Quote:
Originally Posted by spreedom
I went into this deadline with very low expectations, thinking we'd at most shed some long-term salary (Devin or JJ) or do something to shuffle pieces at the end of the bench to see if it could spark our second/third units.
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I was at the very least hoping that if Felton stays, then either JJ or Devin goes. Just to open some cap space. But I'm not that certain that Felton walks after this season. Mavs may have been reluctant to trade him because they own Bird Rights for him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spreedom
That said, if we had the chance, we should have traded Zaza since he's probably our most valuable trade asset right now, next to Justin Anderson. I know he had been a revelation as a starter and is already possibly the second-best center the team has ever had, but with that over-achievement comes a steep price: If the Mavs want to keep him beyond this season they need to be ready to pay him eight figures (I'd guess $10-12M per season). It wouldn't surprise me to see Zaza get a higher annual salary than Tyson this coming summer with the cap blowing up like it will. To me, Zaza is a VERY good backup center at this point of his career and with the game evolving like it is, but he just can't be starting for you if you're trying to win a championship. And since I don't think he's worth $10M+ and I don't think he is a guy we should be giving a multi-year contract to, I really wish we would have traded him. With Jeff Green yielding a first-round pick (and Mozgov yielding TWO just a year ago!) I feel like the Mavs probably could have gotten a first or at least two quality second-round picks for Zaza... and we should have done that, even if it meant starting Mejri or JaVale for the rest of the season.
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Mavs may have an agenda here, too. It's quite clear that Mavs will have a run at D12 this summer and they will own Bird Rights to Zaza. The question is if Cuban is ready to pay for Howard and then have Zaza as most expensive backup.