Mavericks talk

I have been thinking about the trade discussion for the Mavericks and want to chime in and also the Dallas Morning News put out their analysis today so why not.

First of all a caveat; I am a fan, not an impartial sports writer.

So remembering all too well the Rajon disaster, I do not think the Mavericks should make a trade.

Some say we should trade Bogut, yet he still can add value to this team even in this late playoff run possibility. And if we make the playoffs we would definitely need him. He has the size and is the rebounder we would need even if he only played 20-25 minutes a game. No one is going to give us an upgrade at the center position without giving up much more and right now I prefer we keep all our youth and let them sort themselves out through the rest of the year on who we want to keep.

Some say we should trade D-Will. Again we won’t get the upgrade we would want without giving up other pieces we do not want to lose. We may have two new young guards that have upside to high upside potential yet they both have one drawback and Deron helps cover this well and that is size. He is a bit bigger than Yogi and Curry and we will definitely need this and his experience if we are making an honest push to the playoffs. And we have a great guard rotation potential and so could play D-Will 20-25 minutes a game for stretches and have him healthy for the playoffs if we get there.  Yes we have five guards with Williams, Ferrell, Curry, Barera and Harris that can all contribute, yet I do not think we have one to spare. And if we did trade one, I still want real significant upside potential for now and the future. Most teams do not like making one sided trades so getting the better half of any trade right now is just wishing. And as mentioned before Rajon still haunts the memory banks. And even if he had played to capability and made serious effort he may have been good only for the year he was here.

I do not get the big bucks to be a general manager for a reason, yet I feel doing the best we can this year, keeping the youth we have, and thinking through this summer (meaning Mr. Cuban needs to worry less about big fish, but best player for team potential) and we still might a competitive team for Dirk if he decides to stay next year.  We have some pieces and finding a young solid center that can consistently give us 10 pts, 10 rebounds, and play serious defense is not a bad team to have.

I am a big believer that teams win championships, not superstars. And this is even more so with good coaching. Next year we could roll out new starting center with upside and numbers mentioned above, Barnes at the 4, Matthews at the 3 or 3 and 2 with either Anderson or Finney-Smith panning out playing the 3 some, or Powell at four and Barnes at 3, a new guard with some size and Curry and Ferrell running point and switching into the 2 spot. And yes if you noticed I didn’t mention Dirk starting so Dirk stays and plays 4 and 5 off the bench and wins the 6 man award on a strong competitive team.  Or he starts with Barnes at three and Matthews starting at 2 and helping with 3 as Barnes helps with 4.  As you can see we have some really good potential and nice options going forward. So keep the team this year with Bogut and Williams; really work through all the young players to find out who has best potential, if necessary make trades in the off season or free agency for either the center or guard that may be needed, evaluate the draft class to determine if you want to use pick in trade or keep stocking youth to really look forward to the future.

I think Barnes is part of the present and future in a big way; Matthews is the present and near future in a big way; Curry and Ferrell also can be big for the future; keeping the best four or five best young players out of the bunch we currently have coming from the bench; finding a stud at center, doesn’t necessarily have to be a superstar yet have upside and strength; find Dirk’s role for next year and we can have a good to great year next year and then growing better years post Dirk.

Yes I am a fan, so optimism is part of my nature. I do see the potential and am excited for now and going forward. The only coaching decision I want to throw in is to start lowering Barnes and Matthews minutes a bit. I know we need them on the floor as much as possible, yet every season is long and keeping them healthy is important.

I see problems for Oklahoma and Houston if either of their star players plays too many minutes throughout the season. May not be good for either if they aren’t healthy at end of season. This may apply to Cleveland too. There is some tread wear on Mr. James’s shoes.

Spring came early here in North Texas so now worried about bugs and allergies, a little bit of snow would have been nice.

And if you ask me moderation is a four letter word.    Cheers