2020-2021 ROSTER TALK: Archived

[Tyler]

No chemistry between KP and Luka either. Every time KP has a good game, he mentions how the ball actually moved around tonight.

The note about his post-game statements is true. But it's also the same thing that every other player says when they are interviewed after a good game. Even Luka talks about wanting to get everybody involved. I think "I like how the ball moved around" is just a team crutch phrase that they probably use a lot internally to talk about good teamwork. 

When Brunson says it, people nod in approval. But when KP says it, they assume he's taking a shot at Luka. Maybe KP does eventually get dealt for a better fit, but honestly the only consistent toxicity I see with the Mavs right now is how the fans and media seem to have it out for certain players. It's exhausting.

[jesusshuttlesworth82]

The note about his post-game statements is true. But it's also the same thing that every other player also says when they are interviewed after a good game. Even Luka talks about wanting to get everybody involved. I think "I like how the ball moved around" is just a team crutch phrase that they probably use a lot internally to talk about good teamwork. 

When Brunson says it, people nod in approval. But when KP says it, they assume he's taking a shot at Luka. Honestly, the only consistent toxicity I see with the Mavs right now is how the fans and media seem to have it out for certain players.

He has looked visibly pissed multiple times this year when he calls for the ball and Luka doesnt pass it to him.

[ClutchDirk]

I certainly seen Dirk pissed off at teammates many times it happens in sports...coming back from injury...no prep time...not playing as good as you want to are some more factors that could explain his issues..

[Tyler]

He has looked visibly pissed multiple times this year when he calls for the ball and Luka doesnt pass it to him.

And Luka has looked visibly pissed multiple times when the team blows a play. Can you imagine the fan reaction if KP were to scream at Carlisle about a play call? But people love Luka so it's all good.

The thing a lot of people don't seem to get is that both Luka and KP are naturally emotional people. KP even moreso than Luka, but it's more often directed inwardly than outwardly. Seriously -- listen to his postgame interviews and KP is one of the most open players in the entire league about how he feels at any given moment. So when he hangs his head when he doesn't get a pass or cracks a big smile when he has a good game, it's not some sort of code. It's just him in the moment without the fake stoic facade some people think all athletes should carry. 

Now I'm not saying at all that the on-court chemistry is as good as I had hoped between the two of them so far. But I also think it's wrong to assume that's due to a personal rift. And IMO for a beat writer to imply that some milquetoast quote about sharing the ball is evidence that KP doesn't like Luka is borderline journalistic malpractice.

[StepBackJay]

I like Buddy Hield if he is available. Also like several Hawks players, Pacers players. Like Fournier. Boston has super high salary so not sure they can keep Fournier with a hard cap unless they can dump one or both of Kemba and Thompson. I wouldn't mind a Kemba trade. I see him as a guy you can get for almost nothing. Anyways there will be options including keeping THJ, Rich and adding an MLE player, probably on a team-friendly deal.

[Mavs2021]

Obviously hope for an Melli upgrade. Drummond is the short term pipedream, but Parker and Olynyk are guys you can actually retain at a reasonable figure in the summer (i.e. less than $5M), even if they play well the next three months. And for all the Parker haters, just remember his barn stands on Lavine Island next to the Julius Randle mansion. For the assigned role it´s much easier to convert a former #2 pick into a highly efficient 13-15 PPG bench rotational player than some random dude like Melli.

[KillerLeft]

And for all the Parker haters, just remember his barn stands on Lavine Island next to the Julius Randle mansion.

I'm not a Parker hater at all, but as to those comps...isn't there some sort of serous injury history with Parker that has caused his stock to drop over the past few years? I might be imaging that.

[StepBackJay]

Wondering aloud if Mavs might just do J Rich + THJ + shore up bench.

[Kammrath]

Tim McMahon was on The Fan earlier and said the Mavs arent convinced about Porzingis long term but they absolutely couldn't trade him now.  HIs value around the league is low.  At least there's hope with KP.  You wouldnt get a star in return for him.  No chemistry between KP and Luka either.  Every time KP has a good game, he mentions how the ball actually moved around tonight.

