Gafford is just a guy. A guy that makes a lot of money. Doesn't strike me as a Brad move but also Gafford would be a decent guy next to Tatum so if you think Tatum is playing why not. tho imo I think like 99% of centers would look great next to Tatum. But as always if Brad Stevens does it I will agree and think it's the right thing to do immediately.
Gafford has too many injuries, and can only dunk...has no other offensive game, can't pass, can't shoot, so-so as a rebounder. He's a Luka-merchant. Without Luka he looks very "meh" this past year.
Gafford's missed 36 games so far from last season and so far into this season. Lots of lower body injuries too. Not worth the money given his injury history and offensive shortcomings and mid rebounding ability, which is something we really need if Queta is off the floor.
$18m/yr for Gafford, or $19m/yr for Zubac is an easy choice if we have the option, although I'd hope we aim higher than both.
I'd rather a project on a rookie contract than overpay Gafford for 3 years after this one ($54.4M/3yrs). I agree that we could use another Queta-level big, but he's just way more expensive than Queta.
The only way I see this happening is if they trade away Simons and then find a way to offload salary to another team. That would at least get us under the tax.
Something like Simons to BKN, Mann, to DAL, Gafford to BOS. BKN gets off of 2 additional years of Mann, while BOS and DAL balance our rosters. Hey, and since I'm a nice guy, I'm even willing to throw in Boucher and/or Tillman
I get the temptation to get another big this season to give us a better shot or to cut money or both but I’m more and more thinking we should just use our picks. Keep taking swings on mid to late first and second rounders and trust our scouting and development. Having two super max contracts puts an even bigger premium on cost controlled young players.
I think we need to be looking at trades regardless of what we want to do with those draft picks.
We had a pool of minutes that we were giving to the young wings (Walsh, Gonzalez, Minott, Scheierman).
That pool has been disappearing quickly, and could disappear entirely once Tatum has time to return and ramp up. We probably had ~70mpg for those 4 guys to share each game. Garza playing well takes out 20mpg (and is why Minott is DNP'ing). Hauser and Simons playing well took out another 10mpg (and that's why we only occasionally see Scheierman). Tatum will likely come back on minute restrictions and only take ~20mpg in the beginning, but that will ramp up to 30-35mpg (which is almost all the minutes we give to Walsh/Gonzalez).
It's not an immediate problem, but next season we could genuinely play without any of the young wings getting minutes.
G
W
B
White - 34
Tatum - 35
Queta - 26
Pritchard - 34
Brown - 35
Garza - 22
Simons - 28
Hauser - 26
And a team that can't play those 4 guys, probably can't play whoever we draft in the future either. Drafting a guy into that team would just be another Nesmith situation, we wouldn't be able to develop him anyway.
We don't have to trade our picks, but we probably do have to trade some guys, and clear up some minutes on the roster.
We could even trade guys for picks to help refuel our future options. We have the depth to cover outright losses on our roster.
But... if we are making a trade regardless, then maybe including draft compensation is worthwhile.
I mostly agree and would be open to the right deal. Some bigs are ready from the get and at their athletic peak. Just need to be careful about leaning too much into selling out the future for present.
The pick we gave up for Horford became Sengun. Don’t get me wrong, I’d do that deal again and a lot of picks are busts but keeping draft flexibility it’s rarely the wrong move.
“Atlanta is said to have some interest in the Dallas big man alongside Indiana and Boston (which had widely explored the trade market for Anfernee Simons)”
Okongwu should be their big man of the future. He's looked good when they've given him the role.
But they seem dead set on keeping him as a bench PF/C.
They spent years hiding him behind Capela. Then when they finally looked ready to move on, they gave the spot to Porzingis instead. Now they're looking for another starting big?
I believe as long as we stay below the 2nd apron we can bring Gafford into the KP TPE. We only need to send out 8-9mil in salary to do so. Mavs would actually cut 5-6 mil if a trade was something like Scheierman + Tillman + Boucher + 2026 1st for Gafford
Depends on what ownership has an appetite to spend
What I think makes Gafford interesting is we could bring him into the KP TPE, send out about 8-9 mil in salary, (Scheierman + Boucher + Tillman), and still stay below the 2nd apron. I think we'd have just enough to sign 2 pro-rated min contracts.
