MavsBoard

(12-30-2022, 09:09 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: [ -> ]Does that perk up the ears of other teams?

Doubt it.  A few regular season games against sub-par opponents isn't going to have GMs whipping out their checkbooks.  Let him show out in a playoff series or two and that could change perspective.  We'd have to make the playoffs though and I'm still doubtful.

In a lot of ways a 2 year extension makes more sense for him than the full 4. 
That contract in 2 years would be absolutely massive if he can keep up the defensive effort from the past couple weeks. He's much more likely to get a large deal at 30 than 32+ 

If he wants the 4 year right now, it'd make more sense to just wait for the summer time and see if a playoff run can Brunson his pay up 

But that's from his perspective. I feel it's a bit dumb from the Mavs side not to offer the full 4 years now. That's a very tradable deal that offers a lot of upside

(12-30-2022, 01:23 PM)cow Wrote: [ -> ]We'd have to make the playoffs though and I'm still doubtful.

Keep starting Wood and if he and Luka stay healthy, this team is making the playoffs.

(12-30-2022, 01:27 PM)Jym Wrote: [ -> ]I feel it's a bit dumb from the Mavs side not to offer the full 4 years now. That's a very tradable deal that offers a lot of upside

This might end up being true, but it's also possible he signs the deal and immediately stops pushing. 

I think the critiques of his on court play have started bending over backwards in comical ways to justify the team's reluctance to lean on him, but we just aren't in position to know what, historically, in his off-court professional life or even his personal life might give them pause. 

Again, I'm just happy it's going well enough that extension/re-signing is actually being discussed.

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(12-30-2022, 01:30 PM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]Keep starting Wood and if he and Luka stay healthy, this team is making the playoffs.

Yeah, I think so too. 

I'm not even sure you have to start Wood (though I would). You just need to get this version of him in the minutes he plays. 

There just isn't a team who has it totally figured out in the Western Conference this season, not one. Memphis and New Orleans are the closest, and they're both less experienced than the Mavs. I'm honestly not sure home court advantage isn't on the table, tbh.

(12-30-2022, 01:30 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]I think the critiques of his on court play have started bending over backwards in comical way to justify the team's reluctance to lean on him, but we just aren't in position to know what in his history in his off-court professional life or even his personal life might give them pause.

(12-30-2022, 01:30 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]I'm honestly not sure home court advantage isn't on the table, tbh.

Yeah if Luka keeps playing like this and stays healthy then a top 3/4 seed is very possible 
I just hate we've thrown away so many winnable games already
We should be the #1 seed now with the room to drop when Luka inevitably has to sit a week or 2 at some point. Now we don't have any wiggle room for a hurt Luka

(12-30-2022, 01:38 PM)Jym Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah if Luka keeps playing like this and stays healthy then a top 3/4 seed is very possible 
I just hate we've thrown away so many winnable games already
We should be the #1 seed now with the room to drop when Luka inevitably has to sit a week or 2 at some point. Now we don't have any wiggle room for a hurt Luka

Can't argue with any of that. I just think unless you're trying to get by that Boston, Milwaukee, Brooklyn gauntlet in the East, the path to the finals is about as wide open right now as it's ever going to get. 

Sucks that the Mavs aren't MORE prepared to take advantage for sure, but I can't count them out right now. I know this winning streak has been against bad teams, but sometimes that's what it takes for a team to get on the same page about how they need to play...similar to a shooter getting in rhythm at the free throw line, I suppose. 

They are starting to look way, way better to me, and that's not just because of results. I feel like the defense is improving, the ball is starting to move more, etc. It's sad that Kleber won't be back in time to contribute, but adding Green and DFS to this group will be a good thing, imo, and the combo of Wright/Walker will help, I think. Who knows - there might be a small move in the near future that helps even more. 

If I had more faith in Kidd, I might be inclined to outright predict a top 4 seed, but since I don't the best I can do is not rule it out. They're making the playoffs, though - I'm ready to call that.

