MAVS NEWS:

[F Gump]

As for every other point above, and again, only my opinion:
Yeah, I think Powell might still be better than Jones in this situation. He's experienced, plays hard, is well respected around the league, and in that scenario that matters this season...let's say game 4 of round 1, someone is hurt, then someone else gets into foul trouble, but you want to stay pretty big, and have to play one of those two guys. I'd honestly rather have Powell in that situation. He's been there before. 
Again, if Gafford was gone, I'd absolutely be thinking more about locking in a good, cheap 3rd guy with some type of upside, hoping to get ahead of the curve for this season and future seasons. 
But, while I like Kai Jones, I don't think he's anything special, and I probably would've forgotten him by now if we weren't discussing him so much. He can run and jump. This might be naive of me, but I feel like there will be other guys - younger guys, who can run faster and jump higher - around when I need to find one.

Got it.

It looked to me like Kai passed DP on the depth chart (starts and minutes) in Mar-Apr, not only when everyone was injured, but also when players came back. And I felt he way outplayed him as well. All of which says to me that MAVS would prefer Kai over DP.

Obviously you don't see Kai as worth having and you see DP as better, which obviously makes my idea 100% pointless when using your evaluation. We'll have to agree to disagree on current relative player values/ability as is. But if you're right, no I wouldn't want my idea happening either.

I do disagree a bunch with your roster-building idea on when you ideally should consider upgrading the 3rdS slot for C (or anything else) ... IMO the very time you should do it is WHEN you have 1stS and 2ndS well manned, rather than when you do not, because then is when you have the luxury of taking a chance on someone who you could develop, rather than needing to play it safe with a DP-type who is meh, will never be anything else, but a known quantity. Neither will play this year, so I say "invest" in the future (and maybe a better 3rdS now as well). Especially if you have a good candidate for min salary. Assuming you have an open slot or can have one at no real cost.

[KillerLeft]

Obviously you don't see Kai as worth having and you see DP as better, which obviously makes my idea 100% pointless when using your evaluation. We'll have to agree to disagree on current relative player values/ability as is. But if you're right, no I wouldn't want my idea happening either.

I do disagree a bunch with your roster-building idea on when you ideally should consider upgrading the 3rdS slot for C (or anything else) ... IMO the very time you should do it is WHEN you have 1stS and 2ndS well manned, rather than when you do not, because then is when you have the luxury of taking a chance on someone who you could develop, rather than needing to play it safe with a DP-type who is meh, will never be anything else, but a known quantity. Neither will play this year, so I say "invest" in the future (and maybe a better 3rdS now as well). Especially if you have a good candidate for min salary. Assuming you have an open slot or can have one at no real cost.

The first half...not quite. I'd be fine if they made the move. I like Jones fine. My original take was about "bending over backwards" to get it done, in that I don't see Jones as worth that type of fuss in their current circumstances. Since you pointed out that spending money to get it done could actually save the owners money, I suppose it's possible to avoid bending over backwards. Let's just say my take is that the Mavs should avoid giving up something they like to do this, even if it's just a 2nd round pick. I'd be more than ok with another method of adding Jones. 

You make an interesting point in the 2nd paragraph. I could get on board with that, especially depending on how they're thinking about Gafford. For example, if they know Gafford will be around only until the trade deadline, or gone by next Summer at the latest, then I'm with you - that's the same as trading him now, in some ways, and it's prudent to put some thought into long term depth. However, if Gafford is here for two or even three more years? I'm not sure it's worth singling out a Jones-level guy for that long. He won't play enough to be a flippable asset (with any value, anyway) and three years down the road there will be some other dude we like. I had never even heard of Kai Jones before they brought him in last year. Kudos if you had. I see the point you're making about developing a young guy who'd make Gafford (or Lively, if you prefer) even more expendable, it's just that I don't think Kai Jones is uniquely able to be that cog in the machine. I bet there are four more athletic bigs looking for opportunities and not finding them from this draft class, with more coming next year...and the year after, etc.

Honestly, the thing you've added that has swayed me the most so far is the idea that Mavs ownership could save money (real dollars) by spending money to dump Powell somewhere. That (along with the added benefit of wiggle room between the payroll and Apron 2) makes me want to do it more than anything else, because I just about lost my mind when they lost the ability to sign replacements late last year. Man, would $8 million be enough to get someone to take Hardy, I wonder? that's what, almost half of what he has left? Maybe more than half, depending on the last year option (can't remember the specifics of his contract). If they could move HIM without using a pick, sign me up!

[ballsrchr]

Great discussion by F Gump, KillerLeft, and others. I don't agree with everything that anybody says, but in this case I would have to go with F Gump--and I'm a great fan of DP. I just think that Kai Jones has greater upside now and for the future.

It would be nice if there was a way to transition DP into the coaching, or management, lineup...and still save the money. But there's not--that I know of (which is very little).

[Reunion Mav]

Great discussion by F Gump, KillerLeft, and others.  I don't agree with everything that anybody says, but in this case I would have to go with F Gump--and I'm a great fan of DP.  I just think that Kai Jones has greater upside now and for the future.

