The Dallas Mavericks are a much different team than compared to their Championship season. A much older and average team at best. If this roster was put together six or seven years ago they would be the top team in the West. But guys like Dirk, Vince, Marion and Brand are way passed their prime. It’s time to start over and build around O.J Mayo and Darren Collison.
Lets face it Mavs fans, Dwight Howard isn’t going to leave Los Angeles. Once Kobe retires he will be the face of the most popular franchise in the NBA. He will not pass that up. It’s time to focus on other possible trades, signings or kids to draft next season.
It’s time to trade Dirk. Last season was his worst year since the 1999-2000 season when he was a sophomore. He took a major step back in every aspect of his game. His shooting, rebounding, athleticism and defense all diminished last season. His career averages are 23 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1 block and 1 steal in 36 minutes a game. His season averages last year were all below his career average. He averaged just 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2 assists, less than 1 block and less than 1 steal in 33 minutes a game. His shooting averages also took a dip. At 34 years old his best years are behind him, but he still has a lot of value. Trade him to a contender who needs a 20 point a game scorer for younger players and draft picks.
The Mavericks should also attempt to try and trade Vince Carter. At 35 years old he’s just completely washed up. His career average is 21 points a game. Last season he averaged less than half of that at just 10 points a game. If you can’t get anything out of him you should just cut him.
Shawn Marion also took a step back. Last season was his worst year of his career since his rookie season. Get anything you can out of him. If not, let him go.
Elton Brand took a major step back as well. Posting career low averages all across the board. I’m still not totally sure why he was signed. Maybe Cuban actually thinks this team can be a contender. Or maybe he thought he still had a chance to get Dwight. Either way Brand would be a good backup on a contending team. Using him on an average or below average team would be meaningless.
Chris Kaman had a decent season last year. He’s a solid center, and at 30 years old he still has a few more good years out of him. If Cuban thinks this team can get back to the top quickly i think he should keep him around. If not, he should trade him to a contender. A lot of teams could use his services at his position. They may even give up some youth or draft picks for him.
With all that said, the Mavericks did do a great job in landing O.J Mayo and Darren Collison. They have the potential to be a top backcourt in the NBA. Mayo has star potential written all over him. Mavericks fans will grow to love these kids, but not their record in the 2012-2013 season.
The Mavericks are a 7th or 8th seed at best in the Western Conference. Even if they do make it to the playoffs they will be bounced out quickly in the first-round. Mediocrity is not where you want to be if your a professional franchise. If you’re not good enough to contend and you’re not good enough to get a top draft pick, you’re in the NBA’s version of the black hole. Only way to get out of this mess is to blow it up.
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Kinda hard to trade Dirk since he has a full no trade claus in his contract and the front office has went on record saying Dirk is “A Mav For Life” While you state Dirk’s game wasn’t as great isn’t because of his “past his prime” reasons as you state….he clearly stated last fall that he didn’t even pick up a basketball in the offseason, so before we start with the idiotic knee jerk reactions of another “trade dirk” article, let’s at least come to some reasoning behind the stuff you actually write
I understand that Dirk has a no trade clause. Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t waive for a team that is going to acttually contend for a championship. You’re acting like it’s okay that Dirk didn’t pick up a basketball in the offseason. He wona championship and clearly showed that’s all he cared about and that next season meant nothing to him. That shows a lack of heart. You don’t see Kobe, LeBron or other superstar players doing that, do you? I’m pretty sure me having this job shows how much i’m not idiotic at all. Come to a reasoning? I’m pretty sure i stated my reasonig. He’s a 34 year old man passed his prime who already got what he wanted and is satisfied with it. He’s not a number one guy anymore. If you trade him to a team where he’s a second or third option that could help him. But after showing his lack of effort for an entire season i doubt that will happen.
The phrase past their prime is used very loosely in this article.. I will only speak to the three “older players” that have actually logged minutes as a Dallas maverick. 1st Dirk, Dirk easily has the best scoring one move in the NBA virtually(Lamarcus Aldridge)unstoppable. Him not picking up a basketball after winning a championship has more to do with getting older then lack of heart. C’mon the man is 7 foot tall and just doesn’t roam the paint all game like others at his size. So for a 7 foot player that has played almost every game of every season and the face of his country’s FIBA team Dirk was probably encouraged to take it easy from basketball for a couple of months esp pending another exhausting Olympics this summer. For a player to still average over 21 points and defenders know what he’s doing everytime puts Dirk as one of the best offense talents in the NBA today. 2. Vince Carter, of course Vincesanity isn’t as athletic as he used to be and you seldom see him parading down the court after just dunking on some of the best big and little men in the NBA. However he’s turned himself into a above average shooter hovering around 41 percent from the 3.. Yes people will argue his FG percentage is dropping however this only due to him not being able to pound the ball down low anymore for layups and dunks. VC has also been a gritty defender for the Mavs esp playing as a undersized SF he’s guarding the best/deepest position in the NBA. Lastly Shawn Marion. Marion has always been a awkward player but his defense has always been whats made him a great SF. Last season Marion should have got a lot more praise for his defense ill even say should have won the defensive player award. Dallas had no other defenders last year, not on the wing or inside at any point. Marion much like Lebron was able to come in a guard virtually every position. And his hustle has never diminished he still runs the floor every play and hits a occasional ugly looking 3 pointer. Breaking up this team makes no sense to me at least until you see how they play. Dallas had a amazing summer league Crowder was having 20 point games Bernard double doubles and DOJO had a 40+ point game. And plz stop giving Tyson Chandler so much credit for Dallas’s championship. The biggest part to us Winning that championship aside from Dirk was JJ Barea. His speed made him a ridiculous finisher at the rim and our spacing opened up all kinds of threes for Peja,Jet,Dirk,and even kidd. So im confident in Dallas’s acquisitions this off season. Darren Collison is the same style player as JJ with better passing better speed and proven starter stats. add dojo we have to players that can attack the basket anytime at 1 position. instead of Peja we have OJ mayo 10 times more mobile and can deff heat up with the change of scenery and the attention around Dirk. Chris Kaman and Elton Brand. I would almost rather see us start a undersized Elton Brand at center and let Kaman stay healthy until either after the allstar break or post season. Kaman is HUGE if he can stay healthy he’s basicaly ambidextrous around the rim and can hit jump shots from past the free throw line a great tool for stretching the floor. Kaman was a allstar at one point in his carrer but has been injury ridden since and has still posted season averages of over 12 points per game. I Think DALLAS will be fine everyone thought they wouldn’t be contenders even when the aquired Tyson Chandler. You have to let a team play before you can say how old or bad they are
I respect your opinion. You have a lot of great points. Trust me, if this team makes me eat my words i will be right back on here praising them and telling everyone how wrong i was. I just see a lot of guys getting old quick and a few of them looked bad last season, especially Vince. If they can get anything out of them they should take it in my opinion.
