Does anyone believe the Mavericks haven't screwed up this offseason?

[one long blue sock]

Well i can agree the Mavs have done very poorly at the 3 and 5 in the past 2 or maybe even 3 years, but not 5.

Finley was playing 3 five years ago, and scoring 21 ppg.

Shawn was playing 5 five years ago, and put up 11, 8, and 3. Which is pretty good.

So basically those stats held up until 2 or 3 years ago, and when Dirk and Nash developed to be all stars.

And to the addressing part.

Last year, they did "attempt" to go after a 3(Lewis), and when they failed, they went after a 2(Redd). Who might have pushed Finley up to the 3 if he played well enough.

So to say they haven't been attempting to address these problems at the 3 is false.

They signed Raef to a big contract, as bad of a move that it was. They tried to lock up a good center, and that move did look pretty good at the time. So to say they didn't address the big man problem is false.

I will say that they have had poor decisions, but they atleast tried to address them.

[kg_veteran]

KG... you spew so much bilge, this will take a while. But point-for-point is what you want, then so be it.

I just want you to make a point. That's all.

Now let's review the little snipping remarks throughout this thread when all I mentioned was I thought it inappropriate to point fingers in my first comments. When you comment on both sides of the coin, then I'll take your advice. Until then, kiss my ass. Comprende?

There's a difference between you and I taking cheap shots at each other during the course of a "conversation" in a thread and your M.O. of popping in solely to make a smart ass comment about the "sky falling" or people being "reactionary". The first is expected while the second just makes you a troll.

Sorry you're unable to see the difference.

Also, kiss your ass? That hasn't been a good comeback in 15 years.

Yes, I have a great one. But this was a belittlement for those that don't agree. Say something funny and I will laugh. Post bullshite to humiliate and I take umbrage. Or should we revist your little snippy comment about you being insulted?

Yep. You've got a great sense of humor. I can see that now. You're wigging out over a picture that Dooby posted, but you're a barrel of laughs.

And the word is bullshit. There's nothing worse than pseudo-cussing.

This is an example of you not having anything to say, so you insult. When you decide to debate, give me a ring. Unless your angst interferes with your normal hubris.

In case you hadn't noticed, I've been stating my opinions and the information that I believe supports them. But instead of responding, you just go on and on about nothing.

Make a point.

Excuse me your worship but you and the rest of your clan spent the better part of the season bitching about the play-offs and how ill-prepared the Mavs would be because they wasted the off season not getting the big man. The regular season means nothing. It's only the play-offs that have meaning. Well, bucko, you got your pussy popped on that little deal, and have yet to my knowledge made mention that you were absolutely wrong. Neither has any of the other guys. Except Murphy hinted at it in a post.

I know you don't like it when I make fun of you, but you make it hard not to. "Your worship"? That's a Han Solo line from Star Wars, man.

I think that the playoffs illustrated my points about the roster, not refuted them. The Mavericks advanced further than anyone thought for a number of reasons. As my good buddy David pointed out on another message board, a lot of times luck is involved, and it certainly was for the Mavericks. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's foolish to take your results-oriented approach and say that I was wrong simply because they got to the WCF.

Do they still need inside help with rebounding and defense? Do they still need better perimeter defense? Yes, and yes. Don Nelson stated as much as soon as the playoffs were over. Donnie Nelson stated as much when talking about the draft and impending free agency. Cuban's attempted acquisitions suggest the same. The very points I made, everyone in the Mavericks organization has acknowledged. I know that's a tough pill for you to swallow, but it's the way it is.

Also, what's with the "pussy popped" comment? Is that supposed to be some sort of macho insult? Would you like me to get you a ruler?

Now here we are just a short time removed from the best results in club history over the last decade or better, and you are at your old whine-a-palooza about who is truly at fault.

The ONLY thing I'm talking about in this thread is whether or not the Mavericks have done what they should have done in free agency. Is there some rule against criticism because the Mavs had a great season last year? Does the fact that they had a great season mean that they are not capable of making mistakes now? That's ridiculous.

By the way bright boy, I do comment why. And then comes the Kevin Bacon insult because I don't share your myopic view of things.

You are fixated on that Kevin Bacon picture, aren't you? There must be some deep issues in your life associated with that movie, issues that we probably don't need to know about.