It would be nice if there was a way to transition DP into the coaching, or management, lineup...and still save the money.  But there's not--that I know of (which is very little).

I have been saying Powell for management for years but that was under Cuban. If I’m Powell I would consider the NBA especially the Mavs among his numerous other opportunities but who wouldn’t accept every NBA player check they can get.

[Reunion Mav]

I have been saying Powell for management for years but that was under Cuban. If I’m Powell I would consider the NBA especially the Mavs among his numerous other opportunities but who wouldn’t accept every NBA player check they can get.

I do like Kai and how he played and would prefer him over DP but I love the team chemistry and player effort I saw last year. I wonder which player contributes more to every day chemistry and practice efficiency. We need that but I hate paying extra for that like we did with Morris.

[Smitty]

One last thing on Powell...

Surely, Nico/Dumont wanted Powell to opt out of his $4M player option, even if they really wanted him back on the team as a glue guy or capable 3rd Center, on a VetMin deal.

The difference for Powell between his $4M PO and a Vet Min deal is only $365,847 for him, but if he opted out and came back for the VetMin, it saves the owners ~$7,240,836. The league reimburses clubs who sign veterans with three or more years of experience to one-year, minimum-salary contracts.

$3,634,153 - 10+years VetMin
$2,296,274 - 'Cap' Charge


$4,000,000 - DP PO
$2,296,274 - VetMin 'Cap' Charge
$1,703,726 - Difference
+ $5,537,110 - Tax (3.25x)
$7,240,836



This, at the very least, gets my wheels turning...

[SleepingHero]

@MavsFilmRoom
“It’s an incredible place to live.”

Coop on Dallas

[Smitty]

@ShamsCharania
Dallas Mavericks All-Star Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a detached retina that he suffered during the season, sources tell ESPN. Davis played through multiple hits to the face last year. He is expected to be healthy for next training camp.

[SleepingHero]

@ShamsCharania
Dallas Mavericks All-Star Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a detached retina that he suffered during the season, sources tell ESPN. Davis played through multiple hits to the face last year. He is expected to be healthy for next training camp.

Ouch.

Thankfully he’ll be ready to go but truthfully I saw the shams notification and my heart dropped lol.

[SleepingHero]

@BrettSiegelNBA
As the son of an eye doctor, a detached retina is a time-sensitive injury that needs to be addressed within 48 hours to prevent long-term damage and vision loss.

It's hard to imagine that he suffered this injury in the middle of the year and didn't address it then.

[Chicagojk]

@ShamsCharania
Dallas Mavericks All-Star Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a detached retina that he suffered during the season, sources tell ESPN. Davis played through multiple hits to the face last year. He is expected to be healthy for next training camp.

weird that our training staff diagnosed it as swimmers ear.

[JamesConway912]

Ouch.

Thankfully he’ll be ready to go but truthfully I saw the shams notification and my heart dropped lol.

Never too early to get used to that kind of news with AD. We‘ll get new ones regularly.

[Smitty]

@BrettSiegelNBA
As the son of an eye doctor, a detached retina is a time-sensitive injury that needs to be addressed within 48 hours to prevent long-term damage and vision loss.

It's hard to imagine that he suffered this injury in the middle of the year and didn't address it then.

@BrettSiegelNBA
Official word from Dr. Siegel (the eye doctor):

"Full retinal detachments must be addressed right away. What Anthony Davis likely suffered was a small tear in the retina and an injury that could lead to detachment. They probably held off until now and fixed it with a laser."

[JamesConway912]

@BrettSiegelNBA
As the son of an eye doctor, a detached retina is a time-sensitive injury that needs to be addressed within 48 hours to prevent long-term damage and vision loss.

It's hard to imagine that he suffered this injury in the middle of the year and didn't address it then.

Maybe some cigar smoke got into his eye while playing golf?

[Jmaciscool]

weird that our training staff diagnosed it as swimmers ear.

This made me laugh!

[KillerLeft]

weird that our training staff diagnosed it as swimmers ear.

This is in the running for POTY.

[Smitty]

Kyrie Irving's new three-year deal with the Mavericks officially totals $118.5 million and includes a player option for Year 3, plus a 15% trade kicker and an advance payment provision for half of each season's salary by Oct. 1, league sources tell @TheSteinLine and @DLLS_Mavs.

[mvossman]

Kyrie Irving's new three-year deal with the Mavericks officially totals $118.5 million and includes a player option for Year 3, plus a 15% trade kicker and an advance payment provision for half of each season's salary by Oct. 1, league sources tell @TheSteinLine and @DLLS_Mavs.

Advance payment provision?  What is that about?

[Smitty]

Advance payment provision?  What is that about?

I'm curious also. Maybe Dan or Gump will let us know what that could be about. The 15% trade kicker piqued my curiosity as well... At least the number is lower than initially reported.

[Smitty]

@SalarySwish
Kyrie Irving #Mavericks

Vet Contract - 3 yrs @ $118.5M
Bird - Signed Jul 6, 25
Trade Kicker of 15%

25-26: $36,566,002
26-27: $39,491,282
27-28: $42,416,562 (Player Option)