Great roster analysis

[MavsFanFinley]

I just have to ask--maybe I missed something. Najera is a guard? Good article, I think, except for that little blunder.


Mavericks roster analysis
05/16/2001

By Jodie Valade / The Dallas Morning News

GUARDS

Strengths: The strength of the team is its versatile guard play. Michael Finley can play shooting guard (his natural position) or small forward. Greg Buckner is a gritty shooting guard who is big and strong enough to defend power forwards. Eduardo Najera brings boundless energy. And Steve Nash is a creative sparkplug, the driving force behind the success of the Mavericks. Finley and Nash make up half of the Mavericks' Big Four – and are two of the most important elements of the team. Finley creates more open shots – for himself and others – than anyone else on the team. Nash's penetration is what makes the Mavericks' offense work, and his physics-defying layups are amazing when they fall.

Weaknesses: The lack of a true backup shooting guard leaves Michael Finley playing too many minutes. Howard Eisley hit a monstrous slump that spanned months at the end of the season. If the team determines he's not the reliable backup point guard it had hoped for, it has to somehow unload his rather hefty contract. Nash gets dinged up too often to go without a trusted backup. Finley still needs better ball-handling, and Buckner needs better finishing around the basket. Najera needs to improve his outside shooting if he's going to steal more minutes.

Comments: The Mavericks will pick up Najera's contract for another year, and Maxwell is likely to be gone. They still need a backup shooting guard, preferably a veteran, more than anything else. Nash needs rest more than any amount of work this summer. Finley would be foolish not to re-sign with the Mavericks, where he is the centerpiece and where he will be pampered ridiculously by Mark Cuban.


2000-01
Name Age Salary Contract status
Greg Buckner 24 $1.1 mil Through 2001-02
Howard Eisley 28 $4.25 mil Through 2006-07
Michael Finley 28 $8.4 mil Player option for free agency
Eduardo Najera 24 $320,000 Club option for 2001-02
Steve Nash 27 $5.5 mil Through 2003-04
Vernon Maxwell 35 $294,000 Unrestricted free agent

FORWARDS

Strengths: Again, versatility is the key here – as it is for the entire Mavericks team. Dirk Nowitzki is the team's next All-Star, and he can play everything from small forward to center comfortably. His 42-point, 18-rebound performance in Game 5 against the Spurs was just a sign of the dominance that is to come from this 22-year-old. Juwan Howard is a tough low-post presence the Mavericks needed. And Wang Zhizhi is intriguing – but won't be able to contribute much since he'll miss all of training camp and the first month of the season while he competes for China.

Weaknesses: Howard was supposed to provide a low-post scoring threat as a fourth option, but he's still just the team's fourth option. His turnaround jumper wasn't reliable in the playoffs against big-man opponents, and it needs to be if the Mavericks are to contend in the West. Donnell Harvey is still years away from contributing; he's too erratic and too unreliable. The Mavericks still need a dominating inside force. But then again, so does every team outside of the Lakers and the Spurs.

Comment: Expect Mark Bryant and Obinna Ekezie to be gone – unless the Mavericks decide to hang on to the veteran and savvy Bryant for insurance. Trent is sign-and-trade bait; the Mavericks can't find room for him, and he clearly is not happy at the end of the bench. The Mavericks still lack a powerful inside presence, or even a versatile swingman who can complement Nowitzki.


2000-01
Name Age Salary Contract status
Mark Bryant 36 $830,000 Unrestricted free agent
Obinna Ekezie 25 $336,000 Unrestricted free agent
Donnell Harvey 20 $860,000 Through 2003-04
Juwan Howard 28 $16.9 mil Through 2002-03
Dirk Nowitzki 22 $1.69 mil Through 2001-02
Gary Trent 26 $2.4 mil Unrestricted free agent
Wang Zhizhi 23 $320,000 Through 2001-02


CENTERS

Strengths: Long and lanky, this center pair was made for the new illegal-defense-less rules the NBA will institute next season. Shawn Bradley and Calvin Booth both are shot-blocking specialists who will be allowed to lurk around the basket more than ever next season, disrupting more shots than ever. Booth has bunches of untapped talent, including scoring abilities, that the Mavericks are excited about.

