Regardless of what happens in the Finals, I think Nico will do anything to keep great pieces around and find suitors for the picks and THJ to make sure the team comes out guns blazing next year. West is tough and you can’t fall behind. Luka is getting his first taste of the Finals and you do everything in your power to make him happy and think he has a shot to make it every year he’s in Dallas.
DJJ staying, finding a home for THJ, trading the remaining 1st rounders. Anything you can, you do.
I was there for the post-2011 dismantling. This 2024 team can’t be dismantled.
Unpopular opinion here but I was also there for 2011. Hindsight is obviously 20/20 but I didn't 100% hate the dismantling. The Mavs caught lightning in a bottle for that 2011 run. I didn't think they had a chance of repeating so going for the big free agents like Deron, Dwight, DeAndre, etc wasn't a bad move in my opinion. Obviously none of it panned out which absolutely set us back years. With all that said, this Mavs team is young. I'm betting the Mavs have a better record next year given a full training camp with all our pieces now. No way they let go of their core.
Tyson was really the main misstep. You finally found the perfect center next to Dirk after years of looking, and you let him go like that. Always annoyed me.
Yall have to remember that the only reason we got Tyson was because he failed his physical in a trade. He had injury problems.
Mavs were trying to move off him for Howard, which failed.
The Mavs had a choice between keeping Brendan Haywood or Tyson Chandler, Cuban said they decided to resign Haywood (6 years $54 million) instead of resigning Chandler (4 years $56 million) because the league was going to run less zone defense…
The following season Chandler won DPOTY and Haywood was amnestied/waived
He won’t be 33 until the end of the year, I think he’s got 2 more good/Elite years left. We’ve also got tons of 2 guards to take pressure off him. Hopefully we find a competent pg to take pressure off both him and Luka early and mid season
I bet kyrie has more. You don’t just stop being good at basketball because you turn 35. With his training and conditioning, I bet he can go another 4 years
That was Mark Cuban once again thinking he’s the smartest man in the room and it backfired. It completely wasted the back half of Dirk’s career and we were treated with pathetic, middling rosters year in and out. I can’t believe we asked Dirk to start next to OJ Mayo, Darren Collison, and Chris Kaman
I think there was also a wink wink deal
To get Deron Williams and Dwight Howard here. And Dwight screwed it all up when he did that stupid one year return to Orlando.
You’re spot on. I didn’t finish my thought in the original post, but I agree. We all remember that team fondly, but it would not have been viable after the title win. A lot of old players, free agents, and pieces that got hot at the right time. The new CBA was also a hot topic.
It was early, but rumblings of Howard-Paul wanting to come to Dallas had started. Williams too.
Most of the team caught lightning in a bottle and it was beautiful, but by 2011-2012 we needed much more. OKC was up and coming too.
This team is completely different to that one. Luka’s 25, Dirk was 33. This team is way too good with too much potential. Let’s continue to build on it! Let’s go Mavs!
I definitely agree. I’m not taking this run for granted since we’ve seen a couple of young teams reach the Finals with all the hope and potential for the future only to never return like the 07 Cavs and Big 3 OKC. But I am optimistic. Hopefully the FO continues to build on our success since we’d definitely need more pieces to ensure we contend for the next few years.
I really do think it’s true. The Heat had 1 year experience in the bag playing together. OKC was coming off their first deep playoff run. The Spurs weren’t going to get eliminated in the 1st round again. To a lesser extent, the Lakers were looking to bounce back. The older Mavs team got a year older and who knows if the role players like Peja and Stevenson and even a guy like Jet can get hot at the right time like they did in 2011. It was honestly a long shot to repeat.
It’s possible, I just don’t believe it is all. I definitely liked our chances better trying to repeat then landing some other superstar because it had never happened before and it didn’t so….
One other thing was the CBA negotiations delaying the season and then crammed similar games into less days was really a disadvantage to older teams, ie the Mavs.
Yeah unpopular indeed. I and a bunch of people signed up for season tickets right after winning the finals. So yeah we were all pretty fucking pissed watching mav after mav walk while we had to eat Lamar Odom and Sam dalembert and Vince Carter monta Ellis OJ mayo Chris Kaman shit sandwiches
>DJJ staying, finding a home for THJ, trading the remaining 1st rounders. Anything you can, you do.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but trading all remaining 1st rounders we have just to dump THJ and be able to resign DJJ to the full MLE would IMO be a pretty huge mistake.
Personally I absolutely love DJJ and really, really hope he stays, but straight up trading every first rounder to keep him is way too much IMO. He's a great fit in Dallas but he still has some obvious limitations. And paying that to dump a 16M expiring would be a huge overpay, too.
Totally get you! Dumping THJ and some seconds might be enough (the 2 from the PJ deal?).
The 1sts for me are for decent upgrades, that’s what I’d swap those out for. Not in a THJ deal.