You don't have to trade Simons if the only financial restriction is staying below the 2nd apron.
The tough question is whether he's actually an upgrade.
Queta/Garza/Minott have already answered our regular season questions. Now it's a matter of finding guys who can make a significant impact at a playoff/championship level.
Maybe I'm underrating Gafford, but he just feels like another guy in the rotation to give us depth. I don't see him doing things the other bigs can't.
One thing we do know about Gafford was that he was a starting center on a team that went to the Finals. This includes being a key piece in beating the OKC Thunder
Queta, Garza, and Minott are unknowns in the playoffs, but Gafford contributed to a Finals run playing 30mpg.
Another thing I like about Gafford, he was game planned out in the Finals, but we have the counter to that game plan in Garza. Tatum would have had a lot harder time dealing with Garza than Gafford.
I think a Garza/Gafford Yin/Yang bench would actually do really well together because I think one is a great counter to the counter of the other.
I think that's partly what worries me about Gafford.
The role players on that Dallas team were exposed for being too 1-dimensional. So I don't think he's the answer to our concerns about the playoff viability of Queta/Garza.
He was also only the starting big as a technicality. Derrick Lively really elevated that team and was considered their 3rd most impactful player.
I'm worried he's a JAG (just another guy) and we already have an overabundance of JAGs. He feels like an early season target, from when we just wanted a reliable starter.
I also think the market might be too competitive for him. I wouldn't want to enter a bidding war with Indiana, where we're looking for a bench big and they're looking for a starting big.
On the plus side, he'd definitely fit on the team. We could also split 48mpg 3 ways and let the bigs compete for the bigger role each night (one gets 22 minutes, one gets 16 and one gets 10). I don't hate the idea of having the 3 just constantly rotating in for short high impact bursts.
Daniel Gafford is extremely productive player. He would substantially improve the team defensively by giving them 48 minutes of rim protection & board work.
So do most bigs tbh. Everybody wants zubac but he's had years with multiple calf and knee injuries, he's had back injuries, eye injuries, etc.
We should treat bigs like an offensive line, assume they're going to get hurt at some point and try and have as much depth as possible. Getting gafford gives you solid depth
I don't know when this stupid baseball "nooooo you CANNOT trade someone to a division/conference rival!" mentality started infecting the NBA but all the discourse is much worse off for it.
Helping a team that could end your playoff run and already has is pretty dumb idea. That’s like trading White to the Knicks (Granted that WCJ is nowhere near White’s level)
It wouldn't help them from a basketball standpoint, but they're also staring down the barrel of going second apron next year despite their team being fatally flawed and having yet to develop into anything resembling a contender. Unless they're seriously looking at Cleveland's current situation and lack of options and thinking thisisfine.jpg, they'll probably want to get ahead of it and the Celtics can help them do that.
Getting Simons and letting him expire would return some financial flexibility, if the trade was Hauser instead that would give Orlando some shooting and get them out of WCJ's incoming pay bump.
Per sources, the Celtics have interest in anyone 6’10 and above, who have a pulse.
The return of the Tacko!
Gafford is just a guy. A guy that makes a lot of money. Doesn't strike me as a Brad move but also Gafford would be a decent guy next to Tatum so if you think Tatum is playing why not. tho imo I think like 99% of centers would look great next to Tatum. But as always if Brad Stevens does it I will agree and think it's the right thing to do immediately.
Gafford has too many injuries, and can only dunk...has no other offensive game, can't pass, can't shoot, so-so as a rebounder. He's a Luka-merchant. Without Luka he looks very "meh" this past year.
Gafford's missed 36 games so far from last season and so far into this season. Lots of lower body injuries too. Not worth the money given his injury history and offensive shortcomings and mid rebounding ability, which is something we really need if Queta is off the floor.
$18m/yr for Gafford, or $19m/yr for Zubac is an easy choice if we have the option, although I'd hope we aim higher than both.
Who is a legitimate possibility at C that is better than zubac?
At his contract, nobody. Nobody wants Sabonis or AD at $50+ mil
Victor wembanyama makes about the same as both, and dare I say, after watching last game, the spurs backup C could be sneaky good for us
I want okongwu, dude can stretch the floor and is a good defender
Thank you, people don’t get it with gafford but this is all absolutely true
I wouldn’t take him for free on that contract
I'd rather a project on a rookie contract than overpay Gafford for 3 years after this one ($54.4M/3yrs). I agree that we could use another Queta-level big, but he's just way more expensive than Queta.
