01-09-2023, 02:31 PM
(01-09-2023, 02:21 PM)StrandedOnBeauboisHill Wrote: I kind of feel the idea of getting Lavert isn't a talent to talent comparison and is simply a matter of getting off of Hardaway's contract so that it is easier to retain Wood. I would fully expect Lavert to be a rental and then go somewhere else this offseason with that being the intention of the entire move, maybe I'm missing something here though.
I get the financial angle, I think, and like I said a couple of days ago, if that's what they MUST do to hold onto players like Wood (and Powell, I hope) then so be it. As a fan, I'd prefer the "dumps" to be guys who aren't useful rotation pieces like McGee and Bertans, and both Bullock and Dinwiddie would be preferable ship outs from among the rotation players, but it's not a perfect world that revolves around Mavs fans and I get that.
However, if the trade is financially motivated, I wouldn't expect them to sign and trade LaVert this summer (though I'm sure it will be spun that way in the media). That would be the same as keeping Hardaway, financially. The chances of doing this trade as a stepping stone to get to some player who's good enough to justify staying in the tax from Cuban's perspective seems unlikely to me. In other words, if they want to trade Hardaway simply as a means of "getting off" of his money, LaVert, as a free agent, isn't suddenly going to net you a better player than Hardaway would right now. In fact, I bet they're straight up looking deals for expiring players for the express purpose of them expiring and helping the roster not force them to pay tax next year.
This trade plays out as turning Hardaway into a rental for a season, imo, and I think this season's team and the next couple will be poorer as a result.