(06-28-2025, 08:39 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: Ha ha

https://x.com/sportssturm/status/1938955130323288499?s=46

(06-28-2025, 08:39 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: Ha ha

https://x.com/sportssturm/status/1938955130323288499?s=46

(06-28-2025, 06:36 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: So help me out here.  If the market for Jaden, Omax and Powell is nil, what are our options to create another spot?  If we released Powell could we sign minimum guy?  Williams could be an option but that would sort of be a sucky thing to do.  I get it is a business but he earned that spot LAST year.

Ideally I would prefer a 2-1 deal where we got a better fitting player, but what happens if that doesn’t open up?

(06-28-2025, 06:36 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: If we released Powell could we sign minimum guy? 

(06-28-2025, 10:44 AM)F Gump Wrote: I'm still on Martin-Hardy-DP for Ball as my worst case scenario default solution. Even if it has only minor game help, it adds slots and salary help. Ball is no major value to CHI either and he is VERY available (for basically any offer).

(06-28-2025, 08:44 AM)Mavs2021 Wrote: The #1 skill the Mavs target needs to have is DURABILITY at 35-38 MPG as a primary ballhandler. There ain´t that much between Russell, Schroeder, Brogdon, CP3 or Westbrook skill-wise on a single game basis, but there is a lot between them and JadenHardy/Brandon Williams as primary ballhandlers. The most important is that the person can handle the position physically.

That disqualifies CP3 for age/usage. No way he can be a #1 guy. Brogdon is a major injury risk. Westbrook still has the best health durability, which is scary in itself, but he has not seen a starting role at +30 MPG since 2021/22 season. Russell and Schroeder have legit injury concerns, too. Nevertheless they are easily the best combination of durability factoring in age and expected role. Tyus Jones is a very interesting name. Starting PG on the Flagg Express  must be an interesting option.

(06-28-2025, 07:18 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: Last year's version of DLo doesn't help the shooting, but it looks like that was an aberration compared to the rest of his career.

A few other thoughts:

Lively shooting 3's changes everything.  Is this the year that gets unleashed?

Flagg/AD PNR's will be unstoppable.  Then add in Lively in the dunker spot?  AD isn't your typical Powell/Gafford type player as the roll man.  He hesitates in the lane rather than going all the way to the basket.  At that point, he can go to work with all sorts of moves.  Either he or Flagg will have an advantage.  You can't help off of Lively or its a dunk and you probably can't help off of PJ or Klay in the corners.

BTW, they played some inverse of this last year where Lively was the roll man and AD was in the dunker spot.  Also deadly.  Lively doesn't have all of the moves that AD has, but he's so good as a short roll passer.  You don't need much space between those three in order to score.

If you watch offensive highlights of Flagg, they got him advantages in all sorts of ways besides a traditional PnR ball handler at the top of the key.  In fact, that was a small part of his offense.  He is similar to AD as a roll man in that if he gets the ball just inside the free throw line and has options.  Either he's a bucket or he flings it to Lively for the jam.  Duke set all sorts of picks or handoffs on the left side of the floor to get Flagg moving to his right with an advantage.  Once he's rolling downhill, he's really tough.  If we can put the other teams guard into the defensive action (probably by Klay setting a screen for either the ball handler or AD), then things get challenging for the defense pretty quickly.

All of this doesn't even mention the advantage we will have rebounding.  I do think AD and Klay are less than ideal as fast break players, but Lively and PJ fly down the court.  

I think bench shooting is actually a bigger problem than it is with the starters.  Maybe that's why a self-creator like DLo is needed.  No one from among Christie, Martin, Naji or Gafford is a plus shooter from distance.  Exum was.  Maybe that's why they have interest in him returning.

I think this is a top 3-5 defense and I think there are too many good players for it to be a bottom 10 offense.  What really matters is clutch scoring.  Can AD or Flagg create a shot for themselves (and hit it) late in the game with the clock running down.  No matter what your offensive and defensive ranks are, so many NBA games come down to getting a bucket when you absolutely have to have it (or getting the offensive rebound and putting it back up).  I think we will be able to do that well enough to be around .500 until Kyrie comes back.  At that point, Klay helps the shooting for the second unit and we are a much better offensive unit.

(06-28-2025, 10:57 AM)mvossman Wrote: Ball just went to Cavs (unfortunately).

(06-28-2025, 11:07 AM)F Gump Wrote: Bummer. I guess we can take Coby instead?!? lol 

Obviously DP should be movable with cash, but personally I'm hoping for a way to 2 added spaces, for Kai and for Exum also.

I wonder if someone would see enough value in Omax to make them willing to take him and DP as a pair, for air? Or Hardy?

(06-28-2025, 11:52 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: Of the three, only Hardy could be called overpaid with a straight face, and his deal isn't that bad. 

We (not you, but many) on this board play this ridiculous game where we A) decide the Mavs should trade players X and Y. Then, when they don't get traded, we decide they "have no trade value" or "the Mavs would have to attach an asset to get off them." The reality is that we don't even know if the Mavs tried (like, at all) to trade any of those dudes. There was talk of attempting to use O-Max and/or Hardy to get back into the draft, but we don't know if it was real, and if it was, we don't know if the player(s) our front office wanted to draft made it far enough for the plan to be attempted. 

We just don't know. But, I'd bet that a home could be found for any/all of those three, if that's what they want to do. I don't know either, obviously, but that's how I feel. 

MY issue is that I just can't see the vision Harrison/Kidd have for the team, so I find it hard to predict what I think they'll want to do. I, like you, would be very interested in getting Exum in and making Kai Jones the end of bench center. VERY interested. For all we know, Harrison is still a believer in Hardy (he did draft him) and part of the reason he's not freaking out about guards on the roster is he's hoping the kid finally has a breakout season.

(06-28-2025, 12:09 PM)Kidnova Wrote: If I thought there was a decent chance of getting 60+ games out of Exum, I'd want them to sign him, but there's no reason for me to believe that will happen.  With how tight the finances are for the Mavs, I simply hate the idea of paying another player who's likely to sit out a good chunk of the season.  Even for a vet min deal I'd rather have somebody they can count on to be there when needed.

(06-28-2025, 12:25 PM)F Gump Wrote: Fair. But for the min, imo would be worth the risk. (For more? No.) However fwiw I would not like him replacing B Will. I still think the forum is undervaluing B Will (by quite a lot).

I see Exum as a combo guard who plays 2 ends, making him still useful if others are filling PG good enough.

And imo the ability to also be very useful at SG is a crucial part of Exum appeal, as the other PGs in the current plan could include mpg for all of Flagg, B Will, MLE guy --- and eventually Kyrie comes back and plays many mins.

(06-28-2025, 01:08 PM)Winter Wrote: In my wildest dreams, I cannot imagine Hardy as an important cog on this Mavs team. I just don't see a place for him. I would take B Will over him in a heartbeat. As small a sample as there was, BWill was fairly consistent during any period he played heavy minutes. He was solid three-point shooter, active on defense, and could make his way to the rim despite his size.

Hardy literally yo-yos from a 20-point game to 0 points the next. In some games he looks like he forgets other teammates are even on the floor. Hardy has had enough time for us to see his game. Kidd too.

(06-28-2025, 02:48 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: I'm not predicting a breakout year from Hardy, but if the plan is to sign Russell and call it a summer, I bet he gets another chance, and if he surprised us with a step forward that would make things quite a bit easier from here.

(06-28-2025, 02:58 PM)Winter Wrote: I'll bet he gets a chance too if that's all we do. I'm hoping it's not.