(10-13-2019, 07:32 AM)WillE Wrote:[*][*](10-12-2019, 07:11 PM)StepBackJay Wrote: [*]Justin Jackson is a very good player. His rebounding is what's going to hold him back. I think him and DFS are fighting for that starting spot[*]
I was excited from the first moment to have him. He'll only get better and has a pretty decent ceiling.
Yet, he'll probably never be a better rebounder than DFS. So to me his offense is what will be his calling card. There he needs to deliver to get playing time.
(10-12-2019, 07:11 PM)StepBackJay Wrote: [*][*]
[*]Mavs have a logjam of like 7th man players. This equals really good bench and not a great starting lineup.
[*]This team is going to make a trade at some point this year
[*]
I had the same observation. It'll be hard to say good bye to any of these guys, as each one has nice potential. But that's also why I hope a package of these might land us a third core piece, which is the biggest goal currently. Can't wait!
Here I doubt. Why would anyone trade number 3 guy for two, three, four or even more number 7 guys? Number 7 guys and lower are mostly paid minimum salary in contender teams. So the only option is they develop in higher than number 7 guys (why trade them then?) or we will have to attach assets. Assets we of course don't really have. Here is my resentment with the summer - we didn't get assets for the remaining cap (either in the form of starters or picks for bad salaries).
Regarding the potential - DFS, Maxi, Powell, Curry and Wright can't really be considered young. I don't think we will see much improvement from any of them. My personal opinion - I only see Powell as a player that could rise his value, if he can play at a level similar to second half of last season. Decent 3 to keep defense honest, some driving, excellent rim running and high energy on both sides of the court. 12-15 ppg on high efficiency + 7-8 rebounds would be my expectation for his role on the team. You can see Maxi is not a player who could deliver this - not against starters.
High energy I am missing from guys like Wright, Maxi and DFS. They should be more aggresive to get to the elite defender level.
Here is how I see Mavs. Might be wrong, I am not with them, but this is what I am concluding by watching them.
I think Mavs have just nice guys. Leaders of the team (Luka, KP) feature fancy unicorn offense but don't really care a lot about defense. The supporting cast is here not to jeopardy the KP and Luka roles and stardom and looks like they are affraid to stick out (only exception being Brunson).
We desperately need a guy that every opposing team will hate - a guy like Beverly, Smart, Tucker, Iguodala. Relentless fighter on both ends, who the teammates will respect and listen to. A guy that "is allowed" to raise his voice when team, even our stars, isn't playing intensively enough. And is not affraid to raise it when necessary. Wright, DFS or Maxi so far haven't show they have this in them. They are hard workers, good guys, but they are not leaders. If one of them would be able to step up and take that role, his value would become great.