MAVS NEWS:

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Middleton has arrived...I think they will keep him. He is Kidd's guy so I can see him being a Mav for a long time, maybe the rest of his career

I'm not so sure about that. Injuries have really taken a toll on his game since he won a chip in 21. The same for Klay. He's a good vet to have around though. I just don't know if they decide to keep him or tear it all the way down to the studs to rebuild around CF.

[Chicagojk]

These guys are going to find a way to win all four of these must-lose games.

Bagley is a walking double-double off the bench in limited minutes.  But, I get the feeling he gives them up as fast as he scores them.  Bench scoring has to come from somewhere, but you also need your center to anchor the D.  I see the value in Middleton going forward.  I'm struggling to decide if I'd keep Bagley if Gafford was traded.  I'm personally more fond of Cisse.

Middleton has looked good.   Health will be the thing with him.  He is a little older but by the first few games as a Mavs it looks like a guy who could help a good team.    For the Mavs?  At the moment, it is tough to go into next season with PJ, Marshall, Martin and Middleton.   If you could move one, I could see Middleton being back.  Lets give it more of a runway to see how he does as the season runs down.

Bagley has been impressive on the boards and with his touch inside.   I wish Gafford would throw up the stats Bagley is putting up with rebounds and points.  Would i want him back next year?  That is a tough one.  I would lean no at the moment.    That could change as well.   I have liked the first few games from him though.

I haven't seen anything from Tyus yet, but want to give him more 15-20 games.   At the moment, he is a now for a backup point guard for me.

[Scott41theMavs]

Simply disastrous win. I'm a firm believer that having Tyus, Martin, and Klay anchor the lineup at the end of the game would give the Mavs a chance to lose each of the next three, as long as they can avoid getting into a blowout situation.

[ThisIStheYear]

Middleton has arrived...I think they will keep him. He is Kidd's guy so I can see him being a Mav for a long time, maybe the rest of his career

Simply disastrous win. I'm a firm believer that having Tyus, Martin, and Klay anchor the lineup at the end of the game would give the Mavs a chance to lose each of the next three, as long as they can avoid getting into a blowout situation.

It would be insane to pay Middleton market value as an unrestricted free agent. All he’ll do is eat resources against the cap, tax, and aprons that could actually go to a useful purpose. Middleton will command more than a vet minimum.  The Mavs have no advantage at all signing him. He has no reason to be here. He’s not on the Flagg timeline. He has 1 or 2 years at most left as a decent player. His only role on this team will be to help win a few meaningless games. He was acquired for the purpose of dumping salary.

[Mavs2021]

The Mavs must believe that the lottery is fixed and that ethical tanking will be rewarded, cause this game looked very losable. Middleton 25/7/7. Jeez. No minutes for AJ Johnson. That Pacers line up even suggests Carlisle had this scheduled as a home win.

[DanSchwartzgan]

It would be insane to pay Middleton market value as an unrestricted free agent. All he’ll do is eat resources against the cap, tax, and aprons that could actually go to a useful purpose. Middleton will command more than a vet minimum.  The Mavs have no advantage at all signing him. He has no reason to be here. He’s not on the Flagg timeline. He has 1 or 2 years at most left as a decent player. His only role on this team will be to help win a few meaningless games. He was acquired for the purpose of dumping salary.

I can actually see ways he might be useful.  Every player on the team doesn't have to be 19 years old.  Middleton, Kyrie and maybe Klay and Powell make for a nice grouping of vets who can not only still play, but can be good teaching influences to the young guys (Flagg, 2026, Lively and Christie).  As long as Kyrie is here and as long as we don't control our future picks, Dallas will try to be good next season.  Middleton isn't the worst guy I can imagine taking up a slot for the next couple of years with the right contract.  

I will say that if I kept him, I'd want trading PJ to be part of the equation.  I'm keeping an eye on 2028 cap space as a team building asset.  Middleton on a three year deal with a TO on the third year with PJ sent out would help that scenario (same with trading Gafford).  Flagg, PJ, Naji, Middleton and Martin is just too much investment at the forward position.  But, if you send out PJ for something, it starts to make sense (unless you also draft a forward).  

I'd like to see us work toward Flagg, 2026, Lively, Christie and Naji (with the latter 3 on reasonable extensions) be the main salary commitments we have heading into the summer of 28.  If we trade the longer contracts of PJ and Gafford, I could see it going two ways.  One would be for a younger player or RFA (like Ivey or Mathurin or similar).  The other approach might be an overpaid Vet who expires in 28 (Grant and Dejounte Murray come to mind as you might get an asset in a trade like that).

I think the most likely outcome is we S&T him somewhere using his Bird rights this summer and get a second for our trouble.  But, I think "insane" is an overstatement.  He's a useful guy in the near term and if you can structure a deal in a way that keeps possibilities open, then he's actually someone it makes sense to hang onto.

[Chicagojk]

I don't think it was a perfect PJ game in anyway last night, but I am glad we saw a pulse.   I would love to see him average about 18 and 7 to finish out the season.    One thing I have noticed is Middleton is much better with the ball.    PJ, when he is on, provides other things but Middleton seems much more competant with the ball in his hands.  

I also want to see Gafford finish the year strong.  A near double double will be ideal.    Both guys need to get going.  Either to stay here or via a trade as an asset.

When Cooper is back it will be interesting to see if they settle on a starting lineup or if they just keep switching it up.

[michaeltex]

I can actually see ways he might be useful.  Every player on the team doesn't have to be 19 years old.  Middleton, Kyrie and maybe Klay and Powell make for a nice grouping of vets who can not only still play, but can be good teaching influences to the young guys (Flagg, 2026, Lively and Christie).  As long as Kyrie is here and as long as we don't control our future picks, Dallas will try to be good next season.  Middleton isn't the worst guy I can imagine taking up a slot for the next couple of years with the right contract.  

