1 hour ago
(6 hours ago)Tyler Wrote: So I learned today that Grok is awesome for interpreting CBA rules. Its conclusion is that a S&T of Mathurin (starting at $12mm) for Gafford is legal even with some BYC cap nuance. Having the MLE space is not required for it to be legal, but having a second way to offer Mathurin the same money could be a nice way to force the issue. I'm also not sure how the pending Kawhi deal may affect their cap numbers.
As you note, even before the Klay buyout, they could already trade Gaff (at 17M) for Mathurin at 12M (or any number up to beyond 26.3M). The Klay buyout does keep the bigger numbers for Mathurin from taking them over the tax line. But I'm not a big fan of Mathurin in general, and way disinterested in salary levels in the 20s.
I'm hoping we can take Mathurin out of the equation, and Gaff as well, since that deal could have been done already if they had a deal cooking.
I wanna think about the possibilities now of a lopsided salary trade for someone else. What do they need the most? Who is there that might fit, where they are taking back maybe 9M more than they send out? How about a 2-for1 of Mavs players X + Y for some player making perhaps 9-10M more than the pair? If you consider players like ZR or Aldama as possible filler for such a trade, the possibilities are considerable.