MAVS NEWS:

[KillerLeft]

Whether you wanted to keep him the next four years or trade him in the next few days, this is the number you'd extend him on.  But, I'm with you.  I don't see them paying $18mm (~10% of the cap) for a backup.  I get that the two centers who are more likely to close games are both injury prone.  Still...

OTOH, Gafford has his extension and PJ doesn't.  In his post, Charn's said Gafford joins Lively, AD and Flagg in the Dallas front court.  Of course, this was also the post where he got the contract number wrong.  If you are clearing a pathway for Flagg, PJ is the one most in his way.  

Or, do you take Stein at his word that they'd prefer to keep both?

FWIW, Gafford was traded to Dallas for an expiring Holmes and what ended up being the 24th pick in last year's draft.  The range of that pick was fairly determined by the time the trade was made.  For PJ, Dallas got two seconds and game up Williams, Curry and a Top 2 protected 2027.  I don't think either of them have diminished their value since coming here.

It has definitely crossed my mind that PJW, unquestionably the more valuable of the two, and more "in Flagg's way" as you put it, might be the guy on the move. I'm not sure I'd love that choice, given that it would be doubling and tripling down on the ideas that A) as many of AD's minutes will be at the 4 as possible, and B) they're determined to try to make Gafford a net positive in the playoffs, rather than just shelving him, but it's definitely a way they could go. 

To your last point, I'd say both players have steadily increased their value since coming here, buuuuuuut, we might be nearing the end of the incline and start of the decline for both dudes, given the roles that they're likely to have moving forward. I think maybe there's a juicy enough role here for one of them, but probably not for both. One thing Gafford has going for him there is that he's probably not as hung up on starting as PJ, especially now that he has gotten his money.