Welcome to day two of our series, in which we are looking at teach Mavericks player and their value on the trade market with other teams. Be sure to check back every day as we count down towards the trade deadline.
________________________
Players: Wayne Ellington and Gal Mekel
A sharpshooting 3 point specialist and a rookie from Israel, what is the value of the fringe rotation players for the Mavs?
Salaries:
Ellington- $ 2, 500, 00; Mekel- $ 490,180
Age:
Ellington- 26 years 3 months, Mekel- 25 years, 11 months
Season Stats:
Ellington: 3.1 PPG-1.0 RPG-0.4 APG. Mekel: 2.4 PPG-2.1 APG-0.9 RPG
Potential:
Ellington – Spark plug reserve shooter off the bench for a contender, role player/ fringe starter for a bad (20 – 25 win) team.
Mekel – Solid pass first backup point guard for a playoff team in about 2 years.
________________________
Trade Value:
Signed to a two-year, $5,423,340 contract. Ellington will be paid $2,652,000 in 2013-14. He was signed with the “room” exception. The former UNC stand out was thought to be a perfect candidate for a “3-and-D” role; a position the Mavs haven’t really had since Deshawn Stevenson in the 2011 championship season. Those aspirations however have simply not evolved. Ellington has essentially lost his spot in the rotation to the much improved Jae Crowder. Now with that said, the $ 5.4 million contract seems a little over priced for a player that’s only receiving spots minutes (mostly when games have already been decided). Ellington is currently the 8th highest player on the team, earning more than the likes of Devin Harris, DeJuan Blair, and Jae Crowder. But in today’s NBA, every team could always use a good shooter and with Ellington hitting on nearly 40% of his 3’s this season (up from a career average of 38%) it is well within reason to shop Ellington for a cheaper, possibly younger prospect. Ellington could also be traded to a contender in need of a shooter (such as the Blazers, Heat, or Thunder) for possibly a future draft pick. The Mavs are likely shopping this contract more than any other players as he is such a good asset that simply has better talent in front of him. If a team is willing to give a good offer, the Mavs will be sure to listen.
________________________
Signed to a three-year minimum contract that is fully guaranteed. Mekel will make $490,180 in 2013-14. Mekel (a product of Israel in which he was the MVP of the “Super” League) was a highly touted prospect who had also been on the radar of Milwaukee, Atlanta, Indiana, and Memphis this past summer. Mekel wanted to land with a team that would give him a multi-year deal to provide security as he adjusted to the NBA. The Mavs were the team that ultimately stepped up and offered that to him. Mekel initially started the season as the primary backup point guard with Shane Larkin and Devin Harris being sidelined with injuries. Mekel handled the pressure well for the Mavs as he averaged 5 points and 4 assists through his first 10 games. The 11th game of the season however marked Shane Larkin’s debut which cut Mekel’s time considerably. Now Mekel has a torn meniscus that will keep him out at least a few more weeks. The PG’s trade value is very low (mostly due to the injury) but he could realistically be put into a deal that involves bigger names as most teams are set on back up point guards. Mekel is seen more as a long term asset that will hopefully be a bargain on this very cheap contract by the time year 3 rolls around.
Days until trade deadline: 9 days
Stay tuned!
You must be logged in to post a comment Login
You must log in to post a comment.