SL Game 3: MIA vs. DAL | 2:00pm CST on ESPN2

[Mavs2021]

WRT OMax -
1) It seemed clear to me on draft day that, given his arc in college, he was the safer of the two picks we made, and I was over the moon that we got him;
2) Summer league '23 seemed to bear out that we had made two phenomenally great picks considering where we had drafted - Lively seemed not to be quite as good as OMax at that point, but with a godlike acquisitional BBIQ that suggested he would indeed be the better player at some point. Meanwhile OMax seemed to be defensively dominant, skilled at attacking the rim with the ball, and his college work suggested that any shortcomings in his 3p shooting would come along. Overall, he seemed already inked-in for a back of the rotation slot on the main roster;
3) In training camp and pre-season games last year, he seemed completely unready for NBA play, which, given #1 and #2, made zero sense to me whatsoever and gave me pause;
4) Last year was an agony of seeing him get few opportunities on roster, not do great most of the time when he got them, not looking great in the GLeague, but gradually progressing to the point that there was hope that he could be the player I thought he was back in last year's summer league;
5) This summer league is, in terms of offensive polish and ability, one big face palm. I hope to goodness that that is 100% due to our PG-less roster, but that smacks of lipstick on the pig at this point.

Prior to summer league, I was very optimistic that OMax would worm his way to the point of being the 9th or 10th man in the rotation by playoff time. Now, I feel like that would take a miracle. He hasn't quite hit the Hardy "meh - maybe, but very probably not" level for me, but I feel like the stock I bought on OMax Island after last year's summer league has tanked. There's still some hope that its value might go back up, but I'm pessimistic.

Hardy will get a contract next summer. I´m not betting on Omax being in the league once his rookie contract is up. Omax is older than Hardy, too.*

He basically got drafted based on his strong workouts alone (which is almost always a bad idea), not on anything he had done in three years of college. Omax in his 3rd year averaged 13/5. He was a poor shooter, absolutely nothing in his boxscore in terms of steals, blocks or assists. Omax had nine blocks in his whole college career. He´s not even Justin Anderson in terms of his college resume. There is literally nothing that suggests NBA prospect, and yeah yeah defense is more than stats, but he´d be the best defender ever that does not rebound, does not steal or does not block the ball even at an average level. 

If we based Omax on his SL performance (and not on his draft position), he´d struggle to get a roster spot on the G-League squad. Okay maybe that´s harsh, but he certainly wouldn´t be a starter in the G-League. And I get all the spread your wings BS. He practices every week with the NBA team. He plays G-League. That´s plenty of time to spread your wings against actually competition/NBA level. All this does is hurt his confidence and make him look like a bum.

*by two days