ROSTER TALK: Mavs favs for Vogel if no HC job exists. Kyrie handshake deal?

[dirkfansince1998]

On/off numbers are tricky to assess.  For the last couple of seasons when McGee was not on the court it was likely AD or Ayton.  I used it in KP case because the whole argument was that he was tanking the defense (he was not).  I'm not arguing that KP was a great or necessary defender.  What I am arguing more than anything is that we clearly lacked depth at the center position after the trade (something I think even you can agree with as the team clear ran down) and needed to add rotational depth.

A big difference between KP and McGee is that we had to play one (when he could play) 30+ minutes a game.  The other is completely optional.  There are times when he will be effective and time that he wont.  We are not in any way locked into playing him a certain amount of minutes, especially in the playoffs.  I really do think he will help with the wear and tear on the big position.

Of course on/off isn´t perfect. Especially in small sample sizes. But in this case we are looking at a player in his mid 30s. Giant sample size. Him being a net negative on defense in all but one season in the last ten years is concerning. I get that others want to focus on the positives. Shot blocking and rim protection.
Personally I am more concerned about the short comings. His shot blocking comes with league leading foul rates. Is that even a positive? As @"KillerLeft" likes to point out. He cannot defend in space and forces the Mavs to adjust their scheme if they want to protect him from being exposed. Even though he improved over the last couple of years his mediocre (for lack of words) bball IQ and awareness will lead to defensive breakdown.

Not to mention that the on/off numbers paint a similar picture when it comes to his rebounding. More often than not team rebounding didn´t improve with him on the floor. McGee will chase rebounds. He isn´t known for his box outs.

Based on his past I wouldn´t be suprised if his offense ends up better than his defense. I already mentioned the tendency to chase rebounds. That´s also the case on offense. Leading to elite offensive rebounding numbers. Combined with good screens and rim runnning it´s not suprising that +/- based metrics favor his offense over his defense.

I agree that he will help with the wear and tear. Don´t agree that he is an optional player. The starter promise combined with the three year deal makes him more than just a random rotation player.