Hawks will "bite the bullet" and match any offer sheet for Collins instead of letting an asset walk for nothing.  

The show hosts didnt ask him a follow up about any sign and trade possibilities for Collins.  

Thanks for summarizing this. It confirms what so many of us have been sensing and piecing together. I assume many will still pretend there are no problems.

[KillerLeft]

Wondering aloud if Mavs might just do J Rich + THJ + shore up bench.

Provided that A) the better version of Richardson we've seen recently becomes more of the norm,

B) Ditto on the above, but for KP

C) The Mavs can get a full-blown, useful rotation player for the MLE

I can think of worse ways to go.

[Tyler]

Let's think about it another way. 

Assume for a moment that KP really does believe that the both he and the team plays better when Luka avoids playing like Harden and the ball moves around more. Does anyone think he's wrong? And do you think Luka would disagree?

[StepBackJay]

So I guess Mavs ideal situation might be if they lock up J Rich to an opt-in and extend like they did with Powell a couple of years ago so they a) have a very tradable contract and b) have 25 mil to spend on somebody. Even if J Rich costs like 15/yr with less years they will still have a good amount of cap space.

Knicks have a ton which is amazing given that they are a playoff team. They have the ability to overpay multiple guys. I imagine they will sign Lonzo to a huge deal which is probably why Pelicans should have traded him. They are the biggest threat to swoop up the top names in FA (even if those names are mostly 3rd/4th tier level guys)

Heat are likely going to resign Oladipo unless he's terrible so, it's really just the Knicks that are the Mavs main competition for players. A lot of teams with cap space are rebuilding and aren't really looking to spend a bunch of money.

I really think Boston might want to unload Walker and resign Fournier, especially if they believe he is a better fit. I don't see them being able to keep Kemba and pay Fournier 20 mil/yr. Boston is certainly a team to watch.

Right now DeRozan is one of the more interesting names bc he isn't going back to the Spurs and Mavs can afford to pay him more than the MLE. Most of the other players (Powell, Fournier, Dipo) have already found their landing spot. If DeRozan is okay with coming off the bench he would be an upgrade imo over THJ. I would be good with J Rich + DeMar being your offseason.  DeRozan would be an instant candidate for 6th man of the year. The issue is him and Brunson co-existing. A guy like Fournier I think would be an instant fit vs DeRozan who would take the ball out of Brunson's hands. He could also make Brunson expendable if you were able to cash him in for someone else. Anyways, food for thought.

[StepBackJay]

Provided that A) the better version of Richardson we've seen recently becomes more of the norm,

B) Ditto on the above, but for KP

C) The Mavs can get a full-blown, useful rotation player for the MLE

I can think of worse ways to go.

If Mavs go this route what's the best we can do for MLE given that you have so much competition with that money? I would have said Dragic but the Heat can keep him now and sign Dipo to a big deal.

[Mavs2021]

I'm not a Parker hater at all, but as to those comps...isn't there some sort of serous injury history with Parker that has caused his stock to drop over the past few years? I might be imaging that.

That´s why he just has a barn on an island with a mansion, but it´s s similar situation. Same age, former high lottery pick, a major injury along the way,still putting up decent numbers, horrible coaching and mostly horrible franchises. But uh-oh all the advanced metrics say you should stay away, because his defense is awful. We want somebody to score points for a 10 minute stretch in the 2nd quarter and another 5 minute stretch in the 2nd half, mostly playing against back-ups that average 5-6 points. Look at all the back-ups on the contenders in this league. When we won the title, we were loaded with former lottery picks. Yes they were all past their primes, but they had basketball TALENT. This team needs more BASKETBALL TALENT. The reason Johnson and Iwundu are gone is that they killed our 2nd unit offense. Hey and if it does not work out, so be it. You let him go in the summer, but it´s certainly worth a try.

