Preseason Game 4: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Dallas Mavericks | 6:30pm CST on TNT

[F Gump]

I know this is OT, but you brought him up, haha. Given that the Clipps are going to be dead in the water this season, what are the odds we trade some stuff not in our top 8 for DJJ this year? Given what he would add back into our team, I might give up a Hardy or even an OMax for him.

Because of being hard capped and so little flexibility, it will take way more salary than those players. In practical terms, it's something like Naji + ____ to make the numbers work, and the "_____" probably goes to team 3 since LAC has cap room issues too. An alternative is that Morris gets waived, it's a 1-for-1, and Mavs go with 14 players only. Maybe Morris retires and they add him to the staff.

I can see that being a trade IF Naji is not a good fit here and DJJ is not a good fit there. Both teams may decide LAC may need more offense (Naji) and Mavs may need more D (DJJ).

[HoosierDaddyKid]

I hope Klay‘s struggles won’t take months to go away. It’s been only three preseason games but his rough starts are really tough on me already. Otoh those few shots who went in within a couple of possessions already felt pretty fricking awesome. They changed the flow of the game entirely. Those quick scoring outbursts were always what made it so frustrating to play GS. You stick around and then someone randomly goes of for 4-5 possessions and suddenly you’re down 12+ points and they won’t stop. 

On paper our firepower is ridiculous. Kyrie is still in his prime, Klay might not be his old self but he will have his bursts, PJ, Lively and Gafford can bully and punish you inside and then there’s still Luka.

I too worry about the backup guard spot. Dinwiddie really needs to show that he still has another gear, otherwise things get shaky quickly. Hardy is fun when he is on but even then his defense is a problem. Most other guys are 3D-types, you’ll have to live with the bad and the good, especially on the road. 

Overall a pretty subpar preseason though. Grant Hill brought it up on the broadcast, during his days teams used at least the last few games to get some game time repetitions before the real season starts but that’s just not happening anymore. No Luka, no Giannis, no Lillard. 

Can’t wait for the real season to finally start.

Klay may have a few flashback games, but overall, I wouldn't expect him to improve much. GS saw his decline coming, so they let him walk. Those devastating injuries for two consecutive years have really taken their toll on his game. It's something amiss about his shot consistency now. He misses more than he makes and you'd never say that about Klay.

[Scott41theMavs]

Because of being hard capped and so little flexibility, it will take way more salary than those players. In practical terms, it's something like Naji + ____ to make the numbers work, and the "_____" probably goes to team 3 since LAC has cap room issues too. An alternative is that Morris gets waived, it's a 1-for-1, and Mavs go with 14 players only. Maybe Morris retires and they add him to the staff.

I can see that being a trade IF Naji is not a good fit here and DJJ is not a good fit there. Both teams may decide LAC may need more offense (Naji) and Mavs may need more D (DJJ).

Nah, no way I would trade Naji for DJJ. I want both.

[SleepingHero]

Nah, no way I would trade Naji for DJJ. I want both.

So you're suggesting trading Maxi for him? That's the only other plausible scenario.

[mvossman]

So you're suggesting trading Maxi for him? That's the only other plausible scenario.

I'm going to guess based on what Gump is saying that Maxi is too expensive for Clippers to take back in that trade.  I'm also skeptical that Clippers want to be paying Maxi 11 mil next year.

[SleepingHero]

I'm going to guess based on what Gump is saying that Maxi is too expensive for Clippers to take back in that trade.  I'm also skeptical that Clippers want to be paying Maxi 11 mil next year.

Trade Machine says it's a legal trade after December 15th for a 1-1 swap.

But lets assume the Clippers don't want Maxi. Could do a 3-team trade where Maxi goes somewhere, 3rd team sends stuff to Clips, Mavs get DJJ.

[Scott41theMavs]

Trade Machine says it's a legal trade after December 15th for a 1-1 swap.

But lets assume the Clippers don't want Maxi. Could do a 3-team trade where Maxi goes somewhere, 3rd team sends stuff to Clips, Mavs get DJJ.

I'm sure it depends on CBA rules regarding the hard cap.

[mvossman]

Trade Machine says it's a legal trade after December 15th for a 1-1 swap.

But lets assume the Clippers don't want Maxi. Could do a 3-team trade where Maxi goes somewhere, 3rd team sends stuff to Clips, Mavs get DJJ.

It would be an interesting move.  You have to think DJJ has more value than Maxi if nothing else because he is much younger and much likelier to stay healthy.  For those reasons I feel like the Mavs would have to do it, but it does make a team with PF depth concerns even smaller and ensures we will see a lot more of Powell (when Lively or Gafford are out).

