MAVS NEWS:

[F Gump]

It is a strange thing to pay someone $1.0mm for 3 weeks of work...even a long term locker room leader like Powell.  It gets my spidey sences thinking through possibilities.  Maybe they feel they need more than just the current cast of centers for the portion of the season Lively will miss.  It might be that they just don't feel comfortable with Gafford/Rookie/Cisse - especially is someone gets hurt.

So, what would be a possible solution and why hasn't it happened already?

My thoughts go to Martin.  Detroit has Robinson at $16mm this season, but only $2.0mm is guaranteed right now.  They are still working with Duren on a deal.  Would Martin at $10mm be more valuable to them than Robinson at $16mm?  Maybe.  It would give them a bit more room under the tax for the eventual Duren signing (which could be why it isn't done already).

Can you bump Robinson's guaranteed up a little and move him for Martin.  Dallas cuts him and is back to 15 spots.  Both teams are helped and Dallas is still way under the tax with flexibility for later deals.

Interesting hypothetical. 

It's obvious how DAL would be motivated -- they would be swapping Martin at 10-ish for Robinson (to be waived at 5-ish) and DP (minimum).

DET is a bit iffier. They would move from 16 to 10, but they could alternately move from 16 all the way to 2 by simply waiving Robinson, then sign him back at the minimum or sign someone else at the minimum and be way better off financially than they would be by doing the DAL deal. And if they resign him, they retain shooting they badly need. The question is whether they would rather spend more so they can have Martin. (I doubt it, but I am biased against Martin, so not a fair judge of what his value might be.)

But I like and hope they have somehow found a taker for Martin.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Rod Harrod: @KevinGraySports asked Kyrie Irving why Dallas is the best place for him: “I was talking to my family about this yesterday. Just kind of reminiscing on the changes from the last few years and how it’s impacted me and how it’s impacted Dallas in general. I’m not going to shy away from this; it’s been a little chaotic at times inside the locker room as well as outside the locker room.” Dusty May gives a Kyrie Irving injury update: “I have no reference point of seeing him practice before, but I can’t imagine that this is as close to 100% as he can be. He played well. He was engaged.”

Twitter

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Interesting hypothetical. 

It's obvious how DAL would be motivated -- they would be swapping Martin at 10-ish for Robinson (to be waived at 5-ish) and DP (minimum).

DET is a bit iffier. They would move from 16 to 10, but they could alternately move from 16 all the way to 2 by simply waiving Robinson, then sign him back at the minimum or sign someone else at the minimum and be way better off financially than they would be by doing the DAL deal. And if they resign him, they retain shooting they badly need. The question is whether they would rather spend more so they can have Martin. (I doubt it, but I am biased against Martin, so not a fair judge of what his value might be.)

But I like and hope they have somehow found a taker for Martin.

Maybe it's just me, but I find it hard for Detroit to move on from Robinson, as much as they need 3pt shooting.  Martin doesn't offer them that.

[Scott41theMavs]

Maybe it's just me, but I find it hard for Detroit to move on from Robinson, as much as they need 3pt shooting.  Martin doesn't offer them that.

Martin doesn't offer anything.

[F Gump]

Dusty May gives a Kyrie Irving injury update: “I have no reference point of seeing him practice before, but I can’t imagine that this is as close to 100% as he can be. He played well. He was engaged.”

There's a significant typo in the above quote as posted in this citation on Twitter. What DM actually said (the interview q-and-a is online in multiple places) is:

Dusty May's Kyrie Irving injury update: “I have no reference point of seeing him practice before, but I can’t imagine that this isn't as close to 100% as he can be. He played well. He was engaged.” 

The point being, Kyrie is looking great, and DM can't imagine how he could possibly be slowed at all (from before) because he's practicing at such a high level.

[Knutsen]

Growing an inch taller doesn't make him any tougher matchup than if he were 6'9.  Nothing changes.

Sure it does, as long as he doesn’t lose speed or agility because of it. 

It’s simply physics - just ask Holger Geschwindner! 

He’s seeing better over the defense, shooting better over the defender, grabbing more rebounds and blocking more shots - it’s in the margins, but the NBA with this level of skills and athleticism is a game of margins. And being a good one per cent taller than before is a nice margin.

Some added statistics:

6’9” makes you around the 78th percentile in the NBA sizewise.

6’10” gets you up to the 89th percentile.

And the number of players taller than Cooper in the league is more than halved, from 16 per cent to 6 per cent (the players 6‘11“ and taller). 

I did this analysis with Gemini, so maybe there’s a little deviation here and there, but you get the trend, right?

[Scott41theMavs]

Sure it does, as long as he doesn’t lose speed or agility because of it. 

It’s simply physics - just ask Holger Geschwindner! 

He’s seeing better over the defense, shooting better over the defender, grabbing more rebounds and blocking more shots - it’s in the margins, but the NBA with this level of skills and athleticism is a game of margins. And being a good one per cent taller than before is a nice margin.

Some added statistics:

6’9” makes you around the 78th percentile in the NBA sizewise.

6’10” gets you up to the 89th percentile.

And the number of players taller than Cooper in the league is more than halved, from 16 per cent to 6 per cent (the players 6‘11“ and taller). 

I did this analysis with Gemini, so maybe there’s a little deviation here and there, but you get the trend, right?

Thank you.

Love what Hoosier brings to the board, but the comment was ludicrous.

