Interesting

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by MFFL

Finley has given this organization FAR more than YOU will ever give it. So if you can't say something nice, then say nothing at all. Show a little class.

'Nuff said

[Dtownsfinest]

Originally Posted by Day1MavsFan

How much do you want to bet me that Fin doesn't make any significant improvement over the second half of the season, Dtown? Are Spurs fans supposed to wait until April for him to show up? Oh, okay. He's going to show up in the playoffs. Yeah, right. How many good playoff games did he have compared to bad ones?

I'm tired of Mavs fans making excuses for players, just because they play(ed) here. Michael "Stay Out of Bounds After Making an Inbounds Pass" Finley was, and is, overrated with a capital "O".

All I can tell you is I don't know. I don't know what Finley will do and neither do you nor Spurs fans so quit acting as if you do. I do know that he won't continue to play poor. That's not the Mike I saw in Dallas for years. And if being one of the better professionals around the league is "overrated" to you than fine. But you won't fine to many all stars like Finley. For years he played for the Mavs while being one of the lowest paid players on the team. When the team brought in Dirk and Nash, Fin didn't pout or bitch. He took them under his wings and showed them how to be real professionals. Do you think Dirk would be as good as he is right now had he stayed a Buck? Had he learned the game from Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson rather than Michael "Stay Out of Bounds After Making an Inbounds Pass"(Whatever the hell this means) Finley? Fin's gone. It hurt to see him go but I too understood that it was time for the Mavs to go into a different direction and Finley wasn't a part of that direction. But i'm not going to start disliking him because he plays for a rival. I'll still hate the Spurs but as far as Finley goes i'm still a Fin fan. If Dirk was traded to the Lakers or to the T-Wolves would you quit liking him?

[Dropstep]

yes

[DirkGoesNuclear]

Finley was well compensated for his years of service. As for Dirk and Nash, they have tremendous talent, so I doubt that Finley could keep them down even if he wanted to.

[Male30Dan]

Ugh...

Finley this, Finley that... The bottom line was whether or not Finley would fit in here better than Stack as a 6th man and I think even the greatest Fin supporters would agree that Stack can bring more at this point in both of their careers.

Love him or hate him, he still bled Green and Blue and that should garner some respect. He had his faults, or HAS his faults rather, but who doesn't. To say what some have said is blasphemy in my honest opinion.

This man lead our team with his head up high when times were REALLY bad around here and, while that certainly does not make him above criticism, it should wake some of the morons up around here that view Mike as a no-talent good for nothing that never helped our organization. He was one of the main reasons we stopped winning less than 20 games per year and moved into the elite status of the NBA ranks so show the man some damn respect and have a little class!

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by MFFL

Finley has given this organization FAR more than YOU will ever give it. So if you can't say something nice, then say nothing at all. Show a little class.

That may be true, but when you think about it, so has everyone who's ever put on a Mavs uniform. Antoine Walker, Calvin Booth, Dennis Rodman, Danny Fortson... They've all given the team more than I could ever hope to give it, but does that mean I have to like them? Does that even mean that I have to respect them? No, it doesn't. Whether people in the media, in the stands, or on this board want to believe it or not, Erick Dampier has been a vital part of this team since his very first game. He has given this team much more than anyone here or in the stands could ever hope to. So did Shawn Bradley. But did that stop anyone from hating them? No.

I don't agree with what the man's viewpoint, but I hardly think it makes him classless.

[MFFL]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

That may be true, but when you think about it, so has everyone who's ever put on a Mavs uniform. Antoine Walker, Calvin Booth, Dennis Rodman, Danny Fortson... They've all given the team more than I could ever hope to give it, but does that mean I have to like them? Does that even mean that I have to respect them? No, it doesn't. Whether people in the media, in the stands, or on this board want to believe it or not, Erick Dampier has been a vital part of this team since his very first game. He has given this team much more than anyone here or in the stands could ever hope to. So did Shawn Bradley. But did that stop anyone from hating them? No.

I don't agree with what the man's viewpoint, but I hardly think it makes him classless.

All players contribute to the team on the court at least a little. But I was speaking of Finley's OFF THE COURT contributions to the team. He was loyal to a really bad team (and that loyalty was returned financially). Finley also helped mold his young teammates into professionals that could be admired by one and all. He was the face of the Mavs when we were a national laughingstock and Finley carried himself with dignity and class. How many other teams have their best player embarrass the team and fans with arrests or other nastiness?

And I also prefaced my comments with "He's gone". When Finley was a Maverick then he deserved any and all criticism - no player is above it. But Finley is gone. Yet he is an alumni of the Mavericks and NOW we should treat him with the respect he deserves from all his contributions. The fans should treat Finley with the same class that he gave us for so many years. Anything else is in poor taste.

