Mavericks 2017 Off-season

[Teffer10]

I don't expect the Mavs to open up cap space this summer. We'll have the MLE worth a little over $6MM and look for a young wing to come off the bench, and provide insurance if Curry leaves in 2018. Also, unless this team is high on Brussino going into next season (and I doubt we will be), wing depth is already a big need.

Ben McLemore, James Young, Joe Ingles, Tony Snell, Ian Clark, Jonathan Simmons, and of course Tim Hardaway Jr. are all available (though the last one will probably come at a higher cost).

I think McLemore would have a chance to flourish in Rick's system. He's not a high BBIQ player but he has the tools to be a really good 3D guy coming off the bench or perhaps fill Wes' role when he moves on.
He's only 23 and has been in a horrible system so I think there is still a lot of upside. Some solid vets like Dirk, Wes, JJ and Devin along with a structured system like Carlisle's could do wonders for him imo.

[k-lynch201]

Do we hope that Noel plays less than 30 mins a game so teams dont see enough of him to offer a max contract?

Assuming we let the market dictate his value, which I think is what we do, Cuban seems to be past his days of overpaying and going into the luxury tax.

[Dirk]

Do we hope that Noel plays less than 30 mins a game so teams dont see enough of him to offer a max contract?

Assuming we let the market dictate his value, which I think is what we do, Cuban seems to be past his days of overpaying and going into the luxury tax.

I only see one team as realistic to offer Noel more than 'you'd be comfortable paying', which is the Nets. This because they don't have much talent, they failed last year in RFA and may be even more aggressive in the contracts they offer. Noel/Porter are the only two 'good' targets. With Lopez extending his range and shooting more from outside, they may even think Noel would match up ok with him.

I don't think these missed games will factor in his contract to be honest, unless he somehow missed the rest of the year. The talent is scarce and players always feel like they have the leverage. We know very well how Parsons still commanded a max contract last year - from two teams. That happened because two 'playoff teams' had to capitalize on their available cap space. So "they had to sign someone", as opposed to Noel who will be viewed more still as a long term project for a rebuilding team. The Nets are really the ones to watch. In the end, I think we will see a very straight forward negotiation with the Mavs. Below the max but over 20 million/year - anything below that would be a surprise, even with this knee thing now looming again.

[Otis Driftwood]

Do we hope that Noel plays less than 30 mins a game so teams dont see enough of him to offer a max contract?

Assuming we let the market dictate his value, which I think is what we do, Cuban seems to be past his days of overpaying and going into the luxury tax.

I'd rather him not playing more than 30 minutes a game simply to save the wear and tear on his knees. If anyone wants to use "so teams don't see enough of him to offer a max contract" as an excuse, I don't care.

[dirkforpres]

Do we hope that Noel plays less than 30 mins a game so teams dont see enough of him to offer a max contract?

Assuming we let the market dictate his value, which I think is what we do, Cuban seems to be past his days of overpaying and going into the luxury tax.

I'd rather him not playing more than 30 minutes a game simply to save the wear and tear on his knees. If anyone wants to use "so teams don't see enough of him to offer a max contract" as an excuse, I don't care.

Yeah, anyone who thinks 3 missed games at the end of a lost season is enough to not warrant a max contract hasn't been watching the NBA for very long. He's going to get a max deal no question. I don't think this knee thing is anything more than being overly cautious. Why should he be playing? We have nothing to fight for

[Darren]

For the future starting PF, my priority will be:
1.Rebounding - excellent
2.Post defense - very good
3.Shot blocking - very good
4.Size - good
5.Mobility - good / very good
6.Stretch the floor - good
7.Post skills - any

The reason is simple. Noel does struggles against more bulky matchup such as Whiteside and Randolph. I am okay him being a great help defender and average-to-good post defender. I know it is quite demanding to legs and stamina taking on bigger player. I'd rather find him a great compliment to avoid him getting injured and let him star on the offensive end. I consider Noel very good defender but great offensive threat long-term. The reason is simple: just like how all other NBA players cannot guard Dirk. You're scientifically unable to match up with a quick 7-footer who can hit fadeaway jumpers at layup percentage. Similiarly, you can't run with a 6-11 guys who can run like a PG. If you can somehow find somebody who can protect the paint and control the board, Noel can provide excellent defense even up to perimeter. And offensively, we win big. Noel can steal and run the break all by himself is one thing. Similar player like Samuel Dalembert who doesn't have high b-ball IQ can score 20 per game. Think about Anthony Davis who can score nearly 30 every game. Noel should be able to average at least 20 PPG even without much jumpshooting ability. 8 points from fast break points; 8 points from transition (including free throw); together with 4 points from putbacks are not too far a goal for Nerlens Noel if he can actually stay on the court with great energy level.

