ready for baseball season.

That’s my opinion - what’s yours?