[seelenjaeger]

The key question is:

(a) do we REALLY need a quality big, now that we kinda overhauled our roster at the 1-4?
(b) are the available ones REALLY worse than gortat?
(c) can´t we fill the "hole" at the 5 another way other than adding a guy like Gortat?

Concerning (a): Do we need to add something at the 5 to get to the Finals in the West?

Which team is REALLY having a dominant 5 nowadays in the West, and are those teams strong enough at the 1-4 to make up for the "gap" there with the advantage they have at the 5? Our key problems have been size and D on the small positions and Rebounding, and so far, we adressed those.

Let´s see - signing anybody with the MLE is ruled out unless you want to play Lee or Kleiza at the 5. The more I think about it, the more I like the Lee addition. We´ve played Bass at the 5 last year alot - I don´t think playing Marion - Nowitzki - Lee would result in a total breakdown.

So it comes down to "who´s out there". I think -some- GS Big Guy might enter the market sooner or later. You can always try to go for someone like Eddy Curry (I don´t like him either), and maybe Ty Chandler will somehow appear somewhere. Honestly, I haven´t seen enough of Gortat to really tell if that´s a big loss - but at the moment it´s nothing I start to knee jerk about.

And about (c):

Hey, if that´s another season of Dampier + spares (Humphries, Jawai, Nivins) we´ll see alot of small ball anyways, but after the roster changes small ball can STILL rebound and somewhat defend.

Sign Lee, play him, Nivins (or Jawai, Nivins) and Damp some time at the C, and you still have a very solid rebounding crew, that might easily reach the Western Finals.

Whether or not that´s gonna be enough to face the Fakers or Orlando remains to be seen, but once Cleveland or Boston beat Orlando, not having a real C won´t kill the Mavs. There´s not much to fear at the C nowadays in the West imho with our current squad.