01-08-2026, 04:31 AM
(01-08-2026, 02:10 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: Another thing I'm seeing: "Dallas wants more than cap relief and is still trying to get the Pelicans pick." Woo! Keep trying!
I see it as ATL who has been "trying" to get the unlikely. It takes strong value/assets, to get a difference-making player. But they want to keep all of Johnson, Daniels, Okongwu, etc etc -- ie, all the players they have who are good value. Their other (own) picks will be worthless, once they add AD to their talent mix.
All that's really left is the NO pick, and DAL has likely told them that's necessary. Duh. As for how they REALLY feel about letting go of it, it feels to me like their leaks they "won't" trade it have been pure PR to set up a way to either let their fans down easy on trading it, or on not getting AD.
Risacher and the NO pick (and hopefully a later year FRP as well, protected but eventually a FRP) is not an exorbitant ask at all for a defender like AD who can dominate the middle and change ATL's trajectory, and who can also give some scoring. They can't get a player like that elsewhere. This is their one chance, and they likely are very aware of that. imo
They know they really need to up their D if they are even going to be elite. They keep edging that way. They really NEED to make this deal, badly.
About the Trae deal. There are multiple ways to make the match numbers work, and the challenge is keeping ATL under the tax line while also not making issues for DAL having too many bodies. Looping DAL into the WAS swap would have opened some possibilities that might make those easier.
But if if I'm the Mavs, my "line in the sand" so to speak would be Risarcher, the NO #1, and a future protected FRP, and the rest of the salary match something to negotiate and compromise on.
One way to add some flexibility would be for ATL to just take some extra salary and pay some tax. And what if the Mavs offered to send cash to cover the tax bill, as a concession? However, that won't work, because ATL would lose out on a share of the tax collections (est is about $25M per team). So the Mavs' "compromise" would have to be in regards to number of bodies sent, or which bodies, to balance the trade.