I don't know about Marshall over DJJ… He's way less athletic than DJJ and that was a big part of the Mavs offense and defense. He only has one above average year of shooting and it's all been low volume. He's way worse at 2 pointers than DJJ.

Plus DJJ was just a really great vibes guy. I'm really bummed about this. Could work out though.

Not sure who starts between Marshall and Grimes. I would bet they give Grimes every chance to be really impactful and a long term guy here.

shack009 said:

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I don't know about Marshall over DJJ… He's way less athletic than DJJ and that was a big part of the Mavs offense and defense. He only has one above average year of shooting and it's all been low volume. He's way worse at 2 pointers than DJJ.

Plus DJJ was just a really great vibes guy. I'm really bummed about this. Could work out though.

Not sure who starts between Marshall and Grimes. I would bet they give Grimes every chance to be really impactful and a long term guy here.

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I'm not a Naji expert and have only seen him the limited minutes he played against us, but here's an excerpt from a Pels fan:

Quote:

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Naji is a nice bench piece to have who can feasibly play the 2-4 positions. He's a pretty stout defender with solid length and can sometimes force turnovers.

He can have boneheaded plays both on offense and defense. He's actually one of our better passers in terms of vision, placement, and willingness to make the pass - but this also leads to dumb turnovers, as well. His career AST:TO ratio is 2.0:1.1, which isn't good. He will make hustle plays, but then have dumb lapses where he'll get back-cut or take a dumb foul.

I also feel he plays too upright on both ends, which could limit his play speed, handle, and ability to fight through screens - although he still is good enough at these things.

I'd consider him our 3rd or 4th best wing defender behind Herb and Dyson, but you really don't want to assign him to the toughest defensive matchup other than when your better perimeter defenders are out of the game. He can hold up reasonably well, for a bench guy; but he shouldn't be your best defender.

He's improved his catch-and-shoot 3pt shot quite a lot this year and can hit a pretty reliable floater or make plays after attacking a closeout. Otherwise, you don't really want him handling the ball in the half court (he's great in transition though).

When BI was out for an extended stretch during the Pels' nice little run throughout December and part of January last season, Naji was the guy off the bench who would replace him as a starter. He played some of the best ball of his career during that time. But then he was relegated to the bench once BI returned, getting no more than 15ish min/game. He can fill in for stretches, but shouldn't be a starter on any team and shouldn't get more than 20 min max on any team.

All that said, Naji ****s.

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Honestly, I feel like much of the same would have been said about DJJ prior to last year.

DJJ was also our best point of attack defender and it doesn't sound like Marshall is that type of player. Maybe he can be and just wasn't asked to be because of Herb Jones and Dyson Daniels. Will Marshall be able to guard all the same guys that DJJ guarded so we'll throughout the playoff run? I really don't know, but I do know that DJJ could.

Marshall would have to actually be a 39%+ 3 point shooter for me to think this was an upgrade. It really doesn't feel like it right now, though.

Clippers got the PG replacement

Free agent forward Derrick Jones Jr. plans to sign a three-year, $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Major pickup for the Clippers. pic.twitter.com/ANwrqHAczJ

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2024

Gross

Marc Stein heavy on the Klay Thompson info

The Mavericks obviously must beat out the Lakers to get Klay Thompson's commitment in addition to working out a sign-and-trade with the Warriors as the Lakers continue to chase Thompson, too.

Amid its Klay pursuit, Dallas decided it had to jump on an attractive three-year, $27… https://t.co/FYGH1zPbba

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2024

Iowaggie said:

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Marc Stein heavy on the Klay Thompson info

The Mavericks obviously must beat out the Lakers to get Klay Thompson's commitment in addition to working out a sign-and-trade with the Warriors as the Lakers continue to chase Thompson, too.

Amid its Klay pursuit, Dallas decided it had to jump on an attractive three-year, $27… https://t.co/FYGH1zPbba

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2024

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Feels like the mavs need to get Thompson to feel good about this thing again. Dropping hardaway for grimes is great, but will our defense still be elite with this other guy? If not, at least Thompson would make our offense even better. I know that much.

Looking like a 2 team race for Thompson between the mavs and the lakers. I can't imagine the 76ers would have the cap space to get klay after all of their recent moves and I have no idea why any free agent would find the clippers appealing with a banged up Kawhi Leonard, no George, and no draft picks for the clips.

Well crap…… the Thunder just stole the knicks center. A big weakness of theres is gone.

We definitely need this klay thing to work out now.

Grapesoda2525 said:

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Well crap…… the Thunder just stole the knicks center. A big weakness of theres is gone.

