08-19-2023, 10:56 PM
Out of boredom, I reviewed all the NBA free agency contracts signed this summer. I am very impressed with the contracts the Mavericks signed. In fact, I think we did as well as any other team in the NBA other than perhaps the Lakers in terms of player value per contract.
Of the top-tier players in free agency, I think Kyrie Irving's deal is among the best of the summer. Although there are some off-court concerns, Kyrie remains an NBA superstar and a top-15 player in the league. His $37 million a year starting price is a discount and the fact he was willing to sign only a 3-year contract I think was also a concession on his part. I believe he took a discount to stay with the Mavericks. I think it's great that Kyrie not only wants to be a Maverick but that he wanted to help the Mavericks accomplish some improvements this summer by taking less than he could have demanded.
Of the top-tier players, only Draymond Green seems to have taken a similar discount to stay with the Warriors. I think Van Vleet, Jerami Grant and Khris Middleton were probably all significantly overpaid. The best contract of the summer was probably Austin Reeves re-signing with the Lakers for a big discount. Unfortunately, players are still willing to take discounts to play for the Lakers. I think the Kyrie Irving deal was the second best of the summer.
Among good role players available this summer who signed for more than the vet minimum, I believe the Dwight Powell contract is among the best of those. Dwight generates a lot of hate on this board but all the advanced metrics seem to show that he's a winning player. He is probably best as a backup but he's been a winning player here and a good culture fit for years. His willingness to sign for not much more than the vet minimum was another major win for the Mavericks. The only other comparably favorable contract I see is Mason Plumlee re-signing with the Clippers for one year, $5 million. I think Powell is the better player though and a better deal. Players like Dennis Schroeder, Georges Niang, Jeff Green, Joe Ingles, Mo Wagner and Trey Lyles will all make at least twice what Dwight will make this coming year. Dwight is better than each of those players. Again, a huge win for the Mavericks.
There are several players who signed for the minimum this summer who I anticipated would make more than the minimum. The Suns were especially successful at this signing Josh Okogie and Yuta Watanabe for the minimum. I think Dennis Smith Jr., Jae Crowder and Dario Saric all probably deserved more than the minimum as well. I believe Derrick Jones Jr. though may be the best of the players who signed for the league minimum. I think he's probably the best fit as well for the Mavericks. That's another big win for the Mavs.
I also think the Grant Williams contract is very fair and I like both the Seth Curry and the Dante Exum contracts.
My conclusion is that the Mavericks had a wildly successful free agency summer. I think this is remarkable because we've generally failed in free agency and have usually overpaid players to come here over the past 12 years. I think the Nico Harrison and Dennis Lindsay management team looks really good right now. I also think having Kyrie Irving buy into the Mavericks will continue to help us recruit good NBA players.
We may not win 50 games this upcoming season but I think we've improved significantly. I really like the progress we are making both with teambuilding but also decision-making in the front office. For the first time in more than 10 years, I think the Mavericks are behaving like a winning organization.
Of the top-tier players in free agency, I think Kyrie Irving's deal is among the best of the summer. Although there are some off-court concerns, Kyrie remains an NBA superstar and a top-15 player in the league. His $37 million a year starting price is a discount and the fact he was willing to sign only a 3-year contract I think was also a concession on his part. I believe he took a discount to stay with the Mavericks. I think it's great that Kyrie not only wants to be a Maverick but that he wanted to help the Mavericks accomplish some improvements this summer by taking less than he could have demanded.
Of the top-tier players, only Draymond Green seems to have taken a similar discount to stay with the Warriors. I think Van Vleet, Jerami Grant and Khris Middleton were probably all significantly overpaid. The best contract of the summer was probably Austin Reeves re-signing with the Lakers for a big discount. Unfortunately, players are still willing to take discounts to play for the Lakers. I think the Kyrie Irving deal was the second best of the summer.
Among good role players available this summer who signed for more than the vet minimum, I believe the Dwight Powell contract is among the best of those. Dwight generates a lot of hate on this board but all the advanced metrics seem to show that he's a winning player. He is probably best as a backup but he's been a winning player here and a good culture fit for years. His willingness to sign for not much more than the vet minimum was another major win for the Mavericks. The only other comparably favorable contract I see is Mason Plumlee re-signing with the Clippers for one year, $5 million. I think Powell is the better player though and a better deal. Players like Dennis Schroeder, Georges Niang, Jeff Green, Joe Ingles, Mo Wagner and Trey Lyles will all make at least twice what Dwight will make this coming year. Dwight is better than each of those players. Again, a huge win for the Mavericks.
There are several players who signed for the minimum this summer who I anticipated would make more than the minimum. The Suns were especially successful at this signing Josh Okogie and Yuta Watanabe for the minimum. I think Dennis Smith Jr., Jae Crowder and Dario Saric all probably deserved more than the minimum as well. I believe Derrick Jones Jr. though may be the best of the players who signed for the league minimum. I think he's probably the best fit as well for the Mavericks. That's another big win for the Mavs.
I also think the Grant Williams contract is very fair and I like both the Seth Curry and the Dante Exum contracts.
My conclusion is that the Mavericks had a wildly successful free agency summer. I think this is remarkable because we've generally failed in free agency and have usually overpaid players to come here over the past 12 years. I think the Nico Harrison and Dennis Lindsay management team looks really good right now. I also think having Kyrie Irving buy into the Mavericks will continue to help us recruit good NBA players.
We may not win 50 games this upcoming season but I think we've improved significantly. I really like the progress we are making both with teambuilding but also decision-making in the front office. For the first time in more than 10 years, I think the Mavericks are behaving like a winning organization.
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