(04-09-2024, 03:35 PM)F Gump Wrote: I'm not convinced Caruso gets in the range of 20M as a FA. He has a good bit of Josh Green in him, ie he is a good shooter who can make defensive plays and can make shots, but doesn't shoot often enough, so his scoring is rather anemic (around 11-12 ppg). He's a tick or two more productive than JG.
The extension number limit would not be MLE. It would start at 140% of his current salary, which would land him at about 4 yrs 60M. Again, just a tick or two above JG.
If I had to, I would still do THJ + FRP for him, even without an extension. I'd just prefer to have more than one year in place. But as I see it, there would also be value in replacing THJ's money with a smaller number, in order to have a few million more to offer DJJ.
I was only referring to the first year salary being MLE-sized. Locking up a 4th year through an extension does sweeten the deal, but it still feels to me like he would be taking bottom dollar. Why not wait and at least see if you can get a better offer? Look at Dylan Brooks, Josh Hart, Marcus Smart, Bruce Brown, etc. Even if he has to take a shorter deal for the higher AAV due to being a little older than those guys, it could make sense to wait.
I'll certainly keep my fingers crossed for the extension though if they do manage to trade for him.
(04-09-2024, 04:48 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: I suppose it depends on how successful the Mavericks postseason is, and how impactful he is in it, but DJJ has been around a long time. He’s not playing any better this year than he usually does, it’s just that he fits on this team a little bit better and was given more of a chance at a role because the Mavericks were desperate for athletic ability.
My point is that unless he drains like 25 threes in the playoffs, which I find unlikely, I’m not sure the league is going to look at him that much differently than they did this past summer, when he had to wait around till the very end and sign for the minimum.
Moreover, if I were he, I would want desperately to come right back here on whatever 1-year deal I could get so that I could continue in this role that is working for me, and so that Dallas could have my bird rights the following summer.
That's how I see it as well. Someone could always swoop in and steal him, but it feels like the odds of keeping him with the tax MLE are pretty decent.