Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[SleepingHero]

Another question to ask in this is whether there is someone out there who is worth $11mm who can’t be had for $7mm.  Free agency gets pretty meh pretty fast this summer.  I think the value of trimming salaries (whether this idea or asking Kyrie to take a discount) would be to set yourself up to be able to go after a S&T for someone like Grant.  Even there, the players worth that kind of trouble (and being hard capped) are a pretty short list.

Another way to save money is to answer ‘none of the above’ to our UFA current centers.  If we trade for one and still have Maxi and McGee, do we need either Powell or Wood?

I think the list of guys that would meet the criteria needed for this route would be so exceedingly small that it makes this approach unrealistic from the outset like you mentioned. 

Sure, setting ourselves up for a SnT of Grant with this method is clever on paper, but I'm sure there are a multitude of other avenues that don't require this overcomplicated route. POR for instance would be ruined without Grant. The Mavs could give them THJ+Wood for Grant's presumed 30+ mil salary and they could remain competitive. 

To answer the way of saving money by rejecting our current centers, I think Wood has run his course in Dallas. I wouldn't be surprised if they just let him walk. I'd rather they find a creative deal where they find a team and swap "guys-who-are-going-to-leave-anyway" to try and get some value, but I'm skeptical given Wood's current market value from this past TDL.

 I think Powell has carved a niche role that the Mavs are going to try to get him back, as long as his next contract doesn't exceed an exorbitant number. I don't see his suitors throwing him a lot of money, so I think the simple answer of saving money is to retain our current guys for cheaper and spend more wisely elsewhere. We currently have almost 20 mil of dead cap of guys that do not play in Bertans and Frank. That desperately needs to be resolved ASAP imo.