(12-24-2021, 02:52 PM)ItsGoTime Wrote: [ -> ]I think I agree, but the longer he plays like this and isn’t moved the worse the value will get. The Detroit thing I’m thinking they wanted him to go WITH Grant, so him being a part of a Grant trade IMO is out, cause it’s got to be a “back to the drawing board” thing for them if they deal Grant.
I think for them, Grant is probably out of the picture in any case. Future for them is Cunningham and another very high pick in 2022 draft. Unless Grant really wants to play in Detroit only.
If he is available, the question is, would they want back expiring salary or are they cool with longer term deals. With Grant they only have 86 mil committed for next season and they will probably not be FA players yet. Besides, there are not really many good players available. I think it is ok for them to push cap space for another season or two. They will have 2 max cap space slots in 2023 if they don't commit any serious salaries beyond that point. So guys like Maxi, Powell or Bullock could have value for them. Solid vets to help the youngsters next season and perhaps take a serious step forward if the new rookie will be good. They all become FA in 2023 (Bullock last year is not guaranteed).
THJ is also not really a problem for them. His contract runs out the same summer Cunningham extension kicks in and the new rookie will still be on rookie contract. So they will still have plenty of cap space. His contract can also represent a chip for trade in 2023 or 2024.
(12-23-2021, 04:23 PM)omahen Wrote: [ -> ]I think there is another possibility. They signed THJ because there was simply no other option, knewing well he is not best fit. His contract is decent and movable. If they wouldn't sign him, the only offseason aquisition would be Bullock.
That is a very scary thought. Maybe they thought DeRozan's price tag was too much? (I would have greatly preferred that contract to THJ). They surly could have landed Holmes for a few mil more (Sacto could not pay any more for him). Not sure why you don't pull the trigger on that if you plan on pairing KP with a center? Either of these guys would have easily been worth letting THJ walk.
THIS is a guy you overpay to keep. He'll still be a valuable chip, no matter his number. Consistent as always. If he performs come playoff time, it's a wrap. We need talent in a bad way. Luka (23), KP (27) and Brunson (26) is a very nice core add to that Green (22), Frank (24) and our 1st rounder this year (yup, I'm yoga stretching this) and the future is looking bright (of course add anyone to Luka and it's bright).
Paying DP and THJ were big, big mistakes. Not game changers enough to warrant half their contracts.
(12-31-2021, 09:01 PM)aguiar95 Wrote: [ -> ]THIS is a guy you overpay to keep. He'll still be a valuable chip, no matter his number. Consistent as always. If he performs come playoff time, it's a wrap. We need talent in a bad way. Luka (23), KP (27) and Brunson (26) is a very nice core add to that Green (22), Frank (24) and our 1st rounder this year (yup, I'm yoga stretching this) and the future is looking bright (of course add anyone to Luka and it's bright).
Paying DP and THJ were big, big mistakes. Not game changers enough to warrant half their contracts.
Luka should learn to play with JB if its such an issue.
JB should be able to exploit the 4 vs 3's Luka will provide in playoffs...mitigating JB's size. I still believe JB can produce in playoffs based on his skill alone...not needing a 4 vs 3 provided by Luka. I believe JB works on his game like a professional...Mamba style.
Mavs are crazy stupid to let a guy of this skill go based on the contracts they have dished out and the skills tied to those contracts.
Aguiar pinpointed it...JB is consistent. Thats what analyst should love. JB can not only create and playmake...he scores consistently...not just at the rim...he has a good midrange and 3.
NICO...be very very very careful with trading JB. Please get an solid all around basketball player in return...not a one trick pony who has a good percentage on a spreadsheet
(12-31-2021, 09:10 PM)dynamicalVoid Wrote: [ -> ]Luka should learn to play with JB if its such an issue.
Offensive side is not a problem at all. Defensive side is what we are concerned about.
(01-01-2022, 03:26 AM)omahen Wrote: [ -> ]Offensive side is not a problem at all. Defensive side is what we are concerned about.
