MAVS NEWS:

[F Gump]

1 I've been thinking about future team improvements and how important it is/will be to have a competent, empowered management team on board ASAP...

2 Am I correct in thinking that trades are available once both teams are finished playing for the year? For example, DAL and MEM could make a trade once the regular season is complete. Or Dal and a team trying to get their payroll down before June 30th? In other words, the deal making can start, with a few caveats, once both teams are done playing.

3 Also, some of you guys are waaaay more knowledgeable about the rest of the NBA. Who are some key names we should be watching over the next few months as possible additions to the CF-led Mavs? Where are the glaring needs?

We keep talking about needing a point guard, although I think we address that need if we pick anywhere from 3 to 8. (1 & 2 have to be Dybantsa and Boozer, regardless of need.) We have potential solutions at the 5 with Lively/Gaff/Bagley. Wings are CF, Naji, PJ, Christie, Martin and (maybe) Middleton. Kyrie will be back and BWill has earned another contract (IMO), so some depth at 1/2 may be needed.

TBH, I look at some of the available UFAs and I wonder if they are actual improvements over the current roster or just fresh faces equating to new hope. I don't spend much time on RFAs since they often tie up resources for too long while the market dries up around you.

Could some of the needs get addressed via pre-draft trades?

1 Yes, yes, yes! Getting the expert GM is so crucial. Cuban would not - he thought he was the expert they needed. It's long past time to be competitive (and even dominant) at the GM level. 

2a  "Am I correct in thinking that trades are available once both teams are finished playing for the year? For example, DAL and MEM could make a trade once the regular season is complete.".... YES 
2b - "Or Dal and a team trying to get their payroll down before June 30th?" -- To be clear, trades after the season do not change the payroll for 2025-26. That number (re the tax) is locked in at the end of the season. But yes, a team needing help for next season's payroll can certainly start that work once their season ends.

3 The name I have found is Gillespie (PHX) who is a minimum salary player this season (who was 2-way before this season), UFA, who is a PG. He's their B Will or perhaps Nemby, so to speak. With his light resume, I would hope he might be a player who is not highly prioritized there and could be poached from PHX with MLE money. I'm also intrigued by Dosunmu, just traded to Minn, also a UFA, very efficient scoring numbers, but he is a SG type so I'm unsure about his fit with Christie and Klay already here (would there be minutes available). 

I do think that the draft results will also impact what they might want to do in free agency, because they need to have available minutes for a top pick and also for anyone they make a significant commitment to as a FA. And there are only so many minutes to give.