MAVS NEWS:

[mvossman]

Though I wonder whether Jovic truly was available and whether Mavs were interested. I think he´ll have a bounce back season.

Hard to imagine how he would do that here without other moves to clear some minutes.  The last thing this roster needs is another power forward.

[Tyler]

Then it turns out it is enough to fully utilize the full MLE under the tax.

Spotrac has Dallas with $12mm left on the MLE. Wonder what's really going on with Mathurin.

[Smitty]

FWIW cap sheets shows the full buyout amount of Klay and has the Mavs $8,639,064 below the tax line.

Tons of flexibility to make a TDL deal or two and stay under the Tax Line.

Incredible maneuvering for the FO, from just 6 months ago, when it was a grim financial outlook.

The Mavs are now $12,097,601 below the tax line. Which opens up the MLE that they have remaining, $12,044,000. Coincidence?

[Smitty]

The Mavs are now $12,097,601 below the tax line. Which opens up the MLE that they have remaining, $12,044,000. Coincidence?

The Mavs can submit an offer of 4 years $52M to Mathurin. It could force the Clips to match or balk. Add in a PO and/or trade kicker. The fact that the Mavs have opened up a real threat to make a viable offer could also open up real SnT scenarios, that the Clips would consider. Maybe that’s Gafford. Maybe Martin. Who knows. I think Dan has been on this for a while and I’m starting to think there’s something there there.

[mvossman]

The Mavs can submit an offer of 4 years $52M to Mathurin. It could force the Clips to match or balk. Add in a PO and/or trade kicker. The fact that the Mavs have opened up a real threat to make a viable offer could also open up real SnT scenarios, that the Clips would consider. Maybe that’s Gafford. Maybe Martin. Who knows. I think Dan has been on this for a while and I’m starting to think there’s something there there.

Not a fan of the player but starting Mathurin at 12 mil would make it a lot more bearable.

[Tyler]

So I learned today that Grok is awesome for interpreting CBA rules. Its conclusion is that a S&T of Mathurin (starting at $12mm) for Gafford is legal even with some BYC cap nuance. Having the MLE space is not required for it to be legal, but having a second way to offer Mathurin the same money could be a nice way to force the issue. I'm also not sure how the pending Kawhi deal may affect their cap numbers.

[hakeemfaan]

This site over the many years and iterations still remain the best. So many guys with deep knowledge of the cap. DS, SH, Gump. Can’t even list all the folks who seem to know a great deal.

For me even if we had not got any advantage it was the correct thing to do to let him go.

Yes we could have held on much longer to see if any team blinked first but that wouldn’t be doing right by Klay. Klay came here ready to win a title on a stacked team led by Luka. IMO they would have probably won it as well if Nico didn’t go crazy. The current situation is not what he signed up for. Wishing Klay the very best.

[RasheedsBigWhiteSpot]

The Mavs can submit an offer of 4 years $52M to Mathurin. It could force the Clips to match or balk. Add in a PO and/or trade kicker. The fact that the Mavs have opened up a real threat to make a viable offer could also open up real SnT scenarios, that the Clips would consider. Maybe that’s Gafford. Maybe Martin. Who knows. I think Dan has been on this for a while and I’m starting to think there’s something there there.

Of all the overwhelming depth the Mavs have, the biggest positional gap they have is at SG, especially with Klay gone. The Mavs could do a lot worse than working out a way to take a shot on Mathurin. I wonder how much value Martin has and if he could be an outgoing piece. If there's anything I've learned this off-season it's that big names are worth less than I would've thought, while perceived bench players are still valued by GMs in an "eye of the beholder" kinda thing.

[Mavs2021]

The Mavs are now $12,097,601 below the tax line. Which opens up the MLE that they have remaining, $12,044,000. Coincidence?

Obviously not. Klay had his mind set on Miami. Dallas could not find a satisfying player deal. So they told Klay that if he wanted to go there, he had to give up this exact amount of money. 

Then Klay probably told Miami, who theoretically had this amount of money left. In the end Klay sacrificed 3-4M out of his own pocket and the deal was reached.

[Scott41theMavs]

Mathurin for Gaff would change the Mavs' rotation into

Kyrie-Larry-Sasser
Max-Mathurin-Tarik
Flagg-Risacher-Naji-Martin
PJ-Morez
Lively-Aldama-Cisse

...with plenty of available minutes for Flagg, Risacher, Naji, PJ, Morez, Aldama, and Cisse in those times when Lively is injured. I have Mathurin on the initial bench because otherwise Cooper, Kai, and Ben would rack up injuries incurred while fighting over the ball. When Kai is out, then Larry and Sasser would have the chance to develop and incite apology threads, with two decent SGs alongside them with differing skills.

