Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[KillerLeft]

Nah, she's the one the looks super hot from 80 feet away, but then when you get up close ...

SHE'S EVEN HOTTER???!!!!

I concur.

[mvossman]

SHE'S EVEN HOTTER???!!!!

I concur.

Never in a million years would I have thought you would be this high on a guy that can't shoot, pass or play defense.  I know its mostly a bit, but I'm still surprised this is the guy.

[KillerLeft]

Never in a million years would I have thought you would be this high on a guy that can't shoot, pass or play defense.  I know its mostly a bit, but I'm still surprised this is the guy.

He CAN shoot, and in fact was a FEATURED offensive player on a finals team as a 22 year-old, and a pretty big reason the series went to 7. If Haliburton doesn't go down, I think they win the series, and this dude was featured (off the bench, but still featured) in that offense. His percentages aren't special because he takes tough shots. He takes tough shots because he's talented and that's what teams ask him to do. He's not a ball hog, as some have claimed, any more than Jason Terry, Hardaway Jr or any of the other people who have been vilified around here for being the player talented enough to be featured, but not quite skilled enough to play that role at a star level. And, he's only 24, so I still have hope - NAY - near belief, that the star or near-star level of efficiency is potentially there in time if he lands in the right spot with the right coach on this next, pivotal contract. 

Also, he CAN play defense. In fact, I have a load of Clippers' fan friends who were over the moon with his defensive chops and how much better he was in that area than advertised, particularly when it comes to on-ball defense. I think it's fair to point out that his defense has been inconsistent, but he's actually been quite impactful on defense at times. 

He's got the size the Mavs seem to covet. He's athletic. He's young, up and coming. He's confident and about to come into his own as a pro, imo, if AGAIN, he lands in the right spot. And, it has been stated so many times by so many people that the Mavericks offered Gafford for him at the trade deadline that I'm content to accept this as common knowledge fact, basically.

There are elements of my campaign that are a bit, it's true, but I assure you the motivation behind launching it is not. I really think this guy represents a near-ground-floor investment in the future similar to the swings they're taking with any of the drafted players, Aldama, Sasser, Biberovic or Risacher. I think he'd fit the tone of this Mavericks summer nicely, and most importantly, I think he brings something to the table this team will badly need ON THE COURT. In the end, much depends on the contract. I obviously don't like him at $25 million AAV for three years, but at the MLE I think it's a steal, and would probably feel good about it anywhere between the MLE and Dan's $19 million AAV suggestion.

[cow]

Never in a million years would I have thought you would be this high on a guy that can't shoot, pass or play defense.  I know its mostly a bit, but I'm still surprised this is the guy.

He's trying to take my Naji bit, but doesn't have the true passion to execute the plan.

[KillerLeft]

He's trying to take my Naji bit, but doesn't have the true passion to execute the plan.

[KillerLeft]

After a nice Mathurin segment today by Isaac Harris, he suggested the following deal (purely his idea, not reporting) out of nowhere. Curious to see what people think of it:

Toronto gets: Gafford and Thompson (who I assume would be flipped or just bought out by Toronto, because he's not going to want to play there).
Dallas gets: Quickly and TOR's unprotected 2029 1st.

His thinking was that TOR might want to parcel up IQ's contract (which is rough) into smaller, more manageable components, similar to what Dallas tried by sending Porzingis to WAS a few years back, and that while eating IQ's remaining money might be less than ideal for Dallas, he is a player type they could conceivably make good use of in the meantime, and the pick would be their payment for his contract.

This is obviously something that could never happen until TOR knows how the Kawhi Leonard trade shakes out, but if it ended up being a real idea, how would people feel about it?

[mvossman]

He CAN shoot, and in fact was a FEATURED offensive player on a finals team as a 22 year-old, and a pretty big reason the series went to 7. If Haliburton doesn't go down, I think they win the series, and this dude was featured (off the bench, but still featured) in that offense. His percentages aren't special because he takes tough shots. He takes tough shots because he's talented and that's what teams ask him to do. He's not a ball hog, as some have claimed, any more than Jason Terry, Hardaway Jr or any of the other people who have been vilified around here for being the player talented enough to be featured, but not quite skilled enough to play that role at a star level. And, he's only 24, so I still have hope - NAY - near belief, that the star or near-star level of efficiency is potentially there in time if he lands in the right spot with the right coach on this next, pivotal contract. 

Also, he CAN play defense. In fact, I have a load of Clippers' fan friends who were over the moon with his defensive chops and how much better he was in that area than advertised, particularly when it comes to on-ball defense. I think it's fair to point out that his defense has been inconsistent, but he's actually been quite impactful on defense at times. 

