MAVS NEWS:

[KillerLeft]

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.

Agree with all this, in general. I definitely don't think PJ is a max player, and I doubt he does, either. 

However, he was an important starter on a finals team a year ago with a freshly rehabilitated profile around the league and the arrow for his career pointing straight up. Now, he finds himself in a situation wherein he's no better than the 5th best player on the team, and the roster's BEST TWO players both have significant overlap with him, positionally. 

Unless the Mavs and his agent have basically already reached a number range they can all ive with on some sort of extension (forgive me, I don't follow the rules of how the timing of things like this work as much as you do), I have a strong suspicion that he is NOT gonna be cool with coming off the bench next year, and ESPECIALLY next year, and that is 1000% where his role is headed if he stays, whether Gafford is moved or not. To be clear, my opinion is that IF a center is moved, there very well might be a JUICY bench role for PJW here that could work very well for both him and the team - I just doubt he's likely to be excited about taking that leap of faith. If he had a contract in hand already, possibly. 

My prediction is that either PJW or Naji Marshall is gone, more than likely (heck, maybe both, if they really like Caleb Martin) and judging by recent Mavs maneuvers, I'd say the guy who's not currently cost controlled is the one they'll shop harder. 

Again, NOBODY is a bigger fan of PJ than me. I was one of like two people who even wanted him here in the first place, and I think he's going to continue to improve, even. I just think it's a Cooper Flagg world now, and IF moving PJW is what it takes to get a more dynamic ball-handling guard in here, I can live with it.