Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirk's Knee
Well, you have Dirk, Carter, Marion, Cunningham, Crowder, Bernard James on contract. I think we re-sign Wright for sure. Honestly, I don't think you bring back anyone else at this point. Maybe Collison on the cheap with the understanding he'll be coming off the bench. Haven't seen enough of Morrow or Akognon to know if their worth bringing back. I just don't see Kaman, Mayo, Brand, Mike James being worth re-signing do to overall team needs and hopefully doing well in the draft.
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We're thinking along the same lines here...
Not much to talk about with Dirk/Marion/Carter - not only are they our best players, but they're also the veteran identity of this team and should help to lure free agents... On the flipside, Marion & Carter are our biggest trade assets. Matrix is still EARNING his old-CBA contract and Carter has the best cost-to-talent ratio in the league (both contracts expire next year), but I'd love to have them back if they don't get shipped out for something better.
I'd probably bring back Jae Crowder and Bernard James even if they weren't under contract, seeing as how they both became rotational players (with a few starts) in their rookie season... Who says Rick doesn't like rooks? He gave both of these guys a chance to earn minutes and they rose to the occasion. Of course that also makes them potential trade sweetener, but hopefully they'll be back... I look forward to watching them blossom further under Carlisle's tutelage.
Cunningham was raw coming into the league and might need a couple years to develop, so it's good to have him under contract to see what he can do... Especially if Roddy moves out of his way in the pecking order (which I pretty much expect, seeing as how the kid has more injuries than back-to-back consistent games over the last 4 years).
I don't see any reason why we'd bring back Mike James unless we miraculously land CP3 and just want a cheap, hard-working backup who knows Rick's system to pick up the scraps while Cunningham continues to develop.
Locking up Brandan Wright should be a priority this summer, but has he priced himself out of a backup role on this team? I can't help but think of Brandon Bass - a PF/C who isn't quite big enough to play the 5, but won't get enough minutes at the 4 to justify their cost... Wright may be a luxury that we can't afford to keep unless he bulks up and improves his rebounding/footwork enough to play center in more matchups.
While we're at it, throw Elton Brand in the "PF/C who isn't quite big enough to play the 5, but won't get enough minutes at the 4 to justify their cost" category... We're either keeping Brand or Wright (or neither), but not both.
I'd definitely bring back Collison as a backup for the right price, especially if we use him in a Barea-type role. It seems to be what he's best suited for in Rick Carlisle's system... With that said, I doubt his ego matches the price/role the Mavs have in store for him, so I fully expect him to find a better deal (than what he's worth to us) elsewhere.
I have a feeling that the Mavs grabbed Morrow more for next season, but he might also be here for leverage in Dwight Howard negotiations (they're buddies). We didn't see much of him this season, but his career kinda speaks for itself - he's a 42.4% shooter from beyond the arc (and you can never have enough shooters!)
I don't really know what to think about OJ Mayo at this point. I was all for keeping him, even with his struggles, but Rick Carlisle just made it sound like he won't be back next season... If he does choose to exercise his option and stick around, I do think he could get better with an entire offseason/training camp to work with Dirk - you're not going to find better talent out there for $4.2mil... But if he opts out, I wouldn't pay a helluva lot more than that.
Goodbye Chris Kaman... Centers who can't anchor a defense are about as useless as point guards who can't orchestrate an offense.
Josh Akognon? More like Akogone.
Did I miss anybody?