01-25-2020, 12:30 PM
(01-25-2020, 11:59 AM)omahen Wrote:(01-25-2020, 11:29 AM)cjeter24 Wrote: One last thing on WCS..
I agree WCS is a cheap and reasonable short term solution. However, how about next season? Powell will be out at least half of it. If WCS plays well, he will certainly reject his PO. Are we prepared to pay him MLE money? I wouldn't, we have enough money locked up in centers already. I guess we can always take another vet min guy. If he will play badly, we will be most likely looking for another short term solution, while Bobi and WCS take two roster spots for limited production.
The Mavs do not "have enough money locked up in centers already." It would be a miracle of the highest order if Powell came back even 80% of what he was pre-injury, given his reliance on athleticism (I'm convinced that his lob days are done), and that's going to put him as about the 11th or 12th man on a contending team at best. We need to look at his contract moving forward as dead money, like we had John Wall and stretch-waived him or something, and build the roster around that. Viewing Powell as part of the center rotation for the long term is a recipe for roster-building failure.
If WCS becomes the best-case version of himself - a very rich man's Brandan Wright - then MLE money will be a bargain. And this past offseason taught us that plan powder isn't the way to go if you want a big free agent - having assets available to trade is.
My fear is that RC blinds himself to whatever benefits WCS brings to the court, no matter how hard he works, due to missing few defensive rotations or having "bad body language" on the court or something like that, and completely doghouses him. Fear number two is that WCS plays well and the Mavs are so stupid as to let him walk for nothing. An important part of this discussion is that Javale McGee is starting well for the best team in the league (having done so the prior year as well, but he's better this year) and Noel is contributing quite well for the Thunder. There's a lot to be said for learning how to be a coach in the modern NBA.