Not a huge fan of Mathurin. Would be a very big fan of him at that contract, and in terms of what a Gaff-Mathurin deal would do to the structure of the team.

[F Gump]

The more interesting thing to me is the other side of it from the Dallas perspective. $9.8mm is an oddly specific number. I wonder if there is any significance to Dallas wanting that much extra cap flexibility.

Mavs remaining MLE is 12.044M. One possibility is that it gets the Mavs payroll to below-tax by a sliver more than that amount (12.362M*).


*Based on exactly 9.8M in savings, but the report was that it is "roughly 9.8M."

[F Gump]

So I learned today that Grok is awesome for interpreting CBA rules. Its conclusion is that a S&T of Mathurin (starting at $12mm) for Gafford is legal even with some BYC cap nuance. Having the MLE space is not required for it to be legal, but having a second way to offer Mathurin the same money could be a nice way to force the issue. I'm also not sure how the pending Kawhi deal may affect their cap numbers.

As you note, even before the Klay buyout, they could already trade Gaff (at 17M) for Mathurin at 12M (or any number up to beyond 26.3M). The Klay buyout does keep the bigger numbers for Mathurin from taking them over the tax line. But I'm not a big fan of Mathurin in general, and way disinterested in salary levels in the 20s. 

I'm hoping we can take Mathurin out of the equation, and Gaff as well, since that deal could have been done already if they had a deal cooking.

I wanna think about the possibilities now of a lopsided salary trade for someone else. What do they need the most? Who is there that might fit, where they are taking back maybe 9M more than they send out? How about a 2-for1 of Mavs players X + Y for some player making perhaps 9-10M more than the pair? If you consider players like ZR or Aldama as possible filler for such a trade, the possibilities are considerable.

[Scott41theMavs]

As you note, even before the Klay buyout, they could already trade Gaff (at 17M) for Mathurin at 12M (or any number up to beyond 26.3M). The Klay buyout does keep the bigger numbers for Mathurin from taking them over the tax line. But I'm not a big fan of Mathurin in general, and way disinterested in salary levels in the 20s. 

I'm hoping we can take Mathurin out of the equation, and Gaff as well, since that deal could have been done already if they had a deal cooking.

I wanna think about the possibilities now of a lopsided salary trade for someone else. What do they need the most? Who is there that might fit, where they are taking back maybe 9M more than they send out? How about a 2-for1 of Mavs players X + Y for some player making perhaps 9-10M more than the pair? If you consider players like ZR or Aldama as possible filler for such a trade, the possibilities are considerable.

You keep saying the Mavs need Gafford because Lively is going to miss 82 games or something like that. They don't need a guy who is overpaid for what he offers at this point. If Lively plays 50 games, Gafford is already a major albatross who eats up minutes needed by Morez, Aldama, and Cisse. 

You and I agree absolutely on no Mathurin in the 20 millions. How about $17 AAV? $15? $12? At the latter two numbers, he'd have to have to stink it up royally not to be a very tradable asset if he doesn't work out, and would still be very tradable at $17 if he played at least as well as he has thus far in his career. 

Unlike Mathurin, I don't look at ZR, Aldama and our other offseason acquisitions as pieces I'm anxious to trade unless the return is very, very rich. We'd be selling low. The whole point is to raise their value considerably. I want to see what they can do for May in a Mavs uniform.  

Cjeter, who does not post on the regular board, was suggesting in the Discord that the Mavs do Gafford and Sasser for RJ Barrett on Sept. 8 when Sasser can be aggregated. I would be fine with Barrett as our SG of the future, but once again, people are missing out on the attraction of Sasser as our POA defender, a decent shooter, and our only guy right now aside from Kai, Flagg, and Naji with proven creational ability. I would want to see what he could do as a Mav before "dumping" him. And the resulting trade would denude the Mavs of much-needed PG play. 

However, if the Mavs were to do that deal, plus the long-forgotten PJ-for-Scoot deal, I would be happy.

Kyrie-Larry-Scoot
Barrett-Max-Tarik
Risacher-Naji-Martin
Flagg-Morez-Aldama
Lively-Morez-Cisse

That of course leaves the Mavs with a roster space - and with the dreaded Martin still on roster. Perhaps not a major issue as long as the team stays healthy. While that team is a wash talent-wise with the Gaff-Mathurin deal - and a lot better than a wash if Scoot amounts to anything - I would probably rather just do Gaff-for-Mathurin if the money is right (i.e. nice low salary for Ben).

