12-07-2020, 09:19 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-07-2020, 10:26 AM by KillerLeft.)
@"dirkfansince1998" I haven't meant to "dismiss" anything except bad contracts like Harris or bad fits (imo) like Gobert. Sorry if anything I've written comes off in that way. I definitely like discussing this stuff with you and others.
I do prefer simply keeping the Mavs' current players over some of the options that get brought up here regularly though, partly because I think some of the Mavs are underrated, and partly because I think things change REALLY quickly in the NBA. Why commit to anything until it makes sense to do so?
I have seen several instances of people posting an entire list of next summer's free agents and saying some variation of "if not Giannis, then who?" Well, I'm sorry, but am I the only one who thinks that's crazy? Soooo much is about to change, once they actually start playing games.
Staying flexible (to this point) hasn't just been about signing a free agent. There are OTHER ways to make this work. Take the trade market: Who could've possibly predicted with a straight face that James freaking Harden would be on the trade block this off-season???? We like to act like the KP deal fell from heaven, but actually, stuff like that happens every year. The trick is being ready to pounce on it, imo. That trade wouldn't have been possible without the flexible position the Mavs were in at the time with the Mathews/Jordan contracts.
And you're right - the team is a little draft-capital-poor for trades like that. But, they got Richardson this time around for Seth Curry!! I had "dismissed" him all off-season as a target for #18, but I never DREAMED they'd be able to get him for Curry, and I LOVE that deal! This is another example of something that didn't seem possible happening...these things happen. The Mavs also drafted a bunch of interesting kids, making the other value vet assets infinitely more movable in a practical way. They increased their trade positing singnificantly, imo. They definitely don't have enough to snag a guy like Harden (nor would they want him), but they arguably have just as much to offer at the trade deadline as they did for KP, if not MORE. Even if you don't believe that, they are certainly in a good enough position for it to seem crazy to me that you're upset they haven't ALREADY extended Richardson and Hardaway (that's what I thought you were saying in the other thread, but maybe not).
And, let's say it gets to FA. Will there be a Christian Wood this year - someone who develops into a potential star that nobody sees coming at this time? Will there be a Bogdanovic - someone restricted who the smart people here will tell you "no way does team x let THAT guy go" but who ends up being VERY getable? I'd say there's a BETTER than 50/50 chance that the answer to those questions is YES.
So, I'm sorry that this seems to make certain types of posters crazy (not my intent AT ALL) but I actually don't feel like I need a definite, chosen FA target to make this approach make sense. Maybe for the Mavs, it IS Giannis or bust, but I don't feel that way, personally. If all of the above fails, I'd simply re-sign Richardson, THJ and MAYBE even Johnson when the time came. I have a really difficult time not seeing that as the worst possible way this works out. As I said in the other thread, this doomsday scenario that you're worried about: renouncing Richardson and THJ to pitch Giannis, only to be left with nothing...I just think this is not a very likely scenario.
I do prefer simply keeping the Mavs' current players over some of the options that get brought up here regularly though, partly because I think some of the Mavs are underrated, and partly because I think things change REALLY quickly in the NBA. Why commit to anything until it makes sense to do so?
I have seen several instances of people posting an entire list of next summer's free agents and saying some variation of "if not Giannis, then who?" Well, I'm sorry, but am I the only one who thinks that's crazy? Soooo much is about to change, once they actually start playing games.
Staying flexible (to this point) hasn't just been about signing a free agent. There are OTHER ways to make this work. Take the trade market: Who could've possibly predicted with a straight face that James freaking Harden would be on the trade block this off-season???? We like to act like the KP deal fell from heaven, but actually, stuff like that happens every year. The trick is being ready to pounce on it, imo. That trade wouldn't have been possible without the flexible position the Mavs were in at the time with the Mathews/Jordan contracts.
And you're right - the team is a little draft-capital-poor for trades like that. But, they got Richardson this time around for Seth Curry!! I had "dismissed" him all off-season as a target for #18, but I never DREAMED they'd be able to get him for Curry, and I LOVE that deal! This is another example of something that didn't seem possible happening...these things happen. The Mavs also drafted a bunch of interesting kids, making the other value vet assets infinitely more movable in a practical way. They increased their trade positing singnificantly, imo. They definitely don't have enough to snag a guy like Harden (nor would they want him), but they arguably have just as much to offer at the trade deadline as they did for KP, if not MORE. Even if you don't believe that, they are certainly in a good enough position for it to seem crazy to me that you're upset they haven't ALREADY extended Richardson and Hardaway (that's what I thought you were saying in the other thread, but maybe not).
And, let's say it gets to FA. Will there be a Christian Wood this year - someone who develops into a potential star that nobody sees coming at this time? Will there be a Bogdanovic - someone restricted who the smart people here will tell you "no way does team x let THAT guy go" but who ends up being VERY getable? I'd say there's a BETTER than 50/50 chance that the answer to those questions is YES.
So, I'm sorry that this seems to make certain types of posters crazy (not my intent AT ALL) but I actually don't feel like I need a definite, chosen FA target to make this approach make sense. Maybe for the Mavs, it IS Giannis or bust, but I don't feel that way, personally. If all of the above fails, I'd simply re-sign Richardson, THJ and MAYBE even Johnson when the time came. I have a really difficult time not seeing that as the worst possible way this works out. As I said in the other thread, this doomsday scenario that you're worried about: renouncing Richardson and THJ to pitch Giannis, only to be left with nothing...I just think this is not a very likely scenario.