Rhylan & Sike's No-Mike-James Happy Dance Thread

[capitalcity]

Steve Cash is teh suck.

[Dirkenstien]

Yes! This situation played out perfectly. We didn't sign James (thank god) and Houston misses out on a player that could improve their team. It couldn't have played out more beautifully.

[Rhylan]

And Mike James & Ricky Davis are going to make a tremendous... tremendous, I tell you... backcourt duo. Guards of the future. Cornerstones of the franchise for years to come.

Two guys who are ALL about team and winning, right there. And KG will yell a lot when he dunks, and make mean faces.

Minny is a team to be reckoned with, now. A team of pure warriors.

[sike]

Originally Posted by Rhylan

And Mike James & Ricky Davis are going to make a tremendous... tremendous, I tell you... backcourt duo. Guards of the future. Cornerstones of the franchise for years to come.

Two guys who are ALL about team and winning, right there. And KG will yell a lot when he dunks, and make mean faces.

Minny is a team to be reckoned with, now. A team of pure warriors.

I love you.

[Flacolaco]

Originally Posted by Rhylan

Two guys who are ALL about team and winning, right there. And KG will yell a lot when he dunks, and make mean faces.

If he makes a mean face, he might get whistled for fouling Dwyane Wade

[sike]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

If he makes a mean face, he might get whistled for fouling Dwyane Wade

nah...he's KG. Along with he, Kobe, Timmy, Bronbron, and now Dwyane....they cancel each other out

[jleefilled]

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

Yes! This situation played out perfectly. We didn't sign James (thank god) and Houston misses out on a player that could improve their team. It couldn't have played out more beautifully.

Good point, that is, if the Mavs are truly better off without James. : )

[chumdawg]

What the hell. I'll pour some gas on these flames.

In honor of the great warrior Mike James, an ode by the inimitable Denton band Centro-Matic, titled "Huge in Every City":

You're stalling rhythm, stopping at the open fade
Pulling out the portamento, the singer's led astray.
You're calling up the song committee, but your number's been delayed
You said you're huge in every city, but not this one today.

It's called cutting corners, arriving by the easy way
You sabotage the useless beauty and kick it out to stay.
This artificial presentation - hold it for another day
You say you're huge in every city, but not this one today.

Stop now! We're getting out!

Still stalling rhythm, you're overrated, overpayed
Holding back the information, hold it back some way.
You say it's not what you expected, expenditures in every way
Said you're huge in every city, but not this one today.

[kriD]

By losing James, Mavs still win

Acquiring talented guard could have created bad ripple effect

[By David Moore / The Dallas Morning News]

The Mavericks failed to get their man.

That's not a bad thing. Losing Mike James to Minnesota should actually work to the team's benefit.

For those of you wondering, my brain has not been baked by the hot Texas sun. That normally doesn't occur until early August.

It's not a matter of thinking that Greg Buckner, the player the Mavericks rushed to sign Wednesday, is better than James. It's not even close. When you take ability, age and competitive drive into account, James was the top guard on the free-agent market.

So how can the Mavericks be better off? Because an individual's intensity, intangibles and a 3-point shot don't automatically trump team chemistry.

James would have threatened the development of Devin Harris and the status of Jerry Stackhouse. He would have given the Mavericks another hard-nosed player who coach Avery Johnson craves, but at what price?

James wasn't drafted coming out of college. He played in Austria, France and the Continental Basketball Association before ever setting foot in the NBA. He played for six teams in his first five years in the league.

James blossomed into a starter for Toronto last season, averaging 20.3 points and 5.8 assists. Players who fight that hard and come that far are reluctant to give up a starting job to move to another team's bench, even if that team has a shot to win the championship. James would have come to Dallas expecting to start next to Jason Terry.

And what would that have done to Harris?

The Mavericks gathered at American Airlines Center two days after losing to Miami to clean out their lockers and meet with Johnson before evaporating into the off-season. Harris emerged to say he and Johnson spent more time looking back than looking forward. When asked about his role in 2006-07, he responded, "You can only be held back so long."

Harris will be entering his third season. It's clear he expects to start, and the Mavericks need to see if he can handle the job. The club must determine if he's the point guard of the future or a one-note, high-speed asset who is better off the bench.

Can Harris expand his game and run the team? Can his wiry frame withstand a starter's minutes? The answer to these questions would likely have been delayed if James was on the roster.