[dirkfansince1998]

I want to avoid any RFAs. Just not worth it.

- THJ+Richardson for 30m

- Try to create some additional capspace (decline WCS option, maybe trade Burke or go even bigger and trade Powell)

- Add two guys in the 8-10m range (one with capspace, one with the MLE)

- Figure out if it makes sense to use the BAE

[Mavs2021]

So I guess Mavs ideal situation might be if they lock up J Rich to an opt-in and extend like they did with Powell a couple of years ago so they a) have a very tradable contract and b) have 25 mil to spend on somebody. Even if J Rich costs like 15/yr with less years they will still have a good amount of cap space.

Knicks have a ton which is amazing given that they are a playoff team. They have the ability to overpay multiple guys. I imagine they will sign Lonzo to a huge deal which is probably why Pelicans should have traded him. They are the biggest threat to swoop up the top names in FA (even if those names are mostly 3rd/4th tier level guys)

Heat are likely going to resign Oladipo unless he's terrible so, it's really just the Knicks that are the Mavs main competition for players. A lot of teams with cap space are rebuilding and aren't really looking to spend a bunch of money.

I really think Boston might want to unload Walker and resign Fournier, especially if they believe he is a better fit. I don't see them being able to keep Kemba and pay Fournier 20 mil/yr. Boston is certainly a team to watch.

Right now DeRozan is one of the more interesting names bc he isn't going back to the Spurs and Mavs can afford to pay him more than the MLE. Most of the other players (Powell, Fournier, Dipo) have already found their landing spot. If DeRozan is okay with coming off the bench he would be an upgrade imo over THJ. I would be good with J Rich + DeMar being your offseason.  DeRozan would be an instant candidate for 6th man of the year. The issue is him and Brunson co-existing. A guy like Fournier I think would be an instant fit vs DeRozan who would take the ball out of Brunson's hands. He could also make Brunson expendable if you were able to cash him in for someone else. Anyways, food for thought.

Just in case you are Cuban or Donnie, don´t mention that 6th man shit in the negotiations with DeRozan.

[StepBackJay]

Actually I think Otto Porter Jr is my favorite target for the Mavs bc he would be an upgrade over DFS and also not cost a ton necessarily. You could probably get OPJ and keep one of THJ, J Rich. An issue with OPJ is he has had injuries but you can keep DFS to be a spot starter if OPJ is dinged up.

Assuming THJ is the one that goes you could have a starting lineup of Luka, J Rich, OPJ, Maxi, KP with Brunson and DFS being your 6th and 7th men. As much as I like DFS Luka needs shooters around him and OPJ is just a better offensive player all the way around.

[Mavs2021]

I want to avoid any RFAs. Just not worth it.

- THJ+Richardson for 30m

- Try to create some additional capspace (decline WCS option, maybe trade Burke or go even bigger and trade Powell)

- Add two guys in the 8-10m range (one with capspace, one with the MLE)

- Figure out if it makes sense to use the BAE

If I look at the numbers, I think they´ll retain either Richardson or THJ, and then still have enough cap flexibility to quickly trade Kleber or Powell to free up $30M room for a DeRozan, Markkanen or Collins. Of course that once again runs into the risk of losing THJ, while you screw around with the RFAs.

[StepBackJay]

re: OPJ, the other scenario is you go with THJ instead of J Rich if you think OPJ and DFS can handle defensive responsibilities. THJ would be off the bench again as a 6th man and you would go Luka, DFS, OPJ, Maxi, KP as your starting lineup. The issue with that lineup is that DFS and OPJ are more forward than guards. J Rich is more of a guard/forward combo which is why Mavs got him. Because of that and because of the fact the Mavs don't want to lose face by letting J Rich walk for nothing, it makes me think they would be more likely to keep him than THJ.

[Kammrath]

Add two guys in the 8-10m range (one with capspace, one with the MLE)

Can only do one or the other, can't use capspace and the full MLE.