djohn2oo8
05-02-2010, 09:29 AM
Rick Carlisle (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Rick_Carlisle) is ready to push the mourning period out of his brain and his heart.
The too-soon ending to this season hurt, for sure. But this business waits for no one, and the Mavericks (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dallas_Mavericks) and their coach need to accelerate the process of looking forward.
There is much work to be done in a summer that will afford a rare opportunity to add elite talent to an admittedly older roster that already possesses a superstar in Dirk Nowitzki (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dirk_Nowitzki) and a point guard in Jason Kidd (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Jason_Kidd) that all players love to be on the floor with.
There are free-agent jackpots out there. And Carlisle believes it would be a mistake to sell the Mavericks short when it comes to owner Mark Cuban (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Mark_Cuban) and president Donnie Nelson angling for a big splash.
"Mark and Donnie would love to add another star to this roster to play with Dirk and Jason," Carlisle said Saturday. "Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? A lot of people would bet against us. But I wouldn't advise it.
"They're the best I've been around at finding opportunities. And they've been able to do things in a very expeditious manner."
As Nelson added: "You're never finished in this league. It's one constant state of upgrade." The top free-agent names are well-known, and two of them are no longer in the playoffs. Miami's Dwyane Wade (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dwyane_Wade) was knocked out in the first round, and Toronto's Chris Bosh (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Chris_Bosh) didn't make the postseason.
Last week, Bosh posted a question to fans on his Twitter (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Twitter_Inc) account asking whether he should stay or go in Toronto.
Having grown up in Dallas, Bosh may have a soft spot in his heart for the Mavericks. Free agents aren't allowed to start talking to teams until July 1. And players such as LeBron James (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/LeBron_James), Amare Stoudemire (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Amare_Stoudemire) and Joe Johnson (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Joe_Johnson) all are still competing in the playoffs. Their futures will hinge largely on how their teams do the rest of the postseason.
But that doesn't mean the generic sales pitch to free agents can't begin for the Mavericks, who do have lots to offer despite their disappointing end to this season.
"Great city, great franchise, great ownership," Carlisle said. "There's always going to be a high quality team here. Dirk and Jason Kidd being here is going to enhance the situation tremendously, because those are two guys that great players are going to want to play with, and there probably are a surprising number of NBA (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/National_Basketball_Association) players that view Dallas as a great city to live in.
"No state tax is huge because high-income free-agent types can save tons of money."
And then there's Carlisle, who qualifies as another selling point. He's a coach who has made the playoffs seven times in eight seasons with three different franchises.
And he has entrenched himself after two seasons with the Mavericks as something between a players' coach and a system coach. He isn't afraid to tell players things they may not want to hear. He doesn't take offense if they don't think he's their best friend.
But players respect that he has only one agenda: winning games.
"I thought the chemistry was actually really good," Nowitzki said. "The crew liked playing with each other. Sometimes we didn't know who was coming in. But that's Rick. We all know that. He usually says at the beginning of the season that he sometimes rolls with whatever's going. I think everybody knew what they were getting into."
Nowitzki has his own thoughts on what kind of players the Mavericks need to add this summer. "It wouldn't hurt, obviously, getting a player who can come in and do some damage and make plays off the dribble," Nowitzki said.
So has he thought about doing some recruiting? Does he have LeBron on speed dial?
"I haven't really thought about it that much," he said. "Didn't [commissioner David] Stern say it's illegal or something? I thought we just got a memo from the league.
"But you know, obviously, everyone's still in a playoff battle. So I'm going to leave that alone."
As for Cuban, he has said every off-season that the Mavericks will be opportunistic when it comes to adding talent. And this time around will be no different.
"It's going to be an interesting summer," he said
Dude is in denial, and no state income tax isn't the only reason a player would want to play in Texas
The too-soon ending to this season hurt, for sure. But this business waits for no one, and the Mavericks (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dallas_Mavericks) and their coach need to accelerate the process of looking forward.
There is much work to be done in a summer that will afford a rare opportunity to add elite talent to an admittedly older roster that already possesses a superstar in Dirk Nowitzki (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dirk_Nowitzki) and a point guard in Jason Kidd (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Jason_Kidd) that all players love to be on the floor with.
There are free-agent jackpots out there. And Carlisle believes it would be a mistake to sell the Mavericks short when it comes to owner Mark Cuban (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Mark_Cuban) and president Donnie Nelson angling for a big splash.
"Mark and Donnie would love to add another star to this roster to play with Dirk and Jason," Carlisle said Saturday. "Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? A lot of people would bet against us. But I wouldn't advise it.
"They're the best I've been around at finding opportunities. And they've been able to do things in a very expeditious manner."
As Nelson added: "You're never finished in this league. It's one constant state of upgrade." The top free-agent names are well-known, and two of them are no longer in the playoffs. Miami's Dwyane Wade (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dwyane_Wade) was knocked out in the first round, and Toronto's Chris Bosh (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Chris_Bosh) didn't make the postseason.
Last week, Bosh posted a question to fans on his Twitter (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Twitter_Inc) account asking whether he should stay or go in Toronto.
Having grown up in Dallas, Bosh may have a soft spot in his heart for the Mavericks. Free agents aren't allowed to start talking to teams until July 1. And players such as LeBron James (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/LeBron_James), Amare Stoudemire (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Amare_Stoudemire) and Joe Johnson (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Joe_Johnson) all are still competing in the playoffs. Their futures will hinge largely on how their teams do the rest of the postseason.
But that doesn't mean the generic sales pitch to free agents can't begin for the Mavericks, who do have lots to offer despite their disappointing end to this season.
"Great city, great franchise, great ownership," Carlisle said. "There's always going to be a high quality team here. Dirk and Jason Kidd being here is going to enhance the situation tremendously, because those are two guys that great players are going to want to play with, and there probably are a surprising number of NBA (http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/National_Basketball_Association) players that view Dallas as a great city to live in.
"No state tax is huge because high-income free-agent types can save tons of money."
And then there's Carlisle, who qualifies as another selling point. He's a coach who has made the playoffs seven times in eight seasons with three different franchises.
And he has entrenched himself after two seasons with the Mavericks as something between a players' coach and a system coach. He isn't afraid to tell players things they may not want to hear. He doesn't take offense if they don't think he's their best friend.
But players respect that he has only one agenda: winning games.
"I thought the chemistry was actually really good," Nowitzki said. "The crew liked playing with each other. Sometimes we didn't know who was coming in. But that's Rick. We all know that. He usually says at the beginning of the season that he sometimes rolls with whatever's going. I think everybody knew what they were getting into."
Nowitzki has his own thoughts on what kind of players the Mavericks need to add this summer. "It wouldn't hurt, obviously, getting a player who can come in and do some damage and make plays off the dribble," Nowitzki said.
So has he thought about doing some recruiting? Does he have LeBron on speed dial?
"I haven't really thought about it that much," he said. "Didn't [commissioner David] Stern say it's illegal or something? I thought we just got a memo from the league.
"But you know, obviously, everyone's still in a playoff battle. So I'm going to leave that alone."
As for Cuban, he has said every off-season that the Mavericks will be opportunistic when it comes to adding talent. And this time around will be no different.
"It's going to be an interesting summer," he said
Dude is in denial, and no state income tax isn't the only reason a player would want to play in Texas