wco81 wrote:Archx wrote:wco81 wrote:On paper it's true you want someone bigger to be a shot creator alternative to Luka.
However, the Mavs wouldn't be tied at 2-2 against the Suns if not for Brunson.
They may not have beaten the Jazz if not for Brunson either, depending on when Luka would have come back and how well he played.
Brunson's play in the Utah series may have bought Luka a game or two, which is almost an additional week. That may have allowed him to recover and account for his performance vs. the Suns.
I don't know what kind of cap space the Mavs have next season and beyond. But they have a really team-friendly deal for DFS. But the contracts for THJ and Bertans may be tough.
At this point, does Brunson getting say $18 million a year for 4 years vs. $25 million a year for 4 years matter as far as the Mavs' ability to add players who would command $10-15 million a year?
If that extra $7 million doesn't clear enough cap space, then you're arguing how much luxury tax Cuban has to pay.
Mavs have ZERO cap even if they don't sign Brunson. So if they let him go it would be literally for nothing. Cuban made a mistake when Jalen's dad wanted around 15M per year and Mavs said no, now they'll have to pay a much bigger price. It basically means if they don't trade THJ, Dinwiddie, Bertans they can't do anything with the roster. It will be really hard to move those pieces as they are mostly negative players. But anything is possible, we'll see. Only thing clear is the fact that Mavs will pay around 100/4 for Brunson... well, depending on how this series with Suns ends but he won't be cheaper than 20M per year, that's for sure.
If they beat the Suns, that would be clear progress and a reason to keep the roster, though getting rid of bad contracts would help.
They won their first series with this Luka core just a week or two ago and they're competing with the top seed in the league.
It may come down to how sustainable this hot shooting is. They were hot in the first couple of games vs. the Clippers last year and then cooled way down. They shot really well vs. the Jazz and then were cold in the first two games vs. the Suns and then shot the lights out in the last two games.
If they could get consistent 37-38% or better as a team from 3, they would be as competitive as any team. Would be good to have a defensive 4/5 but then again, surrounding Luka with shooters including a couple of defensive wings can work very well.
Question is how sustainable is the hot shooting? And who creates shots for himself or others when Luka sits? Yeah if Brunson was 4 inches taller he'd be ideal. But then his body type might not be as stout for him to sort of bully players 6-3 and under.
Yes 3pt shooting and defensive wings are perfect for this team. But don't forget that Mavs would probably have won this series if they had a proper rim protector. Even a guy like Gobert could do wonders for this team. They do play without their 3rd best scorer THJ, so they're missing quite a lot of offensive punch but Bullock is doing a very solid job on defense and THJ is very weak on that end.
So all in all, they'll still have to find a center that can rebound and play defense, that should be and will be their nr1 priority. How they will find that type of player is going to be interesting to see. But fact is, they won't be able to keep THJ, Powell, Bertans and possibly Dinwiddie if they resign Brunson and go after a center. Those 4 players i mentioned are all paid from 11M up to 20M. That's a ton of cap space for mediocre role guys.
That is so true haha...All core players - THJ, DFS and now Brunson everyone got a raise for playing better. Well THJ technically was paid the same but still, wasn't paid less at least. I can't remember how and when Maxi and Powell were extended but i'm pretty sure Maxi also got a nice raise.
