Only Fantasy Traders in the Building (The Mitchell Case)

[ItsGoTime]

FG can defend himself, but I think too much attention is being paid to the phrase "stripping down".  There were more elements to his argument than just that.

I’ve stated my reasons for interacting with FG. You hardly ever resort to hyperbole and don’t read it into people’s posts, so I don’t mind discussing the pros and cons of anything.

First of all, those three players don't get it done in terms of a salary match.  So, it is a four for one deal and we have to go out into a depleted market to replace all those bodies.

ESPN Trademachine and Fanspo both find the 3 for 1 successful. If you say it takes more than that, I believe you more than those machines. Adding a 4th salary for sure is something else to consider as a con and is not insignificant. As far as on court play, the only real loss is THJ (IF he can get back to the player he was under RC) so anything left out there we can get (pickins are for sure slim, I just disagree that their impact on winning would be much less, if at all, than our outgoing). Mind you, I haven’t come to a conclusion as to whether or not I’d do the deal, I think the pros and cons exercise would help to that end.

Second, Westbrook is a culture-killer whose ego and inefficient game would crush any chance we have to compete in 22/23.

Absolutely the biggest con of them all. My thought of RW on the team if it were to happen is to give him the 3rd ball handler role off the bench, but he’s that microwave scorer/distributor that more than makes up for THJ’s perceived loss in scoring (remember THJ is slotted to come off the bench where he hasn’t played as well).

As far as culture killer? Maybe, I’m not sure he has the clout anymore to do much to a team. If it gets bad? Send him home. Stackhouse was once viewed this way too. If the Laker experience hasn’t knocked some sense into him, for sure there is no hope. His own ex-agent is flaming him, time for some introspection.

As far as chance to compete? It depends on what you think competing means. Championship? Was never gonna happen anyway. WCF berth, was highly unlikely either. Win a 1st round matchup? I don’t see the trade making that unrealistic.

Third, there are no good FA's next summer.  So, why bother

There are good FA every year, depends on how high up the totem pole you’re looking. We’ve also seen other teams use capspace for more than FA. Get creative with it, use it to punt to 24 while collecting draft assets, use it to outbid teams with only a TPE to spend, use it for any number of other uses.

Fourth, you've relegated yourself to a single path of talent acquisition.  Without all those salaries you can't trade for a star in a salary matched deal at the TDL without sending out guys you'd like to keep.  Stripping down isn't necessarily about the guys going out in the Westbrook deal.  It is that you have nothing else to trade once you've done that.

If the goal is to get a disgruntled star, I’d propose one or some of our guys we would want to keep is a part of the cost. This option only comes available next offseason too. How much better is using mostly capspace and a few smaller contracts along with picks to get a Murray type deal? I think SA would have preferred that to what they got for Murray. The only limit to what can be done is a person’s creativity. DS, you are plenty creative to know this.

The trend is stars moving via trade.  The best free agents are extended before they ever reach the market.  What is left restricted players not good enough to get extended, old dudes and players who fall victim to the extension limitations.  Many in that last group will stay with their team the next summer and the ones who are a threat to leave tend to get traded before the summer arrives (yes, I realize that wasn't our recent experience).  If the argument is we should trade Powell for Gary Harris because his contract gives us options now and later, I'm in.  I'd be all for trading Hardaway for an equivalent player on a shorter deal.  But, I don't want any part of Westbrook.

My 2 goals in this is not to argue FOR a trade, it’s to open up dialogue to the possibility that IF the Mavs make a trade like this, it could work out in our favor. A ”strip down” of the team could be a good thing (could also be a bad thing), but making this trade doesn’t mean we’re stripping down the team.


The other goal is an attempt to compile a pros and cons list.

In all, as far as how realistic it is that MC ok’s a trade for RW after what he’s said about him on social media and in the press? Chances are slim to none.