Weaknesses: Bradley will never be a scorer, and the Mavericks don't want him to be. But they should want someone inside who can score and battle the likes of Shaquille O'Neal. To be able to compete for a championship, they need someone to combat other big men.

Comments: Bradley has made no secret about his desire to return to the Mavericks, and the Mavericks have not been shy about praising the 7-6 defensively disruptive force. Lots of teams like Booth, but it's hard to imagine him getting a much better situation than what he has in Dallas – and it would take a fairly substantial gamble of a contract to better what the Mavericks can offer under the salary cap. Expect both to return, but fans should hope for more help here.


2000-01
Name Age Salary Contract status
Calvin Booth 23 $424,000 Restricted free agent
Shawn Bradley 29 8.37 mil Unrestricted free agent


MANAGEMENT

Strengths: Unlimited money, unlimited perks – this has to be the most generous front office in the league. Players in the NBA are noticing all the well-cushioned chairs and the postgame buffets. They like the free-wheeling offense and the harmonious locker room. Don Nelson and Mark Cuban have put together a group of good players who like each other and actually get along – a rarity in the league.

Weaknesses: Too many fines from a certain top management position has created a lot of friction between the league office and the Mavericks. Over-involvement might be the biggest weakness, but that's probably better than the alternative. The Mavericks have to know when to stop tinkering with their roster, too, and just let the players play. They're not there yet, but they have to recognize when they reach that point.

Comments: Nelson needs to do some of his creative wheeling-and-dealing to get that final piece that will move the Mavericks to the next level. Cuban needs to get across his message that NBA officiating needs attention – without disrupting his team with too much sideline action.

[djb]

I REALLY want to see Antonio Davis in a Mavs uni..a trade involving a newly re-signed Trent, Eisley, Wang, and cash might be do-able [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[erub]

but i like my Wang!

[Murphy3]

not a bad analysis, i've never liked the person that wrote it much though, not a very good sports writer in general

[Hales233]

"a ridiculously pampered Finley"....what a bitch

[Murphy3]

well, i wouldn't go that far.

and i would disagree when velade said that finley creates more open shots than anyone on this team,

velade didn't seem to mention any weaknesses in dirk's or finley's game and we all know that both have weaknesses that they need to work on.

[TheKid]

Yes he did, he mentioned the major one all of us have been talking about. Ball handling. Great analysis I thought myself. DJ, that would be AWESOME to get Davis in here. I really can't see Toronto letting him go, but to be honest, I would be willing with party of Booth or Bradley for him. I know I'm going to get hammered for saying that but the guy is GREAT!

[Murphy3]

to get something in return, the mavs will have to give something up.
i would love to see the guy here as well.
at first, i thought juwan would be the inside presence the mavs needed,but it's obvious that that isn't the case.
get someone in here.

sorry thekid, i skipped over that. thanks for pointing my mistake out

[Big Boy Laroux]

Antonio Davis would be a great addition. That's why i was so bummed about etan never playing. I seriously think he'll be the next antonio (not dominating, but a strong force).

but i also like jerome williams. that guy is a rebounding machine. and we need rebounding.

[Murphy3]

i wish harvey was a couple of years older, he might be that type of player in the future. might!

well, the mavs need someone in here. i don't know what etan will do in the future, but it looks like the mavs future has sprung upon us quicker than i thought it would

[The Crippler]

I agree Murph...Jody Valade is a hack. She doesn't know crap about basketball.

[Big Boy Laroux]

yeah, i was sad to see L8 and etan go, but etan really wasn't doing anything for us in a suit. but i have a feeling he'll be a decent player in this league.

i've heard that harvey will be of the rodman mold. that would be nice.

[Murphy3]

personally, i know laettner wasn't as good as howard, but i thought howard would do as much harm as good to the mavs team.
i don't know. laettner was a guy that knew his role, accepted it, could play some defense, could definitely shoot and pass the ball. personally, i liked the idea of having laettner here so the mavs could make an off season deal to bring someone into that position at power forward.
bring a big body in, a antonio davis or somesuch.
but, it didn't work out that way.
the mavs could have been developing harvey and thomas, maybe getting them ready to play the 4 spot.


and valade sucks, end of story

[TheKid]

I still can't quite figure out why the Mavs were so insistent on putting Laetner at center instead of at power forward where I'm sure he would have played much better?

