(05-28-2025, 08:44 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: I'd have to look into Clayton Jr because I am unfamiliar with him, but in a general sense this would be a great off-season, imho.

(05-28-2025, 10:10 AM)Winter Wrote: While I agree that trading AD could make sense long term, the Mavs are set up to win now. So what player is going to have appropriate value who can maintain "win now"? And more importantly who wants AD? Even if Nico surpised everyone with that trade, I have a hard time imagining a championship-caliber team immediately. It takes time for players to coordinate with each other.

If they trade AD, I think they have to change their timeline. That would actually be fine with me, but I don't think they do it.

(05-28-2025, 10:10 AM)Winter Wrote: While I agree that trading AD could make sense long term, the Mavs are set up to win now. So what player is going to have appropriate value who can maintain "win now"? And more importantly who wants AD? Even if Nico surpised everyone with that trade, I have a hard time imagining a championship-caliber team immediately. It takes time for players to coordinate with each other.

If they trade AD, I think they have to change their timeline. That would actually be fine with me, but I don't think they do it.

(05-28-2025, 07:10 AM)Winter Wrote: I read something about that at the time. Apparently coaches are not supposed to comment "out loud" about their draft picks before the draft. There are ways of getting around this like the silly "kid from Duke" comment. He probably could have said Cooper Flagg without any real ramifications. but that was a clumsy attempt at dodging a potential fine. I don't know if that's true, but that's what I read.

(05-28-2025, 01:38 PM)F Gump Wrote: I would have no interest in Gaff for Clayton. Not sute thats legal anyhow. But its a waste of talent, basically a giveaway.

Gaff is very good talent. Even if you see him as surplus in DAL, Mavs must demand strong value (personally I would keep him, based on bang for the buck he offers). Clayton as the return is selling way low imo.

I am lukewarm at best on Clayton -- wondering if he's Trey Burke the 2nd, but don't know enough about him other than his name and his recent hero run. I suspect Mavs can do just as well with a GL veteran, and figure if WC was more than that, he'd be an easy lottery pick in this thin draft.

(05-28-2025, 02:55 PM)F Gump Wrote: You didn't address the fact you can't do that trade iiuc.

You say you value Gaff but the return is pathetic. That's NTI-like, leaving so much value on the table. (Forget Clayton as the pick, and evaluate thr value of pick 22 to do whatever, and imo its nowhere near Gaff value.)

I don't think Gaff is necessarily priced out.in a year. If he's about same salary ...?

I see NO value in giving away talent to say we are A1 not A2. Team just is weaker, has less talent. What's the benefit?

(05-28-2025, 01:42 PM)F Gump Wrote: Kevin Durant checks a lot of boxes. An idea that's too quickly dismissed. Just saying

(05-28-2025, 05:02 PM)F Gump Wrote: ATL doesn't have 14.5M in cap room to take Gaff for nothing.

The belief that Gaff won't be here long term may or may not be true. But we'll have to agree to disagree on whether a scrub pick is reasonable value -- to me it's fairly pathetic.

I don't understand the obsession with being under A1 this season, rather than A2. What benefit do you think has been gained?

(05-28-2025, 05:55 PM)Smitty Wrote: 1 They have a TPE and can absorb all of Gafford’s salary? 

2 There’s no obsession. Only that it opens up the full TMLE to use for Paul (if he won’t accept VetMin)

3 and doesn’t trigger the penalties of being above A1, which may or may not be a useful option during the season:
S
-Sign players who were bought out for more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. 

-Trade in ways that allow them to take back more salary than they send out. 

-Use trade exceptions created in the previous season.

(05-28-2025, 11:07 PM)F Gump Wrote: 1 No. On paper they have one, but only a sliver of it can ever be used, far less than DG salary.
2 It doesn't take giving away Gaff to be able to sign CP3 or someone else to TxpMLE. There are worse players that can be given away to get the job done with room to spare.
3 Those T1 "perks" aren't useable simply by getting your gold star for being below A1. To use any of those, you get hard capped at A1 and can't go over it to use any of those, which means you have to go even farther below, so that you have a spread before getting back up to A1, before they come into play. Not very practical to shed good talent for benefits you can't really use. Item 1 above is a good example of that at play.

(05-29-2025, 08:05 AM)F Gump Wrote: ATL is hard capped at A1. Their payroll is 170M plus. They can't take another 14M contract because they don't have that much room. Which means the trade idea won't work - they need to send trade matching salary to DAL, and now it gets complicated by player values vs salary to choke down.