Non Knee-Jerk Takes

[omahen]

I don't mind KP being traded. Looks like this was their primary goal. I also don't mind who he got traded for. 

However:

1. It is a fact that Mavs were giving up best player in the deal. As others have pointed out, Dinwiddie and Bertans both carry significant injury risk with them. Even before the trade, some analysts have pointed at Bertans as worst contract in the league. Dinwiddie contract is no pearl either and they are both on a down year. So Mavs were trading best player with similar money owed to a team, that is desperate for relevance (not tanking team). How well will those players perform for Dallas is basically irrelevant in this discussion, as is future flexibility they allegedly provide. Fact is, their trade value at this moment is very low. Based on all this, Mavs didn't get enough in return in this deal. The goal of trading KP was executed very poorly.

2. I am extremely concerned what this means for Brunson and true Mavs intentions regarding him. 

3. Roster construction will be just awful. Mavs will have three bench players paid over 15 million each. Bench player paid over 15 million is a bad contract in its very definition. They are also not some high upside players, they are all vets near 30 year old. I can agree that flexibility has increased, but it remains to be seen if Mavs will be able to take advantage of it. We have years of proof where good contracts of the likes of Maxi, Powell and similar generated zero possibility for upgrades.