05-15-2025, 02:29 PM
About PJW, I agree with those saying that what happens with him depends on the size of his next contract, but I'm not convinced he will be impossibly expensive. The reset with the new economics has removed the idea that every decent player gets a max deal, because the resulting payroll totals just don't work within hard cap constraints.
Several factors are probably in play with PJW that point in varying directions on value and preferences. He's still just 26. He has had the experience of playing on a crappy going-nowhere team and won't want to do that again. He's a Dallas kid and likes playing here. (He needs 2 more seasons in Dallas to be able to ask for a no-trade clause on a deal, fwiw.) And his financial demands were not met in his last negotiation because his game contribution does have some limits (in particular, on the offensive end, where the money is). There's no way to know how he might view the Luka trade, whether it makes this a place not to be or not to trust, or whether he's secretly glad the Mavs moved a player who might not have been as committed to hard work and defense as he'd like. Or what he might think of the addition of Flagg, who adds skills but also adds competition for minutes. Players like lots of available minutes.
Will PJW get a raise? Yep. But how much of a raise will matter as to whether the Mavs can feasibly keep him, and whether he wants to extend. They will continue to need strong rotation players at medium sized salaries when they can get them. They can afford him at the right price.
Several factors are probably in play with PJW that point in varying directions on value and preferences. He's still just 26. He has had the experience of playing on a crappy going-nowhere team and won't want to do that again. He's a Dallas kid and likes playing here. (He needs 2 more seasons in Dallas to be able to ask for a no-trade clause on a deal, fwiw.) And his financial demands were not met in his last negotiation because his game contribution does have some limits (in particular, on the offensive end, where the money is). There's no way to know how he might view the Luka trade, whether it makes this a place not to be or not to trust, or whether he's secretly glad the Mavs moved a player who might not have been as committed to hard work and defense as he'd like. Or what he might think of the addition of Flagg, who adds skills but also adds competition for minutes. Players like lots of available minutes.
Will PJW get a raise? Yep. But how much of a raise will matter as to whether the Mavs can feasibly keep him, and whether he wants to extend. They will continue to need strong rotation players at medium sized salaries when they can get them. They can afford him at the right price.
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