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[DallasMaverick]

Sure, there were some off-court things that contributed, and that's the hope: now that all of that is behind him, will focusing on basketball more singularly put a little wind in his sails? Right there with you. 

But it's not only that. It's not that simple. He lost his job to Alex freaking Len. Coaching style? Idk, man, I bet SAC would've LOVED being able to run pick and roll with Holmes while Sabots sat. There was something he was missing on-court, at least from their perspective, that made him unplayable.

And, do we honestly think that completely giving up their first round pick in the draft was their first attempt to move his salary? That's a HIGH cost for such a move. To me, that screams that other teams wouldn't take the guy. 

Idk, I can certainly buy the idea that he has something left and that a change of scenery and a chance to run pick and roll with Luka and Kyrie will do him some good. I have no trouble getting there in a hopeful sense. It just seems silly to me to assume it's going to work out that way.

I think the Mavs’ hopes were high when they signed McGee. A guy with athleticism, ability to protect the rim and get rebounds. But as the season began, it became clear that his other defensive skills had significantly eroded. Turns out that being able to move your feet laterally, and stay in front of your man is actually much more important than being able to lurk around the hoop and grab rebounds.

So suddenly, Powell didn’t look so bad anymore. And he got his job back.

So, what does this mean for this season?

1. Saved $8m on Powell’s salary. Not quite GWill money, but pretty good.
2. Took on Holmes negative contract in order to get OMax. Maybe Holmes is a complete bust. But maybe he’s serviceable.
3. I used to think their plan was to start Holmes, but now I’m leaning back towards Powell. I think they regret the way they dealt with McGee, and then had to backpedal to starting Powell.  More likely they start Powell, and if Holmes produces in the backup role, give him increasing minutes until they make the swap. There’s no risk that Powell gets offended or ego-bruised by a demotion. He’s not that kind of guy.