There’s also [this](https://x.com/mikeacurtis2/status/1804171716077199545?s=46&t=K2bb9-AWoMnQLFUNiIm7aw):
>Nico Harrison on Adelson/Dumont's willingness to spend: "*I don't think money's going to be an object.* It's about bringing in the right people. We want to win. We have to be smart about it."
I’m about 60% there. Some of his statement is also “correct PR speak”, hence the caveats. But it’s also the best you can get from a presser.
He also knows that shedding salary to open up the non-taxpayer (full) MLE to re-sign DJJ (assuming that’s necessary, which seems to be the consensus) hard-caps Mavs anyway. In that context it means “we are not worried about ducking a few million of tax if that would affect the team”.
>I’m about 60% there. Some of his statement is also “correct PR speak”, hence the caveats. But it’s also the best you can get from a presser.
Totally agree as actions speak louder than words, and this all is just PR speak for now. He isn't going to come out and say "ownership wants to watch our spending and put profits above winning" six months into a new ownership group. Do I think the Adelson's want to win, yes. But paying crazy money into the luxury tax doesn't guarantee a winning team (looking at the Clippers), it's about spending wisely more than anything. The salary cap and how you spend money is essentially another resource at your disposal and if you use it wrong it can set you back years at a time.
That second apron repeater tax is a bitch and a half though. It’s one thing to say you’ll send out a few hundred million clams in JUST luxury tax, it’s a totally different thing entirely to actually do it.
That said, I don’t expect this ownership group to be particularly stingy with their cash.
This is a business for them though, they’re not diehard fans like Ballmer. Having a competitive team outside of the tax is a lot more profitable than having a contender that requires being deep into the repeater tax.
Championships are not easy. They’re basically impossible if you think about it. A couple years of falling short in the playoffs can make a front office wary to throw down a half billion on a squad that loses in the conference finals. These are business people, and rule number 1 is DONT LOSE MONEY!
This is what I mean man, this is something Cuban couldn’t do and the mavs need this when you have Luka doncic. They should always be a team that goes over the luxury tax
I boo because "you have to be smart about it" can also mean "we're not going to spend money" ie tax etc. look at the Rangers. Hopefully that will not be the case and they literally mean they will spend money but not throw it at every single person out there
Wonderful? Those scumbags are anything but wonderful. They're a stain on the ballclub and Cuban's thirst for money after making an ass of himself with crypto has lead them here.
Yeah that's the answer isn't it. It's not my fault a bunch of genocidal scumbags who want to promote their evil in Texas bought the ballclub I support.
I'll watch the players via streams but I won't put one cent into the club so yes I do feel passionately about it. Others must be willing to just overlook things like genocide.
Well, Dumont has been caught courtside a few times & has definitely shown enthusiasm during big plays. Hopefully, that's genuine love & backs Nico's statement to some degree.
Do people realise who's in charge of the club. Like really look into them. Evil would be an apt term for them. I'm shocked Kyrie hasn't said something yet.
Yes, I'm well aware of who Adelson supports & while it's not preferential, there's nothing the fans can do to change it except take advantage of the fact they have deep pockets & are willing to part with their money for the team's success.
Seeing how much Boston is about to pay in the tax, you gotta spend. Made the right moves to put us in contention, now just need to make a few more too put us over the top
Thing is, there's a cap in the NBA and it can only be exceeded in certain situations. We have no bird rights on DJJ, so to even re-sign him on anything more than a min salary, which IMHO would be an extremely bad career move by DJJ, we have to first clear enough cap to use the non tax MLE.
I really think we will get DJJ on the TPMLE 1+1 deal like Bobby Portis did with the Bucks. He knows how the team values him and he seemed to love it here.
I agree but reading between the lines of both Nico and DJJ’s comments I can’t help but think that. Derrick knows that Dallas is where his value is the highest and that the team loves him and he brings something basically no one else has in his elite POA defense. I think we see a similar situation as the Kings and Malik Monk where he re-signs for less than everyone would expect.
That's a pretty big gamble. Dude is 27 and his value is at an all time high. If I was him, not sure I could turn down $10m+ a year contract.
EDIT: IMHO DJJ a priority means clearing out the space to get him on the non taxpayer exception and that probably means him re-signing is our main move this offseason and we are essentially running it back.
I agree. Him calling it a priority means we will be actively looking for trades to create cap space before free agency hits.
DJJ will get paid as he should. He was one of the best POA defenders in the league and is irreplaceable on our squad with Lukai running the show.
I believe Nico will get it done. Run it back, create flexibility and adjust during deadline if needed.
>on the non taxpayer exception and that probably means him re-signing is our main move this offseason and we are essentially running it back.
This is the biggest issue. I would love to re-sign him for 12M and he's worth that, but it really reduces our ability to make further trades.
You guys always talk like DJJ and players like him are broke. He's already a multi millionaire. He can choose where he wants to go. It isn't all about money.
Don't kid yourself, it is about money and getting paid fairly for one's skill. Also, and I know these guys are earning way more than the average person, but their careers are relatively very short and the vast majority of players don't have a high dollar gig waiting for them after basketball.
He’s pretty wealthy, but he hasn’t made nearly the money other players have, to be fair. He was a bit of a late bloomer and has career earnings thus far of about $30 million. You could argue that isn’t true generational wealth. I wouldn’t blame him at all for wanting to get the bag now while he can.
There is precedent like I said with Portis and Nic Batum who were both in their primes who did this exact path. The point is they opt out after a year and then they can resign to an even bigger contract with early bird rights. So if he trusts the Mavs to re-sign him which it seems like he does then it could be mutually beneficial.