We definitely need this klay thing to work out now.

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Ya that was the worst kept secret of FA. The Thunder drafted 2 backcourt players in the 1st round, it all but guaranteed they had a verbal agreement from Hartenstein.

geez....okc easily my top pick out of the west now. good grief

How good is Klay nowadays? Dont follow GS too closely, but seems like he hadn't regained his pre-injury form.

keithd03 said:

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How good is Klay nowadays? Dont follow GS too closely, but seems like he hadn't regained his pre-injury form.

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He's no longer a 2 way player. Defensively, he can't guard on the perimeter like he used to. And offensively, he's basically limited to 3pt shooter only. His 2pt% has declined pretty hard and this was a guy who even at his peak wasn't filling it up within the arc.

I think he's still better than THJ though (Klay's off ball movement shooting and gravity is still a +). With the addition of Grimes, Green is more expendable now and if we swap his contract for Klay's, I think the roster is improved.

People need to relax about OKC and Hartenstein. It's been known he was going there for weeks and he's also a completely different style of center than the 5-out style they want to play. Sure, it cleans up some of their rebounding issues, but he is not making a difference in a playoff series against the Mavs.

The past 2 seasons he has only been at 1.2 and 1.6 blocks per 36 minutes. Lively was at 2.1 this year and Gafford was at 3.2. Not like he's some crazy rim protector. He was also way less effective across the board in the playoffs.

It was a massive overpay by OKC just because they could. He is not nearly a $30 million player.

shack009 said:

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Honestly, Klay does not do a lot for me. I do not think the team's ceiling is substantially higher with him on the team.

For the regular season, he is probably a 20-minutes a night guy. He does not provide much outside of shooting anymore, and he's probably more likely to get a serious injury than play in 75% of the games. If he is on the court with Luka and Kyrie then the perimeter defense is in serious trouble.

I think people really need to pump the brakes on the Klay bullishness and should also not be disappointed when he doesn't end up here.

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I think it's mostly about him being a consistent threat from three, a high IQ player and has gravity to keep defenses from collapsing on Luka/Kyrie.

For me, depends on the price and contract. He'll be 38 at end of deal. Think he needs a new scene. I don't love it or hate it, yet

I have the same concerns with Klay on defense but I just keep looking back at the absolutely atrocious 3 point shooting by our team in the finals and can only think Klay is an improvement in that regard.

Idk if his offense outweighs the gaps in his defense but I trust Nico to make the right call there.

He also shot by far the worst of his career from 3 this past season, outside of the 30ish games he played coming off of the two injuries. He used to consistently be around 41-42% and this year he was under 39%.

I get the appeal of having gravity, but if you aren't elite at shooting anymore (despite still being good) and you don't play defense hardly at all anymore, I just don't feel that strongly about it. Especially if we are having to give up someone like Hardy or OMax. I also just don't trust the injury stuff.

Seems like it's pretty high risk with not that high a reward.

shack009 said:

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He also shot by far the worst of his career from 3 this past season, outside of the 30ish games he played coming off of the two injuries. He used to consistently be around 41-42% and this year he was under 39%.

I get the appeal of having gravity, but if you aren't elite at shooting anymore (despite still being good) and you don't play defense hardly at all anymore, I just don't feel that strongly about it. Especially if we are having to give up someone like Hardy or OMax. I also just don't trust the injury stuff.

Seems like it's pretty high risk with not that high a reward.

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No one is arguing that he is the same player he was when he was an All-NBA max player. Last year he shot .387 from three on 9 attempts per game and led the league in FT%.

And I think most importantly, he's best around the top, not in the corner. Naji, Green, etc are better in the corner, so he compliments the team better.

He isn't the ideal player by any means, but there aren't a lot of bullets Dallas has left to fire.

I mean the posts by Grape and zgolfz85 were pretty reactionary. They weren't really talking ball, they were crowning OKC for overpaying a backup center. And one of them suggested we had to get Klay Thompson in order to offset Hartenstein.

shack009 said:

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I mean the posts by Grape and zgolfz85 were pretty reactionary. They weren't really talking ball, they were crowning OKC for overpaying a backup center. And one of them suggested we had to get Klay Thompson in order to offset Hartenstein.

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I certainly didn't suggest that. We were worried about OKC being the top dog before they got the Ag goat Caruso and Hartenstein. MIN doesn't scare me half as much as this new OKC team, nor DEN.

I agree they overpaid, but everyone overpays for everything this time of year....just like we're about to do with a 35 yr old no knees left Klay.