I will say that if I kept him, I'd want trading PJ to be part of the equation.  I'm keeping an eye on 2028 cap space as a team building asset.  Middleton on a three year deal with a TO on the third year with PJ sent out would help that scenario (same with trading Gafford).  Flagg, PJ, Naji, Middleton and Martin is just too much investment at the forward position.  But, if you send out PJ for something, it starts to make sense (unless you also draft a forward).  

I'd like to see us work toward Flagg, 2026, Lively, Christie and Naji (with the latter 3 on reasonable extensions) be the main salary commitments we have heading into the summer of 28.  If we trade the longer contracts of PJ and Gafford, I could see it going two ways.  One would be for a younger player or RFA (like Ivey or Mathurin or similar).  The other approach might be an overpaid Vet who expires in 28 (Grant and Dejounte Murray come to mind as you might get an asset in a trade like that).

I think the most likely outcome is we S&T him somewhere using his Bird rights this summer and get a second for our trouble.  But, I think "insane" is an overstatement.  He's a useful guy in the near term and if you can structure a deal in a way that keeps possibilities open, then he's actually someone it makes sense to hang onto.

I was just about to write something similar when I got to your post, although without the excellent salary cap projections.

My thought is that Middleton can provide a useful role going forward and provide a tradeable asset in the future. The problem with a lottery-bound team having him, Bagley and the other new guys, is that most of them are playing for their next contract. Playing soft on a tanking team doesn't help their future earnings and may make it difficult to move up in the draft. 

Maybe I'm naive, but we have Flagg, a lottery pick in the '26 deep draft, FRPs through '31 (mostly), and a salary cap that isn't a hindrance on making deals. Throw in tradeable assets and a competent GM to complete the equation. I'd say we have paths to build a contender, especially if Kyrie is anything like he was.

FWIW, before the trade, I would have said NFW do I want Bagley on this team, but I've seen enough to spark an interest. He's not ashamed to score and seems to be efficient in rebounding. IDK if his defense is enough rim protection, but I do like the energy he brings (He was #2 pick for a reason). He's on a VM contract, Middleton is going to take a big cut from his $33M salary, Jones isn't wow-ing anyone and all are expiring. So I think there is cap space to re-sign a couple guys if we want this summer (there is sooo much $$ coming off the books this summer.)

[Chicagojk]

I can actually see ways he might be useful.  Every player on the team doesn't have to be 19 years old.  Middleton, Kyrie and maybe Klay and Powell make for a nice grouping of vets who can not only still play, but can be good teaching influences to the young guys (Flagg, 2026, Lively and Christie).  As long as Kyrie is here and as long as we don't control our future picks, Dallas will try to be good next season.  Middleton isn't the worst guy I can imagine taking up a slot for the next couple of years with the right contract.  

I will say that if I kept him, I'd want trading PJ to be part of the equation.  I'm keeping an eye on 2028 cap space as a team building asset.  Middleton on a three year deal with a TO on the third year with PJ sent out would help that scenario (same with trading Gafford).  Flagg, PJ, Naji, Middleton and Martin is just too much investment at the forward position.  But, if you send out PJ for something, it starts to make sense (unless you also draft a forward).  

I'd like to see us work toward Flagg, 2026, Lively, Christie and Naji (with the latter 3 on reasonable extensions) be the main salary commitments we have heading into the summer of 28.  If we trade the longer contracts of PJ and Gafford, I could see it going two ways.  One would be for a younger player or RFA (like Ivey or Mathurin or similar).  The other approach might be an overpaid Vet who expires in 28 (Grant and Dejounte Murray come to mind as you might get an asset in a trade like that).

I think the most likely outcome is we S&T him somewhere using his Bird rights this summer and get a second for our trouble.  But, I think "insane" is an overstatement.  He's a useful guy in the near term and if you can structure a deal in a way that keeps possibilities open, then he's actually someone it makes sense to hang onto.

If Middleton stays healthy and there is interest in both sides to come back, I think the salary is the tricky part.  Especially at his age and injury history.   It feels like the minimum is too low and the MLE or higher is too high.  We just saw how hard it was to get off guys making 6 million in Hardy and DLO.    No one is touching martin who has more years left at around 10 million.   Give him a too high contract and you are right back in the same spot.

A lot of time left in the season but whether he is back or not, the more important thing is what he salary would look like.

[cow]

If Middleton stays healthy and there is interest in both sides to come back, I think the salary is the tricky part.  Especially at his age and injury history.   It feels like the minimum is too low and the MLE or higher is too high.  We just saw how hard it was to get off guys making 6 million in Hardy and DLO.    No one is touching martin who has more years left at around 10 million.   Give him a too high contract and you are right back in the same spot.

A lot of time left in the season but whether he is back or not, the more important thing is what he salary would look like.

...and if we aren't competing for championships, we might have to overpay to keep him compared to a competitor, should he want to chase additional rings.

[Scott41theMavs]

...and if we aren't competing for championships, we might have to overpay to keep him compared to a competitor, should he want to chase additional rings.

If they really like him, they should 1) play him sparingly, to hide him from other teams, or 2) at least not play him very much to avoid unwanted wins (cf. freaking yesterday). To me, playing him looks like a favor to his agent. Who reps him, anyway?

[cow]

If they really like him, they should 1) play him sparingly, to hide him from other teams, or 2) at least not play him very much to avoid unwanted wins (cf. freaking yesterday). To me, playing him looks like a favor to his agent. Who reps him, anyway?

Still a lot of talent on our team even if the construction is poor.  We either should have done more at the TDL to worsen the team or it's time for a bunch of season ending surgeries.