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

[Scott41theMavs]

I hope we make no more major trades for at least one year.  I'd rather let the roster develop together.  Any major change should be a new head coach depending on what we do in the playoffs.

I also don't think we really need to target a 3rd-best player.  Lively already is our 3rd-best player and will be only continue to improve.  

If we target a 4th-best player, it should be an elite defensive player who is decent offensively.  Those players are less expensive to trade for and have smaller contracts than offensive stars.  

My strong preference though is to wait a year and watch how Hardy, Green, PJ Washington and OMax develop.  We also need to see if Exum can return and play at the same level as before the plantar fasciitis.  Each of those players might be the solutions to our roster.  We just need to see which ones improve with experience.

I'm very huge on "bring back the band" for next year already. While I think it could be a good idea to trade THJ and seconds and/or one first for a really solid upgrade, I am quite content with the 8-man of Luka-Kyrie-Green-Washington-Lively-Exum-Maxi-Gafford. To me, the biggest make-or-break for the 2024-25 season is a somewhat under-the-radar one - they must give OMax real minutes and genuinely develop him. He has the potential to be a huge part of the future, but if they don't develop him, they'll have screwed that pooch. As a matter of fact, a silver lining if they can't keep DJJ will be ***give those minutes to OMax,*** full stop.

One underconsidered reason why the Mavs should start stockpiling more assets is that whenever we move on from Kyrie (or he forces his way out, which at this point doesn't appear to be anytime soon), replacing him as the second star is going to be exorbitantly expensive. They need to have their eyes open for who that guy is already, tbqh.