I was right, Kamm was wrong (ab Gobert)

[Dundalis]

I am not sure about this statement. Powell is an all around defender, not great at any part, but also not bad at any part. Gobert is a spacialist at the paint. Powell is far better in team defense, switching, movement, 3pt protection etc. Sometimes, not having gaps in your game, is the best skill you can have.

The metrics simply don't paint Gobert as a pure specialist in the paint though. Powell might be a bit quicker to switch, but there's no shot Powell defends better than Gobert including the 3 point shot. Gobert defends the 3 to a 32.7% clip, vs Powell's 33.9%. Gobert also defends almost double the number of 3 point field goal attempts compared to Powell, so there is no number of shots defended bias. Also people are forgetting Powell has no offense either. I get he managed to shoot 35% on like 40 3 point attempts during the season, but it's not like anyone really guards Powell's shot at all, to where it has any great affect on spacing. Gobert will be the primary person out setting picks anyway, and then rolling just like what Powell does.

There are plenty of defensive metrics that paint a picture of total defense, not simply paint defense alone, and they all show Gobert as elite.

I think all the risks are worth it. The fact is, the chances of us getting that perfect, wart free player to partner Luka during his prime are low. I hope they can pull something better off, but I think he would definitely have a huge regular season impact, and his playoff impact depends a lot on matchups. He can be effective in the playoffs, and has been. He's a well setup to be as successful as he can be with this team I think. Contract is ugly, but I think the Mavs simply don't have many very good options to improve the team any time soon.