[StackAttack]

An article I wrote discussing the Mavs' latest personnel moves and why that could mean trouble for Devin Harris, Maurice Ager, and Jerry Stackhouse. I'd appreciate any feedback.

Why The Mavs Are The League’s Deepest Team – And Why That May Be A Problem

If you knew nothing about the Dallas Mavericks and simply looked at the roster changes they have made (so far) this off-season, you’d think that they had below .500 record. Never in your wildest dreams would you imagine that they came two games within getting their paws on the Larry O’Brien Trophy. In fact, this may be the most event-filled off-season for a Western Conference Champion team ever. Despite this, the general consensus amongst Mavs fans is that they have improved at every position that needed it. While this may be true, the Mavs as a team may have actually gotten worse. First, let’s explore the events of the Mavericks’ off-season:

Drafted: Maurice Ager – The #28 draft pick of the 2006 NBA Draft, Ager is a very Avery Johnson-type player; extremely solid defensively and brings a mental toughness to the table that you can’t teach. Not to mention he can consistently shoot lights-out from the outside, something that would have come in extremely handy against Miami. The Mavs didn’t work him out though, because they – as did Ager himself – expected him to go much higher in the draft. The organization feels that they really got a Josh Howard-caliber steal with the pick, and it is beginning to look as if this may be the case. After averaging 20 points on a remarkable 44% FG and an even more amazing 47% 3P, the former Spartan was named to the Toshiba Vegas Summer League All-Star squad and looks to be a solid addition to the Mavs’ roster come next year.

Drafted, Traded: Danilo Pinnock for Lakers’ 2007 2nd Round Draft Pick – The #58 draft pick of the 2006 NBA Draft. Though he had strong showings in summer leagues, this was a good decision by Donnie Nelson; it opened up another roster spot to be occupied by a veteran player, something the Mavs lacked in the Finals. Not to mention, Pinnock wouldn’t have seen much playing time here anyway and that 2nd rounder may come in handy in what looks to be a strong 07 draft class. Good trade for both parties.

Re-Signed: Jason Terry – The starting Mavericks combo guard was re-signed to a six year, $57 million deal. Overpaid a little? Probably. Worth it? Definitely. The JET will remain in a Mavs uniform through 2012.

Re-Signed: DJ Mbenga – The raw center was reportedly re-signed to an undisclosed multiyear deal in mid-July. Though he was far from a core piece of the Mavericks’ personnel last season, the Mavs like his potential and athleticism. A good pickup – the big man, entering his third year in the NBA, showed flashes of potential greatness throughout his limited playing time this season.

Traded: Marquis Daniels for Austin Croshere – The first of two deals with the Pacers, the departure of Quisy could have been foreseen as early as in the regular season. The fact of the matter is the “point-forward” simply did not fit into Avery Johnson’s system. Add the Mavericks’ need for a backup PF with the departure of free agent Keith Van Horn and their desire for veteran leadership, and voila – you’ve got a trade. The Pacers, wanting to solidify their backcourt, gladly accepted Daniels and sent Finals veteran Austin Croshere to Dallas. Croshere provides a good locker-room presence as well as an explosive first-step and the ability to (inconsistently) knock down the three. He should serve the Mavs well in the few minutes that Dirk Nowitzki’s on the bench. Could we have gotten more for Quisy? Maybe. Did we rip off Indiana? Absolutely.

Signed: Greg Buckner – Buckner, originally drafted by the Mavs back in the days of Don Nelson, has a reputation of being one of the stickiest perimeter defenders in the league, fitting the bill for the now defensive-minded Mavericks perfectly. He returns to Dallas with a newly-developed long range jumpshot, a strong work ethic, and a lack of ego. The defensive specialist is expected to take newly-signed Chicago Bull Adrian Griffin’s spot in the starting lineup.

