EXTENSION: Gobert signs 5yr/$205M w/ UTA | DAL "significant interest" if available

[Dundalis]

1) Gobert was indeed a disaster in the Rockets series in 2019 (-17.9). But this past playoffs he was +5.2 on/off. He showed that he could bounce back and become a winning factor in the playoffs. So much of this hate for Gobert is centered on a 5 game sample size in which the whole team was completely outmatched and out-talented by the Rockets.  

2) "Defending in space" isn't necessarily the issue. The issue in that Rockets series was they pulled Gobert to the perimeter and the rest of the Jazz defenders sucked and offered no rim protection. The Rockets killed the Jazz IN THE PAINT. With KP+Gobert you would still have a legit rim protector to back up the other.

3) KP is actually not bad at "defending in space." When he was switched onto the pick and roll ball handler he was 98th percentile (elite!) as a defender this past season, giving up only 0.50 points per play (!).

4) People just act like the KP+Gobert defense would be SO TERRIBLE, but honestly how is it going to be worse than what the Mavs have been doing? AND Gobert has good to elite impact on the offensive end because of his screening/rolling. 


Finally don't forget that there is smoke around Gobert to the Mavs. Zach Lowe reported this in November:





This kind of stuff almost always has some sort of basis for it. These rival executives are part of and hear the conversations that teams are having and what the Mavs might be shopping around for. 

I am not saying Gobert to DAL will happen.

I am not saying Gobert to DAL is the only way forward for the Mavs to get better.

I am simply saying Gobert to DAL is ONE way the Mavs could improve. Building a team like the Houston Rockets isn't the only way to win and it is nearsighted to get caught up in the copycat game. Get better talent and force the other team to adjust to you.

KP got DESTROYED in PnR by the Blazers. It was an absolute sh#t show. I don't care what you do against weak/half assing teams in the regular season. What happens against elite teams in the playoffs? Gobert is not a good defender in space. He is better than KP, who is definitely not a good defender in space. People say this all the time, such and such is a good defender in space "for a 5". It's like someone saying somebody is a good ball handler for a 5. That does NOT mean they are a good defender in space or a good ball handler. At all. Good NBA wings will take advantage of Gobert (and certainly KP) if they take them out to the 3 pt line or put them on an island in space all day long in a way they do not against actual bigs who defend well in space like say Bam (who actually defends well inside and out, not just "for a 5"). Even Maxi is a better defender in space than Gobert IMO, and Maxi is someone id call merely adequate defending in space though plenty would phrase him as a good defender in space "for a 5". It doesn't matter how good you are for your position, just whether you are good fullstop. Matchups also make a huge difference. Players like Gobert and KP are actively hidden as much as possible from defending quick wing players, players like Bam and even Maxi for us are actually tasked with defending really good wings, so some of the defensive metrics are also very misleading. Talking about how Gobert was pulled to the perimeter by the Rockets and blaming the rest of the Jazz for bad rim protection is a totally counter intuitive statement. Because if Gobert could actually defend well in space, the need for the secondary paint protection would be significantly reduced.

Also I'm not sure on/off plus minus means much as far as defense goes. It just means you scored more points while on the floor than you gave up. Not a great indicator IMO. I absolutely think he was abused defensively this past playoffs too.

No idea what you mean by "People just act like the KP+Gobert defense would be SO TERRIBLE, but honestly how is it going to be worse than what the Mavs have been doing?" The whole point is to NOT continue doing what the Mavs have been doing defensively, but be way way better. Pieces need to fit into team concepts, offensively and defensively. And for us going forwards it will be the playoffs that matter, not the regular season.