2019-2020 Mavs Trade Discussion + Salary Chart

[Scott41theMavs]

I don't personally think we need a 3rd star. We need to add 2 new starters and let the rest of the team grow. Luka is too ball dominant to have a 3rd Alpha on this team. Luka is too great of a player to take that away from him.

I fully agree altho it might depend on what we defined as a 3rd star. For example if we landed Jrue Holiday, he is a former all-star player but is more like a really solid almost star player these days. He is the type of guy that would be a perfect 3rd guy. It's too bad the Mavs didn't get Brogdon last summer who would have also been a great 3rd guy. Gordon is my other pet cat 3rd guy, not quite a star player.

Absent guys like that I think you are right just get good starters next to KP and Luka and you are good to go.

We will see how good of a team Luka needs around him to win over the next year or two, but I would say the current wish list is as such:

1) One guy to play next to Luka in the starting backcourt who is very good at a) quarterbacking the team in Luka's absence, which includes the ability to create his own shot, b) defending point guards, and c) catching and shooting off the ball at 38% or better from 3, since he's almost always going to be off ball when Luka's on the court. I think Burke might be that guy, but someone like Jrue or Schroeder would obviously be better if we could get him.
2) At least one, and preferably two (especially if the Mavs can't fill out the rotation while keeping THJ on the cheap, which is the solitary circumstance in which he should be on roster at the beginning of 2021-22), starter-level, long, athletic defensive wings, and perhaps an additional bench guy of this type to complement DFS.
3) A big man who can spread the floor, anchor the defense, and rebound who can fill in when KP is injured - it's binarily unacceptable to have future genuine contention runs derailed if KP ever gets injured during the playoffs again.
4) As an acceptable alternative to THJ or a second wing, a bruiser PF who can scrap a little with the Morris's and Harrell's of the world, rebound, defend, and hit an occasional outside shot. In today's NBA, it's probably better to just get a bench player of this type.

So, assuming we can't productively trade KP and have to rely on the feast or famine of his shaky knees moving forward, a future Luka team would look something like:

Luka/Brunson
Dude #1/Curry
Dude #2a/DFS
Dude #2b/Dude #4/Maxi?
KP/Dude #3/Maxi or Bobi

I imagine that Dude #1 is going to be quite expensive if it's someone better than Burke. A perpetually-healthy Brogdon would have been perfect, and look at his price tag. Dude's #2a and #2b (or THJ) are likely to cost about $15 mil each, ditto Dude #3. Dude #4 might be available for the MLE. That's a roster that doesn't get another star because you can't afford another star, but is still going to be a challenge to build. The most probable way to obtain one of those four guys #1-3 is likely by nailing another Josh Howard-type low-pick gem in the draft, or by trading up for the right guy, thus freeing up salary for the others.