Given what we had to deal with at the start of the offseason and with Brunson's situation bringing much uncertainty, I am suddenly thinking no matter what happens with Brunson this has been a good offseason and questioning whether or not we want to overpay to keep him is starting to creep into my mindset, especially at the $$$ I am hearing being mentioned.
This is one of our better offseason efforts and by far the best since we got Luka and Brunson back on 2018.
Wood is borderline all star as the 6th leading scoring center in the league and we got him for a late first round/26th pick and a package of players that mostly just warmed the bench for us. True he is only 6'10 and his D may not be on par with other centers who do not score as much but other defensive based bigs can be found for less $$$ to play next to him or when he is on the bench resting.
Needing insurance for a potential loss of Brunson they added Jaden Hardy from ignite who to me has better scoring ability at the 2 than Brunson has and his bigger 2 guard size means his defense should also be better. If Brunson leaves, then the 2 is in good hands with Hardy and Hardaway being our hardcore core that penetrates on its way to the rim LOL.
https://www.nbascoutinglive.com/the-way-too-early-2022-nba-mock-draft/ this old mock draft had Hardy listed as the 3rd pick in the draft. Seems like the Mavs were not the only ones who were high on Hardy.
Marcus Bingham Jr. the other center that we snagged came to the MAVS as an undrafted rook but looks like someone that should have gone higher in the draft as well. He likely fell simply because his playing time was not sufficient, so he was off the radar. From the highlights his game looks to be impressive enough that he could be a role player and get minutes behind Wood on day 1 to provide a defensive force supplying blocks and guarding the rim if the Mavs fail to add another back up veteran 5, which I still anticipate happening.
His 3 point shooting is a strong aspect of his game and he moves well for drives to the rim plus his motor definitely looks like it is well above average for a big man at 7'. He seems to play like he is bigger than 7" with a big wingspan and delivering blocks is also a strong part of his game.
Gorham a summer league invitee is an interesting guy that may shake things up. He was a draft pick from last year that went undrafted and played overseas and could find a way to unseat someone and cause the Mavs to give him a shot.
His rebounding ability for a 6'7" SF/PF is impressive and he shoots 3's well enough to do the job at a decent enough % when called upon. He takes pride in being relentless on pursuing rebounds and would be a decent option to play for defensive skills alone so if he can demonstrate a good three point shooting skill he has the potential to make third string wing his roster spot to lose. If I were Green I would be very worried and hope that the mavs would trade me to some other team if I could not win this roster spot. This will be an interesting roster battle to watch happen. The pressure is on.
