Sam Young (just taken)
DeJuan Blair (knee issue apparently)(Just taken)
Derrick Brown- gone
Nick Calathes
Marcus Thornton- gone
Dejuan Summers (just taken)
I'm sure the Mavs are identifying their perimeter shooting PF for 56 so that value list is not for the Mavs obviously. With 4 second round picks the next 2 years if the Mavs didn't/don't make a play for any of these guys, well, you know what I think...
DeJuan Blair to the Spurs. They've done their best to smite you tonight Junior while you stand in cement shoes...
Update1: Word just came down that houston bought Washington's second (#32)for straight up cash so clearly the mavs arent' interested in getting value here or one of these guys who could play in the rotation right away. Last year it cost 1.3mill plus 2 seconds to move into the early second. This year, not so much.
Update2: Brown and Thornton just taken; Calathes the only value pick left on the board.
Update3: Word has it that the Mavs traded their 56 pick and cash to MN for Calathes. It was the only thing the Mavs have gotten right on draft day. The kid will play in Greece for probably only 1 year and probably has a reasonable buyout. He made a big mistake not pulling his name out of the draft as he slid right out of the 1st round costing him a cool 750k I'm sure. In addition, I think an NBA team can only pay like 300k of a buyout and the rest comes out of the player's pocket. I'm sure he was smart enough to have a buyout clause under 300k.
I like this kid and he has the ceiling to be a starter but probably only on a team that has a couple of swingmen who are above average defensive players. The Mavs are not that team right now. However, he could also be a valuable combo guard, essentially being #3 in a guard rotation and could play alongside a smaller 2-guard like Jet or Barea. His main problem is his relative lack of athleticsm and defensive limitations. He is a heady pg with absolutely outstanding vision and passing ability who has a balanced offensive game as well. And he is only a sophomore to boot. So he will fit into a rotation once he comes over.
Update4: Apparently, we gave up Portland's 2010 second for Calathes not this year's pick so we keep Nivens. Nivens is a fundametally sound college post player with average athleticism, a terrific offensive rebounder, poor passer, good poster scorer, who added a little more finesse to his game this year including a mid-ranger jumper. His ability to defend his position in the nba is the main concern in addition to getting his shots off as he's not all that agile. Don't buy into Juniors annual hype when he calls him a "pj Brown" starter kit. This is a joke. PJ Brown could defend 2-3 positions well and Nivens will never be that guy. Ordinarily, I don't really care what planet a guy lives on, except, in this case, that guy is Junior, and he runs an 400Million$ nba franchise...
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I would have loved to see this team get an early second round pick and snag one of the Pitt forwards (which we apparently came close to doing). But I can't be too disappointed that we turned the 22 pick into three guys and what will probably be an early second round pick next year, especially because we got a guy in Calathes who I would have been okay with snagging at 22 to begin with. So RoBeau, Nivins and OKC's second rounder in 2010 are kind of gravy. This team needs to get some young assets as well as help themselves now, and I credit them for at least accomplishing one of those two things on draft night.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't disagree more I think. Getting "some guys" is not going to forestall this team missing the playoffs next year, especially given the improvements that the Spurs just made. The Spurs by the way, didnt just get "some guys" late in the draft but guys who will contribute this year (just like they did last year) - an opportunity the Mavs missed.
ReplyDeleteIf it is unclear where Junior has gone wrong the last 5-6 years, the Spurs offer a yearly vantage point from which to frame Junior's (and I will throw in Keith Grant as well who has been here for a decade and presided over some horrible personnel moves)ineptitude about how to build a championship team.
RoBo will never be a starting point guard in this league and may not even contribute as a backup for a couple years; he does not possess the requisite skills of a playmaker - he is a scoring guard. Nivens will be an NBDL guy for the next 2 years and never crack the rotation. Calathes might be ready to start - if he proves to be more than a backup - in 3 years.
None of these guys address any pressing needs on a team that only made the playoffs in the last 3 weeks of he seasdon. It would be a real shame if this team missed the playoffs and effectively wasted Dirk's last year here. They would have been better served dealing dirk before the draft as his value decreases with age. But then, that is all on mgmnt, and their inability to admit that they no longer have or can put together a championship-caliber team.
We'll know in short order - 7/1 in fact- if their failure to carry out an aggressive draft-day strategy will spell the end to the team as presently configured. If Kidd leaves, that's it; there is no getting another elite pg for the team. If Bass leaves, they will have another hole that can't be filled. If they match, they lose the MLE and can't get a swingman and are locked into a contract which undermines there flexibility in 2010. Finally, the fantasy that they hold out publicly of getting some elite swingman with what amounts to Stack's 5mill expiring is a joke.
Basically, everything had to go right during the draft (fail) and has to go right during the free agency period to field a team capable of winning a championship. A number of critical holes needed to be filled, actually, you can back date that to the trading deadline when they did absolutely nothing, missing an opportunity to knock off 1 or 2 holes. It almost cost them the playoffs IMO, the failure, once again, to get a swingman good enough to send Wright to the bench where he belongs.
They had the chance in this draft to shore up a # of areas and didn't do anything to knock off another couple of areas of need, that is, unless you buy their horribly atavistic explanation that RoBo is an elite NBA player because he runs fast, dribbles the ball even faster, and jumps really high. It has been both amusing and horrifying to listen to them fawning over RoBos lithe athletic body and acrobatic feats. Somehow, some way, I think that they forgot that the kid also has to run Pro offense down the line.
Basically, the Mavs are toast and I would be surprised if they make the playoffs next year.