Off-Season 2022 - the Jalen Brunson sweepstakes

[Dirk]

2022-23 SALARY SITUATION
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Total salary: $156,055,565
Guaranteed salaries: $145,019,247
Non-guaranteed salaries: $11,036,318
Luxury tax space: $7.1 million over the luxury tax ($11.1 million tax payment)
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Exceptions:

Josh Richardson trade exception: $10,865,595 (expires June 29, 2022)

Taxpayer Mid-level: $6,392,000

- Frank Ntilikina: No money guaranteed in 2022/23. His contract becomes fully guaranteed if not waived by July, 4, 2022.

- Spencer Dinwiddie: Only $10,000,000 guaranteed in 2023/24. His contract becomes fully guaranteed if he plays in at least 50 games during the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons or if not waived by June 30, 2023.

- Reggie Bullock: Only $5,451,200 guaranteed in 2023/24. His contract becomes fully guaranteed if not waived by June 28, 2023.

KEY DATES

Draft
The 2022 NBA draft is scheduled to take place on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Free agency

July 1 starting date, along with the July moratorium period before players can actually begin signing new contracts.

Summer League
2022 NBA Summer League will begin on Thursday, July 7.

[Dirk]

Will the Mavs be able to re-sign Brunson?

[Archx]

Man, some of these contracts look horrible. I don't mind how much some guys are getting paid as much as i can't comprehend the length on those contracts.

They absolutely need to get rid of Bertans, Powell, Boban, Chriss, Frank and Brown. No clue how THJ looks after injury but if they can ship him out aswell would be awesome.

But obviously Brunson's new huge deal will complicate things even further. And on top of that, they desperately need a great center. I wouldn't want to be in Nico's shoes right now.

[deb]

Man, some of these contracts look horrible. I don't mind how much some guys are getting paid as much as i can't comprehend the length on those contracts.

They absolutely need to get rid of Bertans, Powell, Boban, Chriss, Frank and Brown. No clue how THJ looks after injury but if they can ship him out aswell would be awesome.

But obviously Brunson's new huge deal will complicate things even further. And on top of that, they desperately need a great center. I wouldn't want to be in Nico's shoes right now.

I'd say Ntilikina and Chriss are basically minimum contracts and they have some value. Plus both are youngish and might improve... Boban, Brown, Burke should be gone yes. Bertans is imovable. Powell is an expiring so worth at least something.

[Speadge]

They absolutely need to get rid of Bertans, Powell, Boban, Chriss, Frank and Brown. No clue how THJ looks after injury but if they can ship him out aswell would be awesome.

I agree with the most, but I would keep Frank unless he's included in some trade.
He's only 23 years old, he had some decent moments in autumn (before illnes or injury - can't remember what it was) and PO (especially in defence againt the Suns) and if he improve shooting for 3 he can actually became something more than worth to keep. And all this just for 2 millions. Peanuts.
I am also not against keeping Chriss. Every team have some of those at the end of the bench and with their minimum contract they don't bring harm to the team any way.

[Archx]

Man, some of these contracts look horrible. I don't mind how much some guys are getting paid as much as i can't comprehend the length on those contracts.

They absolutely need to get rid of Bertans, Powell, Boban, Chriss, Frank and Brown. No clue how THJ looks after injury but if they can ship him out aswell would be awesome.

But obviously Brunson's new huge deal will complicate things even further. And on top of that, they desperately need a great center. I wouldn't want to be in Nico's shoes right now.

I'd say Ntilikina and Chriss are basically minimum contracts and they have some value. Plus both are youngish and might improve... Boban, Brown, Burke should be gone yes. Bertans is imovable. Powell is an expiring so worth at least something.

For the most part i agree, moving either Powell or Bertans will be really tough, even though Powell is expiring. But i don't agree on Frank and Chriss. People are saying this for years now and they are literally the same. Frank has no offense and is ok-ish at best on defense, that's not enough for me personally to keep him. And Chriss is bad on offense and bad on defense, so i don't mind if he's gone.

These type of players mostly look good during the regular season but we have seen in playoffs, they are either unplayable or you really need a specific matchup to make it work. But yeah it is a good argument that they are on a cheap deals, that's true.

