TDL Archived: The 2nd Rnd Pick Yankee Swap

[mvossman]

So, weak side shot blocker is what I think of with both Maxi and Wood, at least what they would/are best at. 

I wouldn’t say Maxi was all that good with rim protection when he was the only one, but weak side? I think he’s deceptively good at that. I would want both he and Wood on the court playing weak side shot blocker while they are in with McGee. When both are in you’re probably right that Maxi anchors while Wood hunts. Then the moments 1 of them is in with neither of the other 2 they will be forced to play anchor. I don’t expect a lot of minutes of that last scenario, it’ll be more of an in game decision.

With Maxi’s age/back issues (or back expiration date) and with McGee’s limited optimal usage, I think Wood will find himself out there by himself much moreso than the other two, as I don’t think Powell will be more than injury insurance. So I expect that that is some of what Nico and Kidd are saying when they say he’s gonna need to prove some stuff to us.

To change the topic now since we’re talking about Maxi. I don’t see why Maxi at age 31 and with the injury issues he has when he is overplayed and the recurring back issues is worth close to MLE money going forward. He has been worth that money, but back issues never get better as a person ages and if you’re not gonna overpay Brunson, I think Maxi is a worse bet that he’ll live up to the contract than JB. If teams ignore that and are willing to pay MLE money for him, I think there would be better uses for that money.

Also, I’m a big fan of Maxi’s, so it’s not sour grapes, just what I believe is a fair assessment of what he’ll bring to the table going forward. First year in the playoffs Maxi hurt his back in the 3rd game and the difference in play was night and day. Second year he hurt his back just before the playoffs and wasn’t very effective throughout. This year he played what I think was an injury free playoffs and he looked really good. Just not sure what we’re gonna get with him year to year.

If MLE money can get us Bullock who can play 40 mpg as a starter in the playoffs, why are we messing around with paying that same money for a guy that can give you 20-25 mpg throughout the season on 3/4 of the games and be hoping that he gets into the playoffs healthy?

I see the big rotation playing out a little differently than you.  I think when McGee is out there, he will be playing drop coverage and anchor.  There is less reason to have Maxi or Wood out there with McGee defensively, and the McGee/Wood combo is not a great fit offensively.  I see our frontcourt being McGee/Dorian roughly 15-20 minutes a game.  I think Wood and Maxi are a great paring in the front court.  They both can play a switching defense and week side block, Maxi can take on the defensive anchor role while Wood can help make up for Maxi limited rebounding.  On offense Maxi wont be clogging the paint allowing Wood to display his full arsenal.  I'm not saying Wood can't play the Powell role defensively for 5 or 10 minutes a game, but I think every minute he plays with Maxi will be better defensively.

MLE money can't always get us Bullock.  It also got us Powell.  It also got us WCS, Brown and Burke a couple years ago.  I don't think you can count on getting a Bullock every year with the MLE.  I also think Maxi provides particular fit value on this team.  Its not like we are all that off anyways.  You have him at 7, I have him at his current 9, others have him at 11.  That is probably the range of what he will get.

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Donovan Mitchell situation is still hanging.

I could be wrong, but I interpreted that post as sarcasm.