2023 DRAFT: Mavs take Lively, OMP, sign Mike Miles to 2-way, sign Jordan Walker

[ThisIStheYear]

Excited about tonight. My final thoughts on at least what I would do. Leonard Miller is the player to get out of this draft that balances value at his draft position and potential. IMO, he’s this year’s Giannis, SGA, Bam, Hardy, etc. (and no, I’m not saying he’s as good as most of those guys, he’s just incredibly undervalued). He has great length and athleticism, point forward skills, and at the end of the year was the best player in the GLeague, which is better than the NCAA. The Mavs also need to add a second player with some potential and shed salary. So, what would I do?

1) draft Coulibaly at 10. Pops and Wemby reportedly covet him. And, the Spurs should have the assets to move to about 20 in the draft to position for Miller.
2) if the Spurs fail in their effort to get that pick, then you have Coulibaly, who will be an excellent prospect with uber elite athletic traits and measurables and promising skills, except that he’s very bad on pull ups and floaters. He’ll probably be good.
3) if the Spurs are successful, trade Coulibaly, Bertans, and McGee for Miller and Charles Bassey. Best I can tell, Bassey is the only worthwhile prospect on the current Spurs roster (based on the advanced stats), if he can stay healthy, and is a needed big. I’d also want something like a future protected first or a couple of twos. The trade works in the Trade Machine and allows Dallas to just outright dump a large amount of useless salary.
4) maybe that’s enough money shed to give Dallas a full MLE - I don’t know the calculations, but hopefully it would put the Mavs in striking distance with another move.
5) sign a pretty good player in free agency with the MLE. Someone will be available for less than they should be because so few teams have cap space.

I really don’t think any other trading partner could absorb enough salary to help make this happen except San Antonio. They’re our brothers. They help us win now, we help them win later. Square deal.