2020-2021 ROSTER TALK: Archived

[F Gump]

Changing topic a little.

I'm asking the more astute observers here:

What is Melli's outlook? He seems to have some defensive ability, but is mostly a zero offensively. Is he broken on that end or is it a mechanical thing he can fix in the offseason? Just wondering if he could be improved by a stable team situation. He has the size to defend some of the bigger wings, so that is a plus and we probably need someone to battle with the Randalls and Kawahis in the league.

Maybe someone else is a solution, I'm just wondering if he's worth the investment to try and get his shot ramped up to acceptable levels.

Melli is interesting, because he should be able to play better. He's smart from experience, so he knows where to be, but his inability to knock down open shots is a problem. That's odd, however, because in the last 5 years he played in Euroleague, he could make shots efficiently without being a major scorer. It's hard to find 6-9 guys who can guard the perimeter and make a shot, so I'd think the Mavs would want him back and try to fix his shot. And he is being given minutes, which might make him want to sign here.

I wouldn't make him a RFA because the $4.9M QO is bigger than he's worth, I think, but I bet the Mavs could re-sign him at the minimum based on what he's showed previously in the NBA. (That price tag should be attractive too, I suspect.)

The player I'd really like to see the Mavs chase, however, would be Batum. I suspect the Clipps can be outbid at the MLE or even smaller. Their payroll is a disaster and they can't offer him more than room MLE, and they might not even spend that MLE because they're so buried in tax, so he's probably available. He feels like the veteran who would commit to a contender wanting to be able to get a ring. And if you can get him locked up for several years at something like $15-20M total, that seems like a really good investment to me.