MavsBoard

(12-26-2022, 09:58 PM)F Gump Wrote: [ -> ]Yes, if but for the Mavs mean ole coaching staff!!  LOL

I guess your guess is better than mine.

Edit: also, that was commentary on what Wood’s group possibly think and how they’ll view the “investment” made in him when it comes time to negotiate.

Also, it was very “mean” for Kidd to say what he said about him publicly in the media. So yes, the mean ole coaching staff. LOL!

Yeah maybe money wins him over at some point but that was still very weird and off-putting behavior by Kidd
Guys have bailed on teams for much less

If Wood was seriously thinking he is an all-star, he wasn't ever interested in an extension of any kind at any point. I guess we should have taken him at face value -- he's just here to collect paychecks and line himself up for a big free agency payday.

Not sure how you work with that. Personally I was hoping for an extension one way or another, with very little interest in trying to woo him as a free agent, so I'd be likely to take the best deal possible for him before the TDL and hope they can land someone good.

(12-27-2022, 12:15 AM)Jym Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah maybe money wins him over at some point but that was still very weird and off-putting behavior by Kidd
Guys have bailed on teams for much less

Yeah, narcissists are blind to the destruction their self-centered, controlling mind games and personalities leave in their wake (they truly have no idea). 

It has nothing to do with being "mean" and everything to do with not being a considerate, empathetic human being that realizes that other people actually exist. Hopefully Kidd is not that and realizes his douchebaggery and apologized to Wood personally for it.  

But I fear Stein's comments are preparing us for the fact that some bridges are already burned.

If they can't extend him they have to trade him. Reaching the offseason with him as a free agent guarantees he leaves, because of both mistreatment and unwillingness to pay by an incompetent F.O.

(12-27-2022, 12:37 AM)F Gump Wrote: [ -> ]If Wood was seriously thinking he is an all-star, he wasn't ever interested in an extension of any kind at any point. I guess we should have taken him at face value -- he's just here to collect paychecks and line himself up for a big free agency payday.

Not sure how you work with that. Personally I was hoping for an extension one way or another, with very little interest in trying to woo him as a free agent, so I'd be likely to take the best deal possible for him before the TDL and hope they can land someone good.

Who wasn’t hoping for an extension knowing the max he could be paid is $17M (there were a few initially, but I think most have come around)? He also said he wanted to be paid like a starter (not unlike a certain THJ in his recent FA). That right there says the extension had very little legs to begin with. 


As far as thinking he is an allstar? That wasn’t the quote, the quote was that he wanted to make the allstar game this year being on a team that it was finally possible for him to dream that dream.

How do you work with that? Apparently you put him on the bench, start Javale McGee ahead of him, then start Powell ahead of him. All the while taking pot shots at him when the media asks. Which opens the door for Javale freakin McGee to take them too! That’s apparently the right way to “work” with that. 

Here you are defending that. Bravo! LOL!

(12-27-2022, 12:37 AM)F Gump Wrote: [ -> ]he's just here to collect paychecks and line himself up for a big free agency payday.

This may be proven to be the case, but to this point he’s been a pretty damn good soldier. IF this is the case, I won’t blame him due to the treatment he got from us from the very beginning. He heard from the media that he wasn’t going to start here. How’s that for a welcome?  

Also, all athletes are where they are to collect a paycheck.

(12-27-2022, 12:37 AM)F Gump Wrote: [ -> ]If Wood was seriously thinking he is an all-star, he wasn't ever interested in an extension of any kind at any point. I guess we should have taken him at face value -- he's just here to collect paychecks and line himself up for a big free agency payday.

Not sure how you work with that. Personally I was hoping for an extension one way or another, with very little interest in trying to woo him as a free agent, so I'd be likely to take the best deal possible for him before the TDL and hope they can land someone good.

So? He's a career journeyman, playing at or close to an all star level for basically 3 seasons now. Why should he sign a team friendly extension as someone who's 26 and not made close to the money you would expect for someone putting up his production? He's well within his rights to be playing for a big payday. That has zero affect on my desire to keep him a Maverick. Just because he's looking for a big payday, doesn't mean once he signs he's going to revert to garbage. The guy is playing not only with effort every game, but also within himself. He's completely bought into making the right pass and not taking multitudes of contested shots (unlike one THJ). It plays absolutely nothing like a player looking to pad his stats for a big payday whatsoever, which I actually expected coming into the season. If it gets to free agency, not only will we have a full seasons worth of data with the team but we will have playoff data on him too. Which will affect contracts offered by other teams. I'd still pay him market value in FA to keep him. I also think Luka is now fully sold on him too, and letting him go for nothing in FA may not only be a blow to the team building, but one extra shove pushing Luka towards the exit door.

In case you don't have access to the entire blurb from Stein, here it is below.  It comes across a little less hopeless when you read the entire thing.  I read it as saying they didn't plan to extend the guy they were watching prior to Maxi's injury...BUT Wood has been playing better since said injury:



 Christian Wood's timing has been good. His best stretch as a Dallas Maverick, coinciding with a rash of injuries that led to his unexpected move into the starting lineup, materialized just as Wood became eligible on Christmas Eve for a four-year, $77 million contract extension. 