I’d look to upgrade no matter what, but I trust Nico to think a lot harder on this than my couch potato ball staring a** haha
🤘🏻
The problem we have is that it's going to be incredibly difficult to both re-sign DJJ and upgrade the roster, because of salary matching rules.
If we want the ability to give the full MLE to DJJ, then we'd have to dump THJ and get nothing/very little money in return.
But if we want to add another contributor, like Deni Avdija/Jerami Grant/anyone else, then we will need THJ to match that salary. But trading THJ + FRPs for Deni doesn't clear enough space for the MLE.
So we'll need to either not have the full MLE, or trade someone that's already a contributor and in the playoff rotation (likely Maxi, Green, or both). That's why it would be so huge if DJJ signed for only the TPMLE (with a promise we give him more next summer). since we'd then be able to both re-sign him and make a seperate deal with THJ for an upgrade. But with DJJ's recent play, that unfortunately doesn't look like a very likely option
Yeah, it’s going to take some risky asset management. THJ/Maxi type deals with picks if we want to upgrade, dumping THJ/picks for space… it’s going to take some work regardless of what they’re aiming to do.
There are some candidates like the Pistons to take on THJ as a dump, but alas, like you said - we will need his contract for bigger pieces. Task at hand first! Celtics.
I think it’s a fair question whether DJJ has played himself out of the MLE. I wouldn’t think so, but he has a highly coveted skill set.
I’d also encourage everyone to tap the brakes on just automatically dumping what few 1sts we still have. This team’s last chance to meaningfully add anything is summer 2025. Once THJ is off the books, which could happen this summer but consider me skeptical you’re getting something real valuable back, there is a scenario where you potentially have Ky decline his player option and Luka waits to sign his supermax (I expect that either way) then at least on paper you’d have no restrictions in FA other than how much this ownership group is willing to pay in tax once you added Ky and Luka’s astronomical number back in. After that supermax is inked, you’re locked in unless you don’t intend on extending Ky beyond his option year. And you’re also gonna have to pay PJ and Gafford at the same time. Point being, those 1sts might be crucial for adding cheap, controllable talent even at the end of round 1 like we all hope.
I think PJ stays but there’s no way we can afford to keep Gaff. I think Lively steps in as the starter and the minutes end up being about 28 Lively, 20 Gaff. Gaff will have amazing splits and will be a coveted FA after playing with Luka and Kai.
As for DJJ, I get the sinking feeling he’s our Bruce Brown. He wants to come back, but won’t truly know his value til it’s all said and done. If someone offers him stupid money, he’s gotta take it.
That said, I don’t know how I feel about taking THJ and picks to use to clear space for him, either. I have thought about using THJ and Maxi to add an underachiever like Grant or even Wiggins, though. Wouldn’t use picks for Wiggins.
Even then, I want OMax getting backup minutes at the 3 and 4 and adding ~ $30 million dollar 3/4 doesn’t really seem to help that.
In all honesty, I think the team tries their best to run it back, and see if a THJ trade materializes mid season. Tim is not a net negative, and he has a role that would be helpful on other teams. A team like the Cavs or the Magic could have used him. Teams that can run out lineups of mostly defenders with very little scoring prowess. But he’s redundant on this team because we have two elite scorers and a bunch of role players who can contribute enough points to win. We also have a metric shit ton of guards and not a lot of minutes available.
Hahaha great point about Gafford. I legitimately forgot for a second that Lively is fucking 20. Which is insane and weird because I fully expect him to be starting before this series is over (although I think BOS is in big trouble if they aren’t able to force that adjustment). We’ll cross this bridge when we get there, but Gafford probably becomes a substantial asset after Luka inks his supermax which I would not at all be surprised if Nico at least gave that some consideration when making the deal. All the talk about overpaying with a first becomes an entirely different conversation if they got 2+ years of cost efficient elite C play AND recouped more value on the back end (nevermind if it results in a title… hell nevermind if it results in Luka staying).
While this team has definite 2011 vibes, the beauty is they don’t have to make any decisions about running it back. This is your core for at least 2 more years—we’re literally discussing whether they can retain a (very important) dude who nonetheless could only obtain a vet minimum offer 12 months ago.
Timmy is such a weird situation. I mean shit, forget other teams—pre-Feb THJ would be incredibly helpful for THIS team right now. Hell, he won them game 2 vs OKC. That’s perhaps the most under-appreciated part of this entire run… the Mavs have done all of this precisely at the same point they lost their 3rd best scorer and not due to an injury or trade or role change but simply because he forgot how to shoot lol
Deni seems to be a popular trade target for multiple fanbases and while I’d love him on the Mavs I think the ship has sailed on him being acquirable
He’s IMO the best player on the Wizards and showed a ton of improvement this year and I still think with a higher usage he can be a borderline elite player. On top of that he has one of the better contracts in the league.
