2021-2022 ROSTER TALK: [ARCHIVED]

[michaeltex]

JB is definitely a good player. Steady, reliable. He proved he was starter material once THJ went down and was integral to the post-New Year success. But in April, although we wanted him back, nobody was talking about $25M+ per year. Even $20M/year was considered steep.

Then Luka got hurt in game 82 (stupid move, IMO) and DAL had to play a UTA team that was a lot of offense and limited on defense. So JB played well with Luka out and really went off in the last 2, which got the media talking. Then JB pretty much reverted to mid-season form once Luka was back doing Luka things. 

So now there is a narrative that JB is worth max or near-max money because he's a steady player and stood out for a couple of games when given the chance. I'm not the smartest mind here, but I think JB's team has been able to gin up a bidding war between NYKs and DAL that will result in a contract someone will be looking to unload in the next few years for a new shinier toy. Yea for JB! I hope he gets paid well.

If NYKs are banking on JB producing like in the UTA series, good luck. He's going to actually be more like the PHX series. A good part of the team, but not transcendent. And probably not a first choice when building a team.

But personally, I'm ready to move on with the hopes of getting something useable from an SnT, maybe including a 2023 FRP to give DAL flexibility in future trades. You could even say that getting Reddish would be like getting one of the Luka picks back, so the draft day trade would really be just Luka for Trae.