Traded: Darrel Armstrong, Josh Powell, and Rawle Marshall for Anthony Johnson – Indiana’s starting point guard opened many an eye against New Jersey in the first round of the 06 Playoffs. In a Game 6 loss, he absolutely lit it up, scoring 40 points in what would be his last game at a Pacer. His performance in the 06 Playoffs was enough to get the Mavs interested so they quickly put together this deal. Powell and Marshall, undrafted members of the 05 class, showed their potential in the D-League, in which they led Fort Worth to the Finals, and proved their worth as solid reserves when injuries forced the Mavs to recall them from Fort Worth. DA, though far, far past his prime, provides a solid locker room presence and has the makings of a great coach: Avery let him run several players-only practices and film sessions this past season and he often preached in timeouts. Though the young duo had potential and DA’s presence will be missed, it’s always a good deal when another team’s starting point guard is your third-stringer. Johnson’s got Finals experience, an above average jumpshot, is defensive-minded, and doesn’t mind coming off the bench. Plus, getting a 3-for-1 deal done allowed the Mavs to free up a couple roster spots to bring in more talent. Excellent move by the Mavericks.

Signed: Devean George – Long-time Mavericks fans remember their troubles in the past against the Lakers all too well. But it wasn’t Kobe or Shaq providing the heartbreakers; it was always somehow the relatively unknown small forward Devean George hitting the clutch three. The 29-year-old won three rings with the Lakers in his first three seasons and has an excellent, although inconsistent, shooting touch. He’s incredibly clutch and hustles for rebounds. He’s also a lock down defender and has great work ethic. His stats may not be extravagant but he will prove to be a solid backup to All-Star-in-the-making Josh Howard, something that the Mavericks lacked last season. The only Maverick other than Avery with a ring brings veteran leadership to the table and a spark off the bench. Great signing.

Signed: Pops Mensah-Bonsu – As if the George signing wasn’t enough to make Mavs fans happy, later that same day the Dallas Morning News reported that summer league star Pops Mensah-Bonsu had been offered a one-year contract with a team option for a second year. Big Pops was a man among boys on the summer league team. The George Washington star has amazing athleticism, namely his leaping ability, allowing him to block shots left and right and throw down monstrous dunks. He can play both forward positions and is an excellent rebounder. The Mavs thought that they got a steal with Ager at #28? This may be much, much larger.

Looking at the moves made by the Mavericks since their heartbreaking defeat in the Finals, the Mavs are undoubtedly the deepest team in the league and are absolutely stacked with talent. Donnie Nelson has definitely earned his paycheck this off-season and deserves a huge pay-raise. Let’s take a look at the 15-man rotation going into next season:

PG Jason Terry/Devin Harris/Anthony Johnson
SG Greg Buckner/Jason Terry/Jerry Stackhouse/Maurice Ager
SF Josh Howard/Devean George Jerry Stackhouse/Pops Mensah-Bonsu
PF Dirk Nowitzki/Austin Croshere/Pops Mensah-Bonsu
C DeSagana Diop/Erick Dampier/DJ Mbenga/Pavel Podkolzin

Looking at that roster, the Mavs from top to bottom are a talent-filled team and inarguably the favorites in the West. The “Avery’s Army” billing has never fit better. These Mavs should be able to handle any injury without problem – they’re three-four deep at every position. These Dallas Mavericks are stacked.

And that could be a big, big problem for the likes of Devin Harris, Maurice Ager, and Jerry Stackhouse.

Devin Harris proved his worth on the national stage these past playoffs in the Western Conference Semifinals against the then-defending champion San Antonio Spurs. His quickness and ability to manipulate his dribble allowed him to get to the rim at will and finish, and the Spurs had no answer for him. His quickness allowed him to defend and contain point guard counterpart Tony Parker with ease. But the fact is Harris is probably the most inconsistent member of our squad; he can put up 20 on one night and then put up 4 the next. He often gets called for completely unnecessary fouls. Though he has potential with his impressive skill-set, he simply has not lived up to the expectations of a #5 draft pick. Mavs fans were optimistic though; coming off a strong playoff run, fans expected Harris would work on his jumpshot this off-season and come into 06-07 firing. That may prove difficult with the added depth at both guard positions. Anthony Johnson is no Darrel Armstrong – he is not going to be content with cheering from the pine. He’s going to demand minutes, and rightfully so. After the acquisition of Johnson, analysts predicted that Jason Terry, who has an incredible shooting touch, would move to the starting SG position – but that proves difficult with the addition of defensive specialist Greg Buckner to the lineup. The added depth is a huge hindrance to the playing time, and incidentally the development, of Devin Harris. Frankly, he may never become the #5 pick player (for a point of reference, NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade was the #5 pick of the draft before Harris’s) he was expected to be coming out of Wisconsin.