Don't get me wrong. Next season is about winning a title, not nurturing the ego of a young player. But how would Harris react to coming off the bench again? Would that interfere with him and the Mavericks reaching their potential?

Yes.

Take this in another direction. Let's say the Mavericks started Harris and brought James off the bench. Ignore for a moment the obvious frustration James would have felt. How would Stackhouse respond?

Stackhouse has embraced his sixth-man role in a way many around the league never thought possible. Suddenly, James is there to take his minutes. James is there to provide the same edge and leadership that Stackhouse does now.

Add James, and you take away Stackhouse's identity on the Mavericks.

Stackhouse is a proud man who has sacrificed for the sake of the team. Ask him to sacrifice even more, and it would not have gone well.

Stackhouse was willing to come off the bench behind Adrian Griffin because he knew what Johnson wanted to do defensively. He will accept coming off the bench behind Harris.

He would not have been happy coming off the bench behind James.

I understand why the club wanted James. I just never understood how it was going to work. Now we don't have to find out.

I'd argue that's for the best.

[dude1394]

Pride, ego, yadda, yadda, yadda...

This team is starting to sound like a bunch of whiney asses about to explode because their ego isn't getting stroked.

There is only one guy on this team and that's the german..you can probably add jason/josh to that mix...for all the rest of youse guys...

Consider yourself lucky and if you can beat the other guy out then do it or shut the blank up.

[Drbio]

David Moore is assuming a whole lot of facts not in evidence. To the contrary I would argue his assumptions are idiotic. What a crappy piece of dung of an article.

[sike]

Harris emerged to say he and Johnson spent more time looking back than looking forward. When asked about his role in 2006-07, he responded, "You can only be held back so long."

interesting...I'd like to think you would only hear this outta Devin if he had gotten to go ahead from AJ about his role next season...

I hope that Moore is right about Devin starting...but I could see it Buck starting just as easily. But I'd give AJ even more props for being willing to go with a Harris/JT/JHo/Dirk/Diop line...at least to start the season....

[GP]

I think if Devin wants to start it is entirely up to him. All he has to do is work hard over the summer and demonstrate significant improvement during training camp. He has to make it a no brainer decision by Avery. It wouldn't have mattered who they signed. The fact of the matter is that it has been up to Devin since he was drafted. He has all the physical tools anybody ever could want.

[Drbio]

We all can agree that Devin has the necc physical tools. However, a sad fact of sports is that a good mind is needed to operate those tools. Devin makes a ton of mistakes that set Avery off. Time might help that, but what Devin needs to do is bone up his mental game. His physical skills are fairly solid.

[sike]

Originally Posted by Drbio

We all can agree that Devin has the necc physical tools. However, a sad fact of sports is that a good mind is needed to operate those tools. Devin makes a ton of mistakes that set Avery off. Time might help that, but what Devin needs to do is bone up his mental game. His physical skills are fairly solid.

and yet last season AJ said DH was his most understanding player(not a quote..but the idea is the same)...I'm sure that AJ would now say that about Stack...but we all know he would only say this because Stack is carring his love child.

[Rhylan]

Bump.

I am just calling "scoreboard" on some old threads I started.

Scoreboard, 1 of 2.

[G-Man]

Did anyone, at anytime during this season ever mutter the phrase, " damn, too bad we didn't get Mike James?" Even with both George and Buckner injured, the thought of James never even crossed my mind.

I always suspected the Mavs didn't want James so much as they wanted to shock Devin into living up to his potential. At least it did have that effect.

DH is working great as a part time starter, Avery let the season show him he can't start against big guards. His jump shot isn't where it needs to be, but his decision making on passes, and increased ability to finish at the rim almost make up for it. If the shots ever start to fall, will ESPN ever give him the BJ's they bestow on Leandro?

[dude1394]

I think they wanted james, I can't believe they would have been that elaborate if they didn't. That being said our PG position has reverted completely back to last years PG position.

I think the mavs dodged a bullet there because they thought Jason could play off the ball better than he did.

[Rhylan]

Bump.

[Scoobay]

classic! amazing all these old threads that come back to life - it's like living it all over again.

[sike]

Originally Posted by Scoobay

it's like living it all over again.

"Living again", you say?

I wish we could bump a thread from 1998...that was a good year for me.