[Big Boy Laroux]

i know thekid. he's always played better at the 4 (he was an all-star in atlanta at the 4). maybe it was because we had no backup center if both he and bradley started, so if they got in foul trouble, uh-oh. plus, they kind of expected trent to do something...

L8 played well defensively against malone and the like. he's actually a wily veteran (never thought i would say that...).

[MFFL]

L8 wasn't a center, but Bradley can't play enough minutes to get by with a Bryant as a backup. We had to have a co-starter and L8 was the only man for the barrel.

[Big Boy Laroux]

we didn't even have bryant at the beginning of the season, so we actually had no backup.

[TheKid]

We could have picked someone up off of wires or something. Also, we should have suited up ETAN. I just think we had something with Laettner, NOW that I've seen what Juwan has given us.

I think the problem with Juwan is he's not comfortable being a fourth option and Laettner was more accepting of that role. That's why I think he's more suitable for us than Juwan.

[TheKid]

Oh my god. I just checked the Real GM sight. We had to pay Bill Curley this year and Terry Mills. They counted against our cap this year??? That's ridiculous!!!!! They didn't do squat for us while they were here, they should be paying us.

[Big Boy Laroux]

i guess if we really needed it, we could have thrown etan out there, hurt and all.

[djb]

Heh and I actually thought Mills would help us when we first acquired him!

[MFFL]

Etan wasn't going to play much this year. Nellie hates playing rookies. And when Etan missed training camp, he was so buried in the depth chart that he wasn't ever going to play this year - hurt or not.

[TheKid]

I know he doesn't but I figured he would have had to play them if Laettner was our only back up. I just think we lost out on something there. I really do.

By the way DJ, thanks for that Real GM sight.

[TheKid]

Also, earlier someone was saying we should try to get Kemp. NO WAY IN HELL!!! The guy is scheduled to make $21,000,000 dollars in 2003 and $25,000,000 in 2004! If we think we got screwed taking Juwan's we'd really get screwed if we got Kemp.

[MFFL]

Total agreement here Kid. At least Juwan TRIES and he's good chemistry-wise! Kemp is lazy and a cancer in the lockerroom.

[TheKid]

It's a shame too, early in his career he was GREAT I thought. Every since that last year in Seattle he hasn't been the same since. Actually he had one good year with Cleveland.

[TheKid]

Do you all think Tim Hardaway would sign for the exception next year with the Mavs as our backup. I don't see Miami resigning him and he's a free agent. That would make Eisley expendable, what do you all think of that?

[Big Boy Laroux]

whoaaaaaa... i would throw things at the tv every time he pulls up for that rainbow three.

[djb]

I'd rather have Spanky..err El-Amin playing backup to Nash. Don't forget Strick could also play the point if he's signed.

[TheKid]

Has Cuban been talking about getting Strick back. I think that would be GREAT if they could. He knows the offense, is a big guard who can play the point or the two. That would be awesome.

[djb]

I'd MUCH rather have Strick than Richmond.

[TheKid]

I think everyone would.

[MFFL]

Stick is not coming back. Nellie thinks his role on the team has been taken by Buckner.

[Big Boy Laroux]

bradley's not coming back?

you did say "stick" MFFL. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[MFFL]

My bad, Strick is not coming back. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

[Big Boy Laroux]

didn't nellie say that strick is too high on himself or something?

[The Crippler]

nellie said "been there, done that" in regards to strick. I think most of you guys really overvalue him. Sure, he played hard, but personally, I didn't like watching him. Buck and Najera give you the exact same things plus they are both bigger. Not to mention, being only a "decent" shooter, he sure liked to jack it up whenever.

[TheKid]

However neither of those guys can be a back up point guard though. That's the benefit of Strick. However he sure did like to shoot a lot though, although he was a scorer. I think he'd be as or more productive than Eisley.

[MFFL]

Strick would be a fine addition to the team if he would sign for the NBA mininum. I would prefer to use our exception for a scorer off the bench - not another defensive type.

[Murphy3]

i'd love to have strick on this team..but their are alot of players i'd love to have,
he probably doesn't have a role here.
with the salary exception, i don't know, maybe a banger would be better.

if howard is trying defensively and on the boards, the mavs are in alot of trouble at the 4 spot. i hope that this year wasn't all he had defensively and on the boards. laettner would be a better fit here, but with booth.