Donnie Nelson and Avery Johnson both said after Draft Night that they were extremely pleased with how things went and that, despite statements made before the draft in Madison Square Garden, they expected that Maurice Ager could make a contribution immediately. They said that they felt that Ager could be a steal of the same magnitude as Josh Howard, the last pick of the first round of the 2003 draft. But there was a difference between Howard’s situation and Ager’s: Howard ended up starting by the end of the 03-04 season. Ager is playing at a position that’s four deep. And unless he puts up numbers that would indicate the second coming of Jordan, there’s no way he is starting over league veterans Jason Terry, Greg Buckner, and Jerry Stackhouse. In fact, he’ll struggle to see any time at all, considering where he’s probably headed – the NBA Developmental League. At the time of the draft, what Donnie and Avery said may have made sense; no trades had been made as of yet and, other than Keith Van Horn, the Mavericks expected to re-sign all expiring contracts. Plus, Ager brings something to the table that if the Mavs had possessed in the Finals, there may have had a different locker room drenched in champagne: the ability to shoot unconsciously from long range. But now, Austin Croshere, Anthony Johnson, Devean George, and Greg Buckner all possess above average shooting touches, and two of the aforementioned players are guards, just like Ager. And all of them bring something that Ager can’t possibly have: veteran presence – three of the four have played in the NBA Finals (Croshere with the Pacers, Johnson with the Nets, George with the Lakers). Ager may truly have developed into a Josh Howard-caliber steal if he was given the minutes to, but only 12 men are allowed on the active roster, and Ager is one of the few players who don’t exactly serve a necessary role for a championship-bound squad. Though he’ll be given the chance to play and shine in the D-League, he won’t have a true NBA rookie experience, and that could be a huge setback in his development.

While the newly-added depth to the Mavs’ roster is a hindrance to the development of Devin Harris and Maurice Ager, it poses a completely different problem for 31-year-old Jerry Stackhouse. Stackhouse, the Mavs’ sixth man and a leading candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award last season, provided a spark off the bench at the shooting guard position behind Adrian Griffin. However, with the additions of Anthony Johnson and Greg Buckner this off-season, it appeared that Stackhouse would all of a sudden be the team’s third-string 2-guard, behind Buckner and Jason Terry. However, Stackhouse has the size and capability to play small forward behind Josh Howard, so there was no reason to be concerned about his playing time – until the Mavericks signed a true backup small forward in Devean George, making the league veteran Stackhouse both a third-string SG and a third-string SF. All of a sudden, the sixth man for a Finals-bound squad last season has turned into almost an unnecessary member of the team. And with all the talk about the Mavericks possibly wanting to trade for Kenyon Martin or Eduardo Najera, now may be a better time than any to put Stackhouse’s expiring contract on the trading block. And frankly, if Stackhouse – who’s probably not sleeping well lately – does manage to appear in blue and white come November 2, he certainly won’t be playing the 32 minutes he became used to in last year’s playoffs, or even the 27 he played in the regular season. And even assuming he does get his minutes this season, he almost certainly won’t be re-signed when he becomes a free agent after his 06-07 campaign. Say what you will about his strong relationship with Avery or his ability to create instant offense; with the Mavericks’ added depth, the future of Jerry Stackhouse as a Dallas Maverick does not look bright.

The front office trio of Donnie Nelson, Mark Cuban, and Avery Johnson has created an absolute army, with any given player having the ability to take over on any given night. But what on the surface looks like an extremely strong off-season actually has the future of three Mavericks in doubt. But you’ll never hear these Mavericks complain about being too deep – what a great problem to have. The Dallas Mavericks are absolutely stacked, from positions 1 through 15, and are poised to make their second straight run to the NBA Finals. They’ve improved their personnel and they’re undoubtedly working to get better from within. Tip-off comes November 2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and longtime fans couldn’t be more excited. For the first time in the franchise’s history, the Dallas Mavericks have to be the favorites to bring home the goods. - StackAttack