Maybe not ideal but the concerns still seem so overblown to me
I'm much more curious what we're going to do to solve the Bigs dilemma. KP needs to play center and I'm not sure how to accomplish that in a way where we have the proper toughness and rebounding at PF
Harp voted Brunson for the All-Star game! Indeed, Brunson is turning into a star as a starter and he just keeps getting better. It might not be a coincidence that KP is looking full-on unicorn, now top-20 in scoring and among league leaders in just about every advanced analytic stat.
Can Brunson maintains this level when Luka returns?
One thing for sure, you don't sit a guy averaging 22/5/8 on 52% shooting.
Do you consider starting Brunson on the ball and transitioning Luka to more of a young Lebron/Kawhai role?
(01-01-2022, 12:53 PM)vfromlmf Wrote: [ -> ]Harp voted Brunson for the All-Star game! Indeed, Brunson is turning into a star as a starter and he just keeps getting better. It might not be a coincidence that KP is looking full-on unicorn, now top-20 in scoring and among league leaders in just about every advanced analytic stat.
Can Brunson maintains this level when Luka returns?
One thing for sure, you don't sit a guy averaging 22/5/8 on 52% shooting.
Do you consider starting Brunson on the ball and transitioning Luka to more of a young Lebron/Kawhai role?
Good stuff. I was just thinking this morning that one of the many reasons to sign JB is that his upward trajectory doesn't seem to have plained out. Putting in the hard work to improve seems to be part of his DNA.
Adding to the Brunson pros list...
Hasn't it been said that he us one of the leading voices in the lockerroom?
So he's a leader too.
I'm not an x's and o's guy...the playoffs are a different beast...but it seems like Luka and Brunson sharing pg duties or Luka doing the Lebron/kwahi thing seems reasonable. Would this stunt Lukas growth due to usage going down? Is Luka not ok giving up some usage? Of course Luka would have green light to take over in Playoffs if Jalen wasn't getting it done.
I don't know...unless jalen wants his own team...it's hard to let this talent walk. He seems to meet and surpass the eye test ability wise. Not saying Ben Simmons and Kwahi Leonard's of the world can't make him look below average...but he is torching the league right now
(01-01-2022, 06:32 PM)dynamicalVoid Wrote: [ -> ]Adding to the Brunson pros list...
Hasn't it been said that he us one of the leading voices in the lockerroom?
So he's a leader too.
I'm not an x's and o's guy...the playoffs are a different beast...but it seems like Luka and Brunson sharing pg duties or Luka doing the Lebron/kwahi thing seems reasonable. Would this stunt Lukas growth due to usage going down? Is Luka not ok giving up some usage? Of course Luka would have green light to take over in Playoffs if Jalen wasn't getting it done.
I don't know...unless jalen wants his own team...it's hard to let this talent walk. He seems to meet and surpass the eye test ability wise. Not saying Ben Simmons and Kwahi Leonard's of the world can't make him look below average...but he is torching the league right now
I have some sense that Luka might feel a little threatened at the idea of a loss of usage, after two years of being 1st team NBA etc. I think it could be possible to establish a good non-heliocentric offense around Luka, KP, and Brunson. It's just whether this coach is smart enough to devise it and get all three of them to buy in.
I could quote myself as saying many times that Luka and KP don't fit together. That doesn't have to be the case, but I think that the bottom line is that Luka for whatever reason isn't that interested in KP being successful, and KP is too insistent on being successful the way he wants to - whether that works on the offensive end given his physical gifts and the nature of the 2020s game or no.
(01-01-2022, 06:51 PM)Scott41theMavs Wrote: [ -> ]I have some sense that Luka might feel a little threatened at the idea of a loss of usage, after two years of being 1st team NBA etc.
