Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[SleepingHero]

The Mavs roster-building goal, with Luka and Kyrie, needs to be to identify players who can help, who ALSO can be cap efficient. Ayton, while he does some good things, is not that guy at all.

I don't think any of those players exist currently with your added caveat of being cap efficient. 

Mavs are all in with the Kyrie trade. In fact, I'd give it 2 seasons. Maybe even 1. What other centers do you see available that satisfy both of those requirements AND can be had for the little assets the Mavs have left?

Further, how many of them are defacto better than Ayton?

Sure there are guys like Hartenstien, Gafford, Landale, heck even BBall Paul Reed. All of them I'd love to have on the Mavs. I don't think many of them are readily available though. And if the Mavs are going to overpay, I'd rather get a guy that has shown to be a proven starter on a team that went to the finals and were 2 games away from winning it all, vs. taking a swing at a boom/bust role player that we hope can be as good as Ayton while also being on a cheaper contract. 

Ayton has definite warts, but at this point the Mavs aren't in a position to be choosy with the doomsday clock they started when they made the Kyrie trade. 

Getting off of Bertans+McGee+Bullock will pay for Ayton's deal. At least 2 of those guys aren't producing much at all anyways so I view them as dead cap.