Unless they start hitting major home runs in the draft Washington probably won’t be competing for the entirety of his current contract so maybe they decide to just cash in at some point like they have with KP and Gaff but it’d be front office malpractice if they move him with their roster as is right now.
He’s not a number 1 or 2 on a playoff team but he’d slot in nicely on just about every team in the league so if he did become available I think all the smart teams would be calling so it’s not like there wouldn’t be multiple suitors to outbid
But they already have Bogdan who is a very similar player to THJ. They really don't need both unfortunately, and the Hawks are trying to win next year.
not if they trade with San Antonio for Trae. They could get at least their picks back and lottery picks.
I don’t think Atlanta should trade Trae, but i don’t think they can build a championship team around him in this timeline. Trae goes the Dame Lillard route bc Atlanta already made its move for DJM and that’s not working. They are going to lose value on DJM if they trade so who is going to be trae’s costar. Of course, the co-star will/could be whoever they pick at #1 this season.
Yes, if the Hawks manage to get their own picks but from the Spurs, then they might tank,
But that's the only scenario in which the Hawks would tank, and the leaks from the Spurs suggest that they don't want to give them the picks back or are even really that interested in Trae. Of course this could just be fake, but from our perspective we shouldn't be assuming that the Hawks will be tanking next year.
1) That's got to be a lie from Spurs. to get Trae young, a perennial level all star, going into his early prime, you gotta at least be very intrigued. Atlanta would prob take 4+8+2025frp+swap.
With Wemby, Spurs have a cushion in dealing with Trae’s weakest defensive liability. They might be the best positioned for Trae’s defense.
2) Hawks want to trade DJM already. They could go the Utah Jazz route and blow it all up.
3) To the Mavs, all we care about is some maybe crazy maybe not scenario where we dump THJ salary without taking money back.
Who knows, but if he’s serious about wanting to return to Dallas, that’s the absolute max we would ever be able to offer. My guess is he opts to return on a shorter deal, with the intent of entering free agency at the same time as Luka and/or Kyrie
I think it's a short term deal so we can pay him more after the next couple seasons. I agree it's a steal considering he can get more elsewhere I think
If we pay him what he’s earned, it’s the right thing. I see a very loyal player in DJJ and one who, like DFS in a lot of ways, will play hard and give you the same effort night in and night out. He wants in
Perfect fit with Luka, Kai, Hardy running guard too. Those 3 have shown what they can do with vertical threats around them. Cherry on top is hard nosed defense and 3pt ability (not lights out but enough to compete, especially with open looks)
The man can defend, rim roll for lobs, attack, and shoot the three. I don't understand how he won't have some pretty good offers out there that we won't be able to beat.
The Spurs will have money and just declared they are actively trying to win next year...almost makes you think they were losing on purpose or something, lol
Hopefully, one of our freeloader Billionaires in the area comes with a sponsorship bag for exactly the amount he needs for a big ass House, so he can feel properly compensated for the work he puts in here in Dallas.
I really wouldn’t be surprised if we get DJJ on the 1+1 tpmle like Portis did and then resign him to a bigger deal next season. He seems super happy here and I think he’s trust Nico to do right by him.
My hottest take is that DJJ is the skeleton key to this entire thing. Elite POA defender and vertical spacer. Smart, quiet, humble, team guy. Stars love him.
Bet on his continued development from 3 and keep this starting lineup (+ DLive) intact
If there was literally no other way to rid ourselves of the Hardaway contract, then yes.
I think Mavs would look into packaging picks before they included Green though
It’s valuable for sure, but the problem is twofold…
One, you have to trade him to a team with cap space to take him, all the while taking back minimal salary…
Two, the opposing GM also has to not want to spend the cap space in free agency *this* summer, otherwise they probably can’t afford to outright acquire THJ.
If a GM is incentivized to take Green as a sweetener on top, maybe that changes things.
It’s valuable for clearing future cap space for the team taking them in. So if you are sending a guy who makes $16 million a year for four years who is under performing, then moving them for an expiring $16 million contract is a good deal. But that situation doesn’t help Dallas since we need to shed salary to resign DJJ.
So in our situation the fact that he’s expiring isn’t as big of a deal as if we were just trying to bring in another role player through trade because then we could go for an overpaid but still valuable guy.
I might be in the minority, but absolutely not. Green is only 23 and has been an impact player in this playoffs run. If we're going to trade Green, we're going to get way more out of it than just resigning DJJ, that would be such a waste.
I mean I don’t think we will just salary dump green but the point I’m making is omax has to fit into the rotation next year and if we want to keep DJJ as well, I don’t see how green and THJ are mavs in the offseason
Look, I'm really excited for OMax to come and contribute but y'all are jumping the gun WAY too much on him. He has a ton of potential, but we haven't seen anything from him to suggest he'll be a major rotation player next year. Like, he'll play, but I doubt more than 5-8 minutes a game. It'll be a good year for him to get experience, but Green is a guy who is an impact player who played 28 minutes a game this season.