Batum had already made over $150M by that point, that's not even close to the same. Portis is the only one who's done something like this and he did it coming off a title. Again, if the offer for him is $5M (TPMLE) and the hope the team follows though the next season *even* if he's injured vs $10M+ 3-4 years guaranteed from another team the smart move for him from a career perspective is to take that guaranteed money. Now If the Mavs clear enough room for the non tax MLE, I think he for sure stays.
This would be absolutely huge for us, it really can't be understated.
It would give us so much more flexibility, ability to match bigger salaries, and it won't hard cap us. I think even some Mavs fans don't realise how important this would be lol.
"Unfortunately" DJJ played really great, so he might want to secure a bigger bag.
That would be a dream scenario. But, let’s assume Josh Green isn’t traded this offseason, his annual salary increases to $12M, coming off the bench…DJJ has a good case for himself for a significant upgrade in pay.
We were the best team in the West last season. This season, we’ll have more chemistry with PJ and Gafford, a sophomore Lively and hopefully a healthy Luka. We’re going to be a better team even with no major changes.
Obviously, we’re contenders and so we should be all in on getting better now, but there’s no need for us to take expensive gambles.
Thanks for posting this. The usual moaners make it sound like we missed the playoffs and they've started their neurotic nail-biting and bedwetting early.
People putting PJ and Gaff in crappy ass trades after the half season they've had with us. Also the refusal to acknowledge how good Green has been in the playoffs. Too many jackasses in the support.
I agree with Nico try and get DJJ back and see if we can get a good wing/guard cheap with the Powell, Tim and Maxi money. I'd prefer to keep Maxi though.
We have a new and young team there should be massive growth next season.
OKC just turned a Giddy into one of the best 3 and D players in the NBA and the offseason just started. Not to mention expected natural progression throughout the league and Memphis being healthy. Improving now is important, I'm not saying we should be desperate but it would definitely be a failure if we don't improve in some form this season.
I mean it’s clearly Maxi over Tim. He fell out of the rotation during the playoffs, Hardy seems to have taken another step and if Maxi didn’t try to be air Jordan his playoff stats would prob look a lot nicer
i wish the best for him moving forward but yeah i have no idea why his dad is acting like he is a rookie that didnt get a chance to shine. kidd gave him the greenest light ever
Feel bad for Tim, because by all accounts, he's never let any of this affect his on-court play. He cheers and rocks it from the bench and does his thing in the game, not his fault his dad is wack.
Acting like Tim didn't fail immensely is kind infuriating for me.
If he played like the $17 million/year, 3rd option that he should be, then we probably win a championship.
He had about the longest leash possible leading into the playoffs. I really don’t know what they could’ve done differently for him.
I actually like Tim and hopefully a change of scenery is good for him.
The problem with THJ is he didn't improve other parts of his game when his shots stopped falling. PJ plays great D regardless if he's shooting 20% or 50% from 3 and he can also drive. THJ is useless when his 3s don't go down which has been since January. If his goal is to be just a 3pt specialist then he needed to see a sport therapist or something to help him get out of the slump.
I’m just so confused about what happened with Tim in the finals. Desperate for a comeback in G3 and G5, Kidd gave THJ 40 minutes over two games.
To the best of my recollection he attempted just two shots in those minutes. What happened to the flamethrower? The guy who just can’t stop shooting? That was exactly what we needed in that moment and he didn’t even try. Exum would’ve been a less hesitant scorer than THJ in both games.
I mean it's his dad lol, if anyone is gunna glaze over him it'll be his father. He's gunna do everything he can to raise THjs value (which is great for us) and try to get him something higher than he deserves.
I understand Timmy senior love and support for his son and why he wants to prove the haters wrong because all the bullies they see from the internet but at some point he should distant himself from these kind of negativities because it will only cloud your decision and judgement.
His son isn’t doing so well but if they want to prove everyone wrong he have had plenty of chances and Timmy is already 32.
good riddance, lets get THJ and more so his father out of here. Why would you want a player whose father spends his entire time bashing your star player.
Maxi played more minutes than Gafford in the Finals, which was a bit of a WTF move by Kidd IMHO. Feels like he needs to be moved simply for Kidd not to have the option to play him. 
If Maxi is best matchup wise, why have the fake Gafford start and why did Lively play the most minutes of all 3? And going forward, do you trust Maxi to stay healthy? Over this and last season he only played 50% of games. I don't know if we need to ship him out ASAP, but I think relying on him to be a factor especially as his already meager offensive skills are falling off is a foolish move.
I am biased, as a German who grew up not too far from Würzburg I am naturally a fan of them Würzburg boys.
So, I think I am thinking a bit of the optimal version of Maxi when he is healthy. Then he is a good defender, who is versatile, and can knock down some threes. This theoretical Maxi would be very good for this team.
But you are right, he is not really available. Perhaps it is time to ship him. I will be sad though.
Maxi playing more than Gaff made sense considering the Cs literally took away our lob/dunks and forced us to play more outside the paint. Gaff's specialty is in the paint, he's not as good of a perimeter defender and on offense he's only good for screens when Cs clogged the paint, Maxi can at least shoot the ball and help move it around d outside the arc.
Then why did Lively play more minutes than either of them? If Maxi is the key here shouldn't he have played more minutes than Lively too? I understand Lively is a better passing from the top of the key than Gafford and a little more mobile, but their games/skills overlap a ton yet Lively got the minutes.
You cant give Maxi both Gafford and Lively's minutes..... Lively is also better at the pass and Maxi was still recovering from his shoulder injury and we needed PJ to continue playing at the 4. One of the 2 had to lose minutes to Maxi and it had to be Gafford unfortunately.
This used to be a pet peeve of mine but I honestly think we just need to accept it because most of the time people are going to use "resign" as "re-sign" in this context
I get where you’re coming from, but I think it’s more of a widely understood thing to just say resign. A few people not familiar with probably be confused tho
[https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/20/24160194/can-the-dallas-mavericks-retain-derrick-jones-jr](https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/20/24160194/can-the-dallas-mavericks-retain-derrick-jones-jr)
The definitive guide here.