I have been stating for quite some time the big man won't come here. But you don't listen.

Yeah, you say it, but that doesn't make it true. Malone wanted to come here. I've cited various places that he said that. Again, ignore the facts if you want. They're still the facts.

Bullshite. You can no more prove this statement than a pig can sprout wings and fly. But you will defend this ridiculous remark to the death because if you actually have to acknowledge that you only have a small sliver of real info, then all you analysing will draw flies in a pasture.

Bullshit. The word is B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T.

Sure, I can prove the statement. Have you read the work of Jim Reeves, Tim Cowlishaw, Gerry Fraley, Kevin Blackistone, Gil LeBreton, or Randy Galloway? Have you read the work of any of the national media (Deveney, Kahn, May, for example)? They have all written articles about the Mavericks, but they have nothing more than a rudimentary understanding of the team and what's really going on.

You're doing it right now. Your previous paragraph is not only a weak defense, but you getting angry because I have the temerity to tell you you don't know as much as you think you do.

I'm getting angry? You're the one talking about "popping pussies" and "getting my panties out of my ass".

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I've known Murph for a good while, and I've seen him say that.
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Then if you agree, why reply?

Typo. I meant to say "I've never seen him say that."


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You don't have "real inside information" either.
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Hence, my not standing in this room screaming I have more knowledge than the team or anyone else. If you would actually get an adult to read my posts to you, then explain same, you might find that I am making a pretty good point. I don't get into the blame game because I don't know all the facts. Neither does anyone else here. So your little aside, which by the way was lame, is not really appropo, now is it?

Actually, my point was that you think you do have more knowledge, at least than anyone on this board. How else could you proclaim that people's "expectations were unrealistic" or that their comments weren't "within a hydrogen bomb of accurate" as it relates to the Mavericks and free agency? Your whole argument is that people don't have enough information to criticize with. The problem with that argument (which I pointed out previously and which you failed to acknowledge) is that if there isn't enough information to criticize, then there isn't enough information for you to come out in support of what the Mavericks are doing either. You simply can't have it both ways. Also, it remains an untenable position to suggest that you have to be an "insider" to have a logical and supported opinion about how the Mavericks have performed in the free agent market this year.

Also, I am an adult. Perhaps I should talk about "pussies getting popped" to show you how mature I am. Oh, wait, that was you acting like a child...

Bingo! I won't kiss the ring of the angry young men on this board and agree that this thing is eroding. So when I have stated I don't agree, I get ridiculed. Just like others that don't agree. You want a room full of Aryans, from Daryan that all yell in unison, the management screwed this. Cuban is an idiot. Nellie is an idiot. They don't play the right game here and only I know it.

Sorry sport. I won't do that. There isn't one swinging penis on this board that could manage this team in a blow-out game. Much less coordinate them to 60 wins. You can yell all you want, but that is the steaming matter that falls from a bull's butt if you or anyone else thinks they can do a better job.

And I will never agree with that crap or you. If you don't like it, see above. KMA.

The reason you get ridiculed is because you disagree just to be disagreeable.

How long are you going to go on saying that people shouldn't criticize because they couldn't coach the team? Or they haven't played in the NBA? Or they aren't an insider? It's such a tired, incorrect argument.

I haven't heard ANYONE say they could do a better job of coaching the team than Nelson. That's just another one of your fabricated assumptions. No one's even talking about coaching. We're talking about personnel moves, about free agency. Stay on topic.

Also, "swinging penis"? You're full of genital comments tonight, aren't you?

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Man, if you don't like it here, the solution is really simple.
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You've got the power. Make me. Because your lame assed arguments certainly don't, how did MFFL put it, rip me to shreds. You have yet to score a point.

Boy, it's been a long time since I was in grade school, but you took me right back with that one. "Make you?" Sheesh.

I like it here. I find you and your bretheren a fun past time. Deal with it.

I do deal with it. I make you look silly every time you try and argue with me. If you wanna stick around fine by me. I merely suggested you might want to leave because you seem so miserable here.

In light of your minority opinion comment, I find this laughable. You can't even keep up with your own argument. Geez.

Sure I can. You give yourself too much credit because you view yourself as somehow better than the rest of us because you always take the antagonistic position. It doesn't make you better. It just makes you antagonistic.