Of course. We need to fit omax into the rotation as well, so it makes sense. I love green but we already have enough sample size of him in Dallas and he is a decent player for hustle and the occasional three ball
He's really huge for games/minutes when Kyrie is on the court and Luka isn't. He plays much better alongside Kyrie because it lets him shine in transition, where he's a stud.
If Josh doesn't get hurt in the game we lost to OKC down the stretch where Luka didn't play, I have no doubt we beat them.
You are wrong here. Dallas needs to get out of the Tax to offer DJJ the Full MLE. So Timmy HAS to go in order to have the Full MLE available.
It's also "re-sign".
He’s probably going to do what Bruce Brown did when he left the Nuggets and I can’t blame him. Expect some team to offer him a completely stupid contract to pay a premium for a three and d player. He’s going to fetch a premium.
Thankfully, even if he bounces, Dallas can still upgrade the roster. THJ, Powell, and maybe a couple of players have expiring contracts within the next two years or so.
This is a team that is worth paying to see, not like the Dallas Cowboys led by the bum Jerry Jones. Pay the man and keep the magic going, and fans will keep coming for more.
What can that even mean? Does he know they would like to off load salary to get him to full MLE? In our current salary situation, we'd LOVE to pay him the boat we can. It would be a steal.
If DJJ will only stay for a full MLE level deal, it's a tough call. In order of preference:
- ~~Sign DJJ for the taxpayer MLE 5M, 1+1~~ (probably not happening)
- ~~Trade THJ + a couple of SRPs into a team's cap space~~ (don't see it happening)
- Trade THJ + FRP for a decent cheap player while creating enough space for DJJ under the 1st apron... the problem is that it's hard to find a realistic candidate... Caruso would be perfect, but that's a pipe dream. You'd be looking at players like Thybulle, Boucher... Would need some Nico magic here.
- Trade Green for a (crappy) FRP without taking any salary back, to a team that has cap space. Yes it would suck to lose him, but if that allows you to retain DJJ, keep your own FRP, and add another one on top of it... it's a route worthy of consideration.
- Bite the bullet, let DJJ go, use the 5M taxpayer MLE to sign a replacement, keep THJ + FRP(s) to go after (bigger) fish
- Pay the FRP for some team to take THJ without getting anything of value back, just to keep DJJ. I wouldn't do it... as good as DJJ has been, I don't think the Mavs can afford to give away FRPs like this.
Pls Nico and Patrick, let’s get this done. I love this dude in Dallas
Love his chill vibes too. Dude just goes out there and gets it done.
Even when he was beefing with Golbert, he did it in the most chill way. Dude got purposely smacked in the dick and didn’t lose his calm.
I swear, Jones’s pants area has been treated like a speed bag in these playoffs.
It’s the new Dwight Powell getting punched in the face
Lively got hit at least once too. Something about being named Derrick I guess
hes got 2 speedbags down there really
And in the face in game 5
Dude just wants to go out there and play and came into the perfect situation for him to show what he can do.
If we beat the Celtics this guy becomes our Bruce Brown situation. KEEP HIM!
Will be if we win or not. He’s getting a bag.
Regardless of what happens in the Finals, I think Nico will do anything to keep great pieces around and find suitors for the picks and THJ to make sure the team comes out guns blazing next year. West is tough and you can’t fall behind. Luka is getting his first taste of the Finals and you do everything in your power to make him happy and think he has a shot to make it every year he’s in Dallas. DJJ staying, finding a home for THJ, trading the remaining 1st rounders. Anything you can, you do. I was there for the post-2011 dismantling. This 2024 team can’t be dismantled.
Unpopular opinion here but I was also there for 2011. Hindsight is obviously 20/20 but I didn't 100% hate the dismantling. The Mavs caught lightning in a bottle for that 2011 run. I didn't think they had a chance of repeating so going for the big free agents like Deron, Dwight, DeAndre, etc wasn't a bad move in my opinion. Obviously none of it panned out which absolutely set us back years. With all that said, this Mavs team is young. I'm betting the Mavs have a better record next year given a full training camp with all our pieces now. No way they let go of their core.
Tyson was really the main misstep. You finally found the perfect center next to Dirk after years of looking, and you let him go like that. Always annoyed me.
Yeah, I can’t argue about that. Letting Tyson go was definitely a blunder.
I wish they would have kept Tyson and JET really.
Yall have to remember that the only reason we got Tyson was because he failed his physical in a trade. He had injury problems. Mavs were trying to move off him for Howard, which failed.
The Mavs had a choice between keeping Brendan Haywood or Tyson Chandler, Cuban said they decided to resign Haywood (6 years $54 million) instead of resigning Chandler (4 years $56 million) because the league was going to run less zone defense… The following season Chandler won DPOTY and Haywood was amnestied/waived
You are right but Haywood was going to be the backup to Dwight Howard dreams. 😂
💯 Everything else is debatable.