(12-29-2022, 12:01 PM)F Gump Wrote: [ -> ]Maybe it's somehow about a free agency quest coming. But there's another way to look at this other than it being a plan powder play.

1st we need to notice that, if McMahon's inference is accurate, Wood is good on an extension of some sort. It's just the Mavs who have hesitations. That tells us something different that was being assumed.

2nd it's looking like the Mavs aren't all fully convinced yet they want to be stuck with Wood - or that anyone else will be either.

If that's the case, then the shorter contract is a compromise in multiple ways. It lets them make a commitment to keep him, without so much commitment that it will strangle them if it doesn't work. It also allows Wood to up his game, so that he has a longer window (rather than just a few months) to show the Mavs they need him for much longer.

It becomes a 2-year tryout. In which he still gets paid with a raise (presumably) over what he was making before. And if he does become an all-star by playing in Dallas, as he hopes, then he gets to a new contract sooner, so there's incentive and upside for him as well.

That may well be their opinion, and in my view this is how you lose him for nothing. I see no reason for Wood to accept a 2 year tryout when this season was supposed to be the tryout. Might as well hit free agency if the organization doesn't believe in you. 

I also think Cuban is likely focused on possible trades. He did the same thing last year by refusing to offer extensions to DFS and Brunson until after the deadline. I think this is a terrible approach as well. Cuban is the only person on the planet who seems to think another team will dump a star in his lap for someone on an expiring contract.

(12-30-2022, 01:44 PM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]

Apparently she wrote a book on how to pick the "right man"

(12-30-2022, 01:30 PM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]Keep starting Wood and if he and Luka stay healthy, this team is making the playoffs.

My skepticism remains .  Recent success versus the tin cans we've played lately doesn't sway me, especially when we needed 60/20/10 from Luka to beat a hobbled Knicks squad.   That's nothing against Wood, I didn't like the overall makeup of the team when we were healthy and we feel awfully snake bitten this year.

(12-30-2022, 02:05 PM)cow Wrote: [ -> ]My skepticism remains

That they'll make the playoffs? 

Are you a friendly bet sort? Because I'll take that one.

(12-30-2022, 01:44 PM)loki Wrote: [ -> ]That may well be their opinion, and in my view this is how you lose him for nothing. I see no reason for Wood to accept a 2 year tryout when this season was supposed to be the tryout. Might as well hit free agency if the organization doesn't believe in you. 
.

You may be right in your analysis of the Mavs' negotiating stance - there's no question they tend to suck at both evaluating and negotiating.

But we don't know the whole story either. 
1 We can imagine Wood should be thinking X or Y, but he might not.
2 Wood coming in and "proving" something in a contract year is a classic thing GMs don't like to pay for -- if paying for several years, they want him dialed in EVERY year, not just for the last year of a contract. If he's only going to be focused when a new deal is shortly ahead, you only want to pay him shorter length deal. 

We can say he's this or that, but once again, there's plenty of reason to wonder if his demand is all that high around the league. And if not, it's stupid to negotiate against yourself. We assume Mavs simply MUST pay an arm and a leg, but if he was on a diff team, our perception might be very different.

(12-30-2022, 01:44 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: [ -> ]Can't argue with any of that. I just think unless you're trying to get by that Boston, Milwaukee, Brooklyn gauntlet in the East, the path to the finals is about as wide open right now as it's ever going to get. 

Sucks that the Mavs aren't MORE prepared to take advantage for sure, but I can't count them out right now. I know this winning streak has been against bad teams, but sometimes that's what it takes for a team to get on the same page about how they need to play...similar to a shooter getting in rhythm at the free throw line, I suppose. 

They are starting to look way, way better to me, and that's not just because of results. I feel like the defense is improving, the ball is starting to move more, etc. It's sad that Kleber won't be back in time to contribute, but adding Green and DFS to this group will be a good thing, imo, and the combo of Wright/Walker will help, I think. Who knows - there might be a small move in the near future that helps even more. 

If I had more faith in Kidd, I might be inclined to outright predict a top 4 seed, but since I don't the best I can do is not rule it out. They're making the playoffs, though - I'm ready to call that.