[SleepingHero]

I'm sure it depends on CBA rules regarding the hard cap.

Clippers current roster salary: 172,279,116                              Mavs current roster salary: 175,518,261

Currently hardcapped at: 178,132,000                                    Currently hardcapped at: 178,132,000 

Total space: 4,852,884                                                          Total space: 2,613,739


DJJ's current salary is 9.5 mil. Maxi's is 11 flat. Clippers could easily absorb the extra 2 mil and are allowed to do so as they are not above any 1st apron.

[F Gump]

Clippers current roster salary: 172,279,116                              Mavs current roster salary: 175,518,261

Currently hardcapped at: 178,132,000                                    Currently hardcapped at: 178,132,000 

Total space: 4,852,884                                                          Total space: 2,613,739


DJJ's current salary is 9.5 mil. Maxi's is 11 flat. Clippers could easily absorb the extra 2 mil and are allowed to do so as they are not above any 1st apron.

LAC's cap situation is not that simple.

They are a repeater tax team, and have a real window this season to slip under the tax line and log a year under the line, which then has an impact for the 4 following years. At the moment, they are less than one minimum salary over the line.

Obviously Ballmer can afford it. But there are big questions whether they are going to be competitive. 

If they are competitive, then yes they have room to work with. A few more dollars won't matter, as long as they feel it makes them better. 

BUT IF they are NOT competitive, why wouldn't they pull the plug at some point, get someone to take a contract, and slide under the tax line? If that's where they appear to be headed, I don't think they will want a trade that is taking them the other way and increases their team payroll. And the fact that Kawhi is out "indefinitely" would tend to make them a bad team.

There's even another factor - if Kawhi is hurt enough to wreck their season, shouldn't they just tank for Flagg? Are they smart enough to see that? And in a wasted season, isn't that when you make sure you are UNDER the tax line?

[Jmaciscool]

LAC's cap situation is not that simple.

They are a repeater tax team, and have a real window this season to slip under the tax line and log a year under the line, which then has an impact for the 4 following years. At the moment, they are less than one minimum salary over the line.

Obviously Ballmer can afford it. But there are big questions whether they are going to be competitive. 

If they are competitive, then yes they have room to work with. A few more dollars won't matter, as long as they feel it makes them better. 

BUT IF they are NOT competitive, why wouldn't they pull the plug at some point, get someone to take a contract, and slide under the tax line? If that's where they appear to be headed, I don't think they will want a trade that is taking them the other way and increases their team payroll. And the fact that Kawhi is out "indefinitely" would tend to make them a bad team.

There's even another factor - if Kawhi is hurt enough to wreck their season, shouldn't they just tank for Flagg? Are they smart enough to see that? And in a wasted season, isn't that when you make sure you are UNDER the tax line?

I don't think they can tank for Flagg because they owe their pick to (of course) OKC. OKC actually has the rights to swap for the best pick between LAC and HOU, so I think the only way Clips get to keep the pick is if the Rockets end up with a worse record and better pick for OKC to swap. At least that's how I'm understanding it.

But to your point it definitely seems like a "get under the tax line" season at the very least for them.

[SleepingHero]

LAC's cap situation is not that simple.

They are a repeater tax team, and have a real window this season to slip under the tax line and log a year under the line, which then has an impact for the 4 following years. At the moment, they are less than one minimum salary over the line.

Obviously Ballmer can afford it. But there are big questions whether they are going to be competitive. 

If they are competitive, then yes they have room to work with. A few more dollars won't matter, as long as they feel it makes them better. 

BUT IF they are NOT competitive, why wouldn't they pull the plug at some point, get someone to take a contract, and slide under the tax line? If that's where they appear to be headed, I don't think they will want a trade that is taking them the other way and increases their team payroll. And the fact that Kawhi is out "indefinitely" would tend to make them a bad team.

There's even another factor - if Kawhi is hurt enough to wreck their season, shouldn't they just tank for Flagg? Are they smart enough to see that? And in a wasted season, isn't that when you make sure you are UNDER the tax line?

I completely forgot about the repeater tax regarding them. Good catch and thanks for bringing it up. That does muddle it up a bit.

They are about 1.5mil over the tax line as it stands. Which means any DJJ trade should get them a guy making 7mil or less.

But regarding the tanking aspect if they're bad, they don't have a choice. OKC owns their pick this year, next year, and the year after that. The PG13 trade is paying dividends now. 

If anything we should have a vested interest in making sure the Clippers are at least somewhat competitive. We don't want OKC landing Flagg.