Reasons to Chill Out

[nowhereman]

No one's going to like this right now, but I think we should simmer down. We could nuke it now, but I still think the Mavs can compete for a playoff spot next year and be poised for great things beyond next season.

#1 - Free Agency isn't even over yet - we have no idea what this team looks like next season yet. There's still some names out there that might serve well for a stopgap season. Look at this list and tell me that some of those guys couldn't help us out on the cheap: http://www.hoopsworld.com/2012-nba-free-agents

#2 - We still have Nowitzki - With Dirk, we're going to contend for the playoffs. With Dirk and the right mix of rollplayers, we can be a threat in the playoffs. Never count out #41.

#3 - We will still have Kidd, Marion, and West - Kidd is a basketball savant and will always be on a winning team, Marion was one of the best defenders in the NBA last season, and West was a godsend to this team. All will help the Mavs significantly next year.

#4 - The F.O. has been very creative in the past - I'm in massive disagreement with their strategy over the past couple of off-seasons, but they have more information than we do and can look for angles we can't. The Stack chip, the DUST chip, Lamar's contract, Haywood's future expiring - there's hidden values out there.

#5 - We still have flexibility- Cap Space and the Amnesty can't put on jerseys, but they're still assets. I'd much rather wait to use this wisely than do what BG has referenced, and become 2009 Detroit.

#6 - Maybe the young guys can play - Maybe one of the group of Crowder, Cunningham, or James can become a solid rotation player, or just maybe Roddy can actually take a meaningful step forward this summer. I'd be massively surprised... but that would help the team immensely.

#7 - Next Summer and Beyond - Beyond Dwight & Paul, there's a ton of really useful players out there to swing for - Bynum, Igoudala, Josh Smith, James Harden, Steph Curry, and others. With other teams brazenly flaunting the harsh CBA tax penalties, the Mavs may be uniquely positioned to choose amongst the best of them.

#8 - Deron Williams is an amazing player, but... I'm not sure he's a guy like Duncan, Kobe, Dirk, Shaq, Garnett, LeBron, Wade, Howard, Paul, or Rose, that can singlehandedly carry a franchise. His highest single-season PER is a 21.1, he's never been higher than 9th in MVP shares, and he needs some significant help around him to be competitive. If we're looking for the guy to carry the torch once Dirk leaves, I don't think Williams could do it by himself. It would be the Finley/Ceballos/Trent/Pack years.

Yes, it sucks that we're probably looking at another year in Dirk's closing window where the Mavs won't be legit contenders. And man, I am desperate to have Tyson back, and you know, maybe Brewer or Stevenson as well. But let's chill out a bit and look at the big picture. We can still field a pretty good team next year, and we are still in position for something greater beyond that.

/silver lining in a thunderstorm

[rabbitproof]

Yay, nowhereman.

I think you summed it all up though.

I still think luring the max free agent is not a winnable game but here's my contribution... Dwight hates Orlando so much and all the NY/LA/Miami teams are capped out that kicking 25M and joining Dallas looks alright!

[chumdawg]

Nicely done.

[adonis]

+1000


I can't believe some here are writing off Donnie and Mark's abilities. We transitioned from the Big 3 era to the J-How and JET era, and eventually to Kidd/Chandler era. The Mavs will never miss the playoffs as long as Dirk is still here and we have so much more flexibility than we did in the past.

[Ed99]

Cant get worser than now...
Depressing!!!

[xrobx]

#9: won championship

[Budapest Maverick]

I'm all right with our FO, they earned our patience. I also don't want them to throw out 3/40 contracts to players that worth much less, and we wouldn't won the championship with them anyway. Let's be realistic, once Deron was out of the picture, our championship hopes for the next season were probably gone as well. We already won it, let's not f**k up our "after Dirk" future now with terrible decisions.

[He15man]

Who knows, maybe by some miracle we get Dwight and for more than 1 season.

[Murphy3]

For some reason, re-upping with Kidd just doesn't do much for me as far as "chilling out" is concerned.