He's got the size the Mavs seem to covet. He's athletic. He's young, up and coming. He's confident and about to come into his own as a pro, imo, if AGAIN, he lands in the right spot. And, it has been stated so many times by so many people that the Mavericks offered Gafford for him at the trade deadline that I'm content to accept this as common knowledge fact, basically.

There are elements of my campaign that are a bit, it's true, but I assure you the motivation behind launching it is not. I really think this guy represents a near-ground-floor investment in the future similar to the swings they're taking with any of the drafted players, Aldama, Sasser, Biberovic or Risacher. I think he'd fit the tone of this Mavericks summer nicely, and most importantly, I think he brings something to the table this team will badly need ON THE COURT. In the end, much depends on the contract. I obviously don't like him at $25 million AAV for three years, but at the MLE I think it's a steal, and would probably feel good about it anywhere between the MLE and Dan's $19 million AAV suggestion.

You are comparing him to players that took high volume three point shots and made them at a good percentage.  He does neither.  He takes less threes than PJ (and at a worse percentage).  His three point shot profile does not look that difficult.  Most of his shots are open or wide open.  He does take shots off the dribble but at 29% I'm not sure that's a good thing.  

His teams are consistently better on defense when he is off the court.  There may be some context I am missing there, but it has been consistent throughout his career.  To me he seems like a classic case of a player with a lot of talent but doesn't translate to positive on court impact.  The history of those kind of players turning it around is not good.  

If he ends up on this roster (especially at that cost) May will have to do a better job than Rick in getting more out of him.  Seems like a tall order.

[KillerLeft]

You are comparing him to players that took high volume three point shots and made them at a good percentage.  He does neither.  He takes less threes than PJ (and at a worse percentage).  His three point shot profile does not look that difficult.  Most of his shots are open or wide open.  He does take shots off the dribble but at 29% I'm not sure that's a good thing.  

His teams are consistently better on defense when he is off the court.  There may be some context I am missing there, but it has been consistent throughout his career.  To me he seems like a classic case of a player with a lot of talent but doesn't translate to positive on court impact.  The history of those kind of players turning it around is not good.  

If he ends up on this roster (especially at that cost) May will have to do a better job than Rick in getting more out of him.  Seems like a tall order.

Hey, man...you're the guy who analyzes numbers. If I go to bat for a player it's almost always a player who has caught my eye when I've watched his team play, and most of the time I've liked the guy enough to find occasion to watch his team more than other non-Mavs squads. I'm not always right in those situations, obviously, but this is the same feeling I had about PJW before the '24 trade deadline when everyone told me I was a moron for wanting HIM in Dallas. 

I obviously respect your opinion a great deal. You always carefully analyze the information that's important to you and make careful, measured statements that you're prepared to back up. I find that we agree on this stuff more often than not, and each time that happens I become a little more emboldened and confident in my own opinions. I usually take it as a good sign. 

I could be WAY wrong about Mathurin. But, for now, I think what I think, and what I think is that he brings talent to the table in an area where almost none exists on the current Mavs' roster, that he's still young, and that most importantly he seems gettable in a summer when they have the flexibility to do some "getting." I see some of the negatives people bring up, sure, but in terms of fit I think he's potentially a huge positive, and I'd honestly raise my wins projection for THIS season more because they added him (if they did) than any other player they've added this summer.

[Moviemavguy]

I like Mathurin, but I do feel like Christie is 3 ppg away from finally being that guy. In fact, he is my X factor for the season for sure. He was amazing in January and then fell flat. I think his main issue is he doesn't have a killer's mentality to the game. He loses focus and confidence too easily.

But the whole team was tanking, so it's very hard to gauge players from last season. Team seems high on him though which I guess is encouraging.

[KillerLeft]

After a nice Mathurin segment today by Isaac Harris, he suggested the following deal (purely his idea, not reporting) out of nowhere. Curious to see what people think of it:

Toronto gets: Gafford and Thompson (who I assume would be flipped or just bought out by Toronto, because he's not going to want to play there).
Dallas gets: Quickly and TOR's unprotected 2029 1st.

His thinking was that TOR might want to parcel up IQ's contract (which is rough) into smaller, more manageable components, similar to what Dallas tried by sending Porzingis to WAS a few years back, and that while eating IQ's remaining money might be less than ideal for Dallas, he is a player type they could conceivably make good use of in the meantime, and the pick would be their payment for his contract.

This is obviously something that could never happen until TOR knows how the Kawhi Leonard trade shakes out, but if it ended up being a real idea, how would people feel about it?

So, nobody has any thoughts on this one? I actually think it's semi-realistic.