DALLAS - The minute Anthony Davis' escape-from-New Orleans desires went public, other NBA teams, and their media, and their fans, became vultures, wishing to pick at the almost-dead carcass of the Pelicans. 'How can we steal Jrue Holiday?' 'How can we steal Nikola Mirotic?' 'How can we steal Julius Randle'?

There wasn't/isn't much responsible thought regarding whether New Orleans was/is over a barrel in any of their relationships with any of their players. Before the deadline, Mirotic was indeed dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks. But Holiday remains a Pel. Davis remains there, too.

And then there is free-agent-to-be Randle, the subject of speculation that ties him to the Dallas Mavericks, just as speculation did a year ago when he was also on the market. Back then, he signed with New Orleans on a deal that pays him a bargain $8.6 mil this year (and then a players option this summer) - the sort of deal Dallas could've surely attempted to offer him. Yet, as we reported at the time, no such offer occurred.

That bothers some Mavs lovers, especially my 105.3 The Fan buddy Mike Bacsik, who is the first to admit he'll sometimes let his passion outmuscle his logic. And Bacsik's passion for "bringing Randle home'' -- Julius is a DFW native -- is strong, fueled especially by how Randle so often crushes the Mavs when he opposes his hometown team, before with the Lakers and now with the Pels. Mike recently tweeted:

Please Mavs go get Julius Randle in free agency. The dude had 33, 11 and 6 tonight. He has been a 20 point 10 rebound for a year now and he is only 24 years old. — Mike Bacsik (@MikeBacsik) February 15, 2019

That tweet occurred after Randle’s big game on the other night against the Oklahoma City Thunder in which he posted 33 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. And it created a bit of an information (or, misinformation) avalanche, with another of my pals, fellow 105.3 The Fan personality Ben Rogers, tweeting:

I was told that he very much wants to play here — for what it’s worth. https://t.co/SfNUUCCSuV — Ben Rogers (@BenRogers) February 15, 2019

And now the avalanche was rumbling full-speed downward, with no way to ask the tumbling boulders to reverse course. At least one websites picked up Mike and Ben's tweets and turned them into a "news story,'' turning phrases such as, "The interest from the Dallas Mavericks could (and should) be there. Apparently, Randle has eyes for the Mavericks at this point.''

But there are issues here. Bacsik is about as devoted a Mavs fan as any of us. He's also a former professional athlete, having pitched in the Major Leagues for, among other clubs, his hometown Texas Rangers. He's smart. He knows basketball. But ...

His Randle opinion isn't the result of anything the Mavs have whispered to him about Randle. Nor is it forged by anything Randle whispered to him about the Mavs. Mike simply thinks Randle's really good and that therefore the Mavs should want him, and he's thought that for the last two years. That's an opinion that might very well be right; but it's not a news story.

Ben also loves his Mavs, and he is plugged in to the vibe of local athletes in multiple sports. But while aggregation "news sites'' were working to transform his first tweet into a "breaking news story,'' Ben was creating a second tweet as part of a discussion on that subject that included myself, Cory Mageors of The Fan and Mavs radio voice Chuck Cooperstein. And in that tweet, Ben wrote:

OK. Intel was old. He DID want to play here... but then they passed on him so he signed with the Pelicans. Might be a grudge there since they passed on him. So I stand corrected. Apologies... assumed that desire to be here was steadfast but it apparently has expired. Point Cory — Ben Rogers (@BenRogers) February 15, 2019

Oh. Never mind. Because as Ben himself would be the first to agree, he wasn't trying to "break news'' here as much as he was simply having a Mavs conversation, a bar-room discussion, only online. Ideas were exchanged. The conversation was fluid. And it continues to be ...

Randle is a 24-year-old talent who truly is a bargain this season. His numbers really do pop; After posting a career-best 16.2 points per game on 55.8-percent shooting in 2017-18 with the Lakers (along with eight rebounds per), Randle is currently averaging 20.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and three assists per while shooting 54 percent from the field.

A 20/9 guy playing next to Kristaps Porzingis next year? What's not to like? Well ... while this season he's knocked down 34.3 percent of his 3-point attempts, Randle is not yet considered by some teams to be much of a perimeter shooting threat. He's also poor on defense. (Maybe can't shoot and kinda can't defend. Doesn't that bother anybody?) There are also issues about whether he's a 4 or a 5. Combine this with the fact that Dallas didn't chase him last year, the fact that Dallas likely has its $30 mil sights on bigger fish to fry, and that with all due respect to suggestions that Randle "wants to come home,'' he's never actually said anything like that despite two straight years of impending free agency.

That's what's not to like about assuming a marriage here. Randle is making himself into a better shooter. This year, he also seems more capable as a ball-handler. And hey, maybe there was something about coach Rick Carlisle's system last year that made Randle a bad fit and there will be a system change next year. In summary, I'm not saying I'm opposed to the idea; I think there is a mixed bag of opinions on him inside Mavs HQ. But despite his pedigree, (he was selected No. 7 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft), his raw numbers (impressive as they are) and his DFW origins, tweets of passion aren't "news stories.'' Decisions to come from the Mavs personnel department, on Julius Randle and 100 other guys? Those are news stories.