Mavs rotation

[sterlingmallory]

I think a lot of fans have this vision that training camp starts and the coach "sees what he's got to work with" and then forms a plan. 

Here's the way to think about it that I believe is more accurate:

There are many roles on a pro basketball team, and I'm not talking about roster spots. Each team's strategy informs their definition of those roles, and how they prioritize them. They form a financial plan accordingly, and when they go into free agency, extend their players, make trades, whatever, they pay people based on those "jobs." 

That is why Dwight Powell got paid what he did - because they viewed him as starter at the time and they wanted him to feel like he was getting a promotion.

Definitely. Fans are also disconnected from the off the court aspect of NBA team culture, things like player egos and status/hierarchy within the team. It's easy to look at it like it's NBA 2K and think coaches can always make the most cold, calculating decisions possible when it comes to lineup decisions. Committing 74 million dollars to me means you 100% intend to start that player barring some completely unforeseen scenario like a trade or something.