DRAFT: #18 [Green] & #31 [Terry] & trade for #36 [Tyler Bey]

[cjeter24]

P.S. If the Mavs wanted to create space to sign Hayward outright I am almost 100% certain they could do it.

Good point. 

Let's assume the rumors are right and the cap will be set at $109mm. Dallas currently has $110mm in salaries. So basically every dollar they're able to trade away for air is a dollar they can offer to a free agent.

If I'm Dallas, I'd have two goals in this situation: 

1. Do NOT trade players who are free agents in '21 (because we need them to expire to create cap space). 
2. Try to maximize their value while not taking any salary back. The best way to do this is to get picks. But a S&T for another player also works.

The options that meet criteria #1 are Powell (11), Wright (9), Maxi(8.25), Curry(7.8),  and DFS(4). They total about $40mm in salary next year. Dallas obviously wouldn't trade all of them, but they also probably wouldn't have to in order to clear plenty of space to sign a FA like Hayward.

The teams I'd look at for criteria #2 are ones with lots of cap space who might be willing to deal their higher pick for our 2 picks plus a few good players. Let's say Atlanta would trade #6 for 18, 31, Wright, and Maxi. That's a lot of value for one pick that they don't seem too enthused about keeping anyway. Dallas gets a lottery pick, clears enough cap space to sign a guy like Hayward for about $16mm and their '21 cap space is still untouched (pending whatever small salary difference there is between 6 and 18+31).

Now maybe that's not enough money for Hayward to opt out, but you get the idea. Tweak away. But the moral of the story is that I do think there could be ways to clear space for him without depending on a S&T to get it done. And BTW, the same approach could apply to Gallo. Honestly, locking up a scoring wing who is a clear starter while preserving cap space in '21 would be a huge win this offseason, IMO. Even if it takes trading off some of the bench depth to do it.

I think that's a little light for the Mavs to move up all the way to 6 tho. The idea of having someone absorb our salary while moving up also would work with Detroit at 7 and PHX at 10. 

PHX at 10 makes the most sense. 
They have to really want the player to eat the salary otherwise its a net negative for them. They have 16 mill of cap space and likely won't keep any cap holds and could have the minimum 12 on roster where its a clean 16 mill. 

I think Curry would be the most likely guy they would really want. Justin Jackson at 5 mill I believe could be strong armed clearing up about 13 mill in cap space. If you could strong arm them into taking Wright instead (you may need to take back a really small contract) than you are a Jackson expiring dump on someone away from having about 20 mill in cap space. Jackson at only 5 mill I think would be movable with a small asset (future seconds?) and worst case Brunson.

You get your guy at 10 and then sign your free agent at 20mill per. You of course could clear up to about 29 mill of space having Kleber sent away. But I think it's really hard to find any team that has the money to take on even a smallish contract like that without sending something in return or wanting assets which you don't have. It's also not expiring so I think it's tougher than you think to just dump for this summer only. Not meant to slight Kleber in any way. In a non salary dump deal I think he's a clear positive. 

Interestingly enough by my calculations at a flat cap over the next few years I had the Mavs able to keep a max slot for 2021 and have around 20 mill in available cap space to add onto their future cap if they could find a way to trade Curry/Kleber, Wright and Powell. So you would be a Powell salary dump away next summer to having that max slot. 

Is 20 mill enough to sign Gallo? Maybe. What about Van Fleet? Bogdan surely gets matched right? The biggest issue to the plan is finding someone worthy of a big contract and to be here long term. 

Perhaps that is via trade. Maybe orlando wants to dump AG. The facilitator in a big deal trade could work. Gary Harris, Leveret, Bledsoe, Schroder all fit into that salary hole you make (you could just send out Jackson in that deal instead of dumping beforehand. All have been kicked around as possibly being available in a deal.