02-07-2021, 10:02 AM
(02-07-2021, 08:58 AM)DanSchwartzman Wrote: Not meaning to turn the game thread into a trade thread, but who is the logical 9th guy currently on the roster. Some will argue Willie, but they are arguing Willie "instead of", not "in addition to". There really isn't a good option IMHO. I wonder if Thaddeus Young could provide more than we get out of Johnson. The $6 million he's owed in 21/22 is an issue for Chicago's plans to keep LaVine. It's a tweak, but a bench of Brunson/THJ/Powell/Young would help. It would also keep you from having to run Finney out there for 35 minutes. Young is a very good passer and perimeter defender. The question is whether he can rediscover his 3 point shot (which has historically also been better than Johnson's).
As for existing rotation, Green should be the 9th guy (I would actually put him even higher in rotation) imho. If Mavs decided to go the rookie way they have to play him. Otherwise it was stupid not trading the pick. No one can develop by sitting on the bench.
As for trades, I don't think we need the 9th guy, we have plenty of those. It's not like Johnson/WCS/Bobi/Burke/Green are unplayable. "Problem" is, they should be vet min guys but they are not - their salaries should be spent in the top8 rotation. I think we need to improve one of the top five, preferably using 9th and lower guys to do that. Trading Johnson for Young is very marginal improvement imho. And I like Young.
I still think Brunson is redundant. He is not really doing well leading the offense, he mainly takes care of his own shot and he is good at it. But we need another creator. Offense just dies once Luka sits and Mavs will wear him down before playoffs playing him 38 minutes per game. Playing both Burke and Brunson becomes a defensive problem because they are both small as also showed against GSW when Burke had to guard Oubre. Brunson might be a very good floor general in another system, but it is not working in Mavs one, at least not this season.
Kleber and DFS are both great guys and we need their defense. But their offense is extremely limited, basically reduced to catch and shoot threes. That would be good enough, if only JRich and KP would be more than catch and shoot guys. But they are not showing to be able to be more. This way offense becomes as one dimensional as it is, totally depending on Luka. There is literally no one else able to draw two defenders on him and create space for others.
Being said all that, I think there is big flexibility in our team and neither individual piece would be greatly missed if we can replace him by someone more fitting to our needs. What we need are secondary creation, toughness and vet leadership. Or perhaps, system is the problem.