[oilfieldtrash]

10. Dirk is traded to a contender and said contender becomes my team to watch till Dirk retires.

[purplefrog]

As soon as I see a credible plan in place, I will chill out. I suspect the MBT has about forty-eight hours to unveil their intentions for a roster next season then we can all evaluate their strategy. I agree with your points, but am not optimistic that free agency this or next season will bring any fruit.

[Bayliss]

#1 - Free Agency isn't even over yet - we have no idea what this team looks like next season yet. There's still some names out there that might serve well for a stopgap season. Look at this list and tell me that some of those guys couldn't help us out on the cheap: http://www.hoopsworld.com/2012-nba-free-agents

And out of that group who do youk will be able to help the Mavs out on the cheap?

#2 - We still have Nowitzki - With Dirk, we're going to contend for the playoffs. With Dirk and the right mix of rollplayers, we can be a threat in the playoffs. Never count out #41.

Next year reminds me of the 08-09 season when Dirk was playing with Antoine Wright, Ryan Hollins, Singleton, etc. With the way things look Dirk's going to have to be the Mavs SG as well.

#3 - We will still have Kidd, Marion, and West - Kidd is a basketball savant and will always be on a winning team, Marion was one of the best defenders in the NBA last season, and West was a godsend to this team. All will help the Mavs significantly next year.

Kidd is done. Marion is great defensively but offensively he is done too. And West is okay on both sides of the ball.

#4 - The F.O. has been very creative in the past - I'm in massive disagreement with their strategy over the past couple of off-seasons, but they have more information than we do and can look for angles we can't. The Stack chip, the DUST chip, Lamar's contract, Haywood's future expiring - there's hidden values out there.

All they have is 5 TEs. And they can't be packaged with anything.

#5 - We still have flexibility- Cap Space and the Amnesty can't put on jerseys, but they're still assets. I'd much rather wait to use this wisely than do what BG has referenced, and become 2009 Detroit.

Well 2009 Detroit is better than 2011 Houston.

#6 - Maybe the young guys can play - Maybe one of the group of Crowder, Cunningham, or James can become a solid rotation player, or just maybe Roddy can actually take a meaningful step forward this summer. I'd be massively surprised... but that would help the team immensely.

I think the young guys the Mavs drafted can play. Cunningham (IMO) will become a good player. Crowder and James can be solid pros.

#7 - Next Summer and Beyond - Beyond Dwight & Paul, there's a ton of really useful players out there to swing for - Bynum, Igoudala, Josh Smith, James Harden, Steph Curry, and others. With other teams brazenly flaunting the harsh CBA tax penalties, the Mavs may be uniquely positioned to choose amongst the best of them.

Steph Curry is restricted. Bynum AINT going to leave LA for Dallas. James Harden is going to get the max from someone (Toronto or team similar), Iggy will be traded long before he gets to be a free agent, and Atlnata is going to build around Smith somewhat since they just blew up their team.

#8 - Deron Williams is an amazing player, but... I'm not sure he's a guy like Duncan, Kobe, Dirk, Shaq, Garnett, LeBron, Wade, Howard, Paul, or Rose, that can singlehandedly carry a franchise. His highest single-season PER is a 21.1, he's never been higher than 9th in MVP shares, and he needs some significant help around him to be competitive. If we're looking for the guy to carry the torch once Dirk leaves, I don't think Williams could do it by himself. It would be the Finley/Ceballos/Trent/Pack years.

Perhaps.but having Dirk and Deron meant they could maybe swing a trade here or there to get other pieces next to him in the future.

[Murphy3]

I think Harden has already said that he'll take less to stay in OKC.

[nowhereman]

The signing period isn't even open for a few more days, and then the trade window will be even longer. With all these new draftees, with Roddy finally getting a summer and full camp with the team, and with whomever the Mavs bring in, we're not going to know what we have for a while. Let's not freak out too hard. We'll have Dirk, Trix, Kidd, and West, and possibly Haywood who until we brought in Chandler was 'the best Center in the history of the Mavericks.' We'll have Carlisle, by many accounts one of the three best coaches in the NBA, at the helm. I fully expect that unless the FO does nothing between now and October, we'll be competitive, we'll have flexibility, and we might strike gold.