The Mavericks are 4-2 since announcing that Maxi Kleber will be out indefinitely with a hamstring tear and Wood has averaged 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in a bump up to 33.3 minutes per game over those six games (five as a starter). 

The opposition hasn't been the strongest — and the consistent signals emanating from Dallas leading up to this surge have suggested that an extension is unlikely — but Wood has had some encouraging moments on D. Dallas' defensive-minded coaching staff was previously reluctant to play Wood without Kleber as his frontcourt sidekick, given that the Mavericks allowed 106.2 points per 100 possessions when they were on the floor together through Dec. 12. Wood’s defensive rating without Kleber at his side over the same span: 120.7 points per 100 possessions. Since Dec. 14, Wood’s defensive rating without Kleber next to him has improved to 110.5 points per 100 possessions.

(12-27-2022, 08:45 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: [ -> ]The opposition hasn't been the strongest — and the consistent signals emanating from Dallas leading up to this surge have suggested that an extension is unlikely — but Wood has had some encouraging moments on D. Dallas' defensive-minded coaching staff was previously reluctant to play Wood without Kleber as his frontcourt sidekick, given that the Mavericks allowed 106.2 points per 100 possessions when they were on the floor together through Dec. 12. Wood’s defensive rating without Kleber at his side over the same span: 120.7 points per 100 possessions. Since Dec. 14, Wood’s defensive rating without Kleber next to him has improved to 110.5 points per 100 possessions.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't see hope in that wording.

(12-27-2022, 09:03 AM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah, I don't know. I don't see hope in that wording.

Here is what I think he is saying reading the entire thing as a single thought rather than cherry picking the sections Mav’s Film Room decided to feature…

Wood picked a good time to break out

There are reasons to discount the recent numbers (the opposition hasn’t been great) and up til now Dallas really wasn’t planning to extend

But, this run has been impressive…even to Dallas’s defensive minded coaches.

The other thing that is in the article that I didn’t copy is a screen shot of a Grant Aseth tweet showing Wood to be one of 5 NBA players who have 2+ blocks in six-straight games.  Don’t focus on what is in front of the ‘but’ (which is what Mav’s Film Room did).  Focus on what comes after the ‘but’.  She used to look fairly plain, but that boob job really changed things.

(12-27-2022, 09:24 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: [ -> ]Here is what I think he is saying reading the entire thing as a single thought rather than cherry picking the sections Mav’s Film Room decided to feature…

Wood picked a good time to break out

There are reasons to discount the recent numbers (the opposition hasn’t been great) and up til now Dallas really wasn’t planning to extend

But, this run has been impressive…even to Dallas’s defensive minded coaches.

The other thing that is in the article that I didn’t copy is a screen shot of a Grant Aseth tweet showing Wood to be one of 5 NBA players who have 2+ blocks in six-straight games.  Don’t focus on what is in front of the ‘but’ (which is what Mav’s Film Room did).  Focus on what comes after the ‘but’.  She used to look fairly plain, but that boob job really changed things.

So treat him as if he’s never gonna break out and be a player we need (similar to JB) because it’s DFS and Bullock and THJ and Powell and SD who have proven to be the guys that’ll take us to the championship. Not even saying Wood is that guy. He was at least the offensive punch that was way better than those guys who had the potential to make the leap he did. 


I’m not even saying the leap will be sustained, just that what changed is a small sample size surge (not unlike JB last year after playing 5-6 games in his new role) when some confidence was put into him. Maybe the big ole meanies in the coaching staff had it wrong when they scoffed at the notion that Wood should start.

All of this speaks to the talent evaluation of the people in charge of that part of this organization. 2 years of evidence if Wood sustains this production.

(12-27-2022, 09:44 AM)ItsGoTime Wrote: [ -> ]So treat him as if he’s never gonna break out and be a player we need (similar to JB) because it’s DFS and Bullock and THJ and Powell and SD who have proven to be the guys that’ll take us to the championship. Not even saying Wood is that guy. He was at least the offensive punch that was way better than those guys who had the potential to make the leap he did. 


I’m not even saying the leap will be sustained, just that what changed is a small sample size surge (not unlike JB last year after playing 5-6 games in his new role) when some confidence was put into him. Maybe the big ole meanies in the coaching staff had it wrong when they scoffed at the notion that Wood should start.

All of this speaks to the talent evaluation of the people in charge of that part of this organization. 2 years of evidence if Wood sustains this production.

Or, treat him like a guy with potential who has never been able to put it all together at both ends of the court and see if you can be the staff that finally solves the riddle.  

This level of play defensively was not pre-ordained.  It has come largely against big lumbering centers (other than that All-NBA guy in Minnesota….Naz something).  So, we don’t have a clue whether it is sustainable.  We also don’t know if throwing Wood into the deep end immediately would have provided better or worse results than what we’ve seen to date.

