15th roster spot? - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

ReDIRKulous · 11-12-2003, 05:35 PM

Is Oakley still available? It sounds like he wants to be a Mav to me.

Is Oakley a cancer? Seems like if Jordan wants OAk on his team he must be worth something.

Also... Shaq is affraid of Oak. He could definately come in handy against the Lakers two bada$$es. Imagine him and Fortson tag teaming the Lakers. He actually has a decent shot too.

Oakley speaks out

The NBA, says Charles Oakley, is in trouble and he's just the man to fix it even if he is about to turn 40 any day now and has yet to sign on with a team that needs a rugged power forward to do the dirty work.

"You got teams in the NBA that are not trying to win," he said in the New York Daily News. "They don't know how to put together a team. You can't compete with five guys who need the ball. You need someone to do the little things. The NBA has become a league of talented high school and college players. It's supposed to be high-scoring, but no one can shoot. I don't see a powerhouse team. Sacramento has too much finesse. Dallas is the Harlem Globetrotters of the NBA. San Antonio almost got beat, but the Lakers missed that one shot. I can fit in with any team in the league. I'm not saying I'm a great player. But I could fill a role."

Maybe he can become a TV analyst in the future. Maybe he can become a coach. Maybe he should have taken the job offered by his former coach Jeff Van Gundy in Houston even if it meant going to training camp and becoming the last guy on the bench.

Either way, Oakley wants back in.

"I'm about 240," Oakley said of his weight. "There is still gas in the tank."

Eman · 11-12-2003, 05:43 PM

Who would you put on the IR for Oakley, Najera? Daniels? I want Daniels and Howard on the court at least in garbage time to develop. Maybe we put Eddie on IR. Oak could work in at center or PF.

ReDIRKulous · 11-12-2003, 05:50 PM

We should just do with Oak whatever we were going to do with Sabonis.

He is a feisty sucker... but like I said if Jordan wants him on the team you know he brings something good to the table. But then again... the Wiz self destructed and he might have been a contributor in that.

dirno2000 · 11-12-2003, 05:52 PM

He's just looking for one more check. He's got nothing left.

ReDIRKulous · 11-12-2003, 05:53 PM

I thought I saw him play some good games last season. I remember him actually winning a really good game. He got like 4 steals at the end of the game. It was amazing.

LRB · 11-12-2003, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Eman
Who would you put on the IR for Oakley, Najera? Daniels? I want Daniels and Howard on the court at least in garbage time to develop. Maybe we put Eddie on IR. Oak could work in at center or PF.

The potato would go on the IR.

jayC · 11-12-2003, 05:55 PM

Id rather leave that spot open for sabonis a guy that fills a need position. We have an overfill of powerforwards even if he was old oakley he wouldn't be a fit.

dirno2000 · 11-12-2003, 05:57 PM

Quote:

but like I said if Jordan wants him on the team you know he brings something good to the table

Jordan wanted him on the team for the same reason that he wanted Ewing to coach the team: he needed somebody to go out with.

Evilmav2 · 11-12-2003, 05:57 PM

No way. If we bring in anybody for the playoff 15th spot, it should be a Sabonis or a Smits.

LRB · 11-12-2003, 05:58 PM

If we could get Oakley for the vet minimum, without touching the MLE at all, I might consider bringing him on board. If Sabonis becomes available, we could cut Oakley and eat his salary. At the Minimum this wouldn't be that bad. Of Course if I was Nellie and Cubes, I'd want to see a try out to see just how much he has left in the tank. Might not even be worth our time.

ReDIRKulous · 11-12-2003, 06:08 PM

Quote:

If we could get Oakley for the vet minimum, without touching the MLE at all, I might consider bringing him on board. If Sabonis becomes available, we could cut Oakley and eat his salary. At the Minimum this wouldn't be that bad. Of Course if I was Nellie and Cubes, I'd want to see a try out to see just how much he has left in the tank. Might not even be worth our time.

That sounds like the perfect scenario LRB.

I agree... i would want Sabonis over Oakley too. But it doesn't look like he is coming. But if we could leave the door open for him that would be great.

kg_veteran · 11-12-2003, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Evilmav2
No way. If we bring in anybody for the playoff 15th spot, it should be a Sabonis or a Smits.

Agreed.

Chiwas · 11-12-2003, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Dallas is the Harlem Globetrotters of the NBA.

It seems not only the team improved, but also the descriptions.

I really LOL reading this.