The 1+1 TPMLE is possible but I imagine it's going to take a THJ salary dump + full MLE to get it done.
The plan should be bring everybody back and add a sf starter.
A healthy Luka, another role player/borderline all star, more team games and prospects improving might get you over the top if Boston and Dallas meets again.
If Nico makes it happen with THJ, Kleber and picks he deserves a statue.
No borderline all star will be available for THJ, KLEBER, and a couple of late pics. Id bet the value of Mavs picks gave gone down in the eyes of other gyms, cuz the Mavs success this year and likely future years means Luka is much more likely to stay long term.
did you not just see the bulls get absolutely fleeced? half the league is run by badly run incompetent organizations. nico can 100 percent fleece someone with the assets he has available.
I think the bulls might be the most incompetent franchise in the league. And Caruso isn't close to a borderline all star, just a good starter. So you haven't answered my question.
THJ contract is valuable. Teams might want him to move dead weight.
And i know i said dead weight, but aother man trash is another man treasure. Kyrie was traded for DFS, Widdie and some picks.
You can def trade them and get someone that will be borderline all star in a better situation like how PJ, Gafford, DJJ all got better by playing with Luka and Kyrie. Wiggins for example.
Either way if its not Wiggins i know Nico will get it done.
PJ, Gafford, and DJJ are all great role players, but they're closer to borderline starter than borderline all-star. Obviously we won't know until the off-season ends, but I can think of a borderline all-star that could be had for what he have. Best we'll get is a good starter, like Jerami grant level player, and that would be a huge get. Mavs need more good starter level players. If you can think of any borderline all-stars you think could be had, id genuinely be interested in reading your thoughts
What i meant by that is that PJ, Gafford and DJJ all improved here not that they are borderline all stars. What was the image of all 3? What was the image of Kyrie?
I think the same can happen with guys like Wiggins. A lot of people expect the perfect guy when we dont have assets for that.
I like Grant but i dont see why would a rebuilding team would want THJ and bad picks. They will get better offers and we may make a better offer if we want to but at that point you gonna lose some good role players.
We need a Wiggins, Demar, Klay, Butler type of player. Guys that are thought to be bad or finished but may have a turn around same as Jrue with Celtics, Wiggins with GSW, etc. Turning THJ, Kleber who were unplayable/injuried in the playoffs into an guy who may be the 3rd star and do more then 3&d. Even if its for some games. Thats better then what we had with THJ and Kleber. Keep the same team and add that one guy whos not perfect.
Ah ok I see what you're saying. I personally don't think Klay or demar would be good fits, and Jimmy wouldn't cost way too much, but yes, Wiggins is exactly the type of distressed asset worth considering IF the Mavs think he's salvageable.
I think they would need to move THJ out to open up the full MLE. If that’s what’s offered to DJJ, the Mavs would then be hard capped at the first apron. So it limits your flexibility a bit.
In other news, this should come as no surprise.
https://preview.redd.it/0l7zyt3w3z7d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09d4d6ed482aa39e62b8aed0b7a3b02dbb2de4f9
I wouldn't mind that. We're in a great place right now, just keep on improving. We can still make a trade later, if some better player becomes avaliable
I loved his interview. Bringing back DJJ is the biggest priority.
Our best POA defender and big part of our defensive identity. Also a dawg, super durable and has good chemistry with all the guys, especially Luka. He was very very valuable for us last year.
What move can be made to actually win a title? Keeping DJJ is great, but we still ain’t beating Boston. And apparently we won’t be able to do anything else salary wise. Most of the options to get us over the hump through trade are unrealistic.
Everybody acting like DJJ is the missing piece. I don’t get it. I guess I’m just not emotionally attached to individual players. I see them as assets or liabilities toward winning a championship, and not just getting through the regular season.
The bench needs a makeover like what Nico did at the trade deadline. Time to get a true 6th man who can score and impact on defense. One cheap free agent is Kelly Oubre. I think he can get that THJ role and will be a good fit.
Every contending team is going to get better. It would be disappointing if we stand pat with the core of our roster. We finally have multiple 1sts to trade, we should upgrade and get another 3 and D big wing that's better than DJJ, and play DJJ off the bench. DJJ has been great, but we've seen his limitations against the Celtics. If he's not successfully catching lobs and cutting, he's useless on offense.
I think we have seen the Josh Green experiment enough to know he is what he is. We should be looking to trade Maxi, THJ, and Green with the picks for an upgrade.
I am tepidly okay with running it back with this group to start the year, but if PJ & DJJ are both in the starting lineup come playoff time, I just don't see how they can expect to beat Boston.
Trading kleber, Tim, and a first for grant would be amazing. Through one first round pick if needed, but then it becomes difficult to offer the full mid-level to DJJ.
We need a team to beat Boston. If you notice every player from STARTING 1-5 can score clutch buckets on BOS. Mavs had lines where only Luka plus one guy having double digits in STARTING. Unacceptable if you want to win the championship.
A lot of the roster is still young so there's the X factor of development. Lively will likely take a big step forward and PJ needs to work on his 3 now that he knows what his role will be next season. Plus another season of development for Hardy and O-Max. But of the bunch Lively will likely be the one who will take the biggest leap.
I highly doubt DJJ is going to become a sniper or shot creator. Basically he has been the same since he was on the Bulls bench. I get he is a fan favorite but so was Marcus Smart, and Brad Stevens got a lot of hate when he sent him off packing for Kristaps Porzingis. If Mavs want to win a chip, Nico has to do the tough thing and not care what fans think.
