(11-30-2021, 10:32 PM)sterlingmallory Wrote: The post I quoted is definitely advocating using him as a rotation piece. I really don't think Bullock's 5.4 million guaranteed in year 3 is that much of an albatross anyway. Maybe if he was guaranteed a full 4 years. His contract is solid if he can get back to anywhere near where he was before he came here. As bad as he's been, if you decided you really want to give up on him already, then I guarantee you could convince another team that this year is an outlier and get some value back.
Plus the difference between his and Kemba's contract is like 1 million per year this year and next and then the 5.4 mil in year 3. That's basically nothing. Definitely not something that's going to kick start a rebuild.
Think chess instead of checkers. You need big and small moves for a rebuild. Knicks are going to try to move Kemba to keep him and his agent happy. His value is negative because Thibs yanked him from the rotation. We have a salary matching piece that we know works will in New York's system and thus far has been a disappointment, especially considering the bloated contact we gave him. But we have the advantage that we haven't yanked Bullock from the rotation. So tell NY if they want that swap, to sweeten the pot. We've worked with New York in the past and if the rumors are true, the KP trade happened because the Mavs inquired about THJ. KP was a happy accident in that regard. What if it worked out like:
-Knicks offer Kemba for Bullock.
-Mavs counter with Kemba + owed '23 FRP for Bullock.
-Knicks counter with Kemba + owed '23 FRP for Bullock + Brunson
-Mavs counter with Kemba + Robinson + owed '23 FRP for Bullock + Brunson
-Knicks say Robinson is off the table but would love Brunson.
-Mavs counter with Kemba + owed '23FRP for Powell + Brunson.
Or it could play out a dozen other ways. And speaking of making Kemba's agent happy, Mavs are one of the few contending teams that could offer him minutes if he still has anything in the tank. He certainly may be completely washed but he would have a legitimate opportunity to contribute.