But it's July 5th. Let's see how this all plays out.

[Murphy3]

I personally do not think that Haywood was the best center in Mavs history prior to Chandler. I'd definitely go with Donaldson ahead of him.. It would be close between Bradley, Dampier and Haywood I suppose. I know that Bradley catches alot of crap for his time here in Dallas, but he was a pretty good center early in his Mavs career.

[nowhereman]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

I don't think Haywood was the best center in Mavs history prior to Chandler... No, this team hasn't been loaded at center, but I don't think it's hard to come up with better centers than Haywood.

I don't think he was either, but back in February 2010 that line was going around quite a bit. I used that line ironically every time I was pissed at Haywood in a GDT last season, but the dude is an adequate post defender, above average rebounder, and a solid body down low. He doesn't live up to his contract, but he still has value. It does speak volumes that the Mavs remained an above average defensive team last season.

And Bayliss, I suspect you're right about the 2008-09 Mavs as an aspirational goal for this team. But I had a lot of fun cheering for that team, except for when Cuban threatened to fire everyone. Down the stretch, with those victories against Utah, Phoenix, and New Orleans, to get to 50 wins, and then to crush SA in the playoffs, I thought that team had a legit WCF shot. I know that's not where we want to be with Dirk down to a couple of years on his contract, but if this team can make some noise in the playoffs and be optimally positioned for next summer, I think I take it. It could be no worse than a repeat of last season.

[rabbitproof]

#11 We shouldn't make a trade as bad as the Odom trade for a long time.

[BGMaverick9]

Originally Posted by rabbitproof

#11 We shouldn't make a trade as bad as the Odom trade for a long time.

They definitely won't use Odom as an example to make them change their ways when it comes to looking at exceptions like what they had then and have now.

The trade, itself, was not bad. It was an move to strike as things were breaking down and the Lakers needed to unload. The problem is Odom wasn't willing to really give it a go. The team knew that was an issue going into to and they believed they could get him in gear based on the culture, veteran leadership and etc.

[saclare]

Originally Posted by BGMaverick9

They definitely won't use Odom as an example to make them change their ways when it comes to looking at exceptions like what they had then and have now.

The trade, itself, was not bad. It was an move to strike as things were breaking down and the Lakers needed to unload. The problem is Odom wasn't willing to really give it a go. The team knew that was an issue going into to and they believed they could get him in gear based on the culture, veteran leadership and etc.

This. The trade was great at the time. I don't think anyone, either on this forum or professionally thought this was going to end up being as bad as it did. I liked Odom and thought he was an awesome pickup, but my thoughts for Odom have been forever changed. Pretty crappy how he conducted himself as a person, much less a player, this year. No respect.

[rabbitproof]

Originally Posted by BGMaverick9

They definitely won't use Odom as an example to make them change their ways when it comes to looking at exceptions like what they had then and have now.

The trade, itself, was not bad. It was an move to strike as things were breaking down and the Lakers needed to unload. The problem is Odom wasn't willing to really give it a go. The team knew that was an issue going into to and they believed they could get him in gear based on the culture, veteran leadership and etc.

Although I do think they do a little over-hedging on veteran leadership/culture, it was great on paper, but in the find reasons to be chill thread, the odds of making such an abysmal fail of fail of fails trade again are pretty low, so that's a positive.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

I think Harden has already said that he'll take less to stay in OKC.

This is the beauty of the spurs model. Once a player gets to a team, the fandom, community of the less cosmopolitan towns kick in. Harden, durant and Westbrook will probably all take less to stay. This is what the cba was about, why the Mavs think capspace is going to trump the hometown advantages is beyond me.

[Underdog]

#12




#13





Don't worry, the front office has this sh!t under control... And don't do drugs, kids.