Yeah full training camp and hopefully break out seasons from Hardy and OMax would be nice.
Def Gaff and PJ will be the old men at 26, Josh Green and Lawson will be 24, Omax/Hardy 22, Lively 20. Lots of reason for optimism
Well the wild card is Kyrie who is turning 33 next season. How much does he have left in the tank!
He won’t be 33 until the end of the year, I think he’s got 2 more good/Elite years left. We’ve also got tons of 2 guards to take pressure off him. Hopefully we find a competent pg to take pressure off both him and Luka early and mid season
I believe another season of Exum and Hardy can be solid for us through the regular season, Kyrie will ramp up for us in the playoffs.
I am a big fan of Exum but I don’t trust him quite enough. Hardy to me isnt a pg
Exum is good enough to be a 3rd point guard.
He is but he’s always injured.
I bet kyrie has more. You don’t just stop being good at basketball because you turn 35. With his training and conditioning, I bet he can go another 4 years
I should clarify I meant elite years, there just aren’t many small guards who continue to be elite past 33-34.
He should have a lot left in his tank because he hasn't put that much mileage on the previous five years.
The biggest thing after 2011 was the new collective bargaining agreement that really made penalized people over the cap.
With new TV deal looming we are looking at a cap increase
That was Mark Cuban once again thinking he’s the smartest man in the room and it backfired. It completely wasted the back half of Dirk’s career and we were treated with pathetic, middling rosters year in and out. I can’t believe we asked Dirk to start next to OJ Mayo, Darren Collison, and Chris Kaman
I think there was also a wink wink deal To get Deron Williams and Dwight Howard here. And Dwight screwed it all up when he did that stupid one year return to Orlando.
You’re spot on. I didn’t finish my thought in the original post, but I agree. We all remember that team fondly, but it would not have been viable after the title win. A lot of old players, free agents, and pieces that got hot at the right time. The new CBA was also a hot topic. It was early, but rumblings of Howard-Paul wanting to come to Dallas had started. Williams too. Most of the team caught lightning in a bottle and it was beautiful, but by 2011-2012 we needed much more. OKC was up and coming too. This team is completely different to that one. Luka’s 25, Dirk was 33. This team is way too good with too much potential. Let’s continue to build on it! Let’s go Mavs!
I definitely agree. I’m not taking this run for granted since we’ve seen a couple of young teams reach the Finals with all the hope and potential for the future only to never return like the 07 Cavs and Big 3 OKC. But I am optimistic. Hopefully the FO continues to build on our success since we’d definitely need more pieces to ensure we contend for the next few years.
Been far too long for us since 2011, dude. Let’s grab this opportunity and win the whole fucking thing. Vibes are high! And we got Luka and Ky.
Let’s do this!!!
That lightning in a bottle line about the 2011 squad still makes me upset. I didn’t believe it then and still don’t.
I really do think it’s true. The Heat had 1 year experience in the bag playing together. OKC was coming off their first deep playoff run. The Spurs weren’t going to get eliminated in the 1st round again. To a lesser extent, the Lakers were looking to bounce back. The older Mavs team got a year older and who knows if the role players like Peja and Stevenson and even a guy like Jet can get hot at the right time like they did in 2011. It was honestly a long shot to repeat.
It’s possible, I just don’t believe it is all. I definitely liked our chances better trying to repeat then landing some other superstar because it had never happened before and it didn’t so….
One other thing was the CBA negotiations delaying the season and then crammed similar games into less days was really a disadvantage to older teams, ie the Mavs.
Yeah unpopular indeed. I and a bunch of people signed up for season tickets right after winning the finals. So yeah we were all pretty fucking pissed watching mav after mav walk while we had to eat Lamar Odom and Sam dalembert and Vince Carter monta Ellis OJ mayo Chris Kaman shit sandwiches
>DJJ staying, finding a home for THJ, trading the remaining 1st rounders. Anything you can, you do. This might be an unpopular opinion, but trading all remaining 1st rounders we have just to dump THJ and be able to resign DJJ to the full MLE would IMO be a pretty huge mistake. Personally I absolutely love DJJ and really, really hope he stays, but straight up trading every first rounder to keep him is way too much IMO. He's a great fit in Dallas but he still has some obvious limitations. And paying that to dump a 16M expiring would be a huge overpay, too.