M.C. Swag said:

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shack009 said:

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Honestly, Klay does not do a lot for me. I do not think the team's ceiling is substantially higher with him on the team.

For the regular season, he is probably a 20-minutes a night guy. He does not provide much outside of shooting anymore, and he's probably more likely to get a serious injury than play in 75% of the games. If he is on the court with Luka and Kyrie then the perimeter defense is in serious trouble.

I think people really need to pump the brakes on the Klay bullishness and should also not be disappointed when he doesn't end up here.

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To be clear, I'm not 'hyping' up Klay or even trying to act like it's a done deal. I'm just doing the thought exercise of how the roster would look with him on it.

Swapping Green+THJ for Grimes+Klay is an upgrade to me. At the very least, a wash is all.

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You may be right. I would agree that the ideal of Klay (even the ideal 34 y/o Klay) would be fun. It just seems like a really big risk to take. I would almost call it an unnecessary risk, but that may not be the right word. It just seems like a big swing for what would likely be not that big of a return.

Both Grimes and Klay have injury concerns too, so there's a world where both get injured and your depth takes a big hit.

zgolfz85 said:

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shack009 said:

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I mean the posts by Grape and zgolfz85 were pretty reactionary. They weren't really talking ball, they were crowning OKC for overpaying a backup center. And one of them suggested we had to get Klay Thompson in order to offset Hartenstein.

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I certainly didn't suggest that. We were worried about OKC being the top dog before they got the Ag goat Caruso and Hartenstein. MIN doesn't scare me half as much as this new OKC team, nor DEN.

I agree they overpaid, but everyone overpays for everything this time of year....just like we're about to do with a 35 yr old no knees left Klay.

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I hear you, but I don't think this is the standard overpay. This was "we have cap space to blow and we need this particular thing" so they went way above and beyond. Hartenstein is a decent player who is now getting 3rd or 4th best player on a team money. They could give it to him because their 2nd and 3rd best players are still on rookie deals.

For sure OKC will be very good again this year, and I think it will be between them and the Mavs fighting for 1st, pending what Denver does to replace KCP.

The Lakers continue to press in their pursuit of Klay Thompson, league sources say, trying to close a perceived gap on the Mavericks. As @TheSteinLine reported below Friday, strong mutual interest between Thompson and Dallas has already been established:https://t.co/DWazVDd5Rs

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2024

Apparently most, including the Lakers, think the Mavs are the current frontrunner.

He's clearly using the Mavs as leverage. I've thought since the beginning that the "Klay to Dallas" rumors were so aggressive and abrupt, they had to have originated from Klay's team for the purposes of negotiating a deal somewhere else. Like...if there's a gap on day 2 of Free Agency and Klay still hasn't agreed to come to Dallas, it's because he wants to play for LA and is still angling to get there.

But GSW would have to be willing to take whatever LA would give them. They could say no and make him sign for whatever he can get

Yeah he's always been a west coast guy and he has a boat that he enjoys. His dad is also a broadcaster for the Lakers and Klay grew up a Lakers fan. Just seems too obvious that he would be a Laker.

Not sure what LAL would have to give up. If they give up Reeves then I don't think they are getting that much better.

Guitarsoup said:

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But GSW would have to be willing to take whatever LA would give them. They could say no and make him sign for whatever he can get

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Ya but it seems like the Warriors are ok with helping Klay go wherever he wants and it's up to him to choose. And it's not like the Mavs' offer of Josh Green is a high bar to clear.

Guitarsoup said:

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But GSW would have to be willing to take whatever LA would give them. They could say no and make him sign for whatever he can get

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Yeah, I read Stein's tweet as basically saying the Lakers have increased their offer. Because LeBron is the worst GM of all time.

A lineup with Kyrie, Luka, and Klay will really struggle defensively. Having said that, if the Mavs get Klay I don't think you would see it a lot. You would mostly see Klay with Luka or Kyrie plus 3 defenders. Kind of how you didn't see THJ in with both Kyrie and Luka very often. I think it is a bit risky considering age and injuries. Having said that, Klay doesn't cost you any draft capital, just some cap space which is a bit overrated. So why not.

I more disappointed that the Mavs signed Naji over DJJ. The contract itself isn't bad, but it still feels like a sideways move at best considering that DJJ seemed to fit in really well with the team. I'll miss DJJ. One guy I would like the Mavs to kick the tires on again is Thybulle in Portland. He signed an offer sheet with the Mavs last year so there was mutual interest. Mavs need to find another POA defender to add to the defensive roster.