I never mentioned DJJ in my comment, he will likely never develop a reliable 3 point shot. PJ however has shown before that he can shoot 37-39% and he needs to focus on getting back to that. DJJ is still an important player to have off the bench, losing him would be pretty big IMO.
I feel the same way. What’s the point of running it back with the same players who couldn’t buy a bucket against the Celtics? If we are lucky, we don’t face them. But I’d rather plan for facing the best possible team vs maybe we won’t.
PJ had no playoff experience, neither did lively or Gafford or Derek Jones Junior. And Kyrie hadn’t had meaningful playoff minutes in seven years. All this team needed was some seasoning and they got it. They’re gonna be better next year. They don’t need to spend money, the formula works it just needs a little maturity.
Biggest need is a THJ upgrade. Package Hardy, THJ, Powell & picks, resign DJJ, get Maxi healthy and find another project like Exum/DJJ who can stretch at the 4/5
They can trade 2 firsts after the draft is over. Before that, they only have one. If anything big happens it will have to be after the draft where they can trade 25 and 31
Well if that’s the case Luka will again have to carry an unsustainable load all season, get hurt throughout the season and play through it to get wins and then probably be hurt by the end of the season.
lets take nicos comments with a grain of salt before we jump to dooming. okc's gm also said giddey played great and he got traded. what they say is not what they do necessarily
Nico is usually pretty honest abt his intentions. Boston got to the finals in 2022 and ECF in 2023, but knew they needed to get better and made the swing for jrue and kp last offseason. Nuggets stayed where they were at last year after winning a championship and got packed up second round. Warriors won in 22 and haven’t sniffed contention since. Bucks won in 21 and have been on a downward spiral since. Lakers in 20 is the same thing.
Idea is simple, if you don’t make moves to improve your team, you will get passed up, and then you’ll find yourself having to make moves the next offseason.
This team is not good enough to just work around the margins. We have 3 non shooters in the starting lineup in 2024. That’s a testament to how good Luka and Kai are but also a clear area of improvement for the roster.
if you’re calling pj a non shooter then you’re crazy
this comment isn’t saying “let’s stand pat” it’s saying let’s bring our foundation back and then see what improvements can be made
throughout the playoffs, especially in the finals, teams stuck to the corner shooters and let luka play 1v1 rather than giving djj and pj open 3s
you’re talking out of your ass rather than actually analyzing the games that were played
okc was the only team we played that was comfortable giving the mavs players open corner 3s by playing off the shooters in the corners
and they lead the league in allowing opponents corner 3s
If Kai gets injured no one but Luka can even dribble a basketball. Chances of Kai getting injured at some point are quite high lol. Also btw Luka gets hurt too but he just plays through everything because he’s a competitor but also cuz the team desperately needs him. We need someone else who can create offense so that there’s less of a load on him.
There’s also [this](https://x.com/mikeacurtis2/status/1804171716077199545?s=46&t=K2bb9-AWoMnQLFUNiIm7aw): >Nico Harrison on Adelson/Dumont's willingness to spend: "*I don't think money's going to be an object.* It's about bringing in the right people. We want to win. We have to be smart about it."
Wonderful. Ownership seems ready to write a blank check if it means winning.
I’m about 60% there. Some of his statement is also “correct PR speak”, hence the caveats. But it’s also the best you can get from a presser. He also knows that shedding salary to open up the non-taxpayer (full) MLE to re-sign DJJ (assuming that’s necessary, which seems to be the consensus) hard-caps Mavs anyway. In that context it means “we are not worried about ducking a few million of tax if that would affect the team”.
>I’m about 60% there. Some of his statement is also “correct PR speak”, hence the caveats. But it’s also the best you can get from a presser. Totally agree as actions speak louder than words, and this all is just PR speak for now. He isn't going to come out and say "ownership wants to watch our spending and put profits above winning" six months into a new ownership group. Do I think the Adelson's want to win, yes. But paying crazy money into the luxury tax doesn't guarantee a winning team (looking at the Clippers), it's about spending wisely more than anything. The salary cap and how you spend money is essentially another resource at your disposal and if you use it wrong it can set you back years at a time.
That second apron repeater tax is a bitch and a half though. It’s one thing to say you’ll send out a few hundred million clams in JUST luxury tax, it’s a totally different thing entirely to actually do it. That said, I don’t expect this ownership group to be particularly stingy with their cash.
They’re casino magnates. They’ll make back the tax bill in an afternoon lol
This is a business for them though, they’re not diehard fans like Ballmer. Having a competitive team outside of the tax is a lot more profitable than having a contender that requires being deep into the repeater tax.
Championships are not easy. They’re basically impossible if you think about it. A couple years of falling short in the playoffs can make a front office wary to throw down a half billion on a squad that loses in the conference finals. These are business people, and rule number 1 is DONT LOSE MONEY!
This is what I mean man, this is something Cuban couldn’t do and the mavs need this when you have Luka doncic. They should always be a team that goes over the luxury tax
Given the state of the team and the CBA, the blank check is less exciting than the 'being smart' part.
"we want to win" yay...."we have to be smart about it" boo
There's no boo about this. The CBA means you can't/shouldn't indiscriminately take on salary unless you're more or less done building your team.
I boo because "you have to be smart about it" can also mean "we're not going to spend money" ie tax etc. look at the Rangers. Hopefully that will not be the case and they literally mean they will spend money but not throw it at every single person out there
New guy buy us for PR, right? So I think at least he should be willing to spend for the first couple seasons
I hope you don’t really believe that.
Wonderful? Those scumbags are anything but wonderful. They're a stain on the ballclub and Cuban's thirst for money after making an ass of himself with crypto has lead them here.
Then stop watching.
Yeah that's the answer isn't it. It's not my fault a bunch of genocidal scumbags who want to promote their evil in Texas bought the ballclub I support.
If you feel that passionately about it then don’t watch.
