(01-15-2025, 02:45 PM)Chicagojk Wrote: This is pretty incredible.  Here am I thinking Mavs may have a decent asset by having Philly's second round pick.  Only to find out OKC has Philly's first round pick protection from 1-6. Look at their other potential picks this draft. 

2025 1 - PHI
Protected 1-6

2025 1 - HOU or LAC
OKC has the right to swap its 2025 1st round pick for HOU's 2025 1st round pick protected for selections 1-10 or the LAC' 2025 1st round pick; HOU then has the right to swap its pick or the OKC pick to BKN for PHX's 2025 1st round pick; if the HOU pick falls within its protected range, then HOU's obligation to OKC will be extinguished and HOU will instead have the right to swap its pick to BKN for the PHX pick [LAC-OKC, 7/10/2019; HOU-OKC, 7/16/2019; BKN-CLE-HOU-IND, 1/16/2021; BKN-IND-MIL-PHX, 2/9/2023; BKN-HOU, 6/26/2024]

2025 1 - Own

2025 1 - UTA
Protected 1-10

2025 1 - MIA
Protected 1-14

(01-15-2025, 08:19 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: Yeah, it is disappointing.  Just when it appears he was making a jump.   He just can't get a 30-40 game run of health.    Last year, Gafford really filled in the gaps and was really good.   He is in a funk or struggles playing without Luka or something.   Gafford just really hasn't had the same impact this year.   I have always thought I think he has a fragile ego and can get down on himself quickly.   I think you need to handle him carefully.

I brought up a name like Thybulle previously.   Heck, I am not really that familar with his game or a huge fan.   I just wonder if having a guy like that right out of your normal rotation now would help more than a scorer.   Last night, they had no answer for Murray.   If this team is going to have success, they need to be able to throw things at SGA, JA, Murray, Harden, Edwards, etc.  It would be nice to have another good defender.  Even if he was questionable at other things or even out of your main rotation.

(01-15-2025, 08:08 AM)Smitty Wrote: Do we need to start talking about this? I don't know that it's safe to pencil in Lively anymore. Starting to get to a point that it's a luxury or bonus if he's available. 

(01-17-2025, 09:40 AM)SleepingHero Wrote: @esidery
The Mavericks have dangled Daniel Gafford in trade talks around the NBA to hopefully acquire an impact wing defender, per @cclark_13
(https://nytimes.com/athletic/6067459/2025/01/17/mavericks-midseason-nba-trade-rumors/).

Gafford is averaging 11.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 20 minutes per game this season.

(01-17-2025, 09:53 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: Yeah. Not sure they'll trade him, obviously, but it would be crazy not to at least find out what he's worth. No matter how good we think he is/isn't, his future here is backup center, and he's the rotation player most likely to be of less use in the playoffs. Mix in the salary cap situation, and I think it's pretty easy to see what they might be debating internally as an organization.

(01-17-2025, 07:13 AM)SleepingHero Wrote: @esidery
The Suns have been unable to find a single team willing to take on Jusuf Nurkic’s contract in a trade, per
@Gambo987.

Nurkic likely becomes the fourth-string center the rest of the season behind Nick Richards, Oso Ighodaro and Mason Plumlee.

(01-17-2025, 10:16 AM)HoosierDaddyKid Wrote: My goodness, at one time Nurk was considered a very good big, now he's 4th string? Oh how far the mighty have fallen...

(01-17-2025, 10:14 AM)BigDirk41 Wrote: I'm curious about what makes you think Gafford will play less in the playoffs? I've seen you say that several times. I don't think Maxi will even be here after the trade deadline, but I also haven't seen anything to make me believe Kidd play play Maxi over Gafford. Do you think Lively will get almost all of the center minutes in the playoffs?

(01-17-2025, 10:42 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: Easy. He's hurting them on defense when he plays now, in the regular season, when teams have less opportunity to game plan and exploit weaknesses. One of the most common weaknesses good teams try to exploit on any team is to get the other team's slowest player, almost always a big, into defensive rotation and move the ball until it finds a shooter to which said slow player isn't able to close out, hopefully in the corner, which is the most efficient shot from the three point line. I'd say more than half of the guys playing center in the NBA become pumpkins in a 7-game series against one of the top 6-8 offenses. 

When it gets down to the good teams, everyone can shoot. Period.

(01-17-2025, 01:45 PM)StrandedOnBeauboisHill Wrote: It's surprising to me that people are forgetting how ineffective he became when the games became important.  He was pretty bad against the Thunder and the Celtics.  Gafford is very fun to watch and is great when he has a center he can bully around but if you let that happen again this postseason with a healthy Maxi on the bench then I would say that's poor coaching.

(01-17-2025, 01:52 PM)BigDirk41 Wrote: Maxi is not going to play long stints in the playoffs. You can't play 4 on 5 offensively. He's not what he used to be and I expect him to be traded anyway.

(01-17-2025, 01:12 PM)Chicagojk Wrote: Really wondering if this is true.  if so, what level.  Cam Johnson is probably the highest rated guy, and it appears most teams would want him, so Mavs may have too little here.    Just curious with their roster what type of move they are looking for, if true. 

Also, the Jordan Clarkson names opens up even more questions. 

https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1880302816419315753

(01-17-2025, 01:50 PM)BigDirk41 Wrote: I still think these are people's personal opinions and not the way Kidd coaches. I fully understand the reasons of a traditional center not playing in the playoffs, but I don't think Kidd coaches that way.

(01-17-2025, 03:25 PM)michaeltex Wrote: Feeling impatient and maybe a little desperate after the recent games and before next week's schedule. Just trying to think outside the box a bit, but...

What if the outgoing was Maxi + Gafford? That's about $24.4M in salary. Does that open up any opportunities? Of course, it puts a BIG hole in the rotation and would move DP up to #2 center, unless another option was coming back. I have no concept of where to go with this, I was just trying to generate a bigger trade number for more flexibility in trades.

An example would be trading those two for Thybulle + Williams III from Portland. Sort of Bigs for Bigs and possibly move DP back to #3 center spot.

Hey, it's all spit ballin' right now anyway.