04-30-2024, 08:12 PM
(04-30-2024, 05:39 PM)omahen Wrote: I don't expect an all NBA defender, not looking for that. But Brogdon is still a smart and reliable player. His last season with the tanking Portland defense with him playing was better than without him. I don't think Portland wanted him to be the best possible version of himself and it is totally possible they were sitting him on purpose due to their tanking goals. He played 67 games for Boston just a season ago and won 6th man of the year. The team held their own in his minutes on the court. Both offense and defense stayed very similar in his minutes. If you are looking for a better all around player, you are looking for a star. Something you argued against a lot in some previous discussions.
He is a smart and reliable player capable of backing up stars. Not looking for him to be one. It is the 6th man role that I want him in. To be there to provide consistent minutes with bench unit so that Mavs don't need to run Luka and Kai to the ground through regular season. And to provide some stability in playoffs. You can't argue he is not a far better fit than Hardaway. I would not be after him because he is an all NBA defender or because he is a star on offense. I like him because he is decent on both ends on the floor and brings stability. Something Mavs lack a lot. Even though Luka is not his best self so far, Mavs can't afford to rest him, because there is no reliability on the bench.
I think playoffs so far showed Mavs have plenty of good defenders. They lack another scorer who can be also a solid defender. Brogdon is that.
Edit: I know you proposed Caruso in the past. I like him a lot. But, looking at Mavs in this series, I am not sure the result would be much different. His last season is his best season offensively by far where he almost doubled his ppg compared to a season ago. Not to mention his injury history is very similar to the one of Brogdon. This past season was his first where he played more than 70 games (71 total).
Brogdon is not a good choice. Not only because of play-off availability question marks, but we need a durable PG for the regular season to keep Luka/Kyrie fresh. Exum is already missing too many games. We don´t need another injury-prone player in his 30s.