[Speadge]

It's more than this. If you look realistically how teams are constructed, and salaries and all, every team will have some of those. And then again there will be also some completely unplayable.

If there's opportunity to include Ntilikina and/or Chriss to get something better, then yes, absolutely I am all for it. But what I am saying is that there's not a slightest need to get rid of those two by any means. Both of them can still be more serviceable than some other with their contract may and will be there at the bottom of the bench.

I believe that keeping Ntilikina one more season for peanuts have more upsides than getting rid of him just for the sake of some little money and roster spot.

[Apz]

Man, some of these contracts look horrible. I don't mind how much some guys are getting paid as much as i can't comprehend the length on those contracts.

They absolutely need to get rid of Bertans, Powell, Boban, Chriss, Frank and Brown. No clue how THJ looks after injury but if they can ship him out aswell would be awesome.

But obviously Brunson's new huge deal will complicate things even further. And on top of that, they desperately need a great center. I wouldn't want to be in Nico's shoes right now.

I'd say Ntilikina and Chriss are basically minimum contracts and they have some value. Plus both are youngish and might improve... Boban, Brown, Burke should be gone yes. Bertans is imovable. Powell is an expiring so worth at least something.

For the most part i agree, moving either Powell or Bertans will be really tough, even though Powell is expiring. But i don't agree on Frank and Chriss. People are saying this for years now and they are literally the same. Frank has no offense and is ok-ish at best on defense, that's not enough for me personally to keep him. And Chriss is bad on offense and bad on defense, so i don't mind if he's gone.

These type of players mostly look good during the regular season but we have seen in playoffs, they are either unplayable or you really need a specific matchup to make it work. But yeah it is a good argument that they are on a cheap deals, that's true.

So are gobert making 46m anf some here still want him

[Mavrelous]

Conservative approach:
Waive Ntilikina, no roster spots and after re-signing Brunson his 2 million salary will become 10 million.
Trade Powell for Favors to extend TPE
Re-sign Brunson, 105/5, starts at 18.
Salary will be at 170 million with 14 players on roster.
Pursue a trade for Gobert/Capella/Turner/Zubac, if nothing comes up, sign Hartenstein.


Wild approach:
Waive Ntilikina
Stretch and waive Bertans, cap hit 5 millions
S&T Brunson + THJ for Grant + KO + Stewart.
Bullock + Brown to Celtics into TPE Boban + 2nd to Wolves into TPE + Burke + Green + 1st to CLE for Sexton S&T (60/3)
Total salary will be below the Apron and S&T will work.

Luka/Dinwiddie
Sexton/
DFS/#26
Grant/Maxi
Stewart/KO/Powell

Problem: extremely short rotation, only minimum salary can be used to fill the roster, later on KO could be sent to Miami for Duncan Robinson for wing depth, Cuban doesn't pay tax.

[Bob8]

I'd say Ntilikina and Chriss are basically minimum contracts and they have some value. Plus both are youngish and might improve... Boban, Brown, Burke should be gone yes. Bertans is imovable. Powell is an expiring so worth at least something.

For the most part i agree, moving either Powell or Bertans will be really tough, even though Powell is expiring. But i don't agree on Frank and Chriss. People are saying this for years now and they are literally the same. Frank has no offense and is ok-ish at best on defense, that's not enough for me personally to keep him. And Chriss is bad on offense and bad on defense, so i don't mind if he's gone.

These type of players mostly look good during the regular season but we have seen in playoffs, they are either unplayable or you really need a specific matchup to make it work. But yeah it is a good argument that they are on a cheap deals, that's true.

So are gobert making 46m anf some here still want him

It depends how you get Gobert? If you could just add Gobert to this year's core team, it would be great. Unfortunately you cannot. THJ+Bertans+ something would be great too. It won't happen so there's not much reason for discussion. They should be able to upgrade Powell and sign Brunson, that's minimum expectation for offseason, anything more would be big +.

[41Dirk41]

Add talents. Clear and simple.

Sign Brunson and then take your time for searching a good trade partner, with and healthy Luka we will have another good RS and the Brunson trade value will not change and remains high all season long.

Trade our 1RP in a package for a quality big and buy with cash a couple of 2RP for some Cs or athletic wings with size.

Cut Boban, Brown and other unplayable players that Nico signed last year. No more role players or good guys. Please.

