Wolves Next Move

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

While it's true that Dallas values Moses Brown more than someone like Jake Layman, the reasoning above that includes Josh Richardson is flawed. The Mavericks did not trade Richardson for Brown with his on-court value in mind.

Dallas dumped Richardson's expiring $11.4-million player option (that Richardson exercised) to create a maximum amount of $34.3-million in salary cap space. They would later use that space to re-sign Tim Hardaway Jr. and sign Reggie Bullock -- a clear upgrade to Richardson at the time. Additionally, the Mavericks created a $10.9-million trade exception that can be used this season. Keep in mind that Dallas was also exploring various sign-and-trade routes for Kyle Lowry before that fell through.

My point is that Brown was just a toss-in. The Mavs moved off of Richardson to gain financial flexibility. My feeling is that they are not married to Brown and would come off of him relatively easily given their frontcourt depth.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Lip, that's close to how I'd organize them with subtle differences.

All-Star:
- Domantas Sabonis (Indiana Pacers)

Above Average:
- Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers)
- Jakob Poeltl (San Antonio Spurs)

Starter:
- Moses Brown (Dallas Mavericks)
- Brandon Clarke (Memphis Grizzlies)
- Derrick Favors (Oklahoma City Thunder)
- Alex Len (Sacramento Kings)

Rotation-Level:
- Willie Cauley-Stein (Dallas Mavericks)
- Xavier Tillman (Memphis Grizzlies)
- Robin Lopez (Orlando Magic)
- Moritz Wagner (Orlando Magic)
- Damian Jones (Sacramento Kings)
- DeMarcus Cousins (Unrestricted Free Agent)
- Harry Giles (Unrestricted Free Agent)

Unproven/Potential:
- Vernon Carey Jr. (Charlotte Hornets)
- Goga Bitadze (Indiana Pacers)

[Lipoli390]

While it's true that Dallas values Moses Brown more than someone like Jake Layman, the reasoning above that includes Josh Richardson is flawed. The Mavericks did not trade Richardson for Brown with his on-court value in mind.

Dallas dumped Richardson's expiring $11.4-million player option (that Richardson exercised) to create a maximum amount of $34.3-million in salary cap space. They would later use that space to re-sign Tim Hardaway Jr. and sign Reggie Bullock -- a clear upgrade to Richardson at the time. Additionally, the Mavericks created a $10.9-million trade exception that can be used this season. Keep in mind that Dallas was also exploring various sign-and-trade routes for Kyle Lowry before that fell through.

My point is that Brown was just a toss-in. The Mavs moved off of Richardson to gain financial flexibility. My feeling is that they are not married to Brown and would come off of him relatively easily given their frontcourt depth.

Good analysis, Cam. The Mavs might really like Brown's upside, but they clearly don't ascribe a lot of value to what he provides right now. That's obvious from his extremely limited playing time. The Mavs are focused on competing this year and they have a bevy of bigs.

[FNG]

I agree that there were cap reasons involved in the Richardson/Brown trade (not to mention he wanted to get out of there after his playing time diminished in the playoffs), but that doesn't negate the fact that Brown has quickly become a fan favorite in Dallas, and both the fan base and management are excited about his potential. Read some of the articles about him and you will see how popular he is...he has embraced Dallas, and the city has embraced him. On the other hand, Nowell has been a huge disappointment here (he was the Eye Chart again in garbage minutes last night), and nobody in town would notice if he was traded. I would love to get Brown because you can't coach a player into a 7-2 height and 7-3 wingspan with good athleticism...I think he is going to be an elite shot blocker and rim protector as he continues to add weight and muscle. He's raw offensively (I think he left college too early), but we wouldn't be looking to him for scoring. But I'm convinced the Mavs see the same potential, and think the price tag would be more Beasley than Nowell. And would anyone here consider that deal? I probably would.

[Lipoli390]

I agree that there were cap reasons involved in the Richardson/Brown trade (not to mention he wanted to get out of there after his playing time diminished in the playoffs), but that doesn't negate the fact that Brown has quickly become a fan favorite in Dallas, and both the fan base and management are excited about his potential. Read some of the articles about him and you will see how popular he is...he has embraced Dallas, and the city has embraced him. On the other hand, Nowell has been a huge disappointment here (he was the Eye Chart again in garbage minutes last night), and nobody in town would notice if he was traded. I would love to get Brown because you can't coach a player into a 7-2 height and 7-3 wingspan with good athleticism...I think he is going to be an elite shot blocker and rim protector as he continues to add weight and muscle. He's raw offensively (I think he left college too early), but we wouldn't be looking to him for scoring. But I'm convinced the Mavs see the same potential, and think the price tag would be more Beasley than Nowell. And would anyone here consider that deal? I probably would.

I wouldn't consider trading Beasley in a package for Brown. And note that we'd have to get other players from Dallas in return to match salaries. The fact that he's a fan favorite counts for something, but not much in my view. The key fact is that he's barely getting any minutes on a team that is focused on winning now and he's only had one productive season after going undrafted. Dealing Naz Reid for Brown is more realistic and I think the Mavs would take that deal in a heartbeat. But if I were Gupta I wouldn't do that deal either. I'd part with a couple future 2nd-round picks and Nowell for Brown, but that's about it. There are other bigs with less upside who could probably help the Wolves as much this season and who would be gettable for Nowell or Layman.