Trade & FA 2024-25:

[KillerLeft]

If Lively is a starting center playing 30 minutes a game (which I think is how it will play out) then spending 15-18 mil on a backup center playing less than 20 minutes a game is a massive overpay.  You can find guys for a lot less money that can approximate Gafford when they only have to be on the court 15 minutes a game against second units.

Yeah, I don't think people realize how close to tapped out the Mavs are. It's not just the first apron or current hard cap. There's not much room between the first and second apron, and that's where the real pain starts. It's cool that the new owners can afford a tax bill every once in a while, but the reality is that from this point forward, adding anything means subtracting something else. Even just adding an MLE-level guy next summer probably means Kleber or Gafford is gone, and that's before we think about a Kyrie extension or what's happening with Exum, Grimes, Hardy...Gafford or Kleber is probably gone just to keep 1-2 of those guys. 

I think there's a really good chance this is Gafford's last year in Dallas. If Lively is even half the player we believe, it's the sensible way to go.