In a long run, when this PF complement mature and develop decent post skills and reliable outside shots, our team should be solid on both ends of the floor. If we get Porzingis to team up with Noel, then we're undefendable.

[Teffer10]

For the future starting PF, my priority will be:
1.Rebounding - excellent
2.Post defense - very good
3.Shot blocking - very good
4.Size - good
5.Mobility - good / very good
6.Stretch the floor - good
7.Post skills - any

The reason is simple. Noel does struggles against more bulky matchup such as Whiteside and Randolph. I am okay him being a great help defender and average-to-good post defender. I know it is quite demanding to legs and stamina taking on bigger player. I'd rather find him a great compliment to avoid him getting injured and let him star on the offensive end. I consider Noel very good defender but great offensive threat long-term. The reason is simple: just like how all other NBA players cannot guard Dirk. You're scientifically unable to match up with a quick 7-footer who can hit fadeaway jumpers at layup percentage. Similiarly, you can't run with a 6-11 guys who can run like a PG. If you can somehow find somebody who can protect the paint and control the board, Noel can provide excellent defense even up to perimeter. And offensively, we win big. Noel can steal and run the break all by himself is one thing. Similar player like Samuel Dalembert who doesn't have high b-ball IQ can score 20 per game. Think about Anthony Davis who can score nearly 30 every game. Noel should be able to average at least 20 PPG even without much jumpshooting ability. 8 points from fast break points; 8 points from transition (including free throw); together with 4 points from putbacks are not too far a goal for Nerlens Noel if he can actually stay on the court with great energy level.

In a long run, when this PF complement mature and develop decent post skills and reliable outside shots, our team should be solid on both ends of the floor. If we get Porzingis to team up with Noel, then we're undefendable.

You are basically asking for Robert Williams.
I think #6 (Stretch the floor) will be the Mavs priority on a PF and I'd be shocked if the Mavs pass on Markkanen if he is still on the board.

[Darren]

Robert Williams is too short. I doubt he's able to take on average nba big man on next level.

[Torgeir Bryn]

Robert Williams is too short. I doubt he's able to take on average nba big man on next level.

6' 9" with a 7' 4" wingspan. That's pretty long, about David West size.

[Texas Chuck]

Harrison Barnes is the team's starting PF moving forward. And I think he complements Noel well enough. Ideally we would find a 3rd big who was mobile and could stretch the floor---this is what the Mavs hoped Powell would be.

But our priorities really need to be finding a starting SF and a starting PG because we don't have anything remotely close to either on the roster right now. If only we could combine Finney-Smith's athleticism and defense with Brussino's passing and shooting....

[daoneandonly]

I think Chuck is right in that Barnes is the PF going forward in the eyes of the Mavs FO, I just think it's a bad idea with Noel as the starting C. Those guys are both skinny and will get bullied, now if we traded for Nurkic instead, perhaps the Barnes at PF idea would be more feasible. However with Noel entrenched as the starting C, which he should be as I think he could be special, the Mavs should start Barnes at the 3 and bring a more physical banger type as the PF of the future. I'm in agreement with those who think it may be worth taking a chance on Robert Williams. if we're drafting towards the end of the lottery and he's there, I'd rather have him than the French/Belgian PG.

[Jinra]

Harrison Barnes is the team's starting PF moving forward. And I think he complements Noel well enough. Ideally we would find a 3rd big who was mobile and could stretch the floor---this is what the Mavs hoped Powell would be.

But our priorities really need to be finding a starting SF and a starting PG because we don't have anything remotely close to either on the roster right now. If only we could combine Finney-Smith's athleticism and defense with Brussino's passing and shooting....

I think Finney-Smith has proven that he can be a starting SF on this team. Dude was actually one of the hottest players in December when he was getting regular playing time in the starting lineup. I believe he just has a hard time fitting with Wes and Dirk (as the 5) in the starting lineup. I prefer DFS in the starting lineup over Wes anyway.

[Texas Chuck]

I think Finney-Smith has proven that he can be a starting SF on this team. Dude was actually one of the hottest players in December when he was getting regular playing time in the starting lineup. I believe he just has a hard time fitting with Wes and Dirk (as the 5) in the starting lineup. I prefer DFS in the starting lineup over Wes anyway.