But in its serious version, it reminded me of the beatiful play last night when Nash passed the ball over the head of Finley in a fast break, when Finley was running close to the free throw line; he jumped and tipped it outside to Dirk who scored.

ReDIRKulous · 11-12-2003, 06:27 PM

Here is the game I was thinking of:
ESPN recap

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a game that already had three players 39 or older, Washington Wizards coach Doug Collins dusted off one more fossil for the rough-and-tumble stretch run.

Oakley

Charles Oakley, who hadn't played since a brief appearance in the season opener, entered the game in the fourth quarter and became a defensive enforcer right up to the final buzzer, twice disrupting DeShawn Stevenson's potential game-tying shot in the Washington Wizards' 105-102 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.

"I'm old,'' said Oakley, who turns 39 next month, "but I still have a feel for the game. I'm a warrior. I want to play, and I just wait for my turn.''

Michael Jordan (age 39) scored 19 points, including back-to-back layups that gave the Wizards the lead for good. Jerry Stackhouse scored 25 points and went 14-for-14 from the free-throw line.

But it was Oakley who made the difference after the Wizards had blown a 21-point first-half lead. Utah led by five when Oakley got off the bench with 6:56 left -- to huge cheers from the crowd.

"I wanted somebody who was going to keep Karl Malone from just laying the ball in the basket, because he was having his way,'' Collins said. "I knew the minute Oak stood up it would rev up the crowd. I just hoped we would get good results. Sometimes you've got to gamble as a coach, and we were going south fast.''

There were two double technicals after Oakley entered. He didn't get either, but his presence had turned up the intensity. He also stole the ball from John Stockton (41 in March) to set up a layup for Jordan that put the Wizards up by five with two minutes left.

The Jazz cut it to three and had a chance to tie on their final possession, but Oakley twice knocked the ball out of Stevenson's hands at the 3-point arc. Stevenson never got off the shot.

"He brings toughness, and he's got the quickest hands in the NBA. Still,'' Collins said. "Did you see the last two plays he made? Like a cat.''

Jordan called Oakley his "Breakfast Club workout guy.''

"He's there in the morning,'' Jordan said. "He's been patiently waiting his chance. Tonight we needed him.''

Oakley's big finish overshadowed Bryon Russell's revenge night. Russell, who played nine seasons for the Jazz before leaving as a free agent this summer, scored 10 of his 16 points in his first game against his old team. He and Matt Harpring had one of the double technicals.

"Every time we play them, we're going to whip 'em,'' Russell said. "We're going to play hard. I'm going to make sure of that.''

Malone (also 39) scored 26 points, and Stockton had 17 points and 11 assists before fouling out in the final minute.

"We didn't have a lot of enthusiasm,'' Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "Just give me the ball and I'll do that instead of getting after people. ... Some guys look like they're trying to do us a favor if we ask them to run.''

Jordan made just 7 of 17 shots in 34 minutes. The Wizards went 36-for-39 from the free-throw line, although Tyronn Lue's two misses with 18.1 seconds were almost costly.

The Wizards built a big lead in a turnover-filled first half, but the Jazz closed the second quarter with a 19-6 run to trail 48-40. Washington had 11 turnovers at halftime, while Utah had 12, matching the number it had for the entire game in a victory at New York on Tuesday.

Stockton and Malone scored 16 of Utah's first 18 points to start the second half, and the Jazz took their first lead, 56-55, on Stockton's pull-up jumper with 6:29 left in the third.

Game notes
Collins got his 300th career victory. He is 300-246. ... The Wizards had lost seven straight to the Jazz. ... Stockton passed Robert Parrish (45,074) to move into sixth place all-time in minutes played. ... The Wizards' 32 first-quarter points were a season high. ... Scott Padgett had seven points and six rebounds in the fourth quarter for Utah. ... The Jazz are 1-2 on their five-game East Coast road trip.

_____________________________

Here is someone on the Wiz boards response when i asked about Oakley LOL

Quote:

He's garbage and I don't believe he would add anything to any team with dreams of championships, playoffs, lottery, profit, etc...

The one good game he had last year was towards the beginning of the year when Oakley single-handedly stopped the Utah Jazz from launching a 3-pointer to tie the game. Unfortunately, Doug Collins took that game and used it as a blueprint for the rest of the season, inserting Oakley (and Russell) to the end of every game, thinking the crafty old veterans would steal games. Of course that plan turned to crap and we lost most of those games anyways.

another quote from the same person

Quote:

If hustle and good defense means commiting a hard foul every single time down the court, then yes Oakley is your man.

