12-03-2025, 12:56 PM
(12-03-2025, 12:39 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: This conversation is why I'm still on the fence about whether or not AD should even be traded soon.
I'm closer to SH's evaluation of the player (though I admit the injuries have to be factored in, and that's problematic), so...if you're not getting something great back for him, and you're losing anyway because you have no offensive engine, why trade him? Maybe you get the offense solved by next year in a different way, or in a variety of different ways, and then you get the benefit of having the guy around? I do value what he brings to the table when healthy a great deal, after all.
Then again, I'm not against trading him, either. He's injury prone and expensive. If someone makes an offer that moves the team forward in a meaningful way, I'm all ears.
I think we trade him for this reason: When he has been healthy, the Mavs have been better, but not so much better that we're even top 3 in the West with the current roster. Yet we are paying him to take us to the promised land (Nico's vision). His salary now prevents us getting to the very top of the West. His salary is a net-negative for this Dallas Mavericks team.
We should be able to use his salary to convert players who make a more meaningful contribution to this particular roster. We also stand to gain some missing draft picks in the near future - enhancing our chances.
It's eye-opening that one of the highest paid players in the league had slightly less of an impact on this team's efficiency than a two-way rookie playing PG.