[F Gump]

I don't trust Lively's availability at all. I want it to happen, I am thinking he will play to some degree (and hopefully regularly), but not willing to plan on him in ANY way. I just don't see how you can, if you have been paying attention at all to what he's not been able to do for the last two seasons (and even the first one saw him just play 55 and miss 27).

I don't see Gaff as a negative-sized deal. I think his play on the court is a much bigger positive factor than he's generally given credit for in this forum, and that play at that level for that price is not that easy to find. I think he's been undervalued because he's had to compete for appreciation against the "myth of Lively" - but that has only been real for a brief stretch 2 seasons ago, very much made possible by Gaff's addition to take the load off, and then it was gone.  

Whether Morez or Aldama would be a REALISTIC rotation player at C remains to be seen. The Mavs themselves are still non-committal with Cisse. (In a tanking year, he was very usable, but whether that translates to a trying-to-win year is a different question.)

I would not trade Sasser.

The trade I have been wanting to see: the Mavs offering Martin + "something" for a player they can actually use. That "something" could now be a chunk of cap savings (ie,, with Martin you could take back up to a 19M salary). That TYPE of deal has been out there all day long, if you have the cap room to offer, although actually finding the right player that fits the Mavs is uncertain. In theory it might be someone like Braun on the other end, a deal which DEN would definitely embrace, but the length of the contract is way too long to consider. (The same is true with Jovic.)  

I don't really think Mathurin improves the Mavs. He didn't do anything for LAC that I think the Mavs really need. High usage but inefficient, kinda ball-hoggy, a SF who rarely gets an assist. I think in DAL what he does is done better - and the minutes filled - by Flagg and Naji. Would rather give any leftovers at SG/SF to ZR and Tarik in hopes of even better floor spacing, and Mathurin is NOT the guy who can do that for you. 

Nor do I see the Mavs having a fit for Kuminga. Like Mathurin, he's a SF with a meh 3-pt game who is languishing as a FA, and presumably available at some sort of bargain.

[ballsrchr]

I don't trust Lively's availability at all. I want it to happen, I am thinking he will play to some degree (and hopefully regularly), but not willing to plan on him in ANY way. I just don't see how you can, if you have been paying attention at all to what he's not been able to do for the last two seasons (and even the first one saw him just play 55 and miss 27).

I don't see Gaff as a negative-sized deal. I think his play on the court is a much bigger positive factor than he's generally given credit for in this forum, and that play at that level for that price is not that easy to find. I think he's been undervalued because he's had to compete for appreciation against the "myth of Lively" - but that has only been real for a brief stretch 2 seasons ago, very much made possible by Gaff's addition to take the load off, and then it was gone.  

Whether Morez or Aldama would be a REALISTIC rotation player at C remains to be seen. The Mavs themselves are still non-committal with Cisse. (In a tanking year, he was very usable, but whether that translates to a trying-to-win year is a different question.)

I would not trade Sasser.

The trade I have been wanting to see: the Mavs offering Martin + "something" for a player they can actually use. That "something" could now be a chunk of cap savings (ie,, with Martin you could take back up to a 19M salary). That TYPE of deal has been out there all day long, if you have the cap room to offer, although actually finding the right player that fits the Mavs is uncertain. In theory it might be someone like Braun on the other end, a deal which DEN would definitely embrace, but the length of the contract is way too long to consider. (The same is true with Jovic.)  

I don't really think Mathurin improves the Mavs. He didn't do anything for LAC that I think the Mavs really need. High usage but inefficient, kinda ball-hoggy, a SF who rarely gets an assist. I think in DAL what he does is done better - and the minutes filled - by Flagg and Naji. Would rather give any leftovers at SG/SF to ZR and Tarik in hopes of even better floor spacing, and Mathurin is NOT the guy who can do that for you. 

Nor do I see the Mavs having a fit for Kuminga. Like Mathurin, he's a SF with a meh 3-pt game who is languishing as a FA, and presumably available at some sort of bargain.

It's not often I post because I'm just a fan rather than a pro--like some of the guys here.  Generally I'll just "like" a post if it has a few points I agree with.  But this post is pretty damn on point.

It's like a breath of fresh air to have management that seems like they know what to do...and how to do it.  I am encouraged...

[OldMavsFan]

To me the way the FO handled Klay's buyout is one of the slicks deals so far and is something that didn't happen in the Cuban era, that includes Nico's clueless time. They played the Klay buyout and still allowed a future Hall of Famer to get what he wanted, but they didn't have to pay the total cost of another one of Nico's clueless moves. Now we know that they did make Klay and Heat give back enough money, 9.8 million to all them to either not have to pay luxury cap this year or to fit in for trades or signing and still avoid at the next level of the cap issues. I guess we will see if this move is the springboard to another move or moves before camp opens or will they hold off till they see the team on the court and how they fit and maybe till they get Lively on the court and playing or just save and avoid the salary cap this for future play moves. I don't think paying the first level tax is an issue, money wise.

