2020-2021 ROSTER TALK: Archived

[SleepingHero]

My list of "dump" players you can potentially get without using cap space or MLE:

• Rubio
  
• Adams
  
• G. Harris
  
• D. Green in a S&T
  
• Aminu
  
• Eric Gordon
  
• DJJ
  
• Dinwiddie
  
• Horford (would take J Rich, WCS, Burke combined for salary matching)
  

Love this list. I'd add some others: 

• Eric Bledsoe 
  
• Aaron Baynes (though he has a team option and doesn't really make much sense to guarantee his contract only to dump)
  
• John Wall (I think HOU will pay a handsome ransom for anyone to take this contract off their hands and Wall does provide a certain level of playmaking the Mavs don't have)
  

If I can rank these guys in order of preference I'd have

1. Steven Adams: Ideally THE center we should be striving for to put next to Luka. Hard screener. Great rebounder. Can defend in space. Love the guy/
   
2. Horford: Older and pricier contract but can space the floor well and is still a fantastic defender. 
   
3. Rubio: BE PREPARED.....? He's a great playmaker, the contract isn't nauseating, and he's a great locker room guy. Great 1st guard off the bench we should be striving for. 
   
4. Gary Harris: He can't really score, but he can defend. I don't think he's a big time minute getter on a team with real championship aspirations but the Mavs could do ALOT worse for a 2nd unit SG. 
   
5. Aaron Baynes: Has the toughness we're looking for in Steven Adams and the shooting touch of Al Horford. Too bad he doesn't have much other skills. Still, as a Powell replacement he'd be PERFECT. 
   
6. Danny Green: Honestly he's this far down because of how he played us last free agency. It left an awful taste in my mouth and to be fair while Green does bring the skillset we're looking for off the bench the guy can suck it. Still if he wants to sign here on a reasonable deal I could overlook his annoying behavior 2 years ago. 
   
7. Eric Gordon: In my initial post I accidentally left out EG all together in these rankings, which should tell you how much I really think of him and the guys below him. Though Gordon is a knockdown shooter, his best days are behind him. And that contract makes me want to gouge my eyes out. But if the Rockets want to gift us a couple of picks to take him on and/or take on our own bad contracts I wouldn't be mad at all. 
   
8. John Wall: Ok now here me out, there aren't many 20ppg creators out there that can be had for pennies on the dollar. There is a very high chance HOU would pay US to take Wall off their hands. A theoretical Wall trade could turn out to be this teams CP3 trade like for the Suns. Or it could crash and burn and be like Westbrook next to Harden except worse.... A hefty risk, but a creative route to perhaps restock the trade cupboard while netting a scorer/playmaker we're pining for. 
   
9. Eric Bledsoe: He can't score, his defense is waning, but is he better than Trey Burke? Yes. So I wouldn't mind him in that role. 
   
10. Derrick Jones Jr: A highly athletic 3/4 that could shine next to Luka. He doesn't have any noticeable skills besides jumping really high. Sometimes that's all you need, see Brandan Wright's career for the evidence. But I wouldn't make him a priority. Put it this way, POR mirrors our team in a lot of needs. If DJJ filled what we were looking for POR wouldn't be letting him go. 
    
11. Spencer Dinwiddie: A smart guy off the court that seems to be buddy-buddy with Cubes already, but I can't see why the Mavs would go after a guard that cannot shoot for the life of him coming off an ACL tear. 
    
12. Aminu: Someone had to be last. Aminu is on his last legs, and I don't think he can contribute anything meaningful to a good team anymore. As a 15th guy we could do a lot worse but the Mavs need to set their sights way higher if they want to break through the glass ceiling that is the 2nd round.