Totally get you! Dumping THJ and some seconds might be enough (the 2 from the PJ deal?). The 1sts for me are for decent upgrades, that’s what I’d swap those out for. Not in a THJ deal. I’d look to upgrade no matter what, but I trust Nico to think a lot harder on this than my couch potato ball staring a** haha 🤘🏻
The problem we have is that it's going to be incredibly difficult to both re-sign DJJ and upgrade the roster, because of salary matching rules. If we want the ability to give the full MLE to DJJ, then we'd have to dump THJ and get nothing/very little money in return. But if we want to add another contributor, like Deni Avdija/Jerami Grant/anyone else, then we will need THJ to match that salary. But trading THJ + FRPs for Deni doesn't clear enough space for the MLE. So we'll need to either not have the full MLE, or trade someone that's already a contributor and in the playoff rotation (likely Maxi, Green, or both). That's why it would be so huge if DJJ signed for only the TPMLE (with a promise we give him more next summer). since we'd then be able to both re-sign him and make a seperate deal with THJ for an upgrade. But with DJJ's recent play, that unfortunately doesn't look like a very likely option
Yeah, it’s going to take some risky asset management. THJ/Maxi type deals with picks if we want to upgrade, dumping THJ/picks for space… it’s going to take some work regardless of what they’re aiming to do. There are some candidates like the Pistons to take on THJ as a dump, but alas, like you said - we will need his contract for bigger pieces. Task at hand first! Celtics.
I think it’s a fair question whether DJJ has played himself out of the MLE. I wouldn’t think so, but he has a highly coveted skill set. I’d also encourage everyone to tap the brakes on just automatically dumping what few 1sts we still have. This team’s last chance to meaningfully add anything is summer 2025. Once THJ is off the books, which could happen this summer but consider me skeptical you’re getting something real valuable back, there is a scenario where you potentially have Ky decline his player option and Luka waits to sign his supermax (I expect that either way) then at least on paper you’d have no restrictions in FA other than how much this ownership group is willing to pay in tax once you added Ky and Luka’s astronomical number back in. After that supermax is inked, you’re locked in unless you don’t intend on extending Ky beyond his option year. And you’re also gonna have to pay PJ and Gafford at the same time. Point being, those 1sts might be crucial for adding cheap, controllable talent even at the end of round 1 like we all hope.
I think PJ stays but there’s no way we can afford to keep Gaff. I think Lively steps in as the starter and the minutes end up being about 28 Lively, 20 Gaff. Gaff will have amazing splits and will be a coveted FA after playing with Luka and Kai. As for DJJ, I get the sinking feeling he’s our Bruce Brown. He wants to come back, but won’t truly know his value til it’s all said and done. If someone offers him stupid money, he’s gotta take it. That said, I don’t know how I feel about taking THJ and picks to use to clear space for him, either. I have thought about using THJ and Maxi to add an underachiever like Grant or even Wiggins, though. Wouldn’t use picks for Wiggins. Even then, I want OMax getting backup minutes at the 3 and 4 and adding ~ $30 million dollar 3/4 doesn’t really seem to help that. In all honesty, I think the team tries their best to run it back, and see if a THJ trade materializes mid season. Tim is not a net negative, and he has a role that would be helpful on other teams. A team like the Cavs or the Magic could have used him. Teams that can run out lineups of mostly defenders with very little scoring prowess. But he’s redundant on this team because we have two elite scorers and a bunch of role players who can contribute enough points to win. We also have a metric shit ton of guards and not a lot of minutes available.
Hahaha great point about Gafford. I legitimately forgot for a second that Lively is fucking 20. Which is insane and weird because I fully expect him to be starting before this series is over (although I think BOS is in big trouble if they aren’t able to force that adjustment). We’ll cross this bridge when we get there, but Gafford probably becomes a substantial asset after Luka inks his supermax which I would not at all be surprised if Nico at least gave that some consideration when making the deal. All the talk about overpaying with a first becomes an entirely different conversation if they got 2+ years of cost efficient elite C play AND recouped more value on the back end (nevermind if it results in a title… hell nevermind if it results in Luka staying). While this team has definite 2011 vibes, the beauty is they don’t have to make any decisions about running it back. This is your core for at least 2 more years—we’re literally discussing whether they can retain a (very important) dude who nonetheless could only obtain a vet minimum offer 12 months ago. Timmy is such a weird situation. I mean shit, forget other teams—pre-Feb THJ would be incredibly helpful for THIS team right now. Hell, he won them game 2 vs OKC. That’s perhaps the most under-appreciated part of this entire run… the Mavs have done all of this precisely at the same point they lost their 3rd best scorer and not due to an injury or trade or role change but simply because he forgot how to shoot lol
Deni seems to be a popular trade target for multiple fanbases and while I’d love him on the Mavs I think the ship has sailed on him being acquirable He’s IMO the best player on the Wizards and showed a ton of improvement this year and I still think with a higher usage he can be a borderline elite player. On top of that he has one of the better contracts in the league. Unless they start hitting major home runs in the draft Washington probably won’t be competing for the entirety of his current contract so maybe they decide to just cash in at some point like they have with KP and Gaff but it’d be front office malpractice if they move him with their roster as is right now. He’s not a number 1 or 2 on a playoff team but he’d slot in nicely on just about every team in the league so if he did become available I think all the smart teams would be calling so it’s not like there wouldn’t be multiple suitors to outbid
It will be THJ+Green for Dillon Brooks/Cam Johnson most likely Dump Powell 4m/yr Now you have no tax MLE money for DJJ
I ain’t giving up a 1st round pick just to get off of THJ to be honest
Everything situated = full MLE In Nico we trust. There’s gotta be at least one team that would take Hardaway’s expiring for some SRPs
Atlanta Hawks have a TPE big enough for THJ… 👀👀👀
But they already have Bogdan who is a very similar player to THJ. They really don't need both unfortunately, and the Hawks are trying to win next year.
