MAVS NEWS:

[SleepingHero]

@MavsFilmRoom
“I expect PJ to be extended next month.”

Tim MacMahon on the DLLS Mavs show

That's pretty huge. PJ has been one of our best contributors.

[Smitty]

I don't think it's that big of a surprise. 

There's no telling with Nico. It's still not done until it's done. This is the first semi-official "report" or strong opinion from a Mavs reporter at the very least. Of course, the folks around here have been confident he'd get extended, otherwise he'd probably be traded by now.

As one of the biggest PJ supporters, long before he was a Mav, this at the very least gives me a slight sigh of relief.

[myconsumerclub]

lineups with PJ and Cooper will be very interesting. Luka and PJ played well together and I think the new pairing will be equally if not more so exciting to watch.

Somebody do a poll on who you are most interested in watching this first game, other than Cooper. I say that because everyone would of course pick Cooper.

After Cooper I am most excited to watch Nemhard but I may be very interested in seeing the Auburn Kid Kelly and or Cisse and Sharp if they get in the game any. We have some size and talent in this years summer league so we may be winning the SL Cship this year.

[Scott41theMavs]

I don't think it's that big of a surprise. Good, but not surprising. We know Harrison asked PJ if he could play with Flagg. 

It seems like the plan is to get everyone locked up in a sustainable way, see how Flagg fits and then figure out what they need. Depending on what was out there this summer (which we can't know from our POV), that's not a bad plan at all.

I was concerned they were going to look at him as expiring trade bait, tbh.

[KillerLeft]

I was concerned they were going to look at him as expiring trade bait, tbh.

Yeah, but I would've been fine with that, depending on the return. This way works, too. 

I just took note when Harrison said "I asked PJ: Can you play with this kid?"...or something to that effect. I kind of decided then that this news was coming. The real question is: what will the extension look like?

[KillerLeft]

Who is the offensive coach now? I view Vogel and Kidd as more defensive coaches, but somebody has to be able to put together an offensive plan, not just roll out the ball and let them go do what they do.

Good question. I'm not sure, but I don't think Sweeney was doing an irreplaceably good job.

[loki]

lineups with PJ and Cooper will be very interesting. Luka and PJ played well together and I think the new pairing will be equally if not more so exciting to watch.

On paper it seems like an ideal fit. As others have mentioned, Flagg might be best suited defensively as a 4 where he's an elite help defender. PJ is more than capable of guarding opposing 3's (Kidd isn't even afraid to stick him on SGA). Offensively it's the opposite. PJ doesn't have the perimeter skills to be an effective 3, but Flagg clearly does. 

I expect them to get plenty of minutes together in closing lineups. Long term it may best to put PJ back in the starting lineup and slide AD to center, but I don't see that happening until Gafford is traded. Otherwise there aren't enough minutes to keep all three of AD/Lively/Gafford happy (and maintain their trade value).

[F Gump]

@MavsFilmRoom
“I expect PJ to be extended next month.”

Tim MacMahon on the DLLS Mavs show

TM is guessing. But he's reading the very same things we have already mentioned here -- ie, that the Mavs and PJ have undoubtedly already figured it out, and he would have been shopped and traded in trade season (early July, when teams are active and rosters are not full) if no deal was looming.

[F Gump]

Yeah, but I would've been fine with that, depending on the return. This way works, too. 

I just took note when Harrison said "I asked PJ: Can you play with this kid?"...or something to that effect. I kind of decided then that this news was coming. The real question is: what will the extension look like?

Salary due to extension limits can't start at a number that begins with a 2 in this case. IIRC the total including all possible bonuses must be 91 or less. 

As I have said before, I would like to see less than 3/60 or 4/80 to be comfortable that he's going to continue to be good value. I think for some, just getting a deal which must be within the 4/91 limits is a bargain, but I'm not in that camp.

[KillerLeft]

Salary due to extension limits can't start at a number that begins with a 2 in this case. IIRC the total including all possible bonuses must be 91 or less. 

As I have said before, I would like to see less than 3/60 or 4/80 to be comfortable that he's going to continue to be good value. I think for some, just getting a deal which must be within the 4/91 limits is a bargain, but I'm not in that camp.

Thanks. So "extension" (if it happens), by definition, puts a significant ceiling on the worst case scenario. 

I think my "value range" on PJW depends on what everyone's role is. I know we all point to injuries/depth and I obviously agree that's a huge factor and consideration with team building, but I want to know who's gonna be a starter, who's gonna get 25-30 minutes off the bench and who's gonna be wondering if/when they'll get a chance to play big minutes in plan A.

[Chicagojk]

Extending PJ would make an already good offseason better. Fact is that getting Flagg already made it a great offseason. Potentially franchise altering. Adding extensions with Gafford and PJ is just icing on the cake. Both would be on solid deals. Maybe Nico’s vision blows up in his face. Even if it doesn’t there is a good chance that one or more of Pj, Gafford and AD are not here in 18 months. The extensions just gives them time to not make a move at the wrong time.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Good question. I'm not sure, but I don't think Sweeney was doing an irreplaceably good job.

Sweeney was the defensive coordinator. That's why Vogel didn't want to join the staff until he left.

[myconsumerclub]

Good point about how they play PF/SF each but seem to have strengths that compliment each other to cover what the other is weak at.

If there are 3 centers and one that wants to play PF then you may want to play AD at center for 1/2 to 1/3 of his minutes. Then allow Lively to play at PF some as well.