Offer up one post where I said I had the inside track on knowledge or rational, intellegent thought. Because I say you don't doesn't mean I think I do. Here's that phrase again...reading comprehension.

Your comments about "expectations being unrealistic" or people criticizing the Mavs not being "within a hydrogen bomb of accurate" make it clear that you think you have a better handle than everyone else on the way things really are in the NBA.

By the way, when you suggest you don't belittle people, your retort about bucko sure does wear the clothing of ridicule.

I don't belittle people. I just belittle you.

Care to venture a guess how many times you posted a negative comment on small ball?

Now please detail how many NBA games you have coached and won. We won't even ask you to list the play-off games, which after all are the only true games anyway.

There it is again. DJ, could you please shut this message board down? Nobody here has coached in the NBA, so they have no right to an opinion about the Mavericks.

What a ridiculous argument.

Would you post your psychic hotline number. I'm sure there are others besides me that would like answers about tomorrows results before they take place. Got the lottery numbers on Saturday? How about the winners in tomorrow's trifecta at Lone Star Park?

Or perhaps I could just give you the number to American Airlines Center. You can call Nelson and ask him yourself. Ask him whether he thinks the Mavericks need to improve to return to the WCF. He's usually brutally honest, so he'll probably tell you. He certainly stated that they needed to improve after this year's WCF, but hey, what does he know?

Say it with me...R-e-a-d-i-n-g c-o-m-p-r-e-h-e-n-s-i-o-n.

You can spell just fine. It's your grasp of logic that's lacking.

And yet you completely ignored the point. Because you couldn't really acknowledge it because it crushed one of your points later in your comments. The friggin Spurs had money and didn't get O'Neal, Malone, Kidd, Mourning, Olowokandi. Why? Because they want to go to the larger markets and will....get this...take less money to do so.

How did that crush my point? I never said it was about money for Malone. It was about a team pursuing him and wanting him. Also, the Spurs showed no interest in Olowokandi, so why would he go there? What happened with the Spurs doesn't prove anything with respect to Malone or Olowokandi.

But that would actually mean you would have to nod your head and at least entertain the idea that it might not be Dallas but the players wanting to go to other teams.

I've already acknowledged that Malone and Olowokandi might not have come here even if the Mavericks had made offers. Pay attention. It's you who refuses to open your mind and consider the possibility that Malone did want to come to Dallas, but changed his mind when they decided not to pursue him. It's you who refuses to open your mind and consider the possibility that if the Mavericks had actually MADE AN OFFER to either Malone or Olowokandi, one of them (particularly Malone) might be a Maverick right now.

The fact that he took millions less says it all. Nothing you can or may retort changes the fact that he signed with LA for less money than other places. That speaks volumes. He wanted to play in LA where his cance to get a ring is increased because of Shaq and Kobe.

I agree. He wanted to get a ring. It wasn't about the money for him. But that doesn't do anything to rule out Dallas. He apparently thought enough of the Mavs' championship chances to publicly state his interest in playing for the Mavs just before the free agency period opened. He was upset when the Mavs didn't pursue him at the opening of the free agency period. You might think that means nothing. I think it does.

By the way, perhaps you should go back to the days leading up to Shaq signing with LA and read why he went there. Ah...Hollywood...

Shaq and Malone are two completely different people. Shaq wanted to sell rap albums and be in movies. Malone just wants a ring.

Get your panties our of your *bleep*.

Who's angry again?

Sorry sweetheart, you have yet to make a point here. The facts are we built it, (AAC) with new dressing rooms and a private jet and all the food you can eat and max money, and they didn't come.

Sweetheart? You really are insecure, aren't you?

Do you honestly think Malone wanted a nice arena? He obviously wasn't looking for the money. He wanted to win a ring. The reason he didn't come to Dallas, in my opinion, is that Dallas didn't pursue him hard enough. He expressed interest, they didn't respond in kind, and he found another contending team that was interested in him. Why is that so hard for you to acknowledge as a possibility?

Any refuting you need to do starts with explaining why they didn't. Just because you think it's the teams fault after all the above, is really something you should take up while on the couch with Dr. Epstein. He'll scribble, you'll spew, and in the end he'll write a nice perscription for you that will make it all go away.

