Brandon Knight signed to a second 10-day hardship contract

[fifteenth]

At this point it should be obvious to us that the Mavs don't feel like they are "light" at the 5. I'm applying that term to both the type of centers they have and the number of them on the roster. It's worth noting that this might only be true for the rest of this season, but fwiw, I think they're right. 

I think Powell and Kleber (if both are playing well) are actually a very good combo at the 5 going into the playoffs. Either fits better than Porzingis and both, combined, is much better. 

It's certainly possible to upgrade Powell, but not nearly as easy as people here seem to assume, and honestly, he wouldn't even be the first guy in the top 5-6 I'd try to upgrade. The entire team is built with his specific skills on both ends of the floor in mind. Most of the "upgrade" ideas I read here would require a reimagining of the team's entire style of play, especially on defense, which is the team's area of greatest improvement this season. 

Are there possibilities out there that would be worth a re-design of the team's approach? Of course, but this is no casual thing, and I suspect the line where the Mavs start to feel temptation to move in a new direction is much higher in real life than what is commonly assumed by fans. 

Having said all of that, I would feel better if they had a better solution at "emergency" 3rd center. Boban is done, and honestly hasn't been a fit for the modern game at any point during the life of his tenure with the Mavs. Chriss is exactly the right type, but every time he plays I get more entrenched in the idea that he's simply not ready for meaningful basketball. He lacks the requisite knowledge and experience. Bertans is probably the best choice as the 3rd big, currently, which might not be ideal, but it's also nowhere near the "911" situation we make it out to be on the daily. If all goes to plan (there will be some nights in the playoffs when it does not, obviously) the 3rd center won't see the court. Even if the team had signed someone more experienced than Chriss in that role, the team is more likely to play even smaller with Luka or DFS playing the 5 than they are to give that hypothetical player much run.

Man, get one of those fridge magnets and put this on the fridge, eye level. It's what this forum, and Mavsland in general needs to orient their thinking to. All basketball cavemen, step into the present.