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

[mvossman]

I think "waiting for the right guy" in free agency is fool's gold. You're looking for a profile. You're looking for a player who has skills your team is lacking. And more importantly, you're looking for a player you can actually afford and who will sign with your team. Several very good players will likely be available in free agency, and the Mavericks have been historically bad at signing them.

The object is to improve the team, no? Good teams are built over time. Doing nothing when there is a clear need, is almost as big a risk - particularly for the current players who are well aware of what they need. If the Front Office tells me (a fan) after the trade deadline, they are "waiting for the right player," then I would say they were negligent.

I'm confused.  Who is talking about free agency?  At most we will have the MLE next offseason.  Any significant move this team makes in the next year and a half will almost definitely be a trade.  Other than that its just semantics.  What you describe is what someone else would call waiting for the right guy.  Its a spectrum.  You don't want to wait for perfect, but you also don't want to pull the trigger just to pull the trigger.

As far as that player we need, we desperately need two way players.  Do we have one on this team?  Maybe Exum?  Its almost impossible to contend without two way players.  Otherwise you are constantly trading out offense for defense and you can't ever be good at both.  Two way players are expensive.  We likely don't have the assets at the TDL to get one.  We will next offseason.  That should be the goal.  Doing anything this TDL that hampers that goal is likely a mistake.