Nearly 7 percent of netizens support Owen for Siakam 3 dimensions to explain the Mavericks' deal
"Spend hundreds of millions of dollars and get beaten the hardest?" The Mavericks ushered in Irving's comeback after 12 games, but the Mavericks led by the Eastern European group lost 90-127 to the rebuilt Jazz by 37 points. Although the Mavericks are currently ranked seventh in the West, the painful reality of seven defeats in the last 11 games shows that the Mavericks need to make changes, or they are likely to repeat the mistakes of last season. According to the voting of Tencent News netizens, nearly 7 percent of netizens agree that Irving will be exchanged for Siakam, and the combination of Doncic + Siakam is undoubtedly more exciting.
In the past 11 games, 7 defeats have fallen out of the top six, and the competition pressure in the west is high
In the first 23 games of the season, the Mavericks have a 15-8 record, with a winning percentage of 65.2%, ranking in the top four in the West. It's just that in the last 11 games, the Mavericks only have a 4-7 record, and their record has slipped to 19-15-55.9% with a winning rate, and the winning rate has plummeted by nearly 10 percentage points.
In the brutal battle for a playoff spot in the West, the Mavericks finished fourth in the West last season before trading for Irving. However, after the Mavericks acquired Irving last season, their record plummeted, and they ended up in 11th place in the West, not only missing out on the playoffs, but also missing out on the play-offs.
This season, many young teams in the West have risen, the Timberwolves and Thunder are among the top two in the West, and the Rockets are also a dark horse that cannot be ignored. In this situation, it will be extremely difficult for the Mavericks to stand out in the West, and they need to make changes.
The Eastern European Twin Gun Combo has never been able to maximize its power
The Mavericks made a big trade midway last season, trading Dinwiddie, Finney-Smith and a 2029 unprotected first-round pick for Irving, but last season's results weren't great. In the summer of 2023, Irving didn't get much team chasing, and the Mavericks signed Irving to a three-year, $126 million extension, still with an average of $40 million+ high salary contracts.
It's just that the Eastern European combination led the team to a good start this season, but Irving missed 12 consecutive games due to injury, and now he lost to the Jazz by 37 points in the first game of his comeback, and the Mavericks have not been in good shape recently. Irving has averaged 22.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game so far this season, setting a new low in scoring in the past eight seasons and tying the lowest in assists in the past eight seasons.
The two-gun combination of Irving and Doncic is destined to not be maximized. Irving is already making as many sacrifices as possible, after all, he is playing next to Doncic, the ball-handling centerpiece, who needs a lot of ball control to be as powerful as possible, and is one of the leaders of the league's new generation. When Irving can't maximize his ability, Doncic and Irving have serious overlap in function, and it is naturally difficult to bring out the maximum power of the Eastern European combination.
Siakam is a better fit for Doncic than Irving
At present, public opinion generally believes that the Mavericks need to make a trade, they need to make changes to upgrade the team's roster, and Siakam, one of the Raptors' champions in 2019, has become the object of competition for many teams today. According to the voting results of Tencent News netizens, nearly 7 percent of netizens are most optimistic about the Owen exchange for Siakam deal.
Admittedly, the triumvirate of "Doncic + Irving + Siakam" looks good, but if you want to not move the Eastern European duo, it will be difficult to trade Siakam, and the Mavericks will need to return a large number of players and draft picks. The Mavericks have a lack of depth in the lineup, especially when they trade for Irving, which has damaged the team's defense, and if they don't move Eastern Europe, they will trade for Siakam, then the team's lineup will be greatly damaged, and it is difficult to be truly competitive by relying on the Big Three to play the world.
In this case, exchanging Owen for Siakam is naturally the best solution. Siakam is a 29-year-old All-Star and one of the centerpieces of the 2019 Raptors championship, averaging 22.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5 assists per game this season. The Raptors need to use the younger Barnes as the core, so they need to trade away Siakam, if the Mavericks can facilitate Irving to trade for Siakam, the 2.03-meter forward partner Doncic who can attack, defend and pass, will undoubtedly be more suitable for improving his combat effectiveness.
The Mavericks' defeat last season has shown that they need to make a choice, and the combination of Irving and Doncic will hardly have a bright future, but it will not be easy to grab Siakam in the multi-team competition, and it will depend on the ability of the Mavericks management to operate.
(Text/Drunken Sleeping)