Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[cow]

I can imagine that, too. 

But, is that (maximum) of 15 minutes per worth even his modest price tag? Is it worth taking the ball out of Kyrie's hands during those minutes? De Larrea's? Just food for thought. 

Ultimately, what it comes down to is: how serious are the Mavs about wanting to give Flagg more space? What I can't imagine is ever thinking Marshall is the right fit on the court with Flagg when guys like Aldama, Bibervovic, De Larrea, Sasser, Rissacher and even PJW (I don't think his shooting is a strength like some, but it is compared to Marshall's) are available. I actually thought more of his minutes should have gone to Klay Thompson last year, honestly.

Bolded = Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  Naji's on court role when shared with Kyrie and Flagg is also different than Naji having to take up so much ball handling responsibility as was asked of him last year.  And totally not on board with the Klay assessment.  He's a liability on defense and about half the time he isn't even close to being Klay Thompson on offense anymore which he doesn't realize.  But it seems like we are just ending up in the same place with Naji getting scapegoated in a sabotaged season and most everyone else getting a bit of a pass. Why isn't PJW catching more strays? I know if he comes into camp looking disheveled again, I'm going to be worried.

The "issue" some have with Naji is about 3-pt shooting, to be sure. But to add to that, they also put a hard requirement on all Mav players other than Flagg being a floor spacer (shoot a lot of 3s as their game).

1 think that's short sighted to have such a singular criteria. I don't think that the Mavs will see that as the deciding factor for who they want to employ and play. And - this is one that's supremely ignored - I don't assume that every player they are adding will be some great floor spacer, just because we hope they can be one. What if some of these kids can't actually make 3's after all - and can't do the other things that Naji can do either? BUT - we have a whole season to see who can really contribute, and who can't, before making any hard choices.  

One more factor in the mix is Flagg himself. If HE develops a 3-pt shot (and if I'm in charge, that's the one thing I have him working on developing from now until October), then they will need a player exactly like Naji is now (not another 3-pt guy), who can space the floor by forcing the defense back into the lane to stop his drives. It takes both. 

Of course, another avenue is figuring out how to get 3s out of Naji at a high volume, high percentage result. That would help too.

Year 2 Cooper should create more space and have more space to operate because of Kyrie. Other players should also benefit from Kyrie's gravity when sharing the floor. And yeah, everyone loves the shiny new toy, but I do think it's rather silly to think guys that have played zero NBA minutes or were cast aways are going to fit like a glove with Cooper. I've bitched about this a lot, but I also hate the fit next to Cooper narrative that gets leaned into so hard around here. For the first time in a very long time, our superstar is a two way stud. He should pair with just about anything.