TDL Archived: The 2nd Rnd Pick Yankee Swap

[F Gump]

Projected salary cap next year is $133 million
According to Hoops Hype our salaries caried into next season total $127,328,422
Get rid of THJ $17,897,728
Get rid of Bertans $17,000,000
Total Space 40,569,306

So instead of telling me "we've talked about it before" how about tell me where the math is wrong. Obviously we will have to pay Wood and Maxi if we want to keep them, but the point is we gain flexibility to elevate our roster to championship level.

Okay. The basic issue is that's not a realistic picture, because (1) you're doing more than just trading RW, as in the process you also can't do needed moves to keep Wood, Maxi, or Green, and (2) it's good contract numbers but a wrong CAP number since empty roster spots cost you cap room.

PURE MATH -- Exercising the Green option (which we'll know in Oct before the season begins, but I find likely) and accounting for the empty roster slots after a RW trade-and-walk leaves the team with 7 players in the summer and about 30M in cap room. That's less than the lowest max. BUT no cap rights or cap holds on Wood or Kleber, so they will be lost. Bottom line -- You can't still have this 2022-23 team minus just THJ and Bertans (and Powell, of course) and get to the 30M.

REALISTIC NUMBER FOR ROSTER BUILDING -- If (as I think they really need to do) they extend Wood (his max starting salary for an extension is ~17M.2M) and Kleber (his max starting salary for an extension is 10.8M which should be close to the 2023 MLE) during the season before they get to free agency (this prob works best mid-season imo), there's no 30M. You can whittle on my numbers a little, but I think they're in the right ballpark for each, and you have no usable cap room left.

IF THEY TAKE THE CAP ROOM OVER WOOD/MAXI - What's the value of that 30M? It's a free agent class that might not have more attractive pieces available for the Mavs (within that spending limit) than having both Wood and Kleber solving your stretchy big man needs. But if you wait to July and circle back to them, you're now competing with all the other teams and whatever they want to pay - you have no particular advantage. Kinda like Brunson approach --  c'mon, we wanna play this game again? Of course, if Wood and Kleber suck, you aren't extending them, but we're working on the assumption they are useful and needed, and would leave a big hole or two if they walked. You can't get ahead by filling a hole in one place and making one somewhere else to do it.