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- Mar 3, 2006
I couldn't find the other thread for the life of me, but our off-season is done now. I had a suspicion we would sign all three of our rookies to deals once the draft rolled around, I just saw Crowder and James and thought these are two guys that we can develop right now.
I feel like this is kind of like a second-coming of our 2005 era squad. We had dudes like Devin Harris, Marquis Daniels, and Josh Howard really providing a spark for our team. Yes, the 2011 squad was much better, but there was an obvious youth movement back then, who we then turned into a championship squad. Traded a package around Josh Howard for Caron, Haywood, and Stevenson. Traded a package around Devin for Kidd.
We have all fifteen of our roster spots filled, and honestly, there's only about 2 guys on the roster who I don't really like. We got....
Darren Collison/Delonte West/Dominique Jones
OJ Mayo/Rodrigue Beaubois/Jared Cunningham
Shawn Marion/Vince Carter/Dahntay Jones
Dirk Nowitzki/Elton Brand/Jae Crowder
Chris Kaman/Bernard James/Brandan Wright
Cuban has made statements (as has Donnie Nelson) that they are definitely experimenting with this team, and if things work out, they are more than willing to sign some of these guys to extensions. It's quite a contrast to the attitude we've had the past two years, where the key was remaining flexible.
I'm so glad we brought back Delonte West and Brandan Wright. Both bring great attitude on the court (sans wet willy to Gordon Hayward
). Delonte isn't really a liability anywhere on the court, has a sweet jumper, can penetrate, and is a good one-on-one defender. Brandan Wright showed signs of greatness last year, working well against thinner Centers, and at times a shot-blocking machine.
In between the veteran young guys, Dominique Jones and Roddy Beaubois, I know SP isn't a believer in Dominique Jones, but I am. He might have the best court vision of anyone on the entire team. He's much bigger than Beaubois, about 30 pounds and 2 inches on him. Roddy is the better athlete, and probably the better shooter, but DoJo showed a great touch from outside in the summer league this year. I just feel like Dominique has the same ability to score the ball, but he can get to the line, and naturally has the instincts of a PG more than Roddy EVER will. They tried to develop him into a PG, but it just wasn't in his basketball make-up. A great spot-up shooter? Sure. But he isn't great at creating his own shot, and he can't create well for others.
As for our actual rookies, we ain't seen anything from Jared Cunningham yet, and maybe yall can fill me in with him, but man, Crowder and James are awesome. Bernard James, for someone who didn't play basketball until later in life, has some great IQ for the hand he was dealt. He has decent footwork, decent hands, and great size. He's Haywood who's much damn cheaper, healthier, and younger. And then you talk about Jae Crowder? Goddamn that guy is a worker, and he has an NBA-ready body if I've ever seen one. Dude looks like a damn football player.
The real interesting guys on the team will be the guys who we signed, traded for, or picked up on amnesty waivers. OJ Mayo, Darren Collison, Chris Kaman, and Elton Brand. OJ Mayo is the most intriguing guy to me. I thought he was going to be a star in the L. Collison is a great acquisition after he was playing so well last year. Kaman and Brand are a bit older, but with the depth we have in the young bigs (Wright, Crowder, and James), I think it may just work out. What I love about Kaman, is that he's the best post-scorer that's ever been in a Mavericks uniform. Elton Brand is also an excellent post-defender.
It'll be an interesting year, we could finish as high as a top 3-4 seed, or as low as 8-9 seed.
I feel like this is kind of like a second-coming of our 2005 era squad. We had dudes like Devin Harris, Marquis Daniels, and Josh Howard really providing a spark for our team. Yes, the 2011 squad was much better, but there was an obvious youth movement back then, who we then turned into a championship squad. Traded a package around Josh Howard for Caron, Haywood, and Stevenson. Traded a package around Devin for Kidd.
We have all fifteen of our roster spots filled, and honestly, there's only about 2 guys on the roster who I don't really like. We got....
Darren Collison/Delonte West/Dominique Jones
OJ Mayo/Rodrigue Beaubois/Jared Cunningham
Shawn Marion/Vince Carter/Dahntay Jones
Dirk Nowitzki/Elton Brand/Jae Crowder
Chris Kaman/Bernard James/Brandan Wright
Cuban has made statements (as has Donnie Nelson) that they are definitely experimenting with this team, and if things work out, they are more than willing to sign some of these guys to extensions. It's quite a contrast to the attitude we've had the past two years, where the key was remaining flexible.
I'm so glad we brought back Delonte West and Brandan Wright. Both bring great attitude on the court (sans wet willy to Gordon Hayward
). Delonte isn't really a liability anywhere on the court, has a sweet jumper, can penetrate, and is a good one-on-one defender. Brandan Wright showed signs of greatness last year, working well against thinner Centers, and at times a shot-blocking machine. In between the veteran young guys, Dominique Jones and Roddy Beaubois, I know SP isn't a believer in Dominique Jones, but I am. He might have the best court vision of anyone on the entire team. He's much bigger than Beaubois, about 30 pounds and 2 inches on him. Roddy is the better athlete, and probably the better shooter, but DoJo showed a great touch from outside in the summer league this year. I just feel like Dominique has the same ability to score the ball, but he can get to the line, and naturally has the instincts of a PG more than Roddy EVER will. They tried to develop him into a PG, but it just wasn't in his basketball make-up. A great spot-up shooter? Sure. But he isn't great at creating his own shot, and he can't create well for others.
As for our actual rookies, we ain't seen anything from Jared Cunningham yet, and maybe yall can fill me in with him, but man, Crowder and James are awesome. Bernard James, for someone who didn't play basketball until later in life, has some great IQ for the hand he was dealt. He has decent footwork, decent hands, and great size. He's Haywood who's much damn cheaper, healthier, and younger. And then you talk about Jae Crowder? Goddamn that guy is a worker, and he has an NBA-ready body if I've ever seen one. Dude looks like a damn football player.
The real interesting guys on the team will be the guys who we signed, traded for, or picked up on amnesty waivers. OJ Mayo, Darren Collison, Chris Kaman, and Elton Brand. OJ Mayo is the most intriguing guy to me. I thought he was going to be a star in the L. Collison is a great acquisition after he was playing so well last year. Kaman and Brand are a bit older, but with the depth we have in the young bigs (Wright, Crowder, and James), I think it may just work out. What I love about Kaman, is that he's the best post-scorer that's ever been in a Mavericks uniform. Elton Brand is also an excellent post-defender.
It'll be an interesting year, we could finish as high as a top 3-4 seed, or as low as 8-9 seed.
.
