Now what?

[Melonhead]

You?re sending the message in the locker room unless you?re Luka, you?re not getting the bag from Cuban after outplaying your contract if it?s an overpay.

[tap2390]

Perception is the WORST reason to overpay a player who is redundant and a poor fit next to your actual best player. The Patriots and Spurs are both great examples of teams that know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em when it comes to players. Paying JB $25-30m a year will absolutely handicap our franchise.

Edit: want to add I have a lot of respect for the posters arguing very valid points as to why we should keep JB. I respectfully dissent.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by tap2390

Perception is the WORST reason to overpay a player who is redundant and a poor fit next to your actual best player. The Patriots and Spurs are both great examples of teams that know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em when it comes to players. Paying JB $25-30m a year will absolutely handicap our franchise.

Edit: want to add I have a lot of respect for the posters arguing very valid points as to why we should keep JB. I respectfully dissent.

Can't compare the NFL to the NBA. In the NFL, everyone other than a QB is completely replaceable. As for the Spurs, I'll admit that I haven't followed them that closely in recent years, but I can't ever recall them letting go of someone so important. Certainly not when they were in the title picture anyway. Minor role players, sure, but not their second best player.

As for handicapping the franchise, can you be more specific? Because I honestly don't see how it would change anything since we're going to be over the cap either way. I mean, the Mavs were willing to offer him 22 million a year. How much would and extra 5-8 million really hinder the Mavs?

And letting guys walk for the sake of future "flexibility" is classic Plan Powder. Have we still not learned our lesson about this? Has letting a good, important part of the starting lineup walk in free agency EVER worked in our favor? Even once? I feel like it has always been disastrous for the Mavs.

You can always clear salary if you need to. Hell, look how quick the Knicks did just to steal Brunson. Clearing salary is easy. But replacing your second best player when you have no cap room and almost no trade assets? That's extremely difficult, if not impossible.

I'm not saying I like paying Brunson that much. But having a bad contract seems the far lesser evil than going back to square one with having only one ball handler outside of Luka.

[purplefrog]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Can't compare the NFL to the NBA. In the NFL, everyone other than a QB is completely replaceable. As for the Spurs, I'll admit that I haven't followed them that closely in recent years, but I can't ever recall them letting go of someone so important. Certainly not when they were in the title picture anyway. Minor role players, sure, but not their second best player.

As for handicapping the franchise, can you be more specific? Because I honestly don't see how it would change anything since we're going to be over the cap either way. I mean, the Mavs were willing to offer him 22 million a year. How much would and extra 5-8 million really hinder the Mavs?

And letting guys walk for the sake of future "flexibility" is classic Plan Powder. Have we still not learned our lesson about this? Has letting a good, important part of the starting lineup walk in free agency EVER worked in our favor? Even once? I feel like it has always been disastrous for the Mavs.

You can always clear salary if you need to. Hell, look how quick the Knicks did just to steal Brunson. Clearing salary is easy. But replacing your second best player when you have no cap room and almost no trade assets? That's extremely difficult, if not impossible.

I'm not saying I like paying Brunson that much. But having a bad contract seems the far lesser evil than going back to square one with having only one ball handler outside of Luka.

100% agree.

[purplefrog]

All Things Mavs
@All_Things_Mavs
Fischer & Stein on Jalen Brunson:

- A Duncan Robinson centered S&T could make sense if he goes to Miami

- Skepticism that he?ll go anywhere BUT New York

- Meetings seem to leave the door open

- $110 million is the max New York is expected to offer


If this is accurate, the Mavs would be foolish to not offer JB 5yrs and $125M and leave the door open to go 5 yrs and $130M (that is, if the Knicks up their offer).

This type of negotiation sends the right message to current and future Mavs players, "If you are the second best player on the team and helped get us to the WCF, we will take care of you."

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Can't compare the NFL to the NBA. In the NFL, everyone other than a QB is completely replaceable. As for the Spurs, I'll admit that I haven't followed them that closely in recent years, but I can't ever recall them letting go of someone so important. Certainly not when they were in the title picture anyway. Minor role players, sure, but not their second best player.

As for handicapping the franchise, can you be more specific? Because I honestly don't see how it would change anything since we're going to be over the cap either way. I mean, the Mavs were willing to offer him 22 million a year. How much would and extra 5-8 million really hinder the Mavs?

And letting guys walk for the sake of future "flexibility" is classic Plan Powder. Have we still not learned our lesson about this? Has letting a good, important part of the starting lineup walk in free agency EVER worked in our favor? Even once? I feel like it has always been disastrous for the Mavs.

You can always clear salary if you need to. Hell, look how quick the Knicks did just to steal Brunson. Clearing salary is easy. But replacing your second best player when you have no cap room and almost no trade assets? That's extremely difficult, if not impossible.

I'm not saying I like paying Brunson that much. But having a bad contract seems the far lesser evil than going back to square one with having only one ball handler outside of Luka.

I don?t know if you?re local, but Bob Sturm was discussing this yesterday and the impact it would have on the team.. overpaying Brunson. You could tell that he was thinking like a football guy and not a basketball guy.

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by tap2390

Perception is the WORST reason to overpay a player who is redundant and a poor fit next to your actual best player. The Patriots and Spurs are both great examples of teams that know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em when it comes to players. Paying JB $25-30m a year will absolutely handicap our franchise.

Edit: want to add I have a lot of respect for the posters arguing very valid points as to why we should keep JB. I respectfully dissent.

Tap I would respectfully challenge the assertion that 25 to 30 a year would handicap us. This is not a hard cap league when signing your own player and there is plenty of room to flip players/trade players when playing in the luxury tax zone. Very truly yours...

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Melonhead

You?re sending the message in the locker room unless you?re Luka, you?re not getting the bag from Cuban after outplaying your contract if it?s an overpay.

He is getting a bag either way. Again, how do we know dad and agent aren't just using us and Miami for leverage? It's a really bad look if we up our offer just for him to pick the Knicks anyway. Then who is the chump?

And DFS got his bag. THJ got his bag. I hardly feel sorry for these guys.

Every single indication we've had in the last week is that Brunson wants to play for NY. I really don't think it's gonna be Brunson telling Cuban he really wants to play for the Mavs and will sign the dotted line if the price is 125/5.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

He is getting a bag either way. Again, how do we know dad and agent aren't just using us and Miami for leverage? It's a really bad look if we up our offer just for him to pick the Knicks anyway. Then who is the chump?

I could not possibly disagree more. If the Mavs offer him more money and he chooses to go to NY anyway, then that's his decision. Then it wasn't about money, or even about a lack of loyalty from the Mavs. Brunson just really wanted to play in NY then. But if the Mavs don't make the offer? I'm telling you, shit like that really bothers players. These guys have very fragile egos, and they all talk. That will (correctly) be seen as Cuban A: being cheap, and B: having no loyalty to a guy who absolutely elevated his game on the big stage, and helped us win our first playoff series in over a decade. Without him, no way we get past Utah.

And DFS got his bag. THJ got his bag. I hardly feel sorry for these guys.

Every single indication we've had in the last week is that Brunson wants to play for NY. I really don't think it's gonna be Brunson telling Cuban he really wants to play for the Mavs and will sign the dotted line if the price is 125/5.

True, but every single indication before that was that him staying with the Mavs was a done deal. Something happened in the interim. I'm thinking that he was caught off guard by just how hard the Knicks are pursuing him.