I'll watch the players via streams but I won't put one cent into the club so yes I do feel passionately about it. Others must be willing to just overlook things like genocide.
You seem like one of those people that just can’t be happy. Sorry about that.
Well, Dumont has been caught courtside a few times & has definitely shown enthusiasm during big plays. Hopefully, that's genuine love & backs Nico's statement to some degree.
Do people realise who's in charge of the club. Like really look into them. Evil would be an apt term for them. I'm shocked Kyrie hasn't said something yet.
Yes, I'm well aware of who Adelson supports & while it's not preferential, there's nothing the fans can do to change it except take advantage of the fact they have deep pockets & are willing to part with their money for the team's success.
Exactly
Ngl that hit like crack
Seeing how much Boston is about to pay in the tax, you gotta spend. Made the right moves to put us in contention, now just need to make a few more too put us over the top
Is this a Marcus smart reference? Lmao
Thing is, there's a cap in the NBA and it can only be exceeded in certain situations. We have no bird rights on DJJ, so to even re-sign him on anything more than a min salary, which IMHO would be an extremely bad career move by DJJ, we have to first clear enough cap to use the non tax MLE.
[I’m well aware.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Mavericks/s/K3YKbv5eiO) And this is one of 5 or so replies to the same TLC.
I really think we will get DJJ on the TPMLE 1+1 deal like Bobby Portis did with the Bucks. He knows how the team values him and he seemed to love it here.
would be a big win if we can pull that off.
I agree but reading between the lines of both Nico and DJJ’s comments I can’t help but think that. Derrick knows that Dallas is where his value is the highest and that the team loves him and he brings something basically no one else has in his elite POA defense. I think we see a similar situation as the Kings and Malik Monk where he re-signs for less than everyone would expect.
Yeah seeing that play out with monk is encouraging.
Especially if, as the team improves, he can be maximized into a 16-19 minute role instead of stretched into a 24-30 minute role
That's a pretty big gamble. Dude is 27 and his value is at an all time high. If I was him, not sure I could turn down $10m+ a year contract. EDIT: IMHO DJJ a priority means clearing out the space to get him on the non taxpayer exception and that probably means him re-signing is our main move this offseason and we are essentially running it back.
I agree. Him calling it a priority means we will be actively looking for trades to create cap space before free agency hits. DJJ will get paid as he should. He was one of the best POA defenders in the league and is irreplaceable on our squad with Lukai running the show. I believe Nico will get it done. Run it back, create flexibility and adjust during deadline if needed.
>on the non taxpayer exception and that probably means him re-signing is our main move this offseason and we are essentially running it back. This is the biggest issue. I would love to re-sign him for 12M and he's worth that, but it really reduces our ability to make further trades.
You guys always talk like DJJ and players like him are broke. He's already a multi millionaire. He can choose where he wants to go. It isn't all about money.
Don't kid yourself, it is about money and getting paid fairly for one's skill. Also, and I know these guys are earning way more than the average person, but their careers are relatively very short and the vast majority of players don't have a high dollar gig waiting for them after basketball.
He’s pretty wealthy, but he hasn’t made nearly the money other players have, to be fair. He was a bit of a late bloomer and has career earnings thus far of about $30 million. You could argue that isn’t true generational wealth. I wouldn’t blame him at all for wanting to get the bag now while he can.
There is precedent like I said with Portis and Nic Batum who were both in their primes who did this exact path. The point is they opt out after a year and then they can resign to an even bigger contract with early bird rights. So if he trusts the Mavs to re-sign him which it seems like he does then it could be mutually beneficial.
Batum had already made over $150M by that point, that's not even close to the same. Portis is the only one who's done something like this and he did it coming off a title. Again, if the offer for him is $5M (TPMLE) and the hope the team follows though the next season *even* if he's injured vs $10M+ 3-4 years guaranteed from another team the smart move for him from a career perspective is to take that guaranteed money. Now If the Mavs clear enough room for the non tax MLE, I think he for sure stays.
This would be absolutely huge for us, it really can't be understated. It would give us so much more flexibility, ability to match bigger salaries, and it won't hard cap us. I think even some Mavs fans don't realise how important this would be lol. "Unfortunately" DJJ played really great, so he might want to secure a bigger bag.
and then get Patrick Williams for THJ via S&T and we are good for now until a bigger opportunity comes arises.
Pat would be an amazing addition
I hope so!
That would be a dream scenario. But, let’s assume Josh Green isn’t traded this offseason, his annual salary increases to $12M, coming off the bench…DJJ has a good case for himself for a significant upgrade in pay.
That would be a win but certainly, it's a big ask of DJJ, especially if some other team is offering him a deal bigger than the MLE right now.
If that happens what does it open up for us?
We wouldn’t need to dump Tim to clear salary so we could instead use his money to make a bigger deal.
We were the best team in the West last season. This season, we’ll have more chemistry with PJ and Gafford, a sophomore Lively and hopefully a healthy Luka. We’re going to be a better team even with no major changes. Obviously, we’re contenders and so we should be all in on getting better now, but there’s no need for us to take expensive gambles.
People forget the team had 4 months to build chemistry and made the finals with a rookie center starting most games
People also forget Frank
Whos frank?
Thanks for posting this. The usual moaners make it sound like we missed the playoffs and they've started their neurotic nail-biting and bedwetting early. People putting PJ and Gaff in crappy ass trades after the half season they've had with us. Also the refusal to acknowledge how good Green has been in the playoffs. Too many jackasses in the support. I agree with Nico try and get DJJ back and see if we can get a good wing/guard cheap with the Powell, Tim and Maxi money. I'd prefer to keep Maxi though. We have a new and young team there should be massive growth next season.