The only way I see this happening is if they trade away Simons and then find a way to offload salary to another team. That would at least get us under the tax.
Something like Simons to BKN, Mann, to DAL, Gafford to BOS. BKN gets off of 2 additional years of Mann, while BOS and DAL balance our rosters. Hey, and since I'm a nice guy, I'm even willing to throw in Boucher and/or Tillman
This is the way.
I get the temptation to get another big this season to give us a better shot or to cut money or both but I’m more and more thinking we should just use our picks. Keep taking swings on mid to late first and second rounders and trust our scouting and development. Having two super max contracts puts an even bigger premium on cost controlled young players.
I think we need to be looking at trades regardless of what we want to do with those draft picks.
We had a pool of minutes that we were giving to the young wings (Walsh, Gonzalez, Minott, Scheierman).
That pool has been disappearing quickly, and could disappear entirely once Tatum has time to return and ramp up. We probably had ~70mpg for those 4 guys to share each game. Garza playing well takes out 20mpg (and is why Minott is DNP'ing). Hauser and Simons playing well took out another 10mpg (and that's why we only occasionally see Scheierman). Tatum will likely come back on minute restrictions and only take ~20mpg in the beginning, but that will ramp up to 30-35mpg (which is almost all the minutes we give to Walsh/Gonzalez).
It's not an immediate problem, but next season we could genuinely play without any of the young wings getting minutes.
And a team that can't play those 4 guys, probably can't play whoever we draft in the future either. Drafting a guy into that team would just be another Nesmith situation, we wouldn't be able to develop him anyway.
We don't have to trade our picks, but we probably do have to trade some guys, and clear up some minutes on the roster.
We could even trade guys for picks to help refuel our future options. We have the depth to cover outright losses on our roster.
But... if we are making a trade regardless, then maybe including draft compensation is worthwhile.
I love this team’s player development. Hugo, Harper & Amari will probably be rotation players, eventually.
But, the team does need to operate with a bit more of an accelerated clock - it’s a projectable 5 year window - moves will reflect that timeline
I mostly agree and would be open to the right deal. Some bigs are ready from the get and at their athletic peak. Just need to be careful about leaning too much into selling out the future for present.
The pick we gave up for Horford became Sengun. Don’t get me wrong, I’d do that deal again and a lot of picks are busts but keeping draft flexibility it’s rarely the wrong move.
can you post the paragraph, i'm not a subscriber to Steiny
“Atlanta is said to have some interest in the Dallas big man alongside Indiana and Boston (which had widely explored the trade market for Anfernee Simons)”
“Had widely explored the trade market for Anfernee Simons” Interesting choice of tense…
thanks
Atlanta being tied to these bigs is interesting.
Okongwu should be their big man of the future. He's looked good when they've given him the role.
But they seem dead set on keeping him as a bench PF/C.
They spent years hiding him behind Capela. Then when they finally looked ready to move on, they gave the spot to Porzingis instead. Now they're looking for another starting big?
No clickbait story
Its hard to make the salaries work because The Mavericks are over the luxury tax. They’re looking to dump salary not gain anything.
Our most likely two trade chips: Hauser/Simons don’t really fit any sort of deal we can make straight up.
Gafford would be incredible here, Gafford/Queta/Garza is a solid frontcourt i just think itll be hard
I believe as long as we stay below the 2nd apron we can bring Gafford into the KP TPE. We only need to send out 8-9mil in salary to do so. Mavs would actually cut 5-6 mil if a trade was something like Scheierman + Tillman + Boucher + 2026 1st for Gafford
Depends on what ownership has an appetite to spend
Depends if Dallas wants to clear out a couple of roster spots for jags…
They could trade Hauser & take Gafford into the TPE
We’d have to give up Ant to match salary.
Defense +5, Offense -5.
What I think makes Gafford interesting is we could bring him into the KP TPE, send out about 8-9 mil in salary, (Scheierman + Boucher + Tillman), and still stay below the 2nd apron. I think we'd have just enough to sign 2 pro-rated min contracts.
You don't have to trade Simons if the only financial restriction is staying below the 2nd apron.
