01-08-2026, 08:50 AM
(01-08-2026, 07:36 AM)F Gump Wrote: The Mavs don't NEED to do a deal. But ATL does. Otherwise, they stay mired in nowhere land, because they suck at defense. AD can fix that.
I understand we and teams can have different positions on valuation of certain players and their impact on specific teams. I am much less optimistic.
As Meister said, AD is a very high risk asset - this is valid for Atlanta and Dallas both. You act as if he is a certainty while the reality is that he is injured half of the time. He has also not really brought much to Dallas in terms of result success (neither has he in last 5 or so seasons with Lakers) which could be used as an argument what a superstar, surefire result changing, immediate contender level great player he is.
Atlanta has a great base of the team now, with their whole core being young and locked up long-term on very manageable and tradeable deals. Great financial position too. They have the NO pick with which they can hope for another top end young talent and they have plenty of cap space to acquire another very good player in the summer to cover their needs at C and PG. If I am them, this is a far better position than going all in on an often injured aging star. Even if we neglect the significant AD injury risks, there is zero guarantee that such drastically changing mid-season trades (Young and Davis) will make this team a title contender.
From Mavs perspective, I agree there is not that much urgency to sell immediately. However, if AD plays well, which will increase his value, Mavs results will also be better decreasing the chance for a top pick. Is this really best case Mavs scenario moving forward? If he doesn't play well or if he gets injured, his value in the summer will not be any higher. Dan pointed this out several times already.
I think Atlanta will include Risacher as this makes salaries work with KP and Kennard (add minor salary players for everything to work regarding roster slots). There are reports that Dallas does value him. But I don't think Atlanta will give up the NO pick.