(10-27-2026, 12:40 AM)vfromlmf Wrote: "While he does contribute on the defensive end and with rebounding to some degree, he gives it all back with incredibly abysmal shooting (30% overall for the year, and 17% on 3s). With production like that, it's hard to imagine teams lining up to pay him big money once he's available."
Strong disagree. You can't reasonably call out shooting percentages after 4 games but you can easily see ZR is already more impactful than Max. ZR is 20 years old and averaging 30 minutes per game. For reference Hardy never had a four game run averaging 30 min in his career.
Look, ZR has a lot to work on but you can't waste that kind of talent by not picking up his option. He's showing elite defensive traits and can shoot. He's not a star but $17M isn't star money. I love Max but he's just a shooter. If yuo're worried about money, just let Max go.
Your opinion is different than mine overall, fair enough.
But the exercise-the-option-or-not question is not "is ZR better than Max"? It's whether ZR himself is going to be worth 17.4M of your cap, or whether that's going to be an ugly undesirable number clogging the cap and preventing needed roster-building moves elsewhere.
It's clear you think that's a yes. And maybe that's a good call.
I trust you also agree that the abysmal (not even poor, but truly horrendous) shooting is a real issue if it's not fixable. I'm leery of just ignoring that as a big obstacle and assuming the fix is sure to happen (and happen soon enough to make a diff in Dallas - players move around, and about all that's realistic to plan on is what you get now, plus a year or three). The shooting experts in Mavs HQ have to figure it out quickly and make a call. If they do exercise that option, I will have to assume they think he can improve greatly on offense this year from where he is.
But if they see him staying about as is? I would say no thanks on that 17.4M option, and take my chances in free agency.
I certainly recognize the Mavs will also have financial choices to make with Max too. (And many others!) There's no money to waste. Every decision has a ripple effect throughout the roster.
One more thing I keep having to repeat because you seem to ignore it. If the Mavs decline the option, it doesn't mean ZR is (necessarily) out of their future plans. It just means he is out of their plans for 17.4M in 2027-28. But they can still sign him with their Bird rights to a smaller more suitable number to give more years with him to work to develop what's missing in his game, without paying over-the-moon money while taking that path. The reality for him was that ATL was going to decline the option, which is why they gave him away rather than deal with it, and the Mavs picking up that HUGE option has never been a given for him. He's on an extended tryout regardless.