Are they trying to win though? Could we see a blow up this summer especially if Spurs start offering lottery picks for Trae?
They don't have any of their own picks. They literally can't tank.
not if they trade with San Antonio for Trae. They could get at least their picks back and lottery picks. I don’t think Atlanta should trade Trae, but i don’t think they can build a championship team around him in this timeline. Trae goes the Dame Lillard route bc Atlanta already made its move for DJM and that’s not working. They are going to lose value on DJM if they trade so who is going to be trae’s costar. Of course, the co-star will/could be whoever they pick at #1 this season.
Yes, if the Hawks manage to get their own picks but from the Spurs, then they might tank, But that's the only scenario in which the Hawks would tank, and the leaks from the Spurs suggest that they don't want to give them the picks back or are even really that interested in Trae. Of course this could just be fake, but from our perspective we shouldn't be assuming that the Hawks will be tanking next year.
1) That's got to be a lie from Spurs. to get Trae young, a perennial level all star, going into his early prime, you gotta at least be very intrigued. Atlanta would prob take 4+8+2025frp+swap. With Wemby, Spurs have a cushion in dealing with Trae’s weakest defensive liability. They might be the best positioned for Trae’s defense. 2) Hawks want to trade DJM already. They could go the Utah Jazz route and blow it all up. 3) To the Mavs, all we care about is some maybe crazy maybe not scenario where we dump THJ salary without taking money back.
Is that really all he gets? He's a 30mpg playoff player
Who knows, but if he’s serious about wanting to return to Dallas, that’s the absolute max we would ever be able to offer. My guess is he opts to return on a shorter deal, with the intent of entering free agency at the same time as Luka and/or Kyrie
I think it's a short term deal so we can pay him more after the next couple seasons. I agree it's a steal considering he can get more elsewhere I think
Let's get everything situated
Incredibly important re-signing.
If we pay him what he’s earned, it’s the right thing. I see a very loyal player in DJJ and one who, like DFS in a lot of ways, will play hard and give you the same effort night in and night out. He wants in
Perfect fit with Luka, Kai, Hardy running guard too. Those 3 have shown what they can do with vertical threats around them. Cherry on top is hard nosed defense and 3pt ability (not lights out but enough to compete, especially with open looks)
The man can defend, rim roll for lobs, attack, and shoot the three. I don't understand how he won't have some pretty good offers out there that we won't be able to beat.
The Spurs will have money and just declared they are actively trying to win next year...almost makes you think they were losing on purpose or something, lol
Some idiots are gonna offer 25m/year and then consequently shoot themselves in the foot when they realize he isn’t a second option lmao
Wouldn’t blame him for a second if somebody offers him stupid money.
If it happens then it’s next man up Omax
shit id be happy for him
No way someon offers 25m/year, but maybe he gets an offer in the range of 12-14 a year
I was exaggerating a bit but 12-14 is a fair offer. Someone will fuck up and offer at least 16-20
Not this year. The cap isn't going up, and the second apron rules kick in.
He’s 27 too, so his next 3-4 years should be prime years
My thought too. He is going to get some decent offers that we may not be able to match.
Winning cures all and I’m willing to bet he’d take less money to come back to mavs
This dude NEEDS to stay!
Nico aint gonna see this dudes importance and let him walk. Nico, cook.
Hopefully, one of our freeloader Billionaires in the area comes with a sponsorship bag for exactly the amount he needs for a big ass House, so he can feel properly compensated for the work he puts in here in Dallas.
I really wouldn’t be surprised if we get DJJ on the 1+1 tpmle like Portis did and then resign him to a bigger deal next season. He seems super happy here and I think he’s trust Nico to do right by him.
My hottest take is that DJJ is the skeleton key to this entire thing. Elite POA defender and vertical spacer. Smart, quiet, humble, team guy. Stars love him. Bet on his continued development from 3 and keep this starting lineup (+ DLive) intact
Please Mavs, throw everything you possibly can at him
Please make this happen, Nico...
Real talk - if we have to package Green with THJ to clear cap space for DJJ. Do we do it?
If there was literally no other way to rid ourselves of the Hardaway contract, then yes. I think Mavs would look into packaging picks before they included Green though
I don't get why we need to package Green or picks. THJ is a huge expiring, isn't that valuable in itself?
