Opinion:"Dallas Mavericks: Time To Let Dirk Go"

[robo98564]

I know that this probably isn't going to be a very popular thread, but I still thought I'd share and see what you guys think.

I have copied and pasted the article to the site to prevent you from having to leave the forum to view it, but if you like what you read, please visit the link below. It helps my writer rankings (I know, pretty dorky to worry about my internet writing status, right?! haha)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...k-go/show_full

Dallas Mavericks: Time To Let Dirk Go

In the midst of what has now turned into a four game losing skid, one ugly truth has become more apparent than ever.

Despite Jason Terry arguably playing the best ball of his career, Jason Kidd exceeding all of his critics' expectations, and Dirk Nowitzki continuing to play like...well, like Dirk Nowitzki; these Dallas Mavericks are not good enough to contend for an NBA title.

In fact, they are barely good enough to contend for a playoff spot.

With just under half of the '08-'09 season completed, the Mavs have a mediocre 22-17 record. They are sitting at fourth place in the Southwest Conference and ninth place overall in the Western Conference, just one spot out of playoff contention.

Ordinarily, it would be premature, and even pessimistic, to suggest that it is time to blowup a team that is still very much in the thick of things. However, the Dallas Mavericks are not your ordinary team.

Just three years ago, the Dallas Mavericks finally emerged as one of the NBA's elite teams by knocking off the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns en-route to the franchise's first ever NBA Finals appearance.

Despite giving up a 2-0 series lead and ultimately falling to the Miami Heat in heart breaking fashion, the Mavericks gave their fans reason to hope for the future.

Two years ago, the Mavericks picked themselves up off the mat and took the NBA by storm. In a season that saw the Mavs win 67 games, good for the one-seed in the Western Conference and the overall best record in the NBA, it looked as if nobody could stop the Mavericks in their fight for redemption.

As luck would have it, however, the only team to own a regular season winning record over the Mavs that year, the Golden State Warriors, was the same team to draw the eight-seed in the West. They became the first ever eight-seed to knock off a one-seed in a seven-game series, and the Mavericks once again ended their season in heartbreak.

One year ago, after a disappointing first half of the season, the Mavericks made what may go down as one of the most infamous trades in NBA history. The Mavericks, in return for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen and Antoine Wright, sent Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, Van Horn via sign-and-trade, two first-round draft picks and $3 million in cash to the New Jersey Nets.

It was a trade that could only be considered a success if the Mavericks won, and won now. One year later, despite Jason Kidd's superb play, the trade is a disaster.

The Mavericks are floundering. Devin Harris is almost assured his first all-star selection and looks to be one of the great up-and-coming point guards in the league. Perhaps most disconcerting, with a lack of draft picks and few attractive tradable parts, the Mavericks have almost no way of building around their current team's nucleus.

This leaves the Mavs with only two real viable options:

The first and easiest option is to stand pat. The Mavs can stick with their current roster in hopes that something suddenly changes within the organization. More than likely, the Mavs will continue to be a good, but not great, team. They will win some big games, lose some big games, and will likely squeak their way into the playoffs, where they will win at most one series.

The second option is harder. It is by far the more painful road. However, it is also the road that is not only best for the team, but best for everyone involved.

It is time for the Dallas Mavericks to trade Dirk Nowitzki before it's too late.

For any Mavs' fan, this is the last thing that they would want to do, but it is the only thing that makes sense. He is the only name on the Mavericks that has enough trade value to help this team's long term success.

Jason Terry is a great player, but he is a role player. Jason Kidd is getting up in years, and although he has performed better with the Mavericks than anyone could have ever hoped, there will always be the question about how much longer he can keep it up. Josh Howard has done just about everything he can in the past year to hurt his trade value.

What the Mavs need is good, young players to start building on the next era of Dallas Mavericks basketball. The only player on this current roster that will be able to help the Mavs get what they need is Dirk Nowitzki.

Perhaps more importantly than all of that, however, is the future success of Dirk Nowitzki. One of the hardest workers in the league, a great teammate and a leader by example, and one of the most revolutionary players ever to enter the league, it is hard to argue that anyone deserves to become an NBA Champion more than Dirk does.

It has become apparent that he will not win one with Dallas. This team's window has shut, and has probably been shut for some time now.

So trade Dirk to a contender, and let him win a title. Bring in some younger players and try to build this thing back up. It is the best thing for the team, the best thing for Dirk, and though initially painful for the Dallas Mavericks' fans, it is the best thing for them as well.

It is time to let Dirk go.