[Chicagojk]

https://x.com/sixfivelando/status/210427...83254?s=46

[meistermatze]

https://x.com/sixfivelando/status/210427...83254?s=46

I really can't envision the Landlord becoming a stretch-5, but hey, I'd love to be proven wrong. Lively has all the tools except for shooting, but unlike Gafford, he hasn’t shown that he can stay healthy. Gafford was mostly available, besides last season. So yeah, maybe it makes sense to bank on Gafford.

[Winter]

I really can't envision the Landlord becoming a stretch-5, but hey, I'd love to be proven wrong. Lively has all the tools except for shooting, but unlike Gafford, he hasn’t shown that he can stay healthy. Gafford was mostly available, besides last season. So yeah, maybe it makes sense to bank on Gafford.

I could see it one sense. With our current lineup it's not critical Gafford play in the box now, especially if someone like Morez is in the lineup. He may have diffculty out there, but I wouldn't mind seeing it tried.

There are all sorts of possibilities I could see. For instance, I could imagine Aldama as a starting center. I could imagine both Sasser and Larry playing together in a particluar rotation or Biberovic playing as a guard. The coach has signalled that he wants to see which three-player rotations play well together so there's lots of possibilities. There are some redundancies too, so I could imagine that it's going to take most of the season to see how it plays out.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

League sources tell The Stein Line that the Mavericks have conveyed to Powell that they intend to make a true effort to explore pathways to keep the team's longest-tenured player active (dating to December 2014) even though it is difficult to see one at the moment. Dallas' most sheddable salaries, if we can use that term, are possessed by a trio of players management very much wants to keep: Tarik Biberović, Marcus Sasser and Moussa Cissé. Marc Stein: Guys: There is NO way they would waive (Tarik Biberovic). The point of what was written is that the three smallest contracts belong to players Dallas loves … Tarik at the top of that list. That’s why it’s going to be so hard to make room for Powell.

x.com

marcstein.substack.com

[michaeltex]

Here's a dose to tide you over until they start playing games...

9/27/2026

[Chicagojk]

I don't believe Gafford is going to be shooting threes. Although, I do believe this is something May is going to look for his centers to do.

[dirkfansince1998]

I don't believe Gafford is going to be shooting threes.    Although, I do believe this is something May is going to look for his centers to do.

Even Drummond is taking 3s these days so it's obviously a possibility but I am not going to get my hopes up. As of now it's just another offseason rumor. Only thing missing is a clip of Gafford in an empty gym.

[cow]

I don't believe Gafford is going to be shooting threes.    Although, I do believe this is something May is going to look for his centers to do.

While I don't see it either and excluding our new guys, I think he'd be the most willing of our centers to make attempts.  We've heard similar buzz about Lively the previous two off seasons and that amounted to almost nothing.  It would be interesting to see how Lively would injure himself shooting a three though.

[F Gump]

League sources tell The Stein Line that the Mavericks have conveyed to Powell that they intend to make a true effort to explore pathways to keep the team's longest-tenured player active (dating to December 2014) even though it is difficult to see one at the moment. Dallas' most sheddable salaries, if we can use that term, are possessed by a trio of players management very much wants to keep: Tarik Biberović, Marcus Sasser and Moussa Cissé. Marc Stein: Guys: There is NO way they would waive (Tarik Biberovic). The point of what was written is that the three smallest contracts belong to players Dallas loves … Tarik at the top of that list. That’s why it’s going to be so hard to make room for Powell.

x.com

marcstein.substack.com

To me, this feels like an unsaid "we will have room if we can find someone to take Martin, and we are still trying to find that taker." 

While I find DS's idea intriguing, a closer look at DET payroll shows they are not at all in a payroll squeeze. Without Duren, they are only at about 154M incl DR, and adding Duren at 200M still leaves them more than 10M below the tax.

But the dream would be to find some other team who would want CM.

[Smitty]

But the dream would be to find some other team who would want CM.

Or some team is willing to give a FRP for Lively? Those extension talks, albeit just one "report", seem to have come and gone. Maybe Rich Paul is as delusional as some Mavs fans and demanding MLE+ AAV? Sell high, before the league figures out he might not play another NBA game?

I'm mostly kidding of course. BUT I wouldn't hate a Lively for first round pick trade. Not to add DP... Just to sell high and get out of the Lively "is he walking yet?" business.

[Scott41theMavs]

To me, this feels like an unsaid "we will have room if we can find someone to take Martin, and we are still trying to find that taker." 

While I find DS's idea intriguing, a closer look at DET payroll shows they are not at all in a payroll squeeze. Without Duren, they are only at about 154M incl DR, and adding Duren at 200M still leaves them more than 10M below the tax.

But the dream would be to find some other team who would want CM.

I would be dynamically pissed if any of the other 14 were cut for Powell (especially Cisse and Biberovic), so I hope you're right.

[Chicagojk]

Morez has been limited in the first few days of practice

https://x.com/MikeACurtis2/status/2104627409328775610

[michaeltex]

I would be dynamically pissed if any of the other 14 were cut for Powell (especially Cisse and Biberovic), so I hope you're right.

I agree. DP has been a beacon of loyalty and dedication. He's a tribute to all those bench players that never make it to the headlines. 

That said, I'm ready for a break from the old and to see what the new group of guys can build together. I'm hoping they can come together and surprise a lot of nay-sayers, but I'm realistic enough to be happy with a 40-win team and a base to build from for the next several seasons.