The tough question is whether he's actually an upgrade.
Queta/Garza/Minott have already answered our regular season questions. Now it's a matter of finding guys who can make a significant impact at a playoff/championship level.
Maybe I'm underrating Gafford, but he just feels like another guy in the rotation to give us depth. I don't see him doing things the other bigs can't.
One thing we do know about Gafford was that he was a starting center on a team that went to the Finals. This includes being a key piece in beating the OKC Thunder
Queta, Garza, and Minott are unknowns in the playoffs, but Gafford contributed to a Finals run playing 30mpg.
Another thing I like about Gafford, he was game planned out in the Finals, but we have the counter to that game plan in Garza. Tatum would have had a lot harder time dealing with Garza than Gafford.
I think a Garza/Gafford Yin/Yang bench would actually do really well together because I think one is a great counter to the counter of the other.
I think that's partly what worries me about Gafford.
The role players on that Dallas team were exposed for being too 1-dimensional. So I don't think he's the answer to our concerns about the playoff viability of Queta/Garza.
He was also only the starting big as a technicality. Derrick Lively really elevated that team and was considered their 3rd most impactful player.
I'm worried he's a JAG (just another guy) and we already have an overabundance of JAGs. He feels like an early season target, from when we just wanted a reliable starter.
I also think the market might be too competitive for him. I wouldn't want to enter a bidding war with Indiana, where we're looking for a bench big and they're looking for a starting big.
On the plus side, he'd definitely fit on the team. We could also split 48mpg 3 ways and let the bigs compete for the bigger role each night (one gets 22 minutes, one gets 16 and one gets 10). I don't hate the idea of having the 3 just constantly rotating in for short high impact bursts.
ANTHONY EDWARDS???
It’s also Simon’s nickname
Would be very ok with this (Tatum will be back eventually)
I don’t care, I promise you nothing anyone tells me or anything can convince me otherwise
This would be brads first mistake, and would be a bad one
Don’t touch gafford with a 10 foot pole, absolutely not
Nah, just another name that’s been recycled since last year.
I like Gafford, but he doesn’t move the needle.
Daniel Gafford is extremely productive player. He would substantially improve the team defensively by giving them 48 minutes of rim protection & board work.
https://preview.redd.it/15sqbfpa7ucg1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=74a499c9ba3424a7db2a1b7b2694c483c1657d55
Even in this listless DAL season he’s generated over 3 stocks per 36.
Guy always seems to be hurt.
So do most bigs tbh. Everybody wants zubac but he's had years with multiple calf and knee injuries, he's had back injuries, eye injuries, etc.
We should treat bigs like an offensive line, assume they're going to get hurt at some point and try and have as much depth as possible. Getting gafford gives you solid depth
Gafford would be incredible
Last season I wanted him but I feel like the moment has passed on Gafford
so i looked and gafford,zubac ,timelord are mostly in the ~15-20mill range, you know who else fits that range? WCJ just saying
Magic would be shooting themselves in the foot if they traded their starting center to the team that eliminated them last year
why should they care who eliminated them last year, it’s a different year
I don't know when this stupid baseball "nooooo you CANNOT trade someone to a division/conference rival!" mentality started infecting the NBA but all the discourse is much worse off for it.
Helping a team that could end your playoff run and already has is pretty dumb idea. That’s like trading White to the Knicks (Granted that WCJ is nowhere near White’s level)
nobody’s helping anybody, everybody’s taking the best trade to help their own team
It wouldn't help them from a basketball standpoint, but they're also staring down the barrel of going second apron next year despite their team being fatally flawed and having yet to develop into anything resembling a contender. Unless they're seriously looking at Cleveland's current situation and lack of options and thinking thisisfine.jpg, they'll probably want to get ahead of it and the Celtics can help them do that.
Getting Simons and letting him expire would return some financial flexibility, if the trade was Hauser instead that would give Orlando some shooting and get them out of WCJ's incoming pay bump.
Would rather take Zubac over him and I say that as someone who doesn't really like either of them
Also, BOS desperately needs CONTRACTS to facilitate trades going forward. Gafford’s AAV & 3 year deal is super easy to move for value.
I've watched all the Mavericks games this year because of Cooper, we do not want Gafford, he is sooo bad