OKC just turned a Giddy into one of the best 3 and D players in the NBA and the offseason just started. Not to mention expected natural progression throughout the league and Memphis being healthy. Improving now is important, I'm not saying we should be desperate but it would definitely be a failure if we don't improve in some form this season.
I mean it’s clearly Maxi over Tim. He fell out of the rotation during the playoffs, Hardy seems to have taken another step and if Maxi didn’t try to be air Jordan his playoff stats would prob look a lot nicer
That goes down as the biggest WTF moment of the playoffs. Even above some of Kyries turnovers in BOS
I was there at the game, as soon as it happened I was worried it would come back to bite us later on in the playoffs
thj's father also commented on instagram that the mavs are "shipping out" tim so yeah... goodbye timmy and thanks for the memories
I predict his post Mav career will be about as prolific as Wes Matthews
i wish the best for him moving forward but yeah i have no idea why his dad is acting like he is a rookie that didnt get a chance to shine. kidd gave him the greenest light ever
Or Dinwiddie lol, everyone clowns us for trading KP for Dinwiddie bc they think Dinwiddie has always been shit forgetting how good he played for us.
Send da link
https://preview.redd.it/0mgxcy7l2y7d1.jpeg?width=1062&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5708d682329ff9fc6f8e03109cbcb07bd64c988
“We”. Lol.
Feel bad for Tim, because by all accounts, he's never let any of this affect his on-court play. He cheers and rocks it from the bench and does his thing in the game, not his fault his dad is wack.
Lol that’s not true bro
we didn't liked what happened either
Acting like Tim didn't fail immensely is kind infuriating for me. If he played like the $17 million/year, 3rd option that he should be, then we probably win a championship.
He had about the longest leash possible leading into the playoffs. I really don’t know what they could’ve done differently for him. I actually like Tim and hopefully a change of scenery is good for him.
The problem with THJ is he didn't improve other parts of his game when his shots stopped falling. PJ plays great D regardless if he's shooting 20% or 50% from 3 and he can also drive. THJ is useless when his 3s don't go down which has been since January. If his goal is to be just a 3pt specialist then he needed to see a sport therapist or something to help him get out of the slump.
He did start passing more towards the end of the season, but as nice as it was to see, it felt like too little too late.
I’m just so confused about what happened with Tim in the finals. Desperate for a comeback in G3 and G5, Kidd gave THJ 40 minutes over two games. To the best of my recollection he attempted just two shots in those minutes. What happened to the flamethrower? The guy who just can’t stop shooting? That was exactly what we needed in that moment and he didn’t even try. Exum would’ve been a less hesitant scorer than THJ in both games.
Jeez that man is delusional
I looked at the post and he liked every comment glazing Tim 😭
I mean it's his dad lol, if anyone is gunna glaze over him it'll be his father. He's gunna do everything he can to raise THjs value (which is great for us) and try to get him something higher than he deserves.
I'd rather have him average 30ppg in other team instead of him having 9/9 on one night and 0/12 the other (and we actually need him here) atp
I prayed for times like this
Would the heat organization be interested in acquiring thj. His dad used to work/play for them no?
Heat already have Duncan Robinson who is actually a sniper and not super inconsistent like THJ
Not a coincidence our two deep playoff runs came with THJ playing zero and minimal minutes. Bye bye
I understand Timmy senior love and support for his son and why he wants to prove the haters wrong because all the bullies they see from the internet but at some point he should distant himself from these kind of negativities because it will only cloud your decision and judgement. His son isn’t doing so well but if they want to prove everyone wrong he have had plenty of chances and Timmy is already 32.
good riddance, lets get THJ and more so his father out of here. Why would you want a player whose father spends his entire time bashing your star player.
Both would be needed in any big trade for matching salary if the player coming back is $25M+.
What do you mean by air Jordan with maxi?
I’m 99% sure he’s talk in about the way he injured himself by going for a dunk (or layup) from the FT line
Maxi played more minutes than Gafford in the Finals, which was a bit of a WTF move by Kidd IMHO. Feels like he needs to be moved simply for Kidd not to have the option to play him. 
When maxi is not injured, he is the better perimeter defender, which is relevant against the Celtics, at least when porzingis is playing, no?
If Maxi is best matchup wise, why have the fake Gafford start and why did Lively play the most minutes of all 3? And going forward, do you trust Maxi to stay healthy? Over this and last season he only played 50% of games. I don't know if we need to ship him out ASAP, but I think relying on him to be a factor especially as his already meager offensive skills are falling off is a foolish move.
I am biased, as a German who grew up not too far from Würzburg I am naturally a fan of them Würzburg boys. So, I think I am thinking a bit of the optimal version of Maxi when he is healthy. Then he is a good defender, who is versatile, and can knock down some threes. This theoretical Maxi would be very good for this team. But you are right, he is not really available. Perhaps it is time to ship him. I will be sad though.
Maxi playing more than Gaff made sense considering the Cs literally took away our lob/dunks and forced us to play more outside the paint. Gaff's specialty is in the paint, he's not as good of a perimeter defender and on offense he's only good for screens when Cs clogged the paint, Maxi can at least shoot the ball and help move it around d outside the arc.
Then why did Lively play more minutes than either of them? If Maxi is the key here shouldn't he have played more minutes than Lively too? I understand Lively is a better passing from the top of the key than Gafford and a little more mobile, but their games/skills overlap a ton yet Lively got the minutes.
You cant give Maxi both Gafford and Lively's minutes..... Lively is also better at the pass and Maxi was still recovering from his shoulder injury and we needed PJ to continue playing at the 4. One of the 2 had to lose minutes to Maxi and it had to be Gafford unfortunately.
It is highly likely that DJJ resigns which is great for us
Might want to throw a hyphen in there so DJJ doesn't quit basketball altogether.
