Game 3: Dallas Mavericks (1-1) vs San Antonio Spurs (0-2) | 7:00 CST

[Scott41theMavs]

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.

Sure is a shame when F Gumps throw away a perfectly good French boy like that.