MAVS NEWS:

[F Gump]

To make any decent moves from here on out it is looking to me like they can still try to clean up the end of the roster. Home run deals can happen still if they can move an older vet for someone that is almost comparable but more on Coopers timeline but I doubt anyone is wanting to add an older vet while giving up a decent talent.

Hardy: if he is going to make a move to show his worth then he can be traded for picks or get bundled with others and help us improve the roster in a trade or in a future draft /offseason. We develop him to his true potential hit or miss this season we either get him onboard or get him gone or we are stuck with him and if he gets to that level were he is a keeper and someone bites do we then trade him or is his fan favorite status something that prevents that?

Martin: His game needs to improve along with his health or we really got screwed a lot more giving Philly Grimes. I am giving him a pass on last season simply because he was injured and getting traded into the hot seat with the Luka trade screwing up everything we had going on back then yeah I can see how his game went south in that environment. If he is working on the 3 and getting better and then healthy enough to defend well he may be worth his salary after all assuming he gets the minutes to show us all what he really can do. Again an improvement over prior season is needed similar to what we hope for and want from DLO and does that make them both trade chips as well.

What will our assets enable us to do in the TDL market? After we see DLO at his 40% 3 shooting old self and we get a good version of Irving back do the Mav's try to trade him with others to send out enough salary so we can add in a star SG that isn't happy somewhere else and who would you say fits that description? Anthony Edwards might be there if he does not see the team winning more.

Powell: He is a $4 million dollar trade chip that is expiring so teams with taxes will want to give him a new home and maybe they are willing to part with someone on Coopers timeline. Bundle him with Martin and or Hardy to sweeten the deal and enable us to get a player with more salary and a decent enough game to be rotation worthy but maybe he is unwanted or causing trouble to force a trade somewhere else. OKC has a lot of guys that they need to integrate that will not get minutes to develop? What are they going to do with all that unused talent?

On an individual basis, I think what you are saying about each of those players seems about right. But I have a hard time seeing any of it actually happen because of the way they sit with their rotations, and with their payroll. 

On Martin and Hardy, sure, the best way to move them is after a season where they get minutes and demonstrate value. But how are either of them going to get any minutes? They are 3rd stringers, and there are too many good players in front of them (and barely enough minutes to feed the 1st and 2nd stringers). An injury or 3 at SG or SF opens up minutes, but otherwise Martin and Hardy look like an afterthought here except in very limited specialty situations. And neither has a team-friendly contract for being about 9th or lower in the pecking order.

In addition, what the Mavs would get from a Martin-Hardy package is probably more self-limited besides finding somewhat-equivalent player value.

What they need most from a Martin-Hardy package is probably an expiring contract, rather than a player they need to keep, because they are well over A2 next summer with the players they have (plus minimum salary adds). 

If you add in a good player (such as Gafford, for example) to that package and access a bigger salary (and better player) in return, you should definitely expect to get back a good player, but then you are KEEPING that player (and his salary) which locks you into remaining at that over-A2 status. That's a problem.

Good GM work (not) to be in trapped into such a situation, with bad contracts that are going to continue running year after year. I really don't know what they are going to do about Martin and Hardy, but imo they are both a problem looming.