Trade & FA 2024-25:

[KillerLeft]

Lauri has the size of a 4 but the skillset of a 2. This isn't a PJ vs Lauri discussion but more of Mavs adding a 7ft shooting guard. PJ will still be in his regular role on offense and will still guard the best guy on the floor. Lauri has enough size to play the 5 and enough mobility to play the 3. 

Only issue is that this doesn't fix the POA defender problem. DJJ theoretically could still be retained, but perhaps the Mavs don't care that much if they are adding an offensive force like Lauri.

Right, but who guards POA? 

For me, and this is going against everything I wrote over the past month, the question suddenly becomes: who is out there who might be better than DJJ? I think that's the spot I'd look to upgrade, sure, but I don't think Markkanen works, because he's more of a Washington replacement...just my gut reaction. I do think Markkanen is a good player and worth thinking about.