Building Around Cooper: A Backward-Looking Thought Experiment

[mvossman]

I appreciate all the ideas being shared.

My view fwiw is a bit different.

I think that the Mavs will do far less than everyone is thinking they will, because of roster limits and minutes limits. We expect a "better" player at almost every position, but there's not really a practical way to make that happen, because the vast majority of available players will have flaws just like what they already have.

To my way of thinking, you only have room and opportunity for 2 big changes/upgrades. One will be a rookie in the top 10. The other will be MLE (up to 15M) or TPE (up to 20M). IMO they are very unlikely to do both MLE and TPE because they don't have playing space for them.

I am doubtful about trades because it's hard to find teams being willing to trade you the right guy for you (who can upgrade what you want upgraded) making the right salary at the right price in assets. In fact, if you scroll through the player salary list, it's hard to find the talent you need both as a trade target and also as a fit. And the idea that "we will get rid of player X because he's not as ____ as we would prefer" is only an avenue to tear down the talent, and not one to build up. When I look through those lists, and see what 15-20M buys you these days, all of a sudden I am not so dissatisfied with having players on the roster like Gaff, Lively, PJW, Naji, Klay, Christie.

I also hope they are careful and targeted with the way they spend. Today's 15M MLE player - because we can afford to pay him 15M - is way more desirable later on when salaries are tight if we only have paid him 10M. And for someone like Bagley, if he's not minimum or close to it, as a 3rd stringer, I'm just not interested in that financial baggage.

But mostly, my point is about how I think we will do way LESS player acquisition than is being proposed. They have a lot of players already. You can plug in the next 2 wherever you think they fit, but after that it looks to me like you are dealing with 3rd stringers, 2 ways, and players who play little until you have an emergency.

So far --- Plug in 2 new players onto the list below and you have 11, and you probably also have few minutes (if any) left to offer.
C - Gaff, Lively
PF - Flagg, Martin
SF - Naji, PJW
SG - Christie, Klay
PG - Kyrie  [also Johnson is under contract, but I suspect he won't be kept]

I'm guessing at least one of those 2 additions is a G who creates offense, especially a PG type, which seems most likely to come from the draft (because of the obvious availability to work with). For the 2nd player, they might consider another offense creator OR a 3-and-D type (I'm intrigued by Dort, but you might also attack that need by great scouting and development like OKC did).

Once you add those 2 players already noted, you are probably full on your rotation and filling in 3rd stringers.

Internal options to fill those 4 remaining 15-man slots are: pick 30, 2ndRP, Powell, Cisse, Bagley, Middleton, Jones, Williams, Nembhard, Johnson. Cap room isn't an issue this summer, but value (tied to playing time) should be a major limiter on what is paid to any of these. The allocation of 2-way slots might also provide some cost-efficient help with upside potential, for example if they bring back Nemby and Cisse as 2-ways.

I could be wrong, but I think the difference between your outlook and some of the others is timeframe.  It seems like you are focused on this upcoming offseason.  I think the Mavs will eventually need to trade for their 2/3rd best player, but I don't think it will happen this offseason.  I think it will take a couple of seasons before they can get this team where they want it.