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Mavs Future Core
#1
With 3 preseason games under our belt, there are obviously more questions than answers.  The defense looks like a major problem heading into the season.  Offensively the Mavs have a lot of talent, but how well will they gel together?  Seems like we are jacking up a lot of long threes and the offensive flow just seems off.  Dwight Powell could help here.

I do think this season will be a work in progress with the goal of being competitive and fighting for the last playoff spot.  That said with Luka and KP you should not be looking at a long rebuild.  The goal should be to become legitimate contenders within 3 years.

Step 1 is evaluating the roster and finding out who is going to work next to Luka/KP long term.  To me this rules out a guy like JJB who should not be taking minutes away from someone like Brunson.

After 20 or so games we should have a better idea of what is working and what is not.

Step 2 will be determining what might be available in the trade market or next year's free agents.

The goal should be finding the best players 26 and under to add to this core.  Obviously the Mavs are not going to get Giannis, Jokic, Zion, KAT, etc.  More realistic targets maybe someone like Otto Porter or Buddy Hield (who wants an extension).

So who on the team do you think will become a core contributor for years to come and who do you think could be a realistic target?
Free Jalen Brunson!
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#2
I wouldn't agree that the preseason added to my personal concerns. It's obvious this team lacks a quality wing, rebounding, and shooting. I still hope Mavs progressed in all three areas, but based on what we've seen sop far (which is really not a lot), there's unfortunately little evidence. Fortunately however, preseason is not reliable whatsoever. It's additionally unfortunate that DP can't gel with the potential other starters. He is a huge part of what the Mavs are trying to do offensively. They need an elite roll man.

The two spots you can upgrade the most are wing and backup center. With Curry, Wright, Brunson, and Luka we have quality guards as well as KP/Maxi duo at PF. Now Powell is our center and as much as I like Boban, you ideally want someone a little more mobile. But that's easier said than done for sure. Wing is our weak spot. We have tons of players under contract on mostly cheap deals except THJ. Dodo, Jackson, Roby. I think so far JJ has the best chances to actually grow into a starting caliber player, I also still like Dodo. But tbh. that's a long shot and acquiring a quality wing has to be the next step. 

Issue is, don'T get your hopes up for this or next year. We have little to no cap space and unless somebody is willing to take on THJ.
Former: Psychology BSc. Sports coverage for @weltfussball and @sportde. Writer at @mavsmoneyball. Now: Web Dev, Mavs fan.
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#3
I'm gonna be so pissed if Carlisle forces minutes to Barea over Brunson this year. I love JJB and don't want my memory of him tarnished because Carlisle is forcing him minutes over a clearly superior player in Brunson.
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#4
(10-12-2019, 03:43 PM)j0Shi Wrote: Issue is, don'T get your hopes up for this or next year. We have little to no cap space and unless somebody is willing to take on THJ.

My expectations are to be competitive this year, which doesn't necessarily mean playoffs.  They SHOULD be better than last year with the addition of KP and another year of Luka.  If they win 30 games something went terribly wrong.

Yes cap space is an issue next year.  But capped teams proved this summer that big moves can be made.  Even if it's just the MLE, Mavs have to prove they can add a piece to the puzzle.  We will see how Seth, Delon & Boban work out.  But any of them could be added to a mid-season trade.  Agree THJ will be hard to move but we saw the likes of Parsons, Crabbe and Chris Paul's enormous contract traded so with additional sweeteners for the right player I would not say it's impossible.
Free Jalen Brunson!
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#5
(10-12-2019, 03:43 PM)j0Shi Wrote: I wouldn't agree that the preseason added to my personal concerns. It's obvious this team lacks a quality wing, rebounding, and shooting. I still hope Mavs progressed in all three areas, but based on what we've seen sop far (which is really not a lot), there's unfortunately little evidence. Fortunately however, preseason is not reliable whatsoever. It's additionally unfortunate that DP can't gel with the potential other starters. He is a huge part of what the Mavs are trying to do offensively. They need an elite roll man.

The two spots you can upgrade the most are wing and backup center. With Curry, Wright, Brunson, and Luka we have quality guards as well as KP/Maxi duo at PF. Now Powell is our center and as much as I like Boban, you ideally want someone a little more mobile. But that's easier said than done for sure. Wing is our weak spot. We have tons of players under contract on mostly cheap deals except THJ. Dodo, Jackson, Roby. I think so far JJ has the best chances to actually grow into a starting caliber player, I also still like Dodo. But tbh. that's a long shot and acquiring a quality wing has to be the next step. 

