(07-17-2025, 04:18 PM)Smitty Wrote: @ShamsCharania
BREAKING: Nine-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard is finalizing a three-year, $42 million contract to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell ESPN. Deal is expected to include a player option in 2027-28 and a no-trade clause. A storybook reunion home for the 35-year-old.

(07-17-2025, 04:18 PM)Smitty Wrote: @ShamsCharania
BREAKING: Nine-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard is finalizing a three-year, $42 million contract to return to the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell ESPN. Deal is expected to include a player option in 2027-28 and a no-trade clause. A storybook reunion home for the 35-year-old.

(07-17-2025, 04:30 PM)Knutsen Wrote: Romantic story, but there‘s no chance for a happy ending in the form of winning anything. I don’t understand it from a sporting perspective from either side.

(07-17-2025, 04:30 PM)Knutsen Wrote: Romantic story, but there‘s no chance for a happy ending in the form of winning anything. I don’t understand it from a sporting perspective from either side.

(07-18-2025, 05:18 PM)omahen Wrote: Cleveland is currently the only 2nd apron team with 19 mil over the apron, so it would take them some serious salary dumping to get under the apron, lets say Strus and Wade. I wonder if they will just stay where they are.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

There are 9 other teams that are in tax at this moment. BOS, NY, Dal, Min, LAL, Den, Tor, Hou and Orl. 

(07-18-2025, 05:47 PM)F Gump Wrote: I don't have time or desire to explore it in detail (because eventually the Mavs will answer it for us), but 10 teams are over the tax line. We focus on BKN as the easy-to-see solution, but all teams under the tax line by a few million are potentially able to provide Mavs with a swap in which the Mavs end up with one less player and a bit less salary.

(07-18-2025, 05:51 PM)omahen Wrote: Agree. My point was more, that there might not be many (if any?) teams looking to pay BKN for their cap space.

(07-18-2025, 06:10 PM)F Gump Wrote: Good point. My hope is that the cost might be super cheap as BKN is trying to get up to the minimum salary level, and adding more salary is kinda free to them.

If you are the Mavs and BKN will take anyone you want to give and it only costs you sending all your allowable cash or less (~8M iirc), who do you send out of Martin, Hardy, OMax, Powell? All 4? Are there any who have actual value to the team and its future at their salary?

(07-18-2025, 08:38 PM)F Gump Wrote: O, Reasonable analysis, but that didn't speak to my question at all. I'm not trying to consider what BKN might prefer to do, because their thinking and forward planning has lots of moving parts. Mine instead was a "Mavs' preference" question. I'll try this again.

You [the reader, not specifically O] are the Mavs. BKN says: "We will take anyone you want to give. We can find a way to take all the salaries. We are open to taking them all, for various reasons, although on some we might want you to pay the salary for this season (or a portion, in light of the limits of cash). No pick is required." So it only (at most) costs you sending all your allowable cash or less (~8M iirc). My question: who would you (the Mavs) want to send, out of Martin, Hardy, OMax, Powell? Are there any (or a few) who have actual value to the team and its future at their salary and you would prefer to keep? Or do you gladly send all 4?

(07-18-2025, 08:38 PM)F Gump Wrote: You [the reader, not specifically O] are the Mavs. BKN says: "We will take anyone you want to give. We can find a way to take all the salaries. We are open to taking them all, for various reasons, although on some we might want you to pay the salary for this season (or a portion, in light of the limits of cash). No pick is required." So it only (at most) costs you sending all your allowable cash or less (~8M iirc). My question: who would you (the Mavs) want to send, out of Martin, Hardy, OMax, Powell? Are there any (or a few) who have actual value to the team and its future at their salary and you would prefer to keep? Or do you gladly send all 4?

(07-18-2025, 10:51 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: I'm not as up on other teams' situations just yet. I still follow the whole league, but things happen so fast during the off-season I usually become somewhat disconnected from the league as a whole at this time of year, and my focus becomes hyper-focused on the Mavericks. 

Here's thing:

Davis
Flagg
Irving (injured)
Thompson
Washington
Marshall
Russell
Gafford
Christie
Exum
Martin

That's ELEVEN players who are all worthy of being in some team's top 9, imho. In fact, I bet all 11 expect to be in the Mavs' top 9 THIS SEASON. And yet, somehow, the Mavs' top 9 (although we might disagree which 9 names to choose from the list above) doesn't quite feel like a good enough team, with or without Kyrie. It's plausible that they miss the playoffs, even if relatively healthy.  

Williams (some would probably add him to the list above, and he might deserve it, but I'm being ultra conservative here, despite the idea that including him in the previous list might support my overall point)
Powell
Hardy
O-Max
Nembhard (2-way)
Kelly (2-way)

Those guys are all "end of the bench, not in the rotation" types, probably, and depending on how we feel about their contracts, potential or both, there's nothing really special to see. Some have value as up and coming players with potential, others have value as locker-room vets, etc. Some of them could possibly even be better than other teams' 9th, 10th or 11th men. 

To me, this situation is SCREAMING for a 2-for-1 or even a 3-for-1 consolidation trade where 1-2 names from the top group go out (possibly with 1-2 from the bottom group, but not necessarily) for an impact player who fits squarely into the top 9 (or preferably the top 6), so that:

1) the rotation makes more sense
2) player roles are more defined
and, most importantly
3) the amount of talent OF THE TOP 9 is significantly improved and not just relying on "depth." Depth is a good thing, particularly after a season nuked by injury concerns (some of which are spilling over into this season), but if your rotation isn't good enough when everyone is healthy, what good is depth? 

We don't know what was actually available and out there this summer. And, we don't know exactly how this team is going to fit together just yet, particularly regarding the Cooper Flagg of it all. Lastly, we don't know who's going to have a good year, health wise, so I'm ok for now just maintaining the status quo (assuming Washington is extended) but I just can't believe anyone over there at Mavs HQ thinks this roster is a finished product. If they do, then I think we're all about to wast quite a bit of time watching a style of basketball that has little chance to work.

TL;DR: I'm happy with each of this summer's moves in a vacuum, but I'm underwhelmed with the resulting team they have to show for their effort. I don't want to give players away, but I wouldn't want to go too much longer before creating better synergy and adding to the top of the roster, and I feel like not doing so at some point soon might end up making this next season or two a real missed opportunity.