I love DFS. I'm just not sold he's quite ready offensively to be a full-time starter. Now if the Mavs are going to start the following next year:

Dirk
Barnes
Finney-Smith
Matthews
Curry

or

Dirk
Barnes
Finney-Smith
Curry (this assumes Wes is traded this summer because if he's on the roster he is starting)
Upgraded PG

Then okay he can start at SF. But if the plan is more like:

Noel
Barnes
?
Matthews
Yogi

I'm not sure he fits there. But either way it definitely feels like a position we could and should be looking to upgrade. And I have hopes for both Finney-Smith and Brussino as potential rotation+ guys long-term, but if we get into the top 10 of the draft and one of the 3 SF types fall, I'd think we'd have to strongly consider it.

[Texas Chuck]

I think Chuck is right in that Barnes is the PF going forward in the eyes of the Mavs FO, I just think it's a bad idea with Noel as the starting C. Those guys are both skinny and will get bullied, now if we traded for Nurkic instead, perhaps the Barnes at PF idea would be more feasible. However with Noel entrenched as the starting C, which he should be as I think he could be special, the Mavs should start Barnes at the 3 and bring a more physical banger type as the PF of the future. I'm in agreement with those who think it may be worth taking a chance on Robert Williams. if we're drafting towards the end of the lottery and he's there, I'd rather have him than the French/Belgian PG.

I think the Mavs would rather see Noel continue to bulk up rather than move Barnes down to the 3. The offensive advantages he has this year are as a result of the difficulty 4's have in guarding him. I think he'd be notably less effective offensively at SF and I'm not sure the Mavs would gain enough defensively to offset that?

But agree defense and rebounding remain challenges for Dallas to work out. Giving Noel 30+ minutes every night will help, but ideally the Mavs could add a SF with more size than playing Wes there.

And I'm okay with Robert Williams, but only if none of the top wings are still OTB. And for that matter I wouldn't mind this chance to buy low on Harry Giles since his injury has kept him from showing much at Duke--he was widely seen as the top recruit and I never mind size/athleticism. And agree I'm not sold on Ntilinka(sp) either.

[Jinra]

I think Finney-Smith has proven that he can be a starting SF on this team. Dude was actually one of the hottest players in December when he was getting regular playing time in the starting lineup. I believe he just has a hard time fitting with Wes and Dirk (as the 5) in the starting lineup. I prefer DFS in the starting lineup over Wes anyway.

I love DFS. I'm just not sold he's quite ready offensively to be a full-time starter. Now if the Mavs are going to start the following next year:

Dirk
Barnes
Finney-Smith
Matthews
Curry

or

Dirk
Barnes
Finney-Smith
Curry (this assumes Wes is traded this summer because if he's on the roster he is starting)
Upgraded PG

Then okay he can start at SF. But if the plan is more like:

Noel
Barnes
?
Matthews
Yogi

I'm not sure he fits there. But either way it definitely feels like a position we could and should be looking to upgrade. And I have hopes for both Finney-Smith and Brussino as potential rotation+ guys long-term, but if we get into the top 10 of the draft and one of the 3 SF types fall, I'd think we'd have to strongly consider it.

I, for one, will be very disappointed if Dirk is still starting next year; especially at center. Because this means the Mavs will be a fringe team again. Dirk at center does not equate to success. I hope Dirk gets 50ppg off the bench and is 6th man of the year candidate next year.

[daoneandonly]

I think Chuck is right in that Barnes is the PF going forward in the eyes of the Mavs FO, I just think it's a bad idea with Noel as the starting C. Those guys are both skinny and will get bullied, now if we traded for Nurkic instead, perhaps the Barnes at PF idea would be more feasible. However with Noel entrenched as the starting C, which he should be as I think he could be special, the Mavs should start Barnes at the 3 and bring a more physical banger type as the PF of the future. I'm in agreement with those who think it may be worth taking a chance on Robert Williams. if we're drafting towards the end of the lottery and he's there, I'd rather have him than the French/Belgian PG.

I think the Mavs would rather see Noel continue to bulk up rather than move Barnes down to the 3. The offensive advantages he has this year are as a result of the difficulty 4's have in guarding him. I think he'd be notably less effective offensively at SF and I'm not sure the Mavs would gain enough defensively to offset that?

But agree defense and rebounding remain challenges for Dallas to work out. Giving Noel 30+ minutes every night will help, but ideally the Mavs could add a SF with more size than playing Wes there.