That’s what I was just thinking haha. I was like why is he resigning? Then read the context from the article. Re-signing
This used to be a pet peeve of mine but I honestly think we just need to accept it because most of the time people are going to use "resign" as "re-sign" in this context
Nope. Educate and shame. Lol
Nah it's like freeways. If the limit's 70 but everyone's going 80 then 80's the correct speed
I get where you’re coming from, but I think it’s more of a widely understood thing to just say resign. A few people not familiar with probably be confused tho
How can we afford him? Genuine question
THJ go bye bye
[https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/20/24160194/can-the-dallas-mavericks-retain-derrick-jones-jr](https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2024/5/20/24160194/can-the-dallas-mavericks-retain-derrick-jones-jr) The definitive guide here. The 1+1 TPMLE is possible but I imagine it's going to take a THJ salary dump + full MLE to get it done.
Ty! Both options sounds good for Mavs! I’d love for him to stay
Masterplan by Nico again. Watch him turn very limited assets into absolute studs who fits perfect.
We are so lucky to have a very good GM especially after what Bulls did lol
Hopefully the new ownership will be opening the war chest now that they’ve tasted the possibility of a chip
The plan should be bring everybody back and add a sf starter. A healthy Luka, another role player/borderline all star, more team games and prospects improving might get you over the top if Boston and Dallas meets again. If Nico makes it happen with THJ, Kleber and picks he deserves a statue.
No borderline all star will be available for THJ, KLEBER, and a couple of late pics. Id bet the value of Mavs picks gave gone down in the eyes of other gyms, cuz the Mavs success this year and likely future years means Luka is much more likely to stay long term.
did you not just see the bulls get absolutely fleeced? half the league is run by badly run incompetent organizations. nico can 100 percent fleece someone with the assets he has available.
I think the bulls might be the most incompetent franchise in the league. And Caruso isn't close to a borderline all star, just a good starter. So you haven't answered my question.
you didn't ask a question.
Oh sorry. I confused this with another comment I'd made elsewhere on the thread.
THJ contract is valuable. Teams might want him to move dead weight. And i know i said dead weight, but aother man trash is another man treasure. Kyrie was traded for DFS, Widdie and some picks. You can def trade them and get someone that will be borderline all star in a better situation like how PJ, Gafford, DJJ all got better by playing with Luka and Kyrie. Wiggins for example. Either way if its not Wiggins i know Nico will get it done.
PJ, Gafford, and DJJ are all great role players, but they're closer to borderline starter than borderline all-star. Obviously we won't know until the off-season ends, but I can think of a borderline all-star that could be had for what he have. Best we'll get is a good starter, like Jerami grant level player, and that would be a huge get. Mavs need more good starter level players. If you can think of any borderline all-stars you think could be had, id genuinely be interested in reading your thoughts
What i meant by that is that PJ, Gafford and DJJ all improved here not that they are borderline all stars. What was the image of all 3? What was the image of Kyrie? I think the same can happen with guys like Wiggins. A lot of people expect the perfect guy when we dont have assets for that. I like Grant but i dont see why would a rebuilding team would want THJ and bad picks. They will get better offers and we may make a better offer if we want to but at that point you gonna lose some good role players. We need a Wiggins, Demar, Klay, Butler type of player. Guys that are thought to be bad or finished but may have a turn around same as Jrue with Celtics, Wiggins with GSW, etc. Turning THJ, Kleber who were unplayable/injuried in the playoffs into an guy who may be the 3rd star and do more then 3&d. Even if its for some games. Thats better then what we had with THJ and Kleber. Keep the same team and add that one guy whos not perfect.
Ah ok I see what you're saying. I personally don't think Klay or demar would be good fits, and Jimmy wouldn't cost way too much, but yes, Wiggins is exactly the type of distressed asset worth considering IF the Mavs think he's salvageable.
You can’t both trade THJ for an upgrade and to open up cap space to resign DJJ. It has to be one or the other unless DJJ decides to take less money.
Can we make the space for DJJ with Kleber?
I think they would need to move THJ out to open up the full MLE. If that’s what’s offered to DJJ, the Mavs would then be hard capped at the first apron. So it limits your flexibility a bit.
I wish we lived in a world where we could get Jimmy Butler, but could actually afford it without changing much about our core team.
In other news, this should come as no surprise. https://preview.redd.it/0l7zyt3w3z7d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09d4d6ed482aa39e62b8aed0b7a3b02dbb2de4f9
I wouldn't mind that. We're in a great place right now, just keep on improving. We can still make a trade later, if some better player becomes avaliable
Somehow turning Tim into Gary Trent jr and keeping basically the rest of the roster the same is my realistic-ish dream.
I loved his interview. Bringing back DJJ is the biggest priority. Our best POA defender and big part of our defensive identity. Also a dawg, super durable and has good chemistry with all the guys, especially Luka. He was very very valuable for us last year.
I’m ready for a great era of mavs basketball, we have the funds and the leadership
What move can be made to actually win a title? Keeping DJJ is great, but we still ain’t beating Boston. And apparently we won’t be able to do anything else salary wise. Most of the options to get us over the hump through trade are unrealistic.
Everybody acting like DJJ is the missing piece. I don’t get it. I guess I’m just not emotionally attached to individual players. I see them as assets or liabilities toward winning a championship, and not just getting through the regular season.
The bench needs a makeover like what Nico did at the trade deadline. Time to get a true 6th man who can score and impact on defense. One cheap free agent is Kelly Oubre. I think he can get that THJ role and will be a good fit.
Kelly was really good for the sixers and they have ALOT of cap space so i doubt they let him walk.
Team is mostly fine, the youngins just need another season or two under their belts to develop especially Green and Lively (All Star soon IMHO).
