2026 NBA draft thread

[mvossman]

IMO your eagerness to get rid of Gafford is a mistake. I think you focus too much on what you assume Gafford can't do, and fail to notice the difference his force makes on the opponent. And without Gaff (or a physical bruising center very much like him) I suspect there will never be an effective Lively, because he's too slight to absorb the pounding.

Would it make you rethink your "analysis" of Gafford's ability to know that since Gaff became a Mav, the Mavs most consistently effective center vs Wemby based on plus/minus - with never a minus - is Gafford? +2, +7, +8, +13, +2, 0 

Lively has higher ups, but also negatives. And without Gaff playing the other minutes and dealing out physicality, Lively's result vs Wemby has been a negative.

OKC has tried to counter Wemby by using their finesse, slender, 5-out center. It really hasn't really been working. Maybe there's a lesson in that, I dunno.

I am focused on what I watched Gafford not be able to do.  He got repeatedly abused in space during the playoff run.  A small sample of meaningless regular season games does not impact my thinking.  If you want to look at meaningful plus/minus, compare Gafford and Lively in the playoffs.  I have no doubt if Gafford ever runs into Wemby in the playoffs the results will not be good.