2019-20 Mavs News

[DanSchwartzgan]

"In his first 38 games this year, Curry was shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point land. In the last 21 games going into the break, since Jan. 15th, he was shooting a blistering 54.2 percent from deep. I checked three sites to make sure that number was accurate and not a glitch. For perspective, among NBA players who took at least 100 3-pointers in that span, Curry was No. 1 at 54.2 percent. No. 2 was Miami Heat’s Duncan Robinson, who was shooting 46.3 percent.
The difference between No. 1 (Curry) and No. 2 (Robinson) is equal to the distance between Robinson and No. 39, CJ McCollum.
Go ahead and read that again. It’s not a typo."


https://theathletic.com/1921036/2020/07/...fficiency/

That was a really good article.  The unanswered question is still whether Curry and his D is a viable starter or better suited as first guy off the bench.  If, Luka, Curry, THJ and KP are your starters, then we probably need someone who moves DFS to the bench.  If we feel we really need more D, then we need someone who pushes Curry to the bench.  The issue there is we have too many bench guards in Curry, Brunson and Wright.

Sorry to answer my own post, but I wanted to spend a little time thinking through the implications of this article and what it might look like for Curry to be a starter as we try to improve the roster.  At a later date, I may look into DFS starting and Curry being pushed to the bench by an acquisition:

Interesting fact.  Whether the lineup is LD/KP/THJ/DFS and Curry or whether the lineup is LD/KP/THJ/DFS and Powell, the O-Rating is 120 and the D-Rating is 109 and the Net Rating is 11 (limited sample size warning).  Interesting that we are virtually the same team adding a 2/1 to the mix or a 5/4.  I tend to lean toward the "do it all forward", but with Luka's positional flexibility, it can almost be a "do it all anything". 

In Luka, KP and THJ, we have three good starters.  Curry and DFS are both decent 5th/6th man types.  The issue is we need to knock at least one of them to the bench and find a 3rd/4th starter level player.  OTN made a good point.  The band hasn't been together long enough to really evaluate what we have.  For the purpose of this conversation, I'm going to limit my thoughts to acquisitions that don't require sending out any major pieces.  That leaves the MLE and/or something centered around Jackson and a pick.  I wonder if Lee as a S&T with Jackson and Pick is part of the reason they kept him on the roster.

If you are going to start Curry and move DFS to the bench, you have to have someone who defends.  I think "peak Otto Porter" is the archetype if we are looking at 3/4 or 4/3 types.  He would easily push DFS to the bench, shoot better from outside and defend multiple positions.  Not sure that guy exists any more and when he did, he cost $20+ million.

Most of the FA's this summer are stronger offensive players (Woods, Gallinari, Bertans and Harrel) and likely cost more than the MLE.  Trading for someone that expensive will create a hole somewhere else (and break my self imposed rule).  Most of the guys at the MLE who can defend are either older (Millsap and Ibaka) or can't shoot very well from outside (Jones Jr., Favors)  I'm not sure Morris Sr's personality is a fit here.  Options at or below the MLE include J. Grant (if he opts out), Saric ®, J. Hernangomez ® and Josh Jackson.  But, if the upgrade over DFS isn't clear, do we really want to commit $10mm-ish on a multi-year basis?.   Also, Powell will eventually come back.  I'm not sure we want to pay that much for someone who duplicates his role when we already have $10mm-$11mm invested in him.  

To me, if Curry starts, I'd target Jones Jr.  He's a better defender than DFS and can rival Powell in the Roll Man department (but isn't a big like Powell...more of a 3/4).  He is young and we could always have one of he and DFS on the court defending and one of he and Powell on the court rolling to the rim.  With the ball in Luka's hands and Curry, THJ and KP on the perimeter, I think Carlisle would make a star out of Jones Jr.  I also like Woods and Favors.  But, Woods may be out of our price and Favors feels too much like Powell (though a better defender).  I didn't find a trade for a 3/4 or 4/3 type I liked.  Using the MLE and making our picks ourselves is arguably the best way to stockpile assets for a bigger trade later.

At some point, I think we have to trust Donnie.  He tried to trade for TJ Warren, who looks really good in Indy.  Beverly and Green were FA targets that would have been fantastic here.  The July 1st deal with Miami that fell apart that seemingly targeted Olynyk and Derrick Jones Jr. (depending on whether you believe Fish or Tim Cato)  now also looks good in retrospect.  If any one of those deals had happened, we'd be having a very different conversation right now.