Or perhaps your third grade teacher who seemed to skip past reading comprehension should be held accountable..

Yep. I've got the mental problems. That's why I'm talking about pulling panties out of your ass and calling you sweetheart. Oh wait, that was you...

Malone was NEVER...now get this...write it down...NEVER coming to Dallas. He took far less to be with the Lakers. He turned down money Dallas couldn't even offer.

Get that straight or we don't discuss this until you do.

He was never coming to Dallas.

Repeating yourself doesn't strengthen the point you're trying to make.

Kidd, Mourning, Malone, O'Neal were not coming to Dallas.

Well, since you said it for the 45th time, now I believe you.

They pursued Mourning and had a verbal committment by his agent. Wow, hot news flash. K_G Verteran thinks taking an agents word is making an error on the part of a GM. Gee, those lying bastid agents. Cuban started working on Kidd and Mourning nixed the deal. If they told Malone they had the MLE and didn't, what would the league do if Malone then told the Lakers no thanks?

Well, since I was talking about verbal offers, I suppose the Mavericks would have signed whichever one they wanted.

And what do you think Malone would have done legally? I think it's spelled litigate.

Litigate a verbal offer? Doubtful, since it wouldn't be enforceable.

As I stated, you truly don't have the free agent market sized up very well and your repeated whines about Malone and Kandi tell the tale.

You keep saying that, but you can't refute my points about Malone wanting to come to Dallas and about the Mavericks not bothering to contact Kandi. You just try to gloss over them and ignore them.

You may now feel free to stop typing this nonesense. He turned down 10's of millions of dollars to play for LA and 1.5 million. Anything else you say ignores this fact. And that Dallas couldn't offer this.

Say the same thing as many times as you want. It doesn't make it true. You have YET to address my point.

Your articles before the FA market opened is meaningless when his actions speak far louder than his words pre-fre agency.

That's it. Just dismiss them without addressing them.

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Kandi was sitting on the bench because the Clippers knew he wasn't coming back
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Forgive me this slight faux pas here but...Please tell me your irrefutable source that states this. Your conjecture doesn't make it fact. It makes it hubr...nope, not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent...

By the way, that last part is humor. Not pictures of Kevin Bacon.

Be happy to cite a source.

NBA Insider - Terry Brown (7-16-03)

Here are the relevant portions of the article:

So, Olowokandi and his agent backed off the $12 million, saying they would accept $10 million, maybe even less. Instead, they decided to sign a one-year tender offer with the Clippers to finish out his five-year rookie contract and then become an unrestricted free agent the following season.

He returned later in the year, having recuperated from his injured knee, but the team didn't want anything to do with him anymore and kept him off the playing floor.

You see, I can support the comments I make. I don't just pull stuff out of my ass, like that George Bush reference, which was a sad attempt at humor.

We rejected Malone for Detlef Schrempf. He just returned the favor.

I see. The comments Malone made just days before the free agent signing period are irrelevant, but Malone is still holding a grudge from 18 years ago? Yeah, that makes sense.

However, I am a big enough man to admit I was wrong about Kandi's age.

Good for you. Because you were wrong.

Malone took less money. What do you not get about that? That says what his intentions were. If he wanted more money, or to play with another team, he would have done so.

How is Malone going to come to Dallas when they aren't pursuing him and aren't making him an offer? What do you not get about that?

1. Naive means I don't understand. I understand perfectly. This kills your argument so you must defend this point to death.

If you think that Malone saying AFTER the fact that his only choice was LA means that his only choice was LA, you don't understand perfectly.

2. So should we add public relations to your list of job titles you have a complete knowledge of? My, how do you get time to post here. You must be a busy man.

I just have common sense and an ability to read between the lines. I know that Malone wasn't going to be talking about the Mavericks during a press conference in LA regarding his signing with the Lakers. Funny how you don't get that.

It's about what Malone wanted and the Mavericks couldn't do. And a point-of-contention so you can continued to gripe and paint yourself an expert who makes scintilating and accurate analysis on the team you have no inside sources to and only gather your information on websites and from journalists.

I just look at the facts and make logical observations. You come to a conclusion and then blindly defend it, with or without facts.

School's out............................................... .................................................. .............bucko!

It's just a shame you weren't listening in class.