Possibly the worst Mavs-related article I’ve ever read.
Dork can’t be traded, and is worth his weight in gold still getting 21 points a game (only two off his average, literally 1 basket).
Kaman is on a one year $8m deal- he’d need to get 20/10 to warrant “keeping him around”.
Vince, Brand and Marion are only contracted for next season anyway. They are stop gals, you don’t “cut” stop gaps and waste money on other players. Next summer will be a small revolution.
Terrible article.
Dirk CAN be traded if he waives his no trade clause. Yeah it’s one basket down, but you’re going to sit there and act like he played like he did in the championship season last year? Or did you not watch the games? $8 million a year for a center with his capabilities is actually a bargain right now, as hard as it is to believe. Didn’t i say they should try and trade these guys first? Terrible how you read. How about you try respectfully disagreeing, because when it’s all said and done i’m the one writing it. Don’t like it? Go somewhere else for your Mavs info.
Wow, what an article!!!! This is a revelation!
You should have been a rocket scientist.
Great article!!
Blowing up the roster does nothing really since they did aquire some key peices for the upcoming season (kaman, Brand, Collison and Mayo) Don’t be quick to judge this roster before saying “blow it up” until they play on the floor for a season.
I respect your opinion. But don’t be mistaken, this team doesn’t have a chance of beating any of the top teams in the playoffs. They went after Brand and Kaman only because they couldn’t get Howard. They only went after Collison because they didn’t get Deron Williams. I think they make the playoffs but get bumped out in the first round.
Based on what? We haven’t seen this team play yet. I don’t think the Lakers are any better now….Nash is really bad when it comes to defense, and Howard won’t be 100% this year due to his back. What does that leave, an aging Spurs team and a young Thunder team? Yea I wouldn’t write them off of anything just yet.
This article is irrational. First off Dirk might not still be in his prime physically, but his skill set is still there and mentally the guy is one of the toughest players out there. There was a lot of variables that contributed to his drop in production. For instance, lack of practice and conditioning headed into the fast paced season and chemistry with the new roster. If everything goes right this off-season and Dirk can stay focused I’m certain he will be back in shape, and ready to compete on a high level again. And even then, Marc Cuban realizes Dirk isn’t someone you can rebuild a franchise with now. Adding Mayo and Collison as assets, gives the Mavericks the chance to perform a test run to see how much of potential their is to build a team around them while still being able to make a deep run into the play offs. The acquisition of Kaman and Brand although doesn’t have the same defensive impact as acquiring either Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum. They are both solid role players for cheap. Kaman was bought for 8 million, and when healthy is a very productive offensively. And I have no doubt in my mind that Kaman can stay healthy, Not only does Dallas have a reputation acting as a sort of rejuvenation for players (Look at Chandler, Kidd, and Mario) but the Mavericks also have one of the best coaching and health staff in the league. Brand was acquired through the 76ers option to auction off his contract, and we were able to pick up for what less than 5 million? Brand is a underrated defender and contributes offensively averaging 11 points a game. Vince Carter might lack his explosive athleticism but he has adapted his game to compensate for his age, and chooses his shots well as well as being a solid rebounder. Then with the presence of our bench, Wright, Roddy. B, Delonte West, DOJO, and our rookies (who are also solid assets) we have solid depth on the bench in every position. I think your problem is, you are looking at the Mavericks all wrong. We aren’t a team in the rebuilding phase but we are competitive team in the transition phase. However Mark Cuban doesn’t want to forego a painful rebuilding phase with losing records, nor does he want to go in deep on luxury taxes for the wrong players. Mark Cuban is a smart guy, very aware of the situation and is making moves accordingly. Who knows if the mavericks will make it to the finals this year. Hell no one expected them to be there in 06, or 10-11. I like were the Mavericks are at now, underrated and full of players on the hustle….. Can’t wait for basketball season to strt.