'25 Playoff Rotation Predictions: A Collaborative Deep Dive

[F Gump]

For the early second round pick or maybe even a late first.. Zacharie Perrin is my guy.

In a weird twist with all their issues in trying to have draft picks, this summer the Mavs are on track to have both of those - an early second round pick (currently 37) or maybe even AND a late first (currently 25).

Not sure they will have room for both on the roster, however, unless one gets stashed as a two-way or Euro project., because of roster needs and payroll limits. Assuming they re-sign Grimes and Morris (or an equivalent cheerleader), they would only have one roster slot opening up (Exum's) unless they fashion a trade (in which case, presumably there's a player coming back who himself takes a slot).

If anyone cares this early, a quick peek at the numbers shows they likely have a choice between signing a full MLE player or re-signing Grimes (who I assume will cost somewhere around MLE, hopefully a bit less). A full MLE is about 14M.

I can see the Mavs trying to package Maxi-Hardy-pick for someone, but have a hard time figuring out if they would have enough minutes open to make it worth their while for a player in the MLE-or-so salary range.

Two players that would be interesting would be either DFS or DJJ, but I can't see a good trade fit for either during the season. And how would either get enough minutes?

Maybe a run at one or the other in the summer, where DFS may be a FA (turning down an option year and shooting for a longer deal and security) who perhaps could be interested in a return to Dallas for multiple years at around that number as a FA. Or a trade run for DJJ perhaps, potentially offering a Hardy-pick package for the 3-and-D vet. But still hard to see where minutes would come from, for either, even if you could get them.