NBA Summer League | Mavs end off 4-1

[SleepingHero]

I get what TITY is saying - scoring - especially self-shot creation is at a premium when considering who the best players are. Wallace is also solid defensively. 

I would hope that none of us here would expect Lively or OMax to be an all-star in the next five years. We might propose that, and be very happy if, they make all-NBA first or second defensive team. But there's a difference between that and a major two-way all-star who can create his own shot. This trade made sense for the Mavs in terms of already having Luka, Kai, and Hardy. It came down to having such gigantically pervasive roster needs and two being better than one. But I think Wallace is going to be better than Hardy - better at distributing, better at defending, and better even at what Hardy has the "IT" factor in - scoring. It's like CJ McCollum vs. Dame.

Absolutely. I agree that this trade makes sense and that the skills Wallace has are at a premium. He looked fantastic. But some thoughts on where I'm coming from.

First, I rarely expect any rookie to be a sure-fire all-star. Especially after 1 game of summer league. The ones I do expect are usually top 5, heralded prospects, or at worse top 10. That's what's expected of guys who go that high after all. I don't think it's likely that Lively nor Omax can be one, as their games aren't necessarily conducive to flashy stats and whatever else goes into getting picked for the all-star game (but Rudy's made it a bunch so who knows?). But I also don't think it's likely for Cason to be one either. The numbers are against him being a top 30 player in the league, and its even less likely he can be a top 15 player at his own position given the talent at guard. 

Further, to think that after 1 game we can make any sweeping statements like OKC fleeced the Mavs, I think is a bit nutty. I sure love to make overreactions because its fun, but definitive putdown statements to me kind of takes the air out of the balloon. Cason had a good game and he looked good. But so did Lively AND Omax. Really good in fact. So good that the Mavs were winning the minutes with them on the court. So I think to come away with the thought that the Mavs got fleeced and OKC are kings of the draft yet again is a bit premature. I think both teams got exactly what they wanted.

Finally, if Wallace is better than Hardy is that really a surprise? One was picked 37th, the other 10th. I'm leaning heavily on draft position here, but there is usually a clear gradation between 2nd rounders and lottery picks. What I find funny is you saying Wallace looked better at scoring than Hardy, yet Hardy ended up scoring 24 to Wallace's 20. Wallace had him beat efficiency wise, shooting 46.7% to Hardy's 44.4% (and it took Hardy 3 more shots to get 4 more points).