[GeorgeGervin]

Man, some of these contracts look horrible. I don't mind how much some guys are getting paid as much as i can't comprehend the length on those contracts.

They absolutely need to get rid of Bertans, Powell, Boban, Chriss, Frank and Brown. No clue how THJ looks after injury but if they can ship him out aswell would be awesome.

But obviously Brunson's new huge deal will complicate things even further. And on top of that, they desperately need a great center. I wouldn't want to be in Nico's shoes right now.

I'd say Ntilikina and Chriss are basically minimum contracts and they have some value. Plus both are youngish and might improve... Boban, Brown, Burke should be gone yes. Bertans is imovable. Powell is an expiring so worth at least something.

For the most part i agree, moving either Powell or Bertans will be really tough, even though Powell is expiring. But i don't agree on Frank and Chriss. People are saying this for years now and they are literally the same. Frank has no offense and is ok-ish at best on defense, that's not enough for me personally to keep him. And Chriss is bad on offense and bad on defense, so i don't mind if he's gone.

These type of players mostly look good during the regular season but we have seen in playoffs, they are either unplayable or you really need a specific matchup to make it work. But yeah it is a good argument that they are on a cheap deals, that's true.

Frank is much better on defense than ok-ish. He was brought off the bench to play defense on the best opposing guards, that should tell you something.
He is limited on offense but he is clearly not unplayable as he can make some open shots unlike Green.
If he improves his 3pt shot he becomes a pretty decent 3&D guy off the bench.

[Archx]

I'd say Ntilikina and Chriss are basically minimum contracts and they have some value. Plus both are youngish and might improve... Boban, Brown, Burke should be gone yes. Bertans is imovable. Powell is an expiring so worth at least something.

For the most part i agree, moving either Powell or Bertans will be really tough, even though Powell is expiring. But i don't agree on Frank and Chriss. People are saying this for years now and they are literally the same. Frank has no offense and is ok-ish at best on defense, that's not enough for me personally to keep him. And Chriss is bad on offense and bad on defense, so i don't mind if he's gone.

These type of players mostly look good during the regular season but we have seen in playoffs, they are either unplayable or you really need a specific matchup to make it work. But yeah it is a good argument that they are on a cheap deals, that's true.

Frank is much better on defense than ok-ish. He was brought off the bench to play defense on the best opposing guards, that should tell you something.
He is limited on offense but he is clearly not unplayable as he can make some open shots unlike Green.
If he improves his 3pt shot he becomes a pretty decent 3&D guy off the bench.

That's why i said some players are only ok to play against specific scenarios, his contract is not horrible but still all in all, if he's being traded i would be completely ok with it. His offense is non existant and you can't rely on his shooting so there is no need to sugar-coat it.

[arkuo]

It's Jason Kidd's first playoff run with the current squad. Some pieces like Dinwiddie and Bertans came midseason, and we haven't seen THJ play with the current team yet. I'd say just get a temporary center like Hartenstein and run it back as is. And if it still fall short, then make major changes in 2023/2024 when most of your payroll expires. Your franchise player is 23 yesrs old and is signed on long term, you can be patient. It's not a one off business and you cant change things overnight. As long as there is additional playoff revenue, the luxury tax should pay for itself. Mavs are owned by one owner, unlike other teams who are owned by an investment firm or have multiple investors. Cuban can afford to wait and earn at the same time. What's one more season to see what they can really do with a real center and with THJ back. No use trading pennies for the dollar when you will already have major capspace the year after. That's a choice of rebuilding half ass in 2022 or a full rebuild with a star in 2023.

[41Dirk41]

I think a minor change like Hartenstein and nothing else is a huge mistake... Nobody know what will happen next years, we need to be a contender from now.
Luka is ready.

[Archx]

It's Jason Kidd's first playoff run with the current squad. Some pieces like Dinwiddie and Bertans came midseason, and we haven't seen THJ play with the current team yet. I'd say just get a temporary center like Hartenstein and run it back as is. And if it still fall short, then make major changes in 2023/2024 when most of your payroll expires. Your franchise player is 23 yesrs old and is signed on long term, you can be patient. It's not a one off business and you cant change things overnight. As long as there is additional playoff revenue, the luxury tax should pay for itself. Mavs are owned by one owner, unlike other teams who are owned by an investment firm or have multiple investors. Cuban can afford to wait and earn at the same time. What's one more season to see what they can really do with a real center and with THJ back. No use trading pennies for the dollar when you will already have major capspace the year after. That's a choice of rebuilding half ass in 2022 or a full rebuild with a star in 2023.

