Props to KG for starting the initial spark.
in order of priority.
1. a starting small forward who can stretch out the defense and is a good enough slasher. must be able to guard 2s and 3s more than adequately. i would see what i could do to get desmond mason.
1a. bruisers down low who get enough respect from officials that they don't get called for ticky tack fouls. alonzo mourning, pj brown, and malone would be people i would look at. mourning first, assuming he can stay healthy. even a zo with 20-25 min per game would contribute more than what bradley and lafrentz have given us. i might look at dale davis, but he doesnt seem to be any less foul prone than bradley or lafrentz. lafrentz isnt necessarily a bad man on man defender, he just gets called for so many ticky tack fouls that it hinders his effectiveness and aggressiveness.
2. better perimeter defenders. i would look into signing speedy claxton in the off-season as a backup to NVE and nash. if he doesnt ask for more than a million, i say go ahead and get the deal done. most of our reliance on zones is because we can't stop the perimeter defenders from getting into the paint, and dirk doesn't blitz hard enough on the pick and rolls. we need better man on defenders.
3. get rid of the loose weight. popeye, esch, walt williams, and either griffin or bell need to go. i would see what i could do to convince esch to retire and then buy out the remainder of his contract. accept it as a loss and move on. i see if griffin or bell want to sign a mid term deal at a very low salary and ink them.
4. move lafrentz to the east where he could put up very servicable numbers. the idea to get him was correct, but he's obviously lost his confidence, and in reality needs to be a second offensive option to be effective. he's the kind of player that needs to get enough touches to get into a rhythm. preferably 12-15. not the 5 or so touches he's been getting from the mavs.
5. see if we can convince some vet's to sign long term deals for the remainder of their careers at very low salaries. again, you might look at dale davis, d. coleman, pippen, reggie miller, or even elden campbell. questions to ponder, you might be able to circumvent the salary cap by signing vet's to long term deals at low contracts. then buying them out at the end of their contract when they retire. for instance, sign pippen to a 5 year deal at $2M per season. if he retires in 2 years, buy him out at $4M. he comes off the cap the following season, and the mavs will be over the cap regardless, so it makes little difference beyond the luxury tax.
6. build around dirk. front court players we sign should be brusiers built to protect dirk and any defeciencies he has.
7. focus on executing better in both the half court offense and half court defense.
the mavs will need to pawn off as trade bait this off-season: AJ, Najera, and LaFrentz. Finley is tradeable only if we are able to get close to equal value.
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