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

[KillerLeft]

That’s exactly what I’m saying (and what KOC and that other guy from Dallas are saying on The Ringer).  BBall Index rates Playmaking across 11 different metrics.  Richardson grades out in the 81st percentile with a grade of A-.  

Maybe the team make up (spacing) of Dallas is a better fit but his offensive game regressed given a bigger offensive responsibility with the 76ers.  The trade for Curry plus a pick never happens if he's an A level guy on both ends of the floor.

I think you've identified half of the rationale (spacing) and the other half is that while he'd be doing more playmaking here than THJ or DFS did last year, he'd still be doing far less of it than he did in Philly. 

I think what Dan is saying is that his ability simply to handle the ball competently and make decisions with it instantly elevates him to the status of "secondary playmaker" on this roster. 

We all thought they needed a two-way player, and one who could shoot enough to play off of Luka. I've argued that I thought the secondary playmaking part might be more important than the defense part all off-season. With Richardson, the Mavs seem to have gone the OTHER way. They got a defender who can shoot a little and play make a little. Because it's way easier for me to see him as the SECOND best handler on the floor during crunch time than it is for me to see him as the BEST wing shooter during those same minutes, I'm inclined to agree with Dan. It might not work out, but when you add a defender, you've got to try to fit him in on the offensive end, somehow. I do NOT think they've talked themselves into believing Richardson replaces THJ as a floor spacer.