04-10-2023, 10:52 AM
(04-10-2023, 09:32 AM)MAVS-SLO Wrote: Finaly the season is over. Now there is probably the most critical offseason ahead of us, in probably the last decade. And in my opinion situation can go either way. I can see us winning a chip next season and also i can see us as complete distaster next season.
As i said in a lot previous posts, we have some great individual players in roster. Individually that roster is probably the best roster in the Luka's era, but with some massive holes which in my opinion were a reason why we were losing this season. If we can manage to fill that holes with 2-3 good pieces, then in my opinon we have chance that ''machine starts working'' next season.
In NBA situation can change very quickly and very quickly this reports of disaster become ''genius move by a Mavs''.
First thing is to get draft pick. I couldn't imagine what could happen if we succesfully tanked the season to stay without pick. After everthing i think we will end up with 10 pick with some interesting names that can solve a lot of our problems. Taylor Hendricks, Walker and Whitemore are my top 3 picks at the 10.
Next step is resigning Kyrie. As i said i'm not a fan of Kyrie, but he loses aren't his fault. And we aren't in position to lose another player for nothing. I won't like a contract, but we aren't in situation to choose.
I don't know what to think about Kidd. Sadly he will be here next season, so our only hope is that players figure out how to play, because Kidd it won't help them.
So the roster per positions:
CENTERS:
? - McGee - ?
One of 2 biggest holes in our roster. We only have McGee under the contract at the center for the next season, so we will need an big upgrade on this position. We will probably let Wood walk for nothing, which is another wasted 1 round pick.
Powell back on the vet-min (or around 4-5 per season) seems very realistic to me. As a back-up big that in my opinion is not so bad. With that, we can maybe also use McGee as a salary filler in some trades.
As a third option i would bring back Boban. He is one of the Luka's best friends and his presence improves chemistry for 100%.
For a starting center i really don't know who they can target. Turner would be perfect in my opinion i just don't know if they have assets to bring him. Capela may be interesting, maybe Nurkic, for Claxton and others we don't have assets to bring them.
POWER FORWARDS:
? - Kleber - Bertans
Probably the biggest hole after DFS trade. I think the plan is to fill that hole with the upcoming draft (Hendricks, Walker, Whitemore). Maxi will hopefully be more healthier next season, while i hope we can trade Bertans for something.
SMALL FORWARDS:
Green - Bullock - Pinson
Green took massive step forward and i hope he will take another one next season. Bullock have a down year like all the team, but as a back up he still good. Pinson is another cheerleader, but someone very close to Kyrie and that's enough to have him back next season.
SHOOTING GUARDS:
Luka - Hardaway - Hardy
Nothing to change. Hope Hardy will take another step forward, while we can try to trade Hardaway for a starting caliber center (Turner).
POINT GUARDS:
Kyrie - ? - ?
Resigning Kyrie is priority. Next thing is to try to get another back up pg. Maybe there is again time to talk about Dragic. As a 3 option Wright on 2 way can also be enough.
In my opinion with some minor moves like bringing back Boban and maybe Dragic can be achieved a lot. With luck on a draft we can be very close and maybe 1 trade away to becoming one of the biggest contenders.
Finding a starting caliber Center and a big wing is a must. If this team just improves their defense and rebound better, a lot of their issues will fix themselves imo. With our resources, it will be tough to fill both. So maybe one is a bandaid approach. This will take smart player evaluation. In a perfect world, they fill one hole with a trade plus future draft pick. And the other hole is filled by a smart evaluation move. Maybe this is the band aid move that stops the bleeding for the short term. If they could do this while keeping their pick (if they don't get unlucky), this would be a really nice offseason.
The west is wide open. There are some younger teams that may make things even more crowded next year, but if Dallas can make smart moves and improve around the edges (better rebounding, better rim defense, maybe faster pace) there is no reason why a Luka led team cannot be really competitive. They just need to build a squad that allows Luka to be Luka.