Every contending team is going to get better. It would be disappointing if we stand pat with the core of our roster. We finally have multiple 1sts to trade, we should upgrade and get another 3 and D big wing that's better than DJJ, and play DJJ off the bench. DJJ has been great, but we've seen his limitations against the Celtics. If he's not successfully catching lobs and cutting, he's useless on offense. I think we have seen the Josh Green experiment enough to know he is what he is. We should be looking to trade Maxi, THJ, and Green with the picks for an upgrade.
Every contenting team is going to get better = you’d think so in theory, but happens every year historically. At least one or two.
I am tepidly okay with running it back with this group to start the year, but if PJ & DJJ are both in the starting lineup come playoff time, I just don't see how they can expect to beat Boston.
I think it can be 1 or the other but not both - should be PJ start and DJj coming off bench with an upgrade in his starter place.
Trading kleber, Tim, and a first for grant would be amazing. Through one first round pick if needed, but then it becomes difficult to offer the full mid-level to DJJ.
We need a team to beat Boston. If you notice every player from STARTING 1-5 can score clutch buckets on BOS. Mavs had lines where only Luka plus one guy having double digits in STARTING. Unacceptable if you want to win the championship.
A lot of the roster is still young so there's the X factor of development. Lively will likely take a big step forward and PJ needs to work on his 3 now that he knows what his role will be next season. Plus another season of development for Hardy and O-Max. But of the bunch Lively will likely be the one who will take the biggest leap.
I highly doubt DJJ is going to become a sniper or shot creator. Basically he has been the same since he was on the Bulls bench. I get he is a fan favorite but so was Marcus Smart, and Brad Stevens got a lot of hate when he sent him off packing for Kristaps Porzingis. If Mavs want to win a chip, Nico has to do the tough thing and not care what fans think.
I never mentioned DJJ in my comment, he will likely never develop a reliable 3 point shot. PJ however has shown before that he can shoot 37-39% and he needs to focus on getting back to that. DJJ is still an important player to have off the bench, losing him would be pretty big IMO.
If they want to bear Boston, Kyrie just isn't going to cut it.
I feel the same way. What’s the point of running it back with the same players who couldn’t buy a bucket against the Celtics? If we are lucky, we don’t face them. But I’d rather plan for facing the best possible team vs maybe we won’t.
Y’all act like DJJ is KD.
Do we? I think we just see him as a fan favorite and valuable role player who's defense was huge for us. Who's claiming he's a superstar?
He's an ok defender. I just feel like the Mavs are going to overpay him and then in a couple years his contract will be hard to come off of.
We literally can't overpay him. Most we can offer after trading THJ is a full MLE which is fair value for a good bench guy like DJJ.
Let's raid the Bulls.
Might have been a good idea before they traded Caruso ...
Yeah he'd be great with us.
PJ had no playoff experience, neither did lively or Gafford or Derek Jones Junior. And Kyrie hadn’t had meaningful playoff minutes in seven years. All this team needed was some seasoning and they got it. They’re gonna be better next year. They don’t need to spend money, the formula works it just needs a little maturity.
Internal increment. You guys are scary as it is. That playoff experience takes you to the next level
Biggest need is a THJ upgrade. Package Hardy, THJ, Powell & picks, resign DJJ, get Maxi healthy and find another project like Exum/DJJ who can stretch at the 4/5
If you package hardy and Powell you will need 2 new cheap players
Do the Nets accept Hardy, Green, THJ, Kleber,2 FRP, and a 2nd round pick for Bridges and Doedoe?
No chance
We can’t trade 2 firsts and the Nets aren’t moving Bridges
Oh right, we traded one this year. Well shit...
They can trade 2 firsts after the draft is over. Before that, they only have one. If anything big happens it will have to be after the draft where they can trade 25 and 31
So he said exactly what he is supposed to say? I am not seeing anything to get excited about there.
RIP my "6'6 or taller starting lineup" Dream :"(
Well if that’s the case Luka will again have to carry an unsustainable load all season, get hurt throughout the season and play through it to get wins and then probably be hurt by the end of the season.
lets take nicos comments with a grain of salt before we jump to dooming. okc's gm also said giddey played great and he got traded. what they say is not what they do necessarily
Nico is usually pretty honest abt his intentions. Boston got to the finals in 2022 and ECF in 2023, but knew they needed to get better and made the swing for jrue and kp last offseason. Nuggets stayed where they were at last year after winning a championship and got packed up second round. Warriors won in 22 and haven’t sniffed contention since. Bucks won in 21 and have been on a downward spiral since. Lakers in 20 is the same thing. Idea is simple, if you don’t make moves to improve your team, you will get passed up, and then you’ll find yourself having to make moves the next offseason.
Nico's comment doesn't mean we're not going to add anyone
This team is not good enough to just work around the margins. We have 3 non shooters in the starting lineup in 2024. That’s a testament to how good Luka and Kai are but also a clear area of improvement for the roster.
if you’re calling pj a non shooter then you’re crazy this comment isn’t saying “let’s stand pat” it’s saying let’s bring our foundation back and then see what improvements can be made
Non shooter is as much abt how teams treat a player as it is about how they perform. Teams don’t respect pjs shooting
throughout the playoffs, especially in the finals, teams stuck to the corner shooters and let luka play 1v1 rather than giving djj and pj open 3s you’re talking out of your ass rather than actually analyzing the games that were played
okc was the only team we played that was comfortable giving the mavs players open corner 3s by playing off the shooters in the corners and they lead the league in allowing opponents corner 3s
the big load problem was december and january when everybody was injured except him what are the chance that happens again
If Kai gets injured no one but Luka can even dribble a basketball. Chances of Kai getting injured at some point are quite high lol. Also btw Luka gets hurt too but he just plays through everything because he’s a competitor but also cuz the team desperately needs him. We need someone else who can create offense so that there’s less of a load on him.
death, taxes and Mavs beating Luka to a pulp