09-15-2021, 01:23 PM
(09-15-2021, 12:46 PM)omahen Wrote: I am myself looking at possible Burke deals but I fail to see why this one would make much sense. Memphis has 17 players under contract as it is with another two incoming, so trading for Burke doesn't make a lot of sense for them unless someone at Memphis is totally in love with his game.
It's just a thought of a possibility. It doesn't have to "wow" the Grizz, for them to swap a guy they were going to cut anyhow. They've been whittling at the margins for a while now, to cut down on dead salary from taking Bledsoe, and this is just an avenue to another small gain, perhaps.
About the roster slots, you are too obsessed over that, and miss the forest for the trees. Cutting Dunn, or cutting Burke, either of those will land MEM in the very same place as far as roster spots. So if they get a bit better player to consider, or end up with a bit more cash, there's no downside to them to swap one for the other.
But more than that, they don't care about the roster spots. They already know they are waiving players. It's about dollars.
The total salary dollars can easily be made equal or better for MEM. Burke gets paid $3M this year while Dunn gets $5M, and Burke's 2nd year (if waived) will be paid over 3 years, so if they get a cash infusion of $2M from Dallas to do the deal, they are way ahead on cash flow (which is a very real issue for NBA teams with these huge payrolls and stifled ticket sales), and they are also ahead on the total being spent on the "Bledsoe waiver."
And their best case is, they get Burke to camp and decide they want to keep him, and they have the player PLUS an extra $2M in their pocket.
It's an idea where the timing fits, that aligns with what MEM has been doing and is about to do, and also caters to the theory that the Mavs want to move on from Burke. That's the main point.