11-27-2025, 11:29 AM
(11-27-2025, 07:20 AM)F Gump Wrote: My observations ...
1 Kuminga can't be traded until late January, which allows us to get a better read on Kyrie's return (and what the team looks like after that happens).
2 In such a deal, I would want "Gafford and Hardy" to be the outgoing to GS since White may only be a short-term guy. You're buying the "joy" of getting to deal with that contract situation. CHI is the big winner in the players moving, so they would have to add pick compensation to GS to balance the deal.
3 BUT -- I am not sure the Mavs could afford to re-sign White, because their cap sheet is such a disaster already. Even if you include Hardy, a raise for White (current salary is about 12.9M) lands them over A2, unless we can assume DAR is gone too and replaced with minimum salary. Then again, is White worth more than MLE money in today's economics? But if you are likely to have to let him walk because he won't be worth the money, didn't you give away Gaff for nothing? That's not a good plan.
4 This being desirable and working out also depends on the dependability of AD and to a lesser extent Lively. That a big roll of the dice on an outcome with long odds. But I'm not sure how to fix the issue of having a lot of centers who can't ever play. In theory I like AD as a key member of the team, but he only makes sense to build around if you can get 70 games a year from him. His contract is MASSIVE and keeps you from roster-building to cover for his absences.
Yeah, Coby White makes more sense in an AD trade where you are getting a lot of expiring back and have the room to pay him his new contract. Also, if you are planning on trading AD then I don't know that it makes sense to trade Gafford, especially for a guy roughly the same age.
Coby White is an interesting case. Can you put him in the starting lineup next to Kyrie or is he a 6th man? He is going to cost a lot of money, too much for a 6th man on a rebuilding team.