TDL Archived: The 2nd Rnd Pick Yankee Swap

[KillerLeft]

I think the negatives you mention outweigh the positives.  He can't punish small players, he can't create for himself or others, and he is not a dominate defensive force.  He does not really address our biggest needs and he would be costing our most valuable assets we have (potential post Luka firsts).  That trade also makes the two picks we have left even less valuable because they are still in the Luka years and adding a young quality center (while not making us a contender) makes it much less likely we will crater.  

I don't send out those two picks unless its for a game changer, and I don't think Ayton fits that description.

I think I'm still in your camp on this, ultimately. However, my thinking has changed on the emboldened part a little. As I've written many times in many different ways, I'm about speed, agility and intelligence to go along with length when I choose a center, but there are still many who care a lot about strength and physicality down there. I have to admit that if those folks are right to value that stuff more than I do, Ayton sure seems like a close to ideal balance of all the attributes mentioned. I wonder how long his feet will stay quick enough to be relevant, but after watching some of his highlights I think they're within the "effective range" currently. I believe he's much more effectively mobile on defense than Porzingis, for example. I think I've reached the conclusion that he'd be a game changer, defensively. 

But yeah, those two picks would stick in my craw quite a bit. Not so much on a "fair value for Ayton" scale, but definitely in a "now what" way from the Mavs' perspective once the deal is done. 

I really think it's best to hoard draft capital until an absolute no-brainer of a deal comes up. One that justifies spending more than two picks, probably. I just think we'd be miserable going through another 4-5 years with no draft capital to spend if they empty the coffers again for someone like Ayton. Still, I'm closer on this than I was yesterday, initially.