MAVS NEWS:

[Winter]

Interesting podcast I just heard on DJJ.

The podcast begins with a discussion of DJJ's starter minutes being lower than a typical starter. This is because his effectiveness diminished over time. Hence, his play was optimized at about 23 mpg rather than a more common 28-30 mpg from most starters. The Mavs still liked him a lot and apparently didn't have much trouble working around that number

Early on when it appeared DJJ was changing agents to Rich Paul, the Mavs foresaw the possibility of some delays with the new agent (in that they thought Rich Paul would go for slightly more money and drag this out a bit). The Mavs didn't want any delays as they had eyes on Klay and needed a clear lane to work in. They let it be known that they had a backup plan if the DJJ negotiations got delayed (the backup plan being Naji Marshall).

When it became clear that the DJJ\Rich Paul camp wasn't going to accept the initial number (3 for 27) without more negotiation, the Mavs turned the corner quickly and signed Marshall.

At this point, it's not clear why DJJ took the Clippers offer so quickly instead of looking for more suitors after the Mavs committed to Naji. Maybe DJJ\Paul didn't see another market offering more. If that's true, then it was a mistake not to take the Mavs offer in my opinion. The 3 for 30 he accepted is likely less in California than the 3 for 27 in Texas.

Some of this looks pretty clumsy - but not really by the Mavs Front Office. They had a plan and a timeframe and stuck with it. DJJ didn't do badly money-wise, but his role and his minutes-per-game look more uncertain in LA than his established role here.

I'm not sure if Marshall can improve on the minutes-per-game that DJJ played, but if Naji's skills are a little more versatile (as reported) the Mavs might be better off for it.