But if you actually want to limit the fouls, bad passes and bad shots then I would look elsewhere. I'm sure you can find some other thug out there that actually is mobile and isn't as much of a liability.

Here is another persons response:

Quote:

I hated Russell but I always felt that Oakley, while not the most athletic guy on the court, hustled like mad and played pretty good defense in short bursts. he was always a good rebounder too although he is far from a great assett.

MavsFanatik33 · 11-12-2003, 06:34 PM

I really don't think we need him, and i don't think he'd be good in a Mavs uniform. Keep him in the east!

arsenalth9 · 11-12-2003, 06:37 PM

I think he could play if they let him use his walker. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

hes got nothing left

MavsFanatik33 · 11-12-2003, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: arsenalth9
I think he could play if they let him use his walker. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

hes got nothing left

Neither did Sabonis but he did alright in Portland last year...

ReDIRKulous · 11-12-2003, 06:44 PM

One thing that i like about Oak is that he has a ton of playoff savvy. He knows all those little tricks that guys use in playoff games. If he could teach those to our guys it would be great.

Misfit Mav · 11-12-2003, 07:07 PM

Quote:

"I'm about 240," Oakley said[/i]

I didn't realize he was that old. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

I do think he might be able to help out as a player/coach, sort of like AJ did last season. He could help teach guys how to box out since he was one of the best at it. But if Sabonis might be available, I'd keep the roster spot open.

Simon2 · 11-12-2003, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Dallas is the Harlem Globetrotters of the NBA.

I don't know if this quote is an insult or a compliment. Anyway, I would say no to Oakley. The toughness needs to come from inside and not from hired mercenaries.

Dirkenstien · 11-12-2003, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: LRB
If we could get Oakley for the vet minimum, without touching the MLE at all, I might consider bringing him on board. If Sabonis becomes available, we could cut Oakley and eat his salary. At the Minimum this wouldn't be that bad. Of Course if I was Nellie and Cubes, I'd want to see a try out to see just how much he has left in the tank. Might not even be worth our time.

I like this senario.

Perhaps L.A. may already be looking into acquiring him as well?

Dirkenstien · 11-12-2003, 07:31 PM

Shouldnt this thread be located on the Trade and Draft board considering it deals primarily with a hypothetical situation?

ReDIRKulous · 11-12-2003, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Dirkenstien
Shouldnt this thread be located on the Trade and Draft board considering it deals primarily with a hypothetical situation?

I changed it to the "15th roster spot" thread. I think this is relevant to the current Mavs not a trade or draft. But this way we don't have a new thread for every possible 15th roster spot guy.

LRB · 11-12-2003, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Dirkenstien
Shouldnt this thread be located on the Trade and Draft board considering it deals primarily with a hypothetical situation?

Right you are.

Rhylan · 11-12-2003, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Evilmav2
No way. If we bring in anybody for the playoff 15th spot, it should be a Sabonis or a Smits.

If Rik Smits ended up in a Mavs uni, I'd just about freak right out of my head in rapture.

jayC · 11-13-2003, 12:42 AM

Rick Smits inhis prime yeah but not now. As far as Oakley we have our hustle guys fortson and najera we don't need a cancer on top of a great team.

bogey · 11-13-2003, 01:05 AM

Smits has a degenerative disorder in his feet and will never play again in all likelihood.

Just say HELL NO to Oakley.

madape · 11-13-2003, 11:30 AM

This idiot should know when to quit.

It's just sad to see a broken down 40 year old with a Richord Pryor mustache sporting CORN ROWS and trying to break his way back in the NBA. Dude, you are DONE. Get a respectable haircut, plop your grandkids on your knees and tell them stories about the good ol' days with the Bulls.

It's absolutley disgraceful to see a man so desperately trying to hold on to his youth. Oakley is desperate, pathetic man.

Fah Q · 11-13-2003, 01:08 PM

I imagine he would tell them stories about the good old days about the knicks since he didn't have many good days with the Bulls, or atleast the Bulls didn't have many good days with him.

kingrex · 11-13-2003, 01:13 PM

I don't think he'd give us much, but it might be worth a try. If he sucks, then cut him. Don't sign him for a large amount of money, maybe the veteran minimum, make him earn it this year. With that incentive and the further motivation of proving everyone on the NBA wrong, he may prove me wrong too.