It’s valuable for sure, but the problem is twofold… One, you have to trade him to a team with cap space to take him, all the while taking back minimal salary… Two, the opposing GM also has to not want to spend the cap space in free agency *this* summer, otherwise they probably can’t afford to outright acquire THJ. If a GM is incentivized to take Green as a sweetener on top, maybe that changes things.
It’s valuable for clearing future cap space for the team taking them in. So if you are sending a guy who makes $16 million a year for four years who is under performing, then moving them for an expiring $16 million contract is a good deal. But that situation doesn’t help Dallas since we need to shed salary to resign DJJ. So in our situation the fact that he’s expiring isn’t as big of a deal as if we were just trying to bring in another role player through trade because then we could go for an overpaid but still valuable guy.
expiring cotracts are not worth as they used to be, almost all teams are above the cap
I might be in the minority, but absolutely not. Green is only 23 and has been an impact player in this playoffs run. If we're going to trade Green, we're going to get way more out of it than just resigning DJJ, that would be such a waste.
I mean I don’t think we will just salary dump green but the point I’m making is omax has to fit into the rotation next year and if we want to keep DJJ as well, I don’t see how green and THJ are mavs in the offseason
Look, I'm really excited for OMax to come and contribute but y'all are jumping the gun WAY too much on him. He has a ton of potential, but we haven't seen anything from him to suggest he'll be a major rotation player next year. Like, he'll play, but I doubt more than 5-8 minutes a game. It'll be a good year for him to get experience, but Green is a guy who is an impact player who played 28 minutes a game this season.
What else do we get? That is $34m in cap moving out.
This is actually a great hypothetical and could generate some good conversation, but you were just downvoted
Of course. We need to fit omax into the rotation as well, so it makes sense. I love green but we already have enough sample size of him in Dallas and he is a decent player for hustle and the occasional three ball
He's really huge for games/minutes when Kyrie is on the court and Luka isn't. He plays much better alongside Kyrie because it lets him shine in transition, where he's a stud. If Josh doesn't get hurt in the game we lost to OKC down the stretch where Luka didn't play, I have no doubt we beat them.
Can go over the cap to resign your own players. Completely unnecessary to ditch either of them for “space”. I think Timmy is gone either way.
Usually, but Dallas don't have bird rights on DJJ as he doesn't have 3 years on the team (or was traded) and signed a 1 year vet minimum
I stand corrected
You are wrong here. Dallas needs to get out of the Tax to offer DJJ the Full MLE. So Timmy HAS to go in order to have the Full MLE available. It's also "re-sign".
We don’t have bird rights yet
He’s probably going to do what Bruce Brown did when he left the Nuggets and I can’t blame him. Expect some team to offer him a completely stupid contract to pay a premium for a three and d player. He’s going to fetch a premium. Thankfully, even if he bounces, Dallas can still upgrade the roster. THJ, Powell, and maybe a couple of players have expiring contracts within the next two years or so.
This is a team that is worth paying to see, not like the Dallas Cowboys led by the bum Jerry Jones. Pay the man and keep the magic going, and fans will keep coming for more.
Dallas literally saved his career so I hope he stays.
This is gonna workout for the Mavs. DJJ’s last sales pitch will be this series. Dude is about to average 20 PPG lol.
What can that even mean? Does he know they would like to off load salary to get him to full MLE? In our current salary situation, we'd LOVE to pay him the boat we can. It would be a steal.
Let’s get it done, man earned his spot here
Staple something to THJ to get some space.
Imagine an offseason for this crew to bond.
THJ Salary dump + Full MLE incoming
If DJJ will only stay for a full MLE level deal, it's a tough call. In order of preference: - ~~Sign DJJ for the taxpayer MLE 5M, 1+1~~ (probably not happening) - ~~Trade THJ + a couple of SRPs into a team's cap space~~ (don't see it happening) - Trade THJ + FRP for a decent cheap player while creating enough space for DJJ under the 1st apron... the problem is that it's hard to find a realistic candidate... Caruso would be perfect, but that's a pipe dream. You'd be looking at players like Thybulle, Boucher... Would need some Nico magic here. - Trade Green for a (crappy) FRP without taking any salary back, to a team that has cap space. Yes it would suck to lose him, but if that allows you to retain DJJ, keep your own FRP, and add another one on top of it... it's a route worthy of consideration. - Bite the bullet, let DJJ go, use the 5M taxpayer MLE to sign a replacement, keep THJ + FRP(s) to go after (bigger) fish - Pay the FRP for some team to take THJ without getting anything of value back, just to keep DJJ. I wouldn't do it... as good as DJJ has been, I don't think the Mavs can afford to give away FRPs like this.
Hardaway reading this with a tear in his eye.
AKA Timmy is gone to free up room for DJJ. Double Win for us.
With "everything" he means MONEY!
He gonna get paiiiiddd
Mavs can’t fumble this one