Make him uncomfortable as Kidd would say. I have a feeling Cooper is going to be good as a PG because, his numbers at the combine indicate he can flat move and take the ball where he wants to take it.

Biggest bottle neck is at PG when Irving comes back and yeah you can use Exum and D Lo at SG, but Irving Nembhard and BWill are all going to be PG's due to size restrictions. Klay and Max are probably more suited to play at the 3. Problem for them is Cooper and PJ playing there when one of them is not at the 4 or PG. Kidd will probably play every weird lineup he can imagine so I expect a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth as he drives us all insane with his crazed acid tripping experimentation.

[Smitty]

@noahweber00
Mark Cuban just talked about Dereck Lively II potentially taking 2-3 threes per game next season and giving Dallas the ability to play five-out.

[SleepingHero]

@noahweber00
Mark Cuban just talked about Dereck Lively II potentially taking 2-3 threes per game next season and giving Dallas the ability to play five-out.

This feels like the same storyline each summer since they've drafted Lively. 

I'm pretty much in the "I'll believe it when I see it" category. 


If Lively can take 2-3 threes per game AND hit ~35% or better on them, that sort of radically changes everything with this lineup.


Suddenly 5-out is possible even with Lively+AD on the court.

[KillerLeft]

They’ve been playing 5-out quite a bit, actually. With Lively at the top, operating as a dribble hand-off hub. I assume Davis is just as good at it, if not better. I suppose you could say that Lively needs to shoot threes in order for them both to be on the court at the same time, but it’s pretty easy to get there with either/or without either having to be a threat from deep, really. Lively shooting 3's (to the extent Davis can, at least) would allow for the two to be used interchangeably, which could be confusing for defenses and advantageous when creating mismatches, but honestly they can play 5-out really well right now but playing only one of them. And ideally, you wouldn't want them to be the shooters in that offense - they'd be the handlers. I imagine we'll see this a lot since all of their PG types are now arguably as good or better off ball (except maybe Exum).

[Chicagojk]

So how do these things work? From what I understand the Gafford signing has not been made official. Is there typically an announcement? Can he be officially extended and just no announcement? If not, why would this be not announced yet? Any reason why it is taking longer?

I don't believe Exum has officially re-signed. From what I believe they cannot sign him until they make a roster spot. Eventhough they can bring extra bodies into camp, I think the Mavs don't have room to sign another player to a minimum. Is that right?

[F Gump]

So how do these things work?  From what I understand the Gafford signing has not been made official.  Is there typically an announcement?  Can he be officially extended and just no announcement?  If not, why would this be not announced yet?  Any reason why it is taking longer?

I don't believe Exum has officially re-signed.  From what I believe they cannot sign him until they make a roster spot.  Even though they can bring extra bodies into camp, I think the Mavs don't have room to sign another player to a minimum.  Is that right?

1 Yes they make an announcement when an extension is signed, with bells and whistles. No Gafford news yet. No way to know why it has not yet happened. There can be delays for mundane reasons, sometimes, but no way to know what this is.

2 Exum cannot be signed until they move a player (ie salary) off the roster somehow. They are hard-capped at A2 and close to it. No room for another salary, even at the minimum. We've discussed this at length already.

Training camp bodies don't count against the cap until regular season (if they are still on the roster), so those don't matter.

[KillerLeft]

1 Yes they make an announcement when an extension is signed, with bells and whistles. No Gafford news yet. No way to know why it has not yet happened. There can be delays for mundane reasons, sometimes, but no way to know what this is.

2 Exum cannot be signed until they move a player (ie salary) off the roster somehow. They are hard-capped at A2 and close to it. No room for another salary, even at the minimum. We've discussed this at length already.

Training camp bodies don't count against the cap until regular season (if they are still on the roster), so those don't matter.

For point 1, I'd caution folks not to fret or dream up convoluted reasons. To add to your point, it could literally be anything. Like, Gafford might just be in Cancun on vacation and they literally just might not have found a convenient time for him to sign yet. 

I have a question about point 2. I heard Stein say that Exum can be signed without the move that makes it legal being made. His point at the time was along the lines of your "camp bodies" point, as in they can sign Exum and then figure out how to make it all legal by the cutdown date, which raised an eyebrow from me. I'm assuming he's wrong, and there's some type of financial or contractual stylistic differentiator between Exum's situation and those camp body types, but can you clarify that a bit?

[F Gump]

I have a question about point 2. I heard Stein say that Exum can be signed without the move that makes it legal being made. His point at the time was along the lines of your "camp bodies" point, as in they can sign Exum and then figure out how to make it all legal by the cutdown date, which raised an eyebrow from me. I'm assuming he's wrong, and there's some type of financial or contractual stylistic differentiator between Exum's situation and those camp body types, but can you clarify that a bit?

Stein said that the Mavs can add Exum as the 16th contract because you can have up to 21 NBA contracts until the season starts. That's true, as it pertains to roster numbers.

But he didn't directly speak to the hard cap issue. That has to be considered too.

On the hard cap, the issue is Team Salary, which is calculated every day, and when you have a hard cap, your Team Salary can never exceed that number, even in the off-season. No exceptions, ever. Certain calculations are different in Team Salary for Apron Purposes. Summer contracts (E10) are not counted before the season starts, as they are almost always just a route to a team's GL squad.

Mavs' Team Salary right now is close to A2, and there is not enough room to add any player, even at the minimum. So while the rules generally would allow them to add up to 6 more players in the off-season, until they make a payroll-clearing move, they can add no one else on an NBA deal. A contract for Exum has to wait.