I do think that most people still think they need to add a to the back court, but I tend to think the front office is so sure they don't have players to fill those slots. I will give one example, why couldn't Cooper be the SG, why couldn't he play 10 minutes a game at the two and leave minutes to what most are calling the over staffed back court.

Gafford is an asset, he seems to be completely judged on last season when he sprained is ankle on the first day of camp and they had to rush him back at least a month to soon because Lively couldn't go and poor old AD thought he was still a PF. A healthy Gaff for 24 minutes a game is a lot better than most teams have in the paint. They are excepting calls for him but like the Klay deal aren't going to give him away.

I do wonder if the Mavs will write off the 7.8 million on the Klay buyout this year or split it and it in half and do 3.9 this year and next and do they have to decide now or at the end of the year.

[DanSchwartzgan]

I don’t think it coincidence that the space under the tax now sits just tens of thousands over the MLE value we have left.  It doesn’t mean we have to use the MLE right now.  It could happen much later in the season to sign someone who gets cut.  Dallas has left itself in position to be flexible as it already has a 15 man roster in place while also having options regarding Cisse.

As we learned a couple of seasons ago, they won’t take themselves to just under the tax and hope to stay under it.  Using the full $12mm on someone would take us just under the tax.  But, our salary totals include the full $2mm for Cisse.  One million of that guarantees on 9/1 and the rest on 10/1.  We don’t have to decide this by 9/1 as a $1.0mm cushion would be enough.  But if the intention is to use the MLE to sign an extra player, doing so by 9/1 saves a million dollars that they really don’t need to spend.

Not my theory, but I read somewhere that having the MLE might be leverage to try to get LAC to do something we want them to do.  They have their SG/SF position well covered at this point.  It isn’t a lock they would match a $52mm offer sheet for Mathurin.  The question is whether they would rather have something in a negotiation versus a binary decision with an offer sheet.

I think Masai has surpassed expectations at every turn so far.  Maybe it is Martin instead of Gafford as the outgoing.  Or, maybe he wants an asset with Mathurin for Gafford.  

It is reasonable to ask why this hasn’t happened yet if it was going to happen.  The obvious answer is LAC is waiting for the Kawhi deal to finalize or there is something about what they want to do that requires a larger deal to complete.  That was the theory when they were seemingly pursuing Watson.  We will also get to the point where some players who have restrictions will start to see those restrictions expire.  So, if this were more that a one-for-one deal, that could come into play also.

[JamesConway816]

Just seen that Holger is in Slovenia with Luka. They are working together for his youth basketball initiatives per Stein.

Dirk and Holger still being so close with Luka is what will keep the dream alive for me.

https://x.com/thesteinline/status/2091594431061168335?s=46&t=-bN4oD2OLU_Ue80HIM_CZQ

[DanSchwartzgan]

Not my theory, but I read somewhere that having the MLE might be leverage to try to get LAC to do something we want them to do.  They have their SG/SF position well covered at this point.  It isn’t a lock they would match a $52mm offer sheet for Mathurin.  The question is whether they would rather have something in a negotiation versus a binary decision with an offer sheet.

I think Masai has surpassed expectations at every turn so far.  Maybe it is Martin instead of Gafford as the outgoing.  Or, maybe he wants an asset with Mathurin for Gafford.  

One other thought.  Of the four teams Scotto said had an interest in Mathurin, Chicago had the best ability to make an offer outside of a S&T using their $9.3mm Room Exception.  Dallas leapfrogs that moving to the remaining $12mm of their MLE.

Obviously, anyone could conceivably try to get Mathurin through a S&T.  But, LAC is at 17 guaranteed contracts (Plus NG Christie) after the Kawhi trade and matching an offer (or trading for Okoro, Martin or Gafford) takes them to 18.  So, maybe positioning to be able to make the best offer sheet was the point of the specifics of the Klay buyout.

[SleepingHero]

Risascher can't dribble, he is a 3, not a 2. Naji will be a guard until someone better comes along to reinforce the guard lineup.

He can't create for others if that's what you mean.

When he gets the ball he largely shoots it.

But he CAN dribble, just not in a meaningful way to continue the flow of the offense. Partly a big reason why ATL gave up on him when they did. 

Is that enough of a flaw to give up a #1 pick who can shoot the ball relatively well and has size who is also only 21? I'm not too sure about that.