MAVS NEWS:

[WillE]

I liked Gortman - would have waived Williams instead.

Yeah, I also think Gortman will become the better player.

Maybe because he is already longer with the team or.something else not court related...

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Yeah. We really just need a guy who can dominate the Joker.

Every team does. 

[HoosierDaddyKid]

These next three games are pretty big for Dallas.  They need to start gaining some steam.  Even if they are shorthanded.  Wizards, Pelicans and Pistons.  Pistons are pretty decent and play hard.  Pelicans are playing better.  Dallas needs a 3-0 run.

THJ starts for them and has had a couple of games of 27 and 29 pts. You know he'll be geeked up to play against his old team, lol.

[myconsumerclub]

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2025/01/mave...rtman.html

[myconsumerclub]

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2025/01/mave...rtman.html

https://thesmokingcuban.com/dallas-maver...lor-kelley

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/maveri...-contract/

Mavs gambled a lot in keeping both Kleber and Powell at their age and after they have been injured. One of them should have been let go so Kidd could train another younger big then the teams chemistry situation wouldn't be a mystery going into the last of the season. 

Next years draft needs to be focused on getting a center / power forward that can stay healthy and hit 3's and Danny Wolf is a highly rated center that plays like a guard but if he is off the board you can look at either of the 2 Croation centers that are brothers and I twins seem to share a bond that may make them great to play together if we can snag both. One shoots well but is not as good of a rebounder as the other brother so if you can snag these bigs you are adding flexible talent that can play the 4 and the 5 and hit 3's well. Zvon is the better 3 point shoot and blocker of the 3 and he should be available in the 2nd if he doesn't get discovered and move up the draft board which is possible given his shooting and blocking numbers.

[mvossman]

Mavs gambled a lot in keeping both Kleber and Powell at their age and after they have been injured. One of them should have been let go so Kidd could train another younger big then the teams chemistry situation wouldn't be a mystery going into the last of the season. 

They already have a developmental center in Lively and a heavy minutes backup in Gafford.  When healthy there would be very little minutes for another developmental center.  I would argue a cheap vet like Powell makes more sense.  Maxi is a different conversation, but I have a hard time blaming the FO for not having the depth to withstand over half the team being out.

[SleepingHero]

Honestly can see why Nico would like this dude. Doing a bit of a deep dive, he played at Oregon State for 2 years. His 2nd year he averaged 11ppg 5rpg and 3.5bpg. Went undrafted in the 2020 draft but was given an Exhibit 10 training camp deal by the Spurs. Waived by them but picked up by their G-League team where he barely played. 

He then left the G-League entirely and played in London for a year for the 21-22 season. Seemed to have developed a lot there, but was only given a deal by the Raptors 905 G-League team for the 22-23 season. He doubled his production in about the same minutes and showed he was an improved player. He subsequently got a summer league+Exhibit 10 deal by Boston, but again was waived and given a spot on Boston's G-League team for the 23-24 season. There, he really established himself in the G-League and had posted career highs across the board. 

This summer the Lakers gave him an Exhibit 10 deal. YET AGAIN, Kelley was waived and given a spot on the Lakers G-League team and here we are. This year, Kelley again improved scoring wise.

[WillE]

They already have a developmental center in Lively and a heavy minutes backup in Gafford.  When healthy there would be very little minutes for another developmental center.  I would argue a cheap vet like Powell makes more sense.  Maxi is a different conversation, but I have a hard time blaming the FO for not having the depth to withstand over half the team being out.

Fully agree.

Also Kleber is hard to replace. Due to his health his value was already negative so either you find an acceptable deal, what they seemingly are exploring but where you do need to give away assets or you bet that he gets back on his feet and will turn his value around. And in the meantime let someone else like OMax or even Edwards use the freed up playing time to increase their value.

So I only expect a departure of Maxi when there is a very reasonable deal...but I do not expect this scenario to happen.

[Chicagojk]

I don’t know anything about this center they picked up. Looked at some highlights.

An older dude who I assume knows where to be on defense while also being able to block shots and rim run. Emergency guy but will need to have some moments over the next few months. Especially if they have an injury/rest day or foul trouble. The tall guy on the legends isn’t close to be able to play nba ball yet. This dude has played for the lakers and Celtics g league teams. Both teams typically have interesting players.

[michaeltex]

I'm assuming the Kelly signing is a try-out to see if he can be effective in NBA-level competition. If he doesn't work out, then you can cut and sign another candidate.

But, if this guy (or the next) shows something, and the Maxi and DLive injuries carry on past March, would a 2-way player be available for post-season play? Or would he need to be converted to a minimum to stay on the roster? If so, then what does that do to our salary cap situation?

Not trying to borrow trouble, but just wondering if there is something to address at the TDL just to get a little more flexibility.

[SleepingHero]

I'm assuming the Kelly signing is a try-out to see if he can be effective in NBA-level competition. If he doesn't work out, then you can cut and sign another candidate.

But, if this guy (or the next) shows something, and the Maxi and DLive injuries carry on past March, would a 2-way player be available for post-season play? Or would he need to be converted to a minimum to stay on the roster? If so, then what does that do to our salary cap situation?

Not trying to borrow trouble, but just wondering if there is something to address at the TDL just to get a little more flexibility.

