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

[cjeter24]

 Donnie was mentioned in "which GM you trust the least" with one vote. Quote: he always says, "yeah, we are very interested in your guy."

Knicks vote identified.

I think that's more of a how desperate the Mavs have been for talent. The Mavs have literally been interested in anyone. So it makes sense haha. 

But how many guys do you actually want to pay up for? That's the thing that can break some trust. 
But then again Mavs are also one of the tightest lipped front offices. So I'd personally trust them alot if I'm talking GM to GM.

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Putting the recent headline of the Mavs willing to eat salary in return for a 3rd star, and listening to the Lowe Post. My wheels started turning.

Many here liked the idea of Paul Milsap as a stopgap 4. A guy who can guard bigger dudes, and is still agile enough to not get eaten alive in PnR. He's also a pretty good 3pt shooter, and has a varied offensive game. I like Paul Milsap. I don't like his age. But in my time ruminating over trades to get Milsap to Dallas, a lightbulb turned on.

Why not Blake Griffin? Seriously? Ok ok, yes his contract is pretty hefty. Yes he's probably more injury prone than KP. Yes, he might not be anything he once was. BUT! Here me out. Griffin last year arguably had his best year as a pro. He led a middling Pistons team that was bereft of talent to the playoffs. Before he went down near the end of that season, Griffin was a dark horse MVP candidate and had many thinking the Pistons could perhaps steal a series early. 
This year was a lost year for Griffin. His injuries piled up faster than the Pistons lost games, and it culminated in the Pistons sitting Blake to lose out. 

Griffin has reinvented himself. No longer is he this high-flying 4 that beats people by jumping over a car. No. Griffin last year averaged 36% from 3 on 7 attempts from the field. He dished out nearly 6 assists a game. He got to the free throw line 7.3 times a game. He was a legit all-NBA talent. He is basically an advanced version of Paul Milsap today. 

Here in Dallas, Griffin has the skill to be a secondary playmaker. In LAC, one of Griffin's go-to plays was a 4-5 PnR with Jordan that resulted in lobs all day. Griffin is also a versatile defender.  At 6'9, he's the perfect height to guard bigs, and he still has the quickness to keep up with wings. He has 2 years left on his deal with a player option in the summer of 2021. If he opted in, the Mavs could trade his expiring contract as an asset. If he opts out, the Mavs would have more than enough space to chase Giannis. 

I think Griffins value is super low. One where we could convince Detroit to take Powell off our hands, and maybe even dare I say swap picks? (Don't take that hyperbole too seriously). 

Tl;DR Griffin is available. He qualifies as a 3rd star. His contract isn't that long and theoretically shouldn't prevent us in the Giannis chase. He is a higher upside version of Paul Milsap and could conceivably be good enough to put the Mavs in contending status next year and should be cheap. Why not?

Yeah I'd love to grab Griffin IF Giannis signs his extension. Otherwise.... It's not worth the risk next summer because your max slot is gone if he opts out. 

I suppose the argument could be made if Blake plays well he's opting out so we do have the cap space still. 
They also could stretch waive him if absolutely needed to next summer and it wouldn't be too terrible. 


A potential home run offseason could have you trade THJ, Powell and Jackson for Blake (maybe you have to include the picks or 1 of them). Then take Wright plus remaining assets and whatever else needed to cap match for another starter.

Wright for Danny Green remains the obvious play although he was awful in playoffs so I'm not crazy excited about that deal. 
Fournier would be an option. Expiring deal and good shooter. Replaces the THJ role to an extent. 

Richardson would be my preference if Philly does decide to move on from him. 

Their are some decent pickups you could grab with long term money. I think Buddy would be gettable with limited assets still. I do think Bledsoe could be had. 

But why I think it could be a home run offseason with BG and a short term starter is that it could let you hit free agency next year to find your long term starting sg if you unload Powell and Wright.

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Chasing the Bulls

I keep coming back to wanting to raid one of the better defensive teams in CHI this off-season.

I will take whoever can be gotten for cheap between...

• OPJ (Player option $28.4M in '21)
  
• Tomas ($10M in '21, $5M of $10M guaranteed in '22)
  
• Shaq Harrison (RFA, non-bird rights)
  
• Dunn (RFA, bird rights)
  

I think any of the four helps improve defense on the perimeter for the Mavs.

I am really intrigued by Harrison. Played 20 mins/g in '19 and 11 mins/g in '20. Shot 38% from three in limited sample size in '20, but had a HUGE impact on their D. He is 6'7" and 27.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BagaGdhS2RQ


Here are some Dunn defensive highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMznAMjpV0E

Harrison is JAG. That's the type of guy you find in the draft, 2 way or off the scrap heap. We do an excellent job at that. No reason to go chase someone else's guy. Dodo works fine. I also happen to like some 2 way guys we've rotated in.

It's a hard pass for anyone that is a bad of shooter as Dunn and who can't play basketball unless he's touching it or defending it. 
It's Delon Wright all over again. It just doesn't fit with Luka. It didn't mesh well with the bench guys all that well either.