I'll handle the prediction, pal. Mavs will be top 4 for sure. 

The whole west is in a jumble. It's like the real season hasn't even started yet. It's always like that a little bit pre-January, but this year it seems like that even more. The Mavs are only 3 games back from the 1st seed (not saying they'll be the first seed). Last season they didn't get traction until after the new year. Luka is better than ever. The defense is coming around. And DFS and Josh are going to bring a boost when they come. 

Top 4 for sure

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(12-30-2022, 02:05 PM)cow Wrote: [ -> ]My skepticism remains

It's good to see nothing's changed! 

(12-30-2022, 02:19 PM)fifteenth Wrote: [ -> ]It's good to see nothing's changed! 

(12-30-2022, 12:10 PM)Mavs2021 Wrote: [ -> ]I still don´t think it does. His perceived character flaws mean rebuilding teams don´t want him, especially after the Houston chaos. And contenders don´t have the capspace to pay him.

Let´s not forget that last summer Malik Monk was the highest paid free agent outside of Brunson that changed teams at 20/2. I honestly rather overpay Wood on a two year deal than trying to figure out what a fair price is for him on a four year deal. Plus how does he behave with less incentive to do so aka a McGee retirement fund contract.

Assuming we are talking about the TDL, I don't think we can overpay him for two years.  He is already worth his 2 year max extension and if he keeps playing defense like this he will be worth more.

(12-30-2022, 01:38 PM)Jym Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah if Luka keeps playing like this and stays healthy then a top 3/4 seed is very possible 
I just hate we've thrown away so many winnable games already
We should be the #1 seed now with the room to drop when Luka inevitably has to sit a week or 2 at some point. Now we don't have any wiggle room for a hurt Luka

My argument against your thought process is that the crazy losses were earlier in the season. They were still acclimating to the absence of Brunson and figuring things out. They seem to be righting the ship. 

I have to hand it to the (this year) hated Jason Kidd - he has adjusted their style of play quite well to the absences of Green, DFS, and Maxi. And Wood's defense (!) has made it possible to continue to win with those three top defenders out. 

I do agree that San Antonio is a major test as noted above.

(12-30-2022, 03:38 PM)omahen Wrote: [ -> ]Keith Smith on Twitter: "Christian Wood is playing the best basketball of his career. He's on a team with something to play for and has shown real growth in his all-around game. Should Wood extend or head to free agency? I broke it all down for @spotrac in Next Contract series: https://t.co/Q349wdVjmg" / Twitter

Here is Keith's take:

Quote:Putting it all together, the $77 million extension over four years is probably fair value for Christian Wood. He might be able to get more than by pushing things to free agency, but it won’t be significantly more. For a player who has made around $45 million in total salary in the first seven years of his career, it could be hard to pass up $19+ million per season.

The real deal may fall somewhere outside the four-year, $77 million extension. It’s been suggested that Wood won’t sign a four-year extension. Maybe he does a shorter-term deal, but still for the max he can extend for with Dallas. Two years and $35.7 million, or a two-plus-one deal of nearly $56 million are both reasonable too.

No matter what happens. Christian Wood is going to get a nice new contract. If it’s an extension with the Mavericks, don’t expect that to come until after the trade deadline. Dallas will exhaust all of their trade options first, as extending Wood for big money would come with a six-month trade restriction.

If a new contract comes in free agency, Wood will probably get north of $20 million AAV, either through a sign-and-trade or an outright signing with a cap space team. And that’s a contract that should hold its value for whatever length it spans for the talented, versatile big man.

(12-30-2022, 03:59 PM)Kammrath Wrote: [ -> ]Here is Keith's take:

Keith and others have suggested it might not be in Wood’s best interest to go four years.  He’d be 31.5 at the end of that time. He might be better off hitting free agency in 2025 at 29.  McMahon has suggested Dallas may not want to go four years (might not trust him or might want to keep options open).  Seems the negotiation is between 2 plus 1 on the Wood side and 2 plus TO Third on the Dallas side.