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[KillerLeft]

Yes I preferred DJJ over Naji. I saw DJJ as a very good (special in some ways, esp physical gifts) defender - who makes 3s. IMO it is a vital skill for a plus defender who is not so good on O, especially in this era. 3-and-D? Yes. O-and-D? No. Because he must be able to be a help on offense, period.

I saw DJJ as having improved enough on 3-making where he was a keeper and on a plus trajectory on 3's at eoy 2024. Early in last season, it held up. However - on reviewing his year, he may not have improved on 3's, actually, in which case he was no loss.

I believe in 3-and-D, because I want good defenders but many are ONLY good on D, and I feel an inability of a player to play one end is a major obstacle to team success. Your ace of a defender must somehow help on O, so it's not a 4-on-5 game. An old Nellie truism and he was hoops-wise.

ADDING - If I saw HJ as someone who could make 3s, and as someone who would be 100% from injury, I would love a swap for him. I like his defense. Of course. However, I see his issues as real deal killers for me. I need someone who can make 3s, and is healthy.

No argument with any of that. 

What's different now is that the Mavs currently (as far as what we've seen on the court, so Flagg projections aside) don't have the offensive engine that creates the kinds of shots DJJ was hitting while here. He didn't improve then, and hasn't regressed now. He's just no longer benefitting from the good part of an heliocentric offense built around a phenom. There are numerous items on the downside of that, and I know you share many of those opinions with me, but the reality is that 3&D is less useful for the Mavs today than it was a year ago...or, maybe it's more accurate to say that a higher standard needs to be applied to the "3" part, as the shots will probably be more difficult to get off. So, what the Mavs need now are actual good shooters, not just guys who can be relied upon to hit shots in an empty gym.

The above is my opinion, but I'm with you on your overall conclusion in this debate.