11-08-2021, 10:35 AM
(11-08-2021, 09:51 AM)SleepingHero Wrote: I think this is the main reason why MFFL's don't really care what Brunson says/wants.
My impression has not been so much that MFFLs don't care what Brunson says/wants, as that the ones who are aware of it don't really want to believe it. Of course, if people really don't care about it, then I surely shouldn't be wasting everyone's time passing it along. (That's cool, it wouldn't be the first time I've introduced a subject people just weren't that interested in, lol.)
How many NBA teams right now would take Brunson over their starting point guard, AND has the resources to offer him a big $ contract this summer?
Looking around, there are little to none that can satisfy both requirements. Only the Pelicans, maybe Pistons, and maybe the Knicks would take him as their starting PG right now and let him run the show. Only one of those, the Pistons, will have more 40 mil in space. Pelicans will be right around 15.5 mil. Knicks about 18.5 mil.
Can't see those teams making Brunson their #1 priority, and even if they do the Mavs have the bird rights to match any deal. Pistons have Cade and their own lottery PG in K.Hayes that makes me dubious that they'd money whip Brunson out of Dallas.
I appreciate your organizing all those thoughts for us. They highlight the fact that he may or may not be able to achieve his ambitions, come this summer. But I don't think we can rule it out, if that's really what he wants. Unexpected situations develop frequently, and there are 29 other teams in the league. It only takes one. It wouldn't even really have to be a team where he slotted in immediately as the #1 guard, if he saw a clear path to getting there in a relatively short time frame. Such a path wouldn't appear to exist in Dallas.
Of course if Brunson truly wants out then there's no stopping him, no matter how much $ Dallas offers.
Which means it doesn't matter what the Mavs do. The only option is to trade him if Brunson has made it clear what his intentions are.
I think that's what it comes down to. If he's really not interested in staying here, then there is no point in making adjustments just to cater to his desires. (Not saying the Mavs are doing that, and don't think that they are.)
I think conventional wisdom is probably that he should be traded this season, but I won't be surprised if he isn't. That isn't Cuban's MO, even if it "should" be, and JB's salary is still so modest (by NBA standards) that there is a fairly low ceiling on what return he could fetch. Still worth a try, though, if he wants to leave anyway.
Maybe we live in a world where we can turn Brunson+KP into Brandon Ingram+Valanciunas...? What a coup that would be!