And I'm okay with Robert Williams, but only if none of the top wings are still OTB. And for that matter I wouldn't mind this chance to buy low on Harry Giles since his injury has kept him from showing much at Duke--he was widely seen as the top recruit and I never mind size/athleticism. And agree I'm not sold on Ntilinka(sp) either.

Putting on bulk like that is no easy task and takes time, even for these freak athletes. Not to mention with genes and other factors some guys just can't. I know the offensive plus is enticing for Barnes to be at the 4, but I just can't help but think this team will get pushed around and abused on the boards, especially like you said if Wes is the 3 and RC continues to play the two PG sized lineup as the back court. there was one series in the Wiz game where they literally got 6-7 offensive rebounds, it was appalling. Even my dad who is a huge Wizards fan was screaming at Dal to grab a board.

[Texas Chuck]

Putting on bulk like that is no easy task and takes time, even for these freak athletes. Not to mention with genes and other factors some guys just can't. I know the offensive plus is enticing for Barnes to be at the 4, but I just can't help but think this team will get pushed around and abused on the boards, especially like you said if Wes is the 3 and RC continues to play the two PG sized lineup as the back court. there was one series in the Wiz game where they literally got 6-7 offensive rebounds, it was appalling. Even my dad who is a huge Wizards fan was screaming at Dal to grab a board.

Can't disagree with any of this. But I still feel almost certain that Barnes is going to be the starting PF and will play almost all his minutes there.

I'd love to see Rick experiment with Noel/Dirk/Barnes some to end this year to see how playable it is for stretches. But he's certainly not been willing to go to much at all--even with Wes out making there plenty of minutes on the wing for Barnes.

[Jinra]

Spoiler:

Putting on bulk like that is no easy task and takes time, even for these freak athletes. Not to mention with genes and other factors some guys just can't. I know the offensive plus is enticing for Barnes to be at the 4, but I just can't help but think this team will get pushed around and abused on the boards, especially like you said if Wes is the 3 and RC continues to play the two PG sized lineup as the back court. there was one series in the Wiz game where they literally got 6-7 offensive rebounds, it was appalling. Even my dad who is a huge Wizards fan was screaming at Dal to grab a board.

Can't disagree with any of this. But I still feel almost certain that Barnes is going to be the starting PF and will play almost all his minutes there.

I'd love to see Rick experiment with Noel/Dirk/Barnes some to end this year to see how playable it is for stretches. But he's certainly not been willing to go to much at all--even with Wes out making there plenty of minutes on the wing for Barnes.

Rick is chasing this playoff spot very hard. He is going to ride Dirk and Wes to get there. Amazingly enough, Dirk is only average a little more than 26mpg in 41 games played, so he is not getting run down. Wes, on the other hand, is at 35mpg in 61 games. He may be getting over-utilized a bit.

[Texas Chuck]

Wes, on the other hand, is at 35mpg in 61 games. He may be getting over-utilized a bit.

Yeah its crazy to me how concerned we all were when we signed Wes to that big contract because of the injury and all he has done the past 2 seasons is play big minutes and he hasn't missed that many games due to injury.

The silver lining to that to me is that if Dallas wants to stick with this youth movement, they could deal Matthews this summer and get value back as opposed to having to add value to dump his contract. I don't think we will do that because I think the Mavs value his leadership/example for the kids, but he's definitely a piece that would draw interest if we shopped him.

But yeah if he's back next year as expected, I'd love to see his minutes get down to the 28-30 mark with the majority at the SG if possible---probably means Devin needs to go elsewhere tho I guess.

[Teffer10]

Putting on bulk like that is no easy task and takes time, even for these freak athletes. Not to mention with genes and other factors some guys just can't. I know the offensive plus is enticing for Barnes to be at the 4, but I just can't help but think this team will get pushed around and abused on the boards, especially like you said if Wes is the 3 and RC continues to play the two PG sized lineup as the back court. there was one series in the Wiz game where they literally got 6-7 offensive rebounds, it was appalling. Even my dad who is a huge Wizards fan was screaming at Dal to grab a board.

That is one thing this team lacks is bulk strength...especially in the front court. Powell and Dirk represent our bulk but we could obviously use a better bruiser down low.
That could become a real issue and Rick will have to continue to bastardize the lineup to make it work without one.
That's why I keep going back to Markkanen if available when we pick even though he doesn't fit the profile of a bruiser he is a 7 footer with a little meat on his bones that Rick would actually play. I hate the fact he only has an average wingspan but he looks like he can add some muscle without affecting too much of his game.

And for the record I wouldn't be upset if Williams is our pick as long as that pick is in the teens.