2 Way players are ineligible for postseason play. In order to play in the playoffs,  they’d have to be converted to a league standard contract and take up a roster spot. Both of which the Mavs can’t offer unless they waive a guy. 

The Mavs did this trick last year with AJ Lawson, but that was because they had the roster spot to give after the flurry of trades they made at the TDL.

[myconsumerclub]

We can always waive Morris to add a center or include him in a trade to find another guy. In fact we should have already looked into adding a 3rd center. Kleber was a huge red flag with his past injury problems so it was inevitable that he got hurt. Powell is okay for 3rd team center but if he has to play longer over an extended period its disaster waiting to happen and proactive teams expect the unexpected to avoid situations like we are going through. A real center as our third center should have been found before the need arose. Lively was injured a lot of games in his rookie season to so it was not like we did not see the writing on the wall. My instincts told me we needed a real third center upgrade way before the season started. At least the next draft is deep with bigs so we can find one or more to develop next season. We have enough help 1 through 3 its the 4 and 5 that needs more talent from the draft. I know you should always go for the best player available I just hope that BPA is a 4 or 5. We all have seen how important they can be when we have our team healthy.

[mvossman]

We can always waive Morris to add a center or include him in a trade to find another guy. In fact we should have already looked into adding a 3rd center. Kleber was a huge red flag with his past injury problems so it was inevitable that he got hurt. Powell is okay for 3rd team center but if he has to play longer over an extended period its disaster waiting to happen and proactive teams expect the unexpected to avoid situations like we are going through. A real center as our third center should have been found before the need arose. Lively was injured a lot of games in his rookie season to so it was not like we did not see the writing on the wall. My instincts told me we needed a real third center upgrade way before the season started. At least the next draft is deep with bigs so we can find one or more to develop next season. We have enough help 1 through 3 its the 4 and 5 that needs more talent from the draft. I know you should always go for the best player available I just hope that BPA is a 4 or 5. We all have seen how important they can be when we have our team healthy.

I believe Morris is guaranteed so I don't think waiving him will provide the room under hard cap to get another player.

We started the season with two starting level centers and two quality backups.  Even with the injury concerns, center depth was very low on the list of things to be concerned about heading into the season.

I don't see the 5 being a particular need heading into the draft.  I'm hoping we see enough good from Omax the rest of the season that we don't feel the need to reach for a 4.

[Mavs2021]

I believe Morris is guaranteed so I don't think waiving him will provide the room under hard cap to get another player.

We started the season with two starting level centers and two quality backups.  Even with the injury concerns, center depth was very low on the list of things to be concerned about heading into the season.

I don't see the 5 being a particular need heading into the draft.  I'm hoping we see enough good from Omax the rest of the season that we don't feel the need to reach for a 4.

Always take the best player available, no positional drafting.

[SleepingHero]

Klay Thompson on Kobe Bryant:

“Kobe was one of the most intelligent athletes to ever grace this earth…My memories of Kobe are very fond…That’s the first thing I told Luka when we met. I was like man I knew you were gonna be special because he brought Kobe out of the house to go watch him play. Kobe doesn’t just give that love to those who don’t earn it…I think about him and Gigi every day…”

[Chicagojk]

Kelly is bouncy. It is just crazy how crazy good you need to be to make the NBA. Carter is a 7 footer who is really agile and can really jump, and he is scraping at any chance he gets to make the NBA. There are probably 100 guys who are good enough to be NBA players. There just aren't enough spots. It is why when you are a fringe player, you better do everything in your power to take advantage of any opportunities.

[Nowitzki Way]

Kelly is bouncy.  It is just crazy how crazy good you need to be to make the NBA.  Carter is a 7 footer who is really agile and can really jump, and he is scraping at any chance he gets to make the NBA.    There are probably 100 guys who are good enough to be NBA players.  There just aren't enough spots.  It is why when you are a fringe player, you better do everything in your power to take advantage of any opportunities.

I know it was garbage time, but he took some bad fouls. He fell for every pump fake the other guys had in their bag.  I'm sure he just wanted to make an impression and block shots, but he'll need to clean that up. Other than that, he's just a guy. Like you said there are 100 guys sitting around the g league or overseas that are right on that fringe.

[michaeltex]

I know it was garbage time, but he took some bad fouls. He fell for every pump fake the other guys had in their bag.  I'm sure he just wanted to make an impression and block shots, but he'll need to clean that up. Other than that, he's just a guy. Like you said there are 100 guys sitting around the g league or overseas that are right on that fringe.

Yeah, but he's a 7 foot JAG, so fits a particular subset of JAGs. 

Probably not a bad start, given that he basically walked off the plane and into the locker room. I'm sure the adrenaline was a bit elevated. He'll get better with some coaching and team exposure (I hope), especially observing and practicing against Gaff. Given Maxi's foot and DP's hip, K2 likely to play significant (for him) minutes over the next several games. 

If it doesn't work, then rinse and repeat with another JAG.

[Chicagojk]

It just sucks Lively got hurt. This could have been a prime time for him to make a jump. You sensed it was coming. In addition, how Gafford has been playing they could have had a dominant combo these next few weeks.

[myconsumerclub]

He is a 27 year old rookie. Better learn to not piss off the coach with stupid fouls. The draft class next season has a lot of centers and 7' plus PF/C types who can actually hit 3 pointers.