[alby]

The Dallas Mavericks were a horrible team. Michael Finley just happened to be the guy that was our best player during those teams. Every player in this league recieves criticism, even Garnett in Minnesota doesn't have 100% approval rating and look what he's done for that franchise. This is a topic that is passed being overkilled, someone please delete this thread.

[sike]

or at least get it back on topic...which was Stack vs. Fin....

[Dtownsfinest]

Where does the whole Fin vs. Stack thing come from? Fin may be 6th man for the Spurs but hasn't he has by no means been a 6th man this year with Ginobilli being hurt so frequently. Shouldn't the discussion be Fin vs. Damp? I don't think the Mavs were ever thinking about cuttting Stackhouse since he makes about 7 million a year. I think there were only two players in question for being cut due to the amnesty clause last offseason and that was Dampier and Finley.

[EricaLubarsky]

There was only one man on the chopping block and it was Finley. While he was the face of this franchise for years, he was a problem child last year-- a problem child on the downward slide physically who refused to accept his role or to do things that we needed to win.

If Finley didn't say it out loud that he wanted to be somewhere else, he certainly said it through his play and documented lockerroom talk. Finley got what he wanted.

And as for Stack v. Finley, the argument is not who should have been dropped. The argument is that Stackhouse is better for this team this year. Stackhouse has accepted a 6th man role-- a role that I doubt Finley would have accepted had he stayed in the franchise. Stackhouse is also providing better production for this team than Finley is for his. I believe that that is the argument

No one is saying that Finley wasn't awesome, just that last year Finley was a problem child and that this year Stackhouse is giving us more than Finley is giving San Antone. It's simple.

[MavsFanFinley]

It's strange. You would think a guy that didn't want to give up a starting job and was somehow this monster in his last here wouldn't have signed to a team where he'd come off the bench and have his minutes reduced. Not only have his minutes reduced but his shot attempts as well. And not only that but be expected to get his minutes by giving the effort on the defensive end. All under a coach that wouldn't baby you or stroke your ego when things weren't going your way.

I'm not saying Fin didn't pitch a fit in the locker room a time or two but this talk of him being a cancer and a problem child seems overblown to me still. Fin could have started in Miami, Phoenix, Denver, and Minnesota. And been a bigger part of the offense than he is in SA while having a ton of minutes. But he doesn't choose that path when that seems all he wanted while in his last here in Dallas. Pretty strange turnabout, imo.

The move benefitted both sides. Stack is what AJ wanted and Fin is what SA needed. I'm not sure why these threads keep popping up.

[Jet Terry]

I think Finley would be more diplomatic since the spurs are a championship team. 3 championships is enough for Finley to swallow his pride. I doubt he would do the same for Dallas.

[MavsFanFinley]

Originally Posted by Jet Terry

I think Finley would be more diplomatic since the spurs are a championship team. 3 championships is enough for Finley to swallow his pride. I doubt he would do the same for Dallas.

Huh. Interesting. All he was ever concerned about was a starting job and shots. He probably chanted that in his sleep. So a guy who was worried about nothing other than those 2 things is all the sudden just worried about a ring? I mean all the tantrums he threw last year was all about a ring instead of shots and minutes and a starting job?

It also makes me wonder why "high ranking Mavs officials" were wondering whether they should have waived Dampier instead of Finley. What's up with that. Finley was the worst thing to come through this franchise and after his behavior last year, what did Dampier do to warrant these thoughts? Of course, we won't know the "real" story until he's waived, traded, or retires. If we don't get the story from Fish's sources we'll sure read about it in Cuban's blog. Stay tuned.

[Jet Terry]

Hey Finley in Dallas felt that he deserved to start. Avery never tested him by benching but instead decided to feed his ego. Finley knew the agreements with San Antonio before hand that he wouldn't start. Yes he wants a ring more than to start. That's why he picked San Antonio.

[EricaLubarsky]

A championship is obviously a motivation for any older player, and no one can blame him for that, but I dont think that he wanted to leave because he wanted a free championship

and I dont think that all the talk of starting, and effort, and all that was the root of what was going on. He went from being a goldenboy with a green light to a bad guy who needed to be called out. Problems with Cuban? Nelson? Johnson? Other players? Problems with front-office moves? Just getting tired of being here? Hard time getting older?

I personally dont know what it was, but everything pointed at him wanting out.

[Dtownsfinest]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

There was only one man on the chopping block and it was Finley. While he was the face of this franchise for years, he was a problem child last year-- a problem child on the downward slide physically who refused to accept his role or to do things that we needed to win.

If Finley didn't say it out loud that he wanted to be somewhere else, he certainly said it through his play and documented lockerroom talk. Finley got what he wanted.

