SameOldNudityDrew wrote:Your point about quality role players is a great one Q.
Thinking of Covington, what also made him valuable was his contract. I remember arguing against trading him away specifically because he played a key role for us, and maybe even more importantly, because his value related to his contract was so great. I remember specifically saying it would be way tougher to replace a guy like that than a guy like Wiggins.
Every team needs stars, and after their rookie contracts, stars cost a ton of money. A lot of the time, that's worth it. You don't win without stars. But not all stars end up worth those big contracts, especially later in their careers. Even though DLO isn't there yet, I'd argue he's not worth the contract he's paid. A good role player whose on-court value is equivalent to or higher than his contract can be more valuable than an overpaid star, depending on the circumstances.
I'm not sure if role players are more likely than stars to be worth their contracts. That's a good question, actually. My guess is that it's probably about the same, but that the risk/reward is higher with stars because their contracts are so much bigger.
One type of contract that is often really valuable though is a rookie contract. There's some risk there as well if you draft a bust at the top of the draft, because then you're paying 9 million a year to a guy who stinks. But that's not as much risk as with a contract for a star. And I know it usually takes guys a year or so before they can really contribute. But a good rookie, especially a star, locked in for 4 years with the team having a huge advantage in re-signing the player is probably the best contract you can get, unless you're talking about a max contract for a guy like Curry, Durant, Jokic, etc. The value on the court and the value of the contract as a potentially tradable asset itself are just so much higher than the negative of the salary cap hit. I mean, think of what the Mavs could potentially put around Luka or the Pelicans around Zion if they played their cards right really soon.
Your post shows why it made sense for the Wolves to trade Covington when they did and at this point it looks like they did well moving him. Juancho's contract was a mistake but he isn't worthless and it was only for 2 years. Beasley despite me being pissed about how much we gave him is a value contract and his shooting is big for a team that has needed it for a while. Beasley is a pretty nice trade chip or he can be kept especially since he is apparently willing to be a 6th man type.
But it doesn't stop there in terms of what the Wolves got for Covington. They drafted Bolmaro and he looks to be a nice potential player. Meanwhile the Wolves have a guy in McDaniels that looks to have legit potential to be what Covington was plus has much more potential offensively. Those guys are going to be cheap players for 4 years and Bolmaro's contract will be based on 2020 cap and starts this year. Good franchises do these types of things without making too many missteps.I'm not crowing the Wolves yet but there are some actual good signs. Getting Vanderbilt for KBD looks like a smart move too although we will see what happens this offseason with him being a FA and how much it costs to retain him.
