Luxury Tax Hell

[KillerLeft]

I don't think "they could have spent more, but didn't" is a legit Mav criticism at this point. It's not about how much you spend, but how you spend it. I would actually hope the Mavs work to spend efficiently, rather than spend more. And nothing wrong with paying less tax IF you aren't doing so with a disregard for whether this enhances your ability to win a title.

In this case, there's evidence they were prepared to spend a ton on Brunson, and to go deep into tax territory. They didn't run from the tax at all.

But then 1) Brunson preferred NY if the money was right, 2) NY money-whipped him way beyond all expectations (and somewhat remade their entire roster for JB) so that JB became convinced it was his spot and he would be taken care of, and 3) Dallas didn't want to try to money-whip JB even further where his preference changed, but JB didn't care anyhow. It's possible the Mavs had no real shot once Brunson had decided he had seen enough by NY, recognized the commitment, and was going to NY and the money was sufficient to end looking elsewhere.

In addition, we all felt there would be some point at which the JB dollars could no longer make sense. While I think in the long run JB may prove to be a max-level player, I know I'm in the vast minority on his trajectory and do think that sort of deal was way beyond the consensus on his value, so it's an unfair expectation that anyone should have offered him way more than he got. It's fair for the Mavs to have set limits too.

Having said that,
1) I think the jury is out on Cuban's willingness to spend and continue to pay tax,
2) I think we will see ample crossroads ahead where we get indications of whether the Mavs are working smartly with money, or just being cheap,
3) I am NOT convinced the Mavs will make avoiding the tax next summer a priority,
4) there is value in doing what you can to avoid tax when you are close,
5) if they do it next summer, how they get there will be revealing.
I don't think the JB outcome was part of that at all, however.

Agree with all of this, including your projection of Brunson’s future. My feelings stem from my belief that the Mavs are incapable of spending efficiently enough to win on a budget and a small, last-ditch hope that they might be willing to spend more as a method of getting through this rough roster patch more quickly. 

I have said many times that it’s not our money, so we can’t demand it be spent. Overall, I’m right in line with this thinking. I just don’t know that I trust them to work this out at all, let alone in time to make something of their time with Luka. The Brunson disaster took a big bite out of my willingness to give them any benefit of the doubt with that. Now that they really CAN’T add significant salary, that hope is forfeit.