[grndmstr_c]

I'll admit I do get a little bit nervous hearing Avery talk about not wanting to make any changes. Donnie, not Avery is the one who's in charge of brokering deals with other teams, and I like it that way. If there are opportunities to upgrade I very much hope the Mavs wouldn't pass them up just because Avery likes Stack's warrior mentality or something like that. And to be clear, I'm not convinced that if the Mavs stay out of the trade game and add a backup center in free agency that they'll be the favorites or anything like that. I just tend to think that there's enough reason to expect improvement internally that with the addition of said big man and a little luck on the injury front they'll be right there in the mix. That's not good enough to veto deals that clearly improve the talent level on the team, but it's definitely good enough to dissaude me from wanting to make a change just for the sake of making a change. The goal should be to field the best team possible next year with the caveat that future flexibility should only be sacrificed in proportion to significant increases in the readiness of the team to contend for a title in the short-term (which is to say if there's a trade that messes up the prospects of the team 3 years down the road I'll only support the gamble if it makes the team prohibitive favorites for the next couple years).

Now, as to specifcally why I won't be broken-hearted if all this team does is sign Chris Andersen in FA, here's my rationale:
1) Point guard - I think there's good reason to expect both Jason and Devin to be better from the get-go than they were last year, and good reason to expect Devin to be better still by the end of the year. Not that I expect either one to be Nash-like getting teammates involved, but Jason's going to be more comfortable, and with the talent and youth he posesses Devin is really only going to get better.
2) SG/SF - I don't think Stack's going to get any better, but Fin might (owing to the ankle surgery), Josh probably will (his game really looks like it's on the way up to me), and Quis absolutely should (I really believe a healthy offseaon and training camp will make a difference). Regardless of whether all that depth at the 2/3 does much for us in the postseason, being able to rely on it in the regular season - something the Mavs were supposed to be able to do this last year but in reality weren't - might pay dividends as far as seeding goes.
3) KVH - so, so much better than Henderson. The minutes aren't going to be all that high - 20 a game or so - but even those 20 minutes figure to be worth at least 3 points differential per game, which will make a difference in the win column.
4) Dirk's post game - between Josh's development as a scorer, Dirk's summer training and AJ's propensity to work Dirk in the post on a regular basis I really don't think teams are going to be able to get away with playing Dirk the way they often did this year. It's been a problem the last two seasons that when the Mavs have made it to the playoffs they've had to adjust their style of play because of their opponents defending Dirk with smaller players. I expect the Mavs to work the offense with Dirk in the post enough next regular season that the playoffs won't require such a fundamental adjustment in the offensive philosophy, and expect that to translate into better play from the team overall.
5) Last year's phantom depth - I alluded to it already, but the depth that was supposed to be a strength last season ended up being a mirage. Between injuries, the struggles of some of the young guys, and Shawn's baffling inability to earn the trust of his coaches the Mavs really only had one bench player of note, that being Stack. There was no clear and reliable choice for most of the playoffs at pg, pf, or center, and for a team that was built to depend on their depth (though the starting lineup was unquestionably one of the best in the league) that was simply too much to overcome. I don't take that as an indictment of the strategy of trying to win with depth, but rather as an indictment of the way last year's depth on paper failed to translate onto the court. Between the considerations surrounding Devin, Quis, and KVH noted above, I think we can expect that paper depth to deliver with more potency and realibility in 05/06 than what we saw this year.

Of course, if a good deal for Paul Pierce comes along we can just scratch all of that.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Edit: oh yeah - 6) just being together for another year can't hurt. Being experienced with your teammates isn't everything, but it does count for something.