This Season's Roster Outlook

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by BigDog63

re: the blow it up crowd:

And get....who? Who is going to come to a completely depleted team, with an aging star and an overpaid 3rd man on its roster?

This is the problem with all the blow it up scenarios, and posters. They all want to push Humpty Dumpty off the wall, and just assume a nice new egg appears in its place. If only it were that simple. The reality is that what you are left with once you push Humpty off the wall is a big sticky mess that no one wants to be a part of.

But the other alternatives aren't that great either. I'm a big Mavs fan, and have stood by them before and after the championship...but I'm not really seeing a pretty picture here. Blow it up and you get cap space but no likely takers. Keep it together and you have a good, but not great, team with little liklihood of moving up. The Mavs had a bunch of bargains on their roster this year...they'll be lucky to just be as good next year as they were this year. And it gets worse after that. The way you build continuity through these times is through the draft, and the Mavs have...James? to show for that (I luv Sarge, but he is what he is). I have no faith in them rebuilding or even restocking via the draft, and I'm not seeing good prospects for free agents. Even when Dirk retires...his bargain contract means there isn't going to be a ton of money to pick up a replacement with. The hazard of having good bargains on your team is that replacing them with similar bargains is really difficult. The Mavs may be in for a long look at mediocrity. If you think I'm wrong, please elaborate. I'd luv to be wrong, but not seeing the other paths forward.

I mostly agree with this expect for the bargains part. There will always be bargains when the cap money dries up. Not every player is going to get 10+ million a year. And plus, it depends on the quality of player. Are you talking about Ellis bargain or Aminu bargain? There will always be Aminu-type bargains, but Ellis, you might be right. A player of his quality would likely be a player with injury history or has fallen out of favor for various reasons.

Quality first post and welcome. Keep posting.

[BigDog63]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

I mostly agree with this expect for the bargains part. There will always be bargains when the cap money dries up. Not every player is going to get 10+ million a year. And plus, it depends on the quality of player. Are you talking about Ellis bargain or Aminu bargain? There will always be Aminu-type bargains, but Ellis, you might be right. A player of his quality would likely be a player with injury history or has fallen out of favor for various reasons.

Agree...but replacing Ellis is going to be key. The Mavs have shown they can fill a roster with good bargain veterans, but that isn't going to make the Mavs better, just keep them the same. I like Ellis, personally...his falloff occurred when he was injured, and after Rondo arrived. But we need help defensively, too, if a decent offensive SG who is a better defender is out there...grab him! Maybe even move Ellis to PG, teaming with Harris and Barea. But the Mavs are going to doing well to put together a team that is just as good as this one...and this one didn't have much of a chance to do any damage in the playoffs.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by BigDog63

Agree...but replacing Ellis is going to be key. The Mavs have shown they can fill a roster with good bargain veterans, but that isn't going to make the Mavs better, just keep them the same. I like Ellis, personally...his falloff occurred when he was injured, and after Rondo arrived. But we need help defensively, too, if a decent offensive SG who is a better defender is out there...grab him! Maybe even move Ellis to PG, teaming with Harris and Barea. But the Mavs are going to doing well to put together a team that is just as good as this one...and this one didn't have much of a chance to do any damage in the playoffs.

I'd love to see Ellis at pg, but the FO won't do it. It would solve a lot of issues and not have to force yet another incoming pg to learn the system. I think it would also somewhat force Monta to be a playmaker and not play Montaball all the time. But, moot point.

Mavs either need to let Ellis go for a defensive 2 or get a PG who is elite at defense. We don't need a good defender at the one...we need elite to have any chance against the West guards.

[BigDog63]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

I'd love to see Ellis at pg, but the FO won't do it. It would solve a lot of issues and not have to force yet another incoming pg to learn the system. I think it would also somewhat force Monta to be a playmaker and not play Montaball all the time. But, moot point.

Agree, and unfortunate. Recall Monta's first few weeks with the team...they had to force him to STOP distributing the ball so much, and be more selfish. I think he would do just fine at the point as well.

Mavs either need to let Ellis go for a defensive 2 or get a PG who is elite at defense. We don't need a good defender at the one...we need elite to have any chance against the West guards.

Hey, we could get Rondo! No, wait.... :-)

I'm not sure there is an elite defender at PG out there...the PG's in the West are pretty much too good for any one person to stop. You need to not be terrible (Calderon), and make up for it offensively. The 2 spot is different...could really use a stopper there. It's also why the Mavs really need to resign Aminu. He's the Marion replacement...someone who can defend multiple positions, only a lot younger. If they can get him back for around the $4M I've heard discussed, they should jump on it. I was in favor of Aminu when they were pursuing Parsons...he made more sense to me as a Marion replacement, and I wasn't sure Chandler would become the go to guy the FO envisioned (and so far that has been shown to be correct).

[DGM]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

I'd love to see Ellis at pg, but the FO won't do it. It would solve a lot of issues and not have to force yet another incoming pg to learn the system. I think it would also somewhat force Monta to be a playmaker and not play Montaball all the time. But, moot point.

Mavs either need to let Ellis go for a defensive 2 or get a PG who is elite at defense. We don't need a good defender at the one...we need elite to have any chance against the West guards.

I brought up Monta at pg a few weeks back and recieved all kind of posts why it would'nt work. Monta is a willing passer. I don't see him as a greedy scorer. He did what he had to do this year because of the lack of other scoring options. I think it would work very well because Parsons can also run the offense as a point forward. Your point guard needs to be able to score in today's nba.

I reall like having Parsons and Aminu on the floor together. Mavs must make keeping Aminu a priority. If Brewer (Rockets) is a free agent the Mavs should also go after him. He never should have gotten away from Dallas.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by DGM

If Brewer (Rockets) is a free agent the Mavs should also go after him. He never should have gotten away from Dallas.

Well, letting him go did make space for Vince Carter, who was excellent off the bench for us.

[rimrocker]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Well, letting him go did make space for Vince Carter, who was excellent off the bench for us.

Agree but it does say a lot about Rick's unwillingness to play inexperienced players.
Brewer would have been better for the long term and would have helped with a youth movement. Hopefully the same mistake isn't made with Aminu...can't let him get away. That would be another huge hole that would need to be filled in the off-season along with starting PG, backup C and backup PF.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by rimrocker

Agree but it does say a lot about Rick's unwillingness to play inexperienced players.

I actually think it had a lot more to do with the FO's win-now mentality than Rick's unwillingness to play young players. It's a lot easier to depend on veterans than inexperienced guys, especially when you're talking about a future HOFer like Vince Carter (even though he'd lost a step or two).

[Wang Zhi Zhi]

Originally Posted by DGM

I brought up Monta at pg a few weeks back and recieved all kind of posts why it would'nt work. Monta is a willing passer. I don't see him as a greedy scorer. He did what he had to do this year because of the lack of other scoring options. I think it would work very well because Parsons can also run the offense as a point forward. Your point guard needs to be able to score in today's nba. . . .

I've come around to this view. Yeah, in theory, it would be better to get a great point guard who has the shooting and defensive skills that fit next to Monta at the 2. Only problem is that very few, if any, of those guys exist and are available. Much easier (and more cap-friendly) to get a 2 that fits well next to Monta.

As noted, tons of today's PGs are scorers, and most of our O runs through Monta anyway (or it did pre-RR). So while conceptually Monta at the 1 may be objectionable, it's better than the alternative at this point.