Sub-par Mario? It's a 1 year dealio.
And you can see glimpses of a good player, hidden among the dopey plays. Good size, fairly good looking shot, maybe our best cutter.
He just has a preference for flashy stuff and looks too casual. Not much on D. I've labeled him a mistake player, and not sure his head can adjust to what he should be doing. But a good gamble, just like Vonleh, Mud, Burke. Not every reclamation will pay off or work out.
Basically just pretend Vonleh is making Mario money and Mario has Noah V's contract. There now, all better?
Also, Knox is clearly not ready to start at SF. Vonleh more of a 4/5 type. Lance on low boil. So Mario is the default SF. If Mario continues to underperform, we may see recently resurrected Courtly at paired with Tim at SF. And at some point Lance will return.
For now, Mario gets to try to figure things out. Starting should boost his confidence and effort and hopefully focus. If I were coach, I'd be yelling at Mario, Make the simple play.