(12-27-2022, 09:24 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: [ -> ]Here is what I think he is saying reading the entire thing as a single thought rather than cherry picking the sections Mav’s Film Room decided to feature…

Wood picked a good time to break out

There are reasons to discount the recent numbers (the opposition hasn’t been great) and up til now Dallas really wasn’t planning to extend

But, this run has been impressive…even to Dallas’s defensive minded coaches.

The other thing that is in the article that I didn’t copy is a screen shot of a Grant Aseth tweet showing Wood to be one of 5 NBA players who have 2+ blocks in six-straight games.  Don’t focus on what is in front of the ‘but’ (which is what Mav’s Film Room did).  Focus on what comes after the ‘but’.  She used to look fairly plain, but that boob job really changed things.

My "I don't know" stems from the fact that "I don't know" whose perspective or from what angle Stein is writing.

This is the question that hinges on how I interpret everything else: Why has (is?) a contract extension been "unlikely"?

1) Is it because the Mavs have not thought Wood was worthy and now the "but" has possibly changed that? (that seems to be your view)

OR

2) Is it because Cuban is too cheap to invest in Wood long term, period?

OR

3) Is it because Wood's camp either is not interested in being in DAL long term because of dynamics with coaches/team OR thinks he is worth more than the max extension?

If it is number one, then it feels like more evidence to me of the ineptitude of the IIC.

I personally don't get a feel from Stein's wording that his "but" really is him suggesting that a contract extension is more likely now. I think it is him suggesting that maybe things COULD change, but that is him guessing. So I think there are two parts to Stein's words: 1) the report of the unlikely nature of an extension and 2) him speculating that maybe things could change. Maybe his speculations are informed by whispers from the IIC, but I don't get the sense that they are.

(12-27-2022, 02:06 AM)ItsGoTime Wrote: [ -> ]Who wasn’t hoping for an extension knowing the max he could be paid is $17M (there were a few initially, but I think most have come around)? He also said he wanted to be paid like a starter (not unlike a certain THJ in his recent FA). That right there says the extension had very little legs to begin with.

Perhaps that's true. And my point was not a criticism of Wood for thinking that way if he wants to, but rather just an observation that (if Wood indeed never would have considered an extension) there's been nothing the Mavs could have done to get an extension.

And then, my comment on where I think the Mavs should go from here, if that's the reality.

In that event, I want to see Wood traded. I've always seen him as making sense for the extension limit or less, and not worth risking for the privilege of paying him a much bigger number. In the summer, I don't like the odds of trying to sign him, and I wouldn't like the contract if somehow they got it done. So I'd be looking for the best deal possible by the TDL.

It's worth noting that, with the added info, it's possible that the Mavs, not Wood, are the ones who have steered away from a deal allowed within extension limits, and that they don't yet trust what he offers. So this might not be put to bed yet.

Two weeks ago I would have said that Wood is not my type of player and the max I would offer, if I were to offer, was around 17 million-ish.   Always saying I could be wrong and wanted to be proved wrong.   I probably would have moved him for the John Collins bad contract as well.

Now?  I have seen some promising signs from him.   I wanted to see him impact games besides the large scoring runs he has every few games.   Am I ready to go all in?  Not yet.  The next 4 weeks are going to be very important to the team and him.   I think you need to keep him starting.  I believe if he is going to re-sign here, starting will be an big factor.  Might as well see how it looks. 

Their are two pieces to the Mavs puzzle if they want to re-sign him.  First, him and Kidd have to get a long and have trust in each other.  Second (the piece we missed with Jalen), the front office needs to lay the bread crumbs to Wood and his representatives.   You can't wait until right at the trade deadline to broach an extension.  By then, it will be too late.  Even if he has decided to bet on himself.

(12-27-2022, 11:01 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: [ -> ]You can't wait until right at the trade deadline to broach an extension.  By then, it will be too late. 

It kind of feels like this is where things are heading again, doesn't it?

(12-27-2022, 11:22 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]It kind of feels like this is where things are heading again, doesn't it?

Yep. I mean the Mavs already missed on 25 games at the beginning of the season to REALLY evaluate his role in the way they needed to IMO. If they are only now beginning to wonder if he is worth the extension then they dropped the ball and moved too slow on this whole thing. The IIC, being the IIC.

(12-27-2022, 10:00 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: [ -> ]Or, treat him like a guy with potential who has never been able to put it all together at both ends of the court and see if you can be the staff that finally solves the riddle.  

This level of play defensively was not pre-ordained.  It has come largely against big lumbering centers (other than that All-NBA guy in Minnesota….Naz something).  So, we don’t have a clue whether it is sustainable.  We also don’t know if throwing Wood into the deep end immediately would have provided better or worse results than what we’ve seen to date.

You’re right, it’s not preordained, that’s why it’s called breaking out. The absolute best chance to make the team sans JB was for Wood to have a breakout season. That’s it. No other development would mean more. That’s why I tore into the talent evaluation of the team. 


The best possible place we can acquire players is right before they have their breakout season. We may have gotta that with Wood and we treated him piss poorly up until that point. There are a lot of unknowns with him, I agree. I’m with Kamm though, we’re closer to knowing the unknowns today if we start the guy who gives us the best chance to getting where we want him to be. I believe Green is in a similar boat.