DAL OFFSEASON: Trade & FA | Mavs "mostly done...but you never know."

[SleepingHero]

Am I the only person that would trade KP.

Yes. 

I am in the minority that thinks KP injury concerns are a bit overblown. He's had only 1 major injury his entire career, which was an ACL tear where Giannis landed on him.  

Sure KP has had a lot of little things in his short career, stuff that keeps him out 2-10 games a season. But looking at his overall career, he really hasn't been that unavailable. Rookie year 72/82 games played (88%). Next year 68/82 (83%). 48/82 (59%) ACL year. Then sat out the entire year, but we all know the Mavs intentionally kept him out in a lost year to protect their investment. Then COVID year he played 57/75 games (76%). KP has played in more career games than Joel Embiid. He played more games than him this season too. He played in more games than Paul George, and the exact same amount of games as Kawhi Leonard. Anthony Davis only played 5 more than him this year.  Nobody is exclaiming that the Clips should trade either one their guys. Even though that Leonard is guaranteed to miss at least 20 games a season due to his quad. Why is there no narrative over that? Because Kawhi is worth it and has shown up in the playoffs. KP didn't really get a chance to show his availability this year. He got questionably ejected game 1 where he was also injured. He played in games 2, and 3 on a torn meniscus, and the Mavs evoking a familiar choice ala Dirk in 03, chose to shut him down even if it meant conceding a series that could've gone either way. An injury by the way that was another contact injury. Except luckily this one, as knee injuries go, is absolutely nothing. 

I'll concede that KP is all but a given to miss 10-15 regular season games, but given his production, that is a small cost. I'd take a dude that is 7'3 that can average 30/10 with incredible defense and range. You can't avoid contact injuries. They're apart of the game and trying to find a bulletproof player is impossible. Even iron man Dirk fell victim to contact injuries. The only things that have seriously stopped KP has been contact injuries and bad luck. 

All the while he's such a unique player that it makes the injury risks (no matter how big or small) worth it. He's a 7'3 guard. He makes small ball possible but without giving up size. Trading KP would be a mistake. The list of guys that'd make the trade a clear win for the Mavs is so short that it's unrealistic. He earned the moniker "Unicorn" for a reason.