And as for Stack v. Finley, the argument is not who should have been dropped. The argument is that Stackhouse is better for this team this year. Stackhouse has accepted a 6th man role-- a role that I doubt Finley would have accepted had he stayed in the franchise. Stackhouse is also providing better production for this team than Finley is for his. I believe that that is the argument

No one is saying that Finley wasn't awesome, just that last year Finley was a problem child and that this year Stackhouse is giving us more than Finley is giving San Antone. It's simple.

Not sure about that. I remember reading reports of Dampier being a possible candidate for the amnesty clause.

A problem child? Refused to accept a role? Are you in the Mavs organization? I've never heard any of those concerning Finley. Never. You have to refresh my memory because the only things I heard negative about Finley as far as the media is concern is when Nellie called him out. But that was for his play not him being a "problem child".

Like I said above, I don't get the comparison of Finley to Stackhouse. Finley has played 40 games and Stack has played 18. And I guess its an opinion of yours that Stackhouse has given the Mavs more contribution than Fin has his respective team. I've seen the Spurs actually ride Finley in the clutch and he has come through numerous times. His stats suck because he's so inconsistent or has been this year. And through 18 games Fin and Stack's stats are very comparable. Especially scoring but Finley has had the bigger games. But Stack is the better fit. Though Fin did things better than most on this team he pretty much had the same abilities as every other 2 guard on this team and plus he had a huge contract. Stack does things on this team that most players can't. There's not too many guys on this team that can drive and make a layup with contact. We have a lot of guys on this team who like to go to the whole soft and expect a foul call.

Its fine if you weren't a fan of Fin's. I'm not a fan of every Mav that has been in a Mavs uni myself but unless you have visual proof i'd try and restrain myself from making such bs statements like "Finley was a problem child".

[Murphy3]

Fin was called out on a couple of occasions publicly by Mavs coaches for not doing the little things even after they had spoken with him about it... Plus, it was rumored by Fish that Fin threw a fit in the clubhouse about his role.

I'm not sure that I buy into the Fish rumor. Nothing else ever came of it, so we'll never know what really went on there. But, I do vividly remember Nellie calling out Fin for not busting it out there. He really gave it to Fin big time on one of his on air segments with Norm.

[sike]

*threw

[mary]

Originally Posted by Dtownsfinest

Where does the whole Fin vs. Stack thing come from? Fin may be 6th man for the Spurs but hasn't he has by no means been a 6th man this year with Ginobilli being hurt so frequently. Shouldn't the discussion be Fin vs. Damp? I don't think the Mavs were ever thinking about cuttting Stackhouse since he makes about 7 million a year. I think there were only two players in question for being cut due to the amnesty clause last offseason and that was Dampier and Finley.

I think there is zero chance that Cuban would've used the amnesty clause on Dampier if he decided to keep Finley. He simply could've used it on Bradley. If Finley stays, we don't sign Christie and possibley don't sign Griffin (since our swingman shortage prompted his signing in the first place).

[Dropstep]

Findawg is the essance of class... who had more of a chance to play with the spurs than he did us... it makes me sad. The reason he is longer with us is the same reason Emmit played for the Cardinals.... buisness baby. So enough of this talk.

[Dropstep]

Side note: We are alot better off with Damp/Diop than we were Raef/Stickman... how quickly we all forget lol. As long as its not my money, no way in hell I cut Damp before Fin even now if I had to choose.

[Nash13]

If we were to cut Dampier, there would've been 29 teams going after him. The media may trash him, but for a cheaper price, probably every team except Miami would want him.

As far as this thread goes, can we please not make anymore Finley threads? Ever? It's to the point now that people from both camps are repeating themselves.

[sike]

this thread should be retitled "uninteresting"

[Dtownsfinest]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Fin was called out on a couple of occasions publicly by Mavs coaches for not doing the little things even after they had spoken with him about it... Plus, it was rumored by Fish that Fin threw a fit in the clubhouse about his role.

I'm not sure that I buy into the Fish rumor. Nothing else ever came of it, so we'll never know what really went on there. But, I do vividly remember Nellie calling out Fin for not busting it out there. He really gave it to Fin big time on one of his on air segments with Norm.

Yea I actually do remember that. I remember being so shocked because Nellie in the past had seemed to never really go after his starters with such criticism but I was glad he did it because at the time Finley was playing like a Dampier. It was said that Fin was hurt for most of last season so i'm not sure how much of Nellie's criticism was justified but Fin sure didn't have any problem responding the game after Nellie made his comments lol.

[Dtownsfinest]

Originally Posted by sike

this thread should be retitled "uninteresting"

Why keep coming back to thread then?

[zanahale]

Why does everyone think this thread is about Finley?... it was meant to be about Stackhouse...hardly anyone has made mentiion of how well stackhouse has been playing.

[alby]

which is great.