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Originally Posted by rimrocker
Same here but it is brutal to watch Rick keep throwing more offense at our problems while compromising other aspects of our game.
Not necessary blaming Rick but he just doesn't have the personnel for his system.
The problem is the more I watch this go on, the more I want Dwight Howard on this team next season (did I just say that?). The dude would probably average 25 RPG in Rick's system.
As it stands right now with a rotation of Zaza/Dirk/Lee/Parsons in our frontcourt we will get punished beyond belief in the paint.
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Totally. I've been a little hot and cold on the prospect of signing Dwight this summer. While I don't think he's going to have 10-12 teams knocking on his door at midnight when free agency starts, I do think the Mavs are one of the handful of teams that makes a lot of sense as a suitor. Not only is this a veteran locker room, but we have the best training staff in the league, one of the top two or three coaches, and possibly the most glaring need at center among all of the hopeful title contenders over the next few years. Yes, signing Dwight most likely means paying him his max (I believe it would be somewhere around $30M/year and about $140M total over four), but what's the alternative? Let's compare/contrast:
Al Horford - He's going to have his pick among potential suitors. He's the same age as Dwight, though with considerably lower mileage (18k total career minutes vs. about 30k for Dwight). He seems like more of a 2016 prototypical center since he is a much better shooter and passer. I don't see him as being as dynamic or dominant as a healthy Dwight, but he's
so consistent. I'd love to sign him but there are a bunch of teams in front of us in my view.
Hassan Whiteside - I like him a lot on the stat sheet but Miami is demonstrably better defensively without him and he has some huge character red flags that make me really uncomfortable. He's only 26 so he might be the best long-term bet, but I don't have a ton of faith in his ability to carry a defense. I don't think he has as many suitors as Horford but he's still somebody we'd have a lot of competition for. I could talk myself into him.
Joakim Noah - He's my second choice among players I think we have a realistic chance at signing. I do have some big concerns with his recent string of injuries, but I think the market is going to be pretty soft for him and I have a lot of faith in our training staff. He would be one of those guys that we'd have to sign with a very solid plan B in mind though.
The rest of the guys - This includes RFAs like Drummond and Gobert, as well as the more borderline starting-caliber guys: Ezeli, Biyombo, Hibbert, Mahinmi, Mozgov... all good players, but with limitations that prevent them from being franchise centers.
If it was me, I'd overpay for the guy that's the best fit next to Dirk and that we have a good chance at signing. To be honest, you
have to overpay for most worthwhile free agents. And after the top tier of UFAs, there's a huge drop off.
EDIT: Updated likely contract figures for Dwight, what he's eligible for as a 10-year veteran and the cap expected to rise to about $92M this summer:
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If Howard decides to leave his current team and join a new one, he loses out on the fifth year and can only receive a 4.5 percent raise, but still puts himself in line for a really big bump:
2016-17 Year 1 max for 10+ years of service time $30,328,744
4.5% raise $1,364,793
Year 2 (Year 1 + raise) $31,693,537
Year 3 (Year 2 + raise) $34,423,124
Year 4 (Year 3 + raise) $34,423,124
Total new contract value $129,503,737
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http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ba...193429628.html
So over the four years, it's actually less than I thought. I think it's likely that Dwight will have enough suitors that whoever lands him is going to have to pay the max, but depending how this season ends there's a chance he might be available for less than that.