Trade & FA 2023-24: Lavine Market Barely There| Nets Will Keep Bridges

[F Gump]

Was replying to your post that said, “ If you simply give THJ away into someone's cap room, that allows full MLE . . . .”

So THJ is the answer to your question. You already answered mine. I suspect you are right that they will pay someone an asset to take Timmy before absorbing that stretch hit for the next 3 years. But I assume the fact that they could choose to stretch creates a ceiling on how much they should/would give up for a salary dump.

Got it. While I mentioned a deal of sending THJ into someone's cap room, that was only an answer on how to create full MLE cap room.

FYI the SW path on THJ, like many other options, does not offer them the ability to spend the full big MLE (it probably gets them to around $10M starting salary, more or less).

I do think "what is DJJ thinking" is the primary question, which will define or limit their ideas, and one we have no answer to. Will DJJ will take the TxP MLE and work to make Dallas his home team? He's a great fit. Or will the demand for him make his salary price literally impossible, no matter what the Mavs do? While not as likely, that is still a possibility. Gotta know that, before deciding what makes sense on THJ.

ETA - I do think DJJ is such a good fit that it would make no sense to look for an alternative if you don't have to. How long have we longed for a superior wing defender? His agility, smarts, and length/leaping ability makes him pretty much everything we could want in that area, and he also has ways to be a factor on the offensive end. From time to time I see ideas of looking for better offense at his position, but I would much prefer to find that added offense from DJJ getting a bit better, rather than from a replacement whose defense will be worse (and likely MUCH MUCH worse). And if we pursue a player who is strong defensively AND on offense, we end up paying $40M rather than $10M, plus the cost to get him here is super expensive (and probably impossible).