Issue is, don'T get your hopes up for this or next year. We have little to no cap space and unless somebody is willing to take on THJ.

At this point we have PG covered with Luka and Brunson. Center is covered with KP, back up really is not an issue., always plenty of cheap options available Although I was wondering yesterday why we didn't give a shot with Bender - he would actually be cheaper than Bobi and has much higher upside.
The rest we don't have starter level talent, from what we have seen so far (Powell remains to be seen).

SG: From what was seen in this three games, Curry and Wright are back up level. Let's give them a bit more time, but it is not encouraging.
SF: JJ has the highest upside, if only he would be more aggresive. He has a killer floater and decent 3 point shot. DFS is just average on both sides of the floor (or a little bit above average defender). So he can be a decent back up, but that's it.
PF: Maxi is definitely not a starter. He was killed on the defensive end in all three games by Adams, Griffin and Freak. On the other side of the floor he is average at best. We definitely need a better player as a starter. I have some hopes that Powell and his high energy play will give a boost to everybody. 

Looking at the roster as a whole we have just too many average players paid too much money (Curry, Wright, Maxi, Powell, DFS, not counting Lee and THJ). Contenders are mostly covering back up roles by minimum salary guys. So we need to convert some of our average players for better ones, which is difficult to do without assets. So we will need to first convert some of our average players for assets and worse players, which will later enable us to upgrade the rest. 

Regarding 2020 summer, cap space is not the only way, as we were taught this summer. I see sign and trade as an option and there are definitely some interesting options available: Hield, Saric, Bogdanovic, Brown would all be interesting for us from the RFA crop. Harris and Bertans would be interesting UFA options. I really wouldn't want to put all hope in the "Freak or similar" 2021 pipedreams. If this kind of player would want to come to us, there are always ways to make it happen, no matter what kind of contracts we will have. 

I still hope they can convert Lee and/or TE into any kind of asset at the TDL. I am still deeply pissed by our summer and all the opportunities missed.
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#6
(10-12-2019, 04:32 PM)omahen Wrote: At this point we have PG covered with Luka and Brunson. Center is covered with KP, back up really is not an issue., always plenty of cheap options available Although I was wondering yesterday why we didn't give a shot with Bender - he would actually be cheaper than Bobi and has much higher upside.
The rest we don't have starter level talent, from what we have seen so far (Powell remains to be seen).

SG: From what was seen in this three games, Curry and Wright are back up level. Let's give them a bit more time, but it is not encouraging.
SF: JJ has the highest upside, if only he would be more aggresive. He has a killer floater and decent 3 point shot. DFS is just average on both sides of the floor (or a little bit above average defender). So he can be a decent back up, but that's it.
PF: Maxi is definitely not a starter. He was killed on the defensive end in all three games by Adams, Griffin and Freak. On the other side of the floor he is average at best. We definitely need a better player as a starter. I have some hopes that Powell and his high energy play will give a boost to everybody. 

Looking at the roster as a whole we have just too many average players paid too much money (Curry, Wright, Maxi, Powell, DFS, not counting Lee and THJ). Contenders are mostly covering back up roles by minimum salary guys. So we need to convert some of our average players for better ones, which is difficult to do without assets. So we will need to first convert some of our average players for assets and worse players, which will later enable us to upgrade the rest. 

Regarding 2020 summer, cap space is not the only way, as we were taught this summer. I see sign and trade as an option and there are definitely some interesting options available: Hield, Saric, Bogdanovic, Brown would all be interesting for us from the RFA crop. Harris and Bertans would be interesting UFA options. I really wouldn't want to put all hope in the "Freak or similar" 2021 pipedreams. If this kind of player would want to come to us, there are always ways to make it happen, no matter what kind of contracts we will have. 

I still hope they can convert Lee and/or TE into any kind of asset at the TDL. I am still deeply pissed by our summer and all the opportunities missed.

For too long the Mavs have put much emphasis on Free Agency to land a "Big Fish".  For too long they have downplayed the importance of the draft.  Last year was an exception when the made the trade for Luka and picked up Brunson in the 2nd.  But remember trading down to create more money for Dwight Howard who didn't come here?  Just one example that had left the cupboard dry before Luka arrived.  

Another thing that bothers me is not letting the market set the value of guys you retain.  Sure KP was getting the max from someone.  But I sincerely doubt DP, Maxi or even DFS were valued by other teams at the same salary they were paid.  Crippling contracts no, but it does raise questions on the FO ability to properly build around Luka/KP.   You need to get the most bang for your bucks which means productive players on rookie and value contracts.
Free Jalen Brunson!
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