I was right, Kamm was wrong (ab Gobert)

[mvossman]

Of course, as we’ve learned, THJ has no marginal value to Dallas other than what he could bring in a trade. We haven’t missed him at all, in fact the team’s fortunes took off, once he was injured. And Gobert is a far better player and better fit for Dallas, who’s main weakness is interior defense and rebounding, than KP was.  Powell is a nice role player for 20 minutes a game—good pick and role player with below average defense and rebounding. I like him, but he’s no Gobert (an all star). There’s no doubt swapping those players improves Dallas.  How much and would Cuban pay the freight are the real questions.  The Mavs wouldn’t be trading for Gobert to trade him. It would be to complete the team. He’s far less risky of a bet than the injury prone, unproven, KP.

I disagree with the notion that THJ has no marginal value to Dallas.  The fact that the Mavs got better after he went down feels more like correlation than causation.  There were a lot of factors involved.  He started out cold like the rest of the team (and the NBA as a whole) and was starting to find his shot when he got hurt.  My guess is that he would have been really handy this last series when Din can't get to the rim much, stretching the floor was at a premium and Bullock was putting in over 40 minutes a game.  I realize he is not an ideal fit in Kidd's system and that he is the most suggested player to trade because of that, but this team would be better with him healthy.