11-23-2020, 12:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-23-2020, 12:57 PM by KillerLeft.)
(11-23-2020, 12:29 PM)Oman Wrote: But Dirkfan has a legitimate concern. Because as long As GA hope is around and as long as Mavs are targetting him, other options will be passed. If Giannis comes to 2021 free agency and decides to take a week or two to make a decision, there will not be many other options left for 35 mil of our cap space. That's why I am terrified about 2021 free agency.
Ok, noted.
My retort would be: let's worry about that or chastise them for that if/when it ever happens. So far, they have passed up on NOTHING (that we know of) that I would have even gotten excited about.
Maybe Giannis signs his Supermax next week. If so, I'd STILL be happy to be in this, exact position if I'm the Mavs.
If a really, really good player changes hands at the deadline and the Mavs aren't interested (and it's clear that cap space next summer is the reasoning, not just that they have a differing opinion of this hypothetical player than we) then THAT could potentially be a valid gripe. I'm not positive they WOULD pass up that opportunity, tbh, but if they did, pointing it out would be valid.
If, as you say, a Giannis swing takes them deep into free agency and they miss out on other top targets, then sure - that's a legit gripe, only...as you have pointed out, there might not be that many other top targets out there. This has happened to Dallas in the past, but again, that was because NOBODY wanted to play here then. The team sucked. This team will be attractive enough to where their 2nd, 3rd options will hang out and wait for the Giannis domino to fall, imo. I imagine ALL of the top free agents will be hoping to land in either Miami, Dallas or Toronto.
I feel the same way about Dallas's own free agents - Richardson, THJ, etc. My assumption is that they'll like playing here enough to want to come back, at least a little. I don't think they'll be in a huge hurry to bail five minutes after free agency begins. If they do, that's also a valid complaint, but imo, in that scenario you probably have bigger problems to worry about than cap space.
These potential future issues, to me, are not scary in the least, especially as an argument for locking in mediocre players NOW on long term deals. That's the worst case scenario, to me. I would rather have EVERYTHING above break wrong for the team than have mediocre players here overpaid NOW.
(11-23-2020, 12:37 PM)Jym Wrote: I want us to make a trade this season for Giannis or whoever it is that we want to keep longterm. Seems entirely too risky to just go in blind yet again
If not us I hope Miami some how pulls off a trade for him (or he signs that supermax to stay) so we don't have to worry about the wait.
If a great player becomes available via trade, I fully expect them to assess their future with that player. There are DEFINITELY scenarios that, if they come up and the Mavs can get it done, would be worth using the cap space early (by building a trade built around an expirer). My point is that planning this way has put them in position to consider those choices.
I'm not here to promise the Mavs aren't going to bungle this, I'm just saying that the position they're in today is better than the position they were in last month. The team is better, and they have options coming. More options than they ever, ever had during DIrk's career.
I'm sorry, but I just don't think "the Mavs will probably mess this up, somehow" is a valid reason to forgo smart team building and load up on terrible contracts. Seeing what they're able to do with this flexibility, whether it be Giannis or something else, should be a fun thing, to me.
This is the part I want people to remember about my take, and probably what makes me see this differently than some:
Maybe Giannis signs his Supermax next week. If so, I'd STILL be happy to be in this, exact position if I'm the Mavs.
If they were treading water right now just for the slim possibility of adding ONE PLAYER, I'd be right there with you guys. But, they're getting better. A lot better. I'm not prepared to say they'll get Giannis (obviously) but I will stick my neck out and say that the flexibility they've created over the past couple of seasons, and the assets they've collected, will amount to a much, much better roster being in place when Luka signs his extension. And really, that's EVERYTHING. Give him a chance to win on that extension. That's the game.