I am maybe a fool but i trully believe Mavs would be a serious threat with THJ. There were times during these games when Mavs couldn't do anything and THJ was one of those guys who could absolutely ignite the scoring and rack up few points in a very short time.

[41Dirk41]

It's Jason Kidd's first playoff run with the current squad. Some pieces like Dinwiddie and Bertans came midseason, and we haven't seen THJ play with the current team yet. I'd say just get a temporary center like Hartenstein and run it back as is. And if it still fall short, then make major changes in 2023/2024 when most of your payroll expires. Your franchise player is 23 yesrs old and is signed on long term, you can be patient. It's not a one off business and you cant change things overnight. As long as there is additional playoff revenue, the luxury tax should pay for itself. Mavs are owned by one owner, unlike other teams who are owned by an investment firm or have multiple investors. Cuban can afford to wait and earn at the same time. What's one more season to see what they can really do with a real center and with THJ back. No use trading pennies for the dollar when you will already have major capspace the year after. That's a choice of rebuilding half ass in 2022 or a full rebuild with a star in 2023.

I am maybe a fool but i trully believe Mavs would be a serious threat with THJ. There were times during these games when Mavs couldn't do anything and THJ was one of those guys who could absolutely ignite the scoring and rack up few points in a very short time.

Last year against full loaded Clips he was the only help for Luka... When Brunson was a liability.

Most of the people hate him for the first 30games this season, when he was horrible for sure. But like a lot of our players.
I'm ok with him from the bench with smaller role.

[fuller4379]

Read on Twitter

[arkuo]

Read on Twitter

Yeah. I think this is a typical Cuban approach on new contracts. And to be fair, I think it's correct.

You ask an employee "what his short and long term plans are". Then you ask where he wants to go, instead of asking "how much can we give so we can keep you". Cuban is not going to be Lavar Balled into overpaying. He will most likely give Brunson an amount he's willing to give that he thinks is fair and he can afford, then it will be up to Brunson to decide to stay. if that fails then the next question is "where do you want to go and how can we help get you there?" A sign and trade should be in the works if this option pushes through.

[Apz]

For the most part i agree, moving either Powell or Bertans will be really tough, even though Powell is expiring. But i don't agree on Frank and Chriss. People are saying this for years now and they are literally the same. Frank has no offense and is ok-ish at best on defense, that's not enough for me personally to keep him. And Chriss is bad on offense and bad on defense, so i don't mind if he's gone.

These type of players mostly look good during the regular season but we have seen in playoffs, they are either unplayable or you really need a specific matchup to make it work. But yeah it is a good argument that they are on a cheap deals, that's true.

So are gobert making 46m anf some here still want him

It depends how you get Gobert? If you could just add Gobert to this year's core team, it would be great. Unfortunately you cannot. THJ+Bertans+ something would be great too. It won't happen so there's not much reason for discussion. They should be able to upgrade Powell and sign Brunson, that's minimum expectation for offseason, anything more would be big +.

I do not agree. The issue for me isnt that its impossible to trade for him. The issue is u lock in 46m/year of you capspace on a guy that been more of less played of the floor in the po now what, 3 years in a row? U paying 46m for a guy that does nothing for u in the po! Thats fine for knicks or magic whos whole goal is winning rs games to get to the po, but if the goal is championship u cant have that. And its for like 3 or 4 mord years! And thats not even getting into what having him on the floor does with spacing and how bad he fits. All those guys mentioned that wouldnt get the deal done, thj, bertans, frank, each individually contributes more then gobert when it comes to po.

Im still saying 15m for brunson, i know its seemed low atm, but higher and i think we regret it. I actually prefer if he dont take it to snt him for whatever we can get, ise luka dinwiddie and frank as pgs (frank playing off ball with 1 ox the other) and have thj and bullock fill more sg mins. And hopefully get frontcourt help or picks for brunson that can be used in frontcourt over paying some of thd numbers mentioned