This is certainly possible, but what I think is more likely is that he has a lot of learning yet to do in situations where he doesn't have complete control over the offense. Carlisle first tried Luka at the 4, if you remember, and he didn't really take off until he was allowed to play PG. From there, I think we can piece together through context that most roster decisions (from the old team) were made with this approach in mind, and I think doing things this way allowed Luka to do things he already knew how to do, if that makes sense.
Another way of saying it: we've always assumed that Carlisle's choices were the result of nobody being around who could do anything, but what if they were actually designed to make Luka's early growth easier for
him? And what if what we're seeing now are the growing pains (as he adjusts to a wider variety of responsibilities on both ends) that we would typically have seen in years 1-3?
I don't mean to suggest that Luka didn't bring any off-ball experience to the table when he was drafted, but he made his All NBA bones by being ball-dominant. Your implication that he might not be thrilled to give up the ball might be right on the mark, but it could also just be that he's going through a more difficult adjustment with it than we recognize, not due to attitude but simply due to his ability or understanding of what to do in certain situations. If that's the case, I like Luka's chances of coming out looking great again, sooner or later.
(01-01-2022, 07:14 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]Another way of saying it: we've always assumed that Carlisle's choices were the result of nobody being around who could do anything, but what if they were actually designed to make Luka's early growth easier for him? And what if what we're seeing now are the growing pains (as he adjusts to a wider variety of responsibilities on both ends) that we would typically have seen in years 1-3?
I think it has become quite clear that RC made Luka successful in many ways. RC really put him in a position to succeed and all those clamoring about too much heliocentric-Luka offense are now seeing what it is like when you don't cater the offense to Luka. He hasn't nearly been the player he was under that scheme.
(01-01-2022, 07:50 PM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]I think it has become quite clear that RC made Luka successful in many ways. RC really put him in a position to succeed and all those clamoring about too much heliocentric-Luka offense are now seeing what it is like when you don't cater the offense to Luka. He hasn't nearly been the player he was under that scheme.
I agree, but I want to insist that we add "so far" to the statement. I don't think Luka has been the only reason for the offensive struggles this year and whatever the appropriate amount of blame for him is, I think it's likely that he gets better at this way as time goes on.
(01-01-2022, 07:53 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]I agree, but I want to insist that we add "so far" to the statement. I don't think Luka has been the only reason for the offensive struggles this year and whatever the appropriate amount of blame for him is, I think it's likely that he gets better at this way as time goes on.
Of course. I trust in his ability to adapt basketball wise with time. No question there from me. My major and only real concerns with Luka are not on that level, they are on the level of body care.
(01-01-2022, 08:14 PM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]My major and only real concerns with Luka are not on that level, they are on the level of body care.
I'm reasonably confident he'll figure that out as he goes, too, but I admit it's less of a certainty.
Glad to see more people pushing to start Brunson.
This could really work long term if KP committed to Center and we got our hands on a guy like Ben Simmons.
You would then have to premier perimeter defenders in Finney-Smith and Simmons but this is predicated on us getting him to begin with.
I would rather have Brunson over Lillard as well and I know that is not going to be a popular opinion but Brunson's upward trend and age make him a long term priority piece for us. We need to add to our Core if we can but Brunson can definitely be a starter and he is a starter.
Tim Cato from the Athletic had an article on Jalen yesterday.
"I think that's a question I'll dive into later later this season in an article dedicated to that. I think your assessment is a little bleak, but Hardaway does seem like the odd man out, and that has to be addressed an any analysis whether Brunson is a long-term fit, because you can't build a stable defense with those three in closing lineups — even assuming that a fully fit Doncic can be average or even slightly above on that end as time goes on."
Cato commenting on his Brunson article and a reader post.
I would keep Brunson 10/10 times over Hardaway if that is the true choice. Disappointed in how Tim is responding to his new contract this year but maybe he will get it turned around. I have no idea if Tim could even be traded for fair value right now. I guess it depends on your definition of fair.
Brunson is the most critical decision for Nico imo. I will be almost Nash level disgusted if they don't keep him or at least get good compensation, if he does decide to leave.