MAVS NEWS: Luka Is Hurt, But is Trudging On | DLive's Mom Passes Away| Maxi OUT

[SleepingHero]

I got part way through the "Take Dat Wit You" podcast with Followill and Dameris today.  

They think starters (if we are done) will be Powell, Williams, Green, Kyrie and Luka.  They think Maxi will close at center with Williams, Kyrie and Luka.  Not sure who the fourth closer will be.  Probably someone from among Curry, Green, Hardy or THJ (if he's still here).  They think OMax has an impact this season.  They are less sure that Lively will.  They see Seth and Hardy competing for minutes

Dameris made a kind of snide comment when talking about Capela possibility still being alive.  He said Mav's won't be making a move this next week.  My tea leaf read of this is the earliest this happens is when Bufkin is eligible to be traded on 8/2 (so the week after).  From what I've seen other places, it may not be Hunter going to Toronto.  It might be Capela and kids (some combo of three out of Bufkin, Griffin Jr., Bey and Johnson).  Still not sure what good two years of THJ does for Toronto, but clearly they don't need Capela.

Heading into this offseason, I emphatically said if Powell remains the starting 5 then they have failed outright.

Given that we're heading more and more to that reality I'm struggling to maintain that line of thought. The Mavs by all accounts have had a great offseason. Best one in years. Yet despite their additions they didn't address probably the most glaring need. Can Holmes be that? If so then this offseason was an A+. If not, then I have to knock the grade down to a B-. 

Powell is a fantastic role player and does a lot of things correctly, but a starting center he is not. This is about the time someone will quote me and say it matters less who starts and more who finishes, and to a point I agree. Yet, the need for a consistent rebounder and rim protector, who can also defend bigger guys, is very much apparent. 

Funnily enough, I doubt anyone here would expect it but Boston used Grant Williams primarily as a big stopper. He spent significant time guarding Embiid, Giannis, AD, Jokic, Bam, and practically every other center the Celtics faced against. He had varying success. He was fantastic against Giannis, a little less so individually against Embiid. He shut down Bam and even held his own against Jokic. 

Point is, perhaps we're thinking a bit narrowly (myself included). Yes the Mavs failed to make a significant stride at center, but they might've still fulfilled what they were lookin for with Grant Williams. 

That was my rose colored take on it. They still objectively need to rework the center position. I'm pretty sure it was Nico himself that said that they needed to remake the entire lineup. So far they haven't really unless Holmes comes out swinging and is a valued contributor. Which is a long shot.