ducks
12-31-2004, 09:48 PM
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...lede.204bd.html
Mavericks taking guarded approach
Sure, the Mavs want a quality point guard, but at what cost?
02:06 AM CST on Friday, December 31, 2004
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
Last time we checked, NBA teams don't give away quality point guards, at least not outside of Dallas.
And so, with that parameter set, the Mavericks will spend the 56 days before the Feb. 24 trading deadline wrestling with the problems they have at point guard. Do they make a trade? What would they give up? Can they acquire an impact point guard, since they clearly have plenty of the functional variety?
The possibilities range from the costly (Baron Davis) to the affordable (Earl Watson), from the sentimental (Nick Van Exel) to the absurd (Gary Payton) and from the possible (Derek Fisher) to the impossible (Jason Kidd).
And when it all flushes out, the Mavericks could find themselves exactly where they are right now.
Running the relay team of Jason Terry, Devin Harris, Marquis Daniels and Darrell Armstrong at point guard has been a mostly frustrating exercise for Mavericks coach Don Nelson. Last week, he said one of his point guards was too old (Armstrong), one was too young (Harris) and the other wasn't a point guard at all. He didn't even include Daniels in the mix. This is what happens when four guys have the unfortunate job of following in Steve Nash's wide wake.
"The point guard is the key," Terry said. "Nash was it for years here."
Issue No. 1 for the Mavericks is to decide whether this season provides them a chance to win big, which means at least getting to the Western Conference finals.
In the West, where San Antonio stands above it all, nobody else is intimidating. At 19-10, the Mavericks are in a soft spot of the schedule and could find themselves 23-10 when they visit the Spurs on Jan. 14, provided Dallas takes care of business at home.
If the Mavericks decide they have a shot at the No. 4 seed and a realistic chance to plow through two rounds of the playoffs, expect them to roll whatever dice needs to be rolled.
The top point guards in the league are Nash, Kidd (if healthy), Davis, Stephon Marbury, Mike Bibby, Steve Francis, Dwyane Wade, Gilbert Arenas, Tony Parker and Chauncey Billups. Of those, only Kidd and Davis are likely to be floated as trade fodder this winter. Kidd has four more years on his contract after this season at $75 million. Davis has four more years at $63 million.
Considering the Mavericks would have to give up at least two of their good young players (Josh Howard, Marquis Daniels and Harris), along with considerable other assets to get either Kidd or Davis, and considering that they balked at Nash's $60 million request, hitting a home run seems impossible.
Then there are the second-tier point guards such as Minnesota's Sam Cassell, Denver's Andre Miller and Memphis' Jason Williams. They are followed by Memphis' Watson, Golden State's Fisher, Minnesota's Troy Hudson and Cleveland's Jeff McInnis. If you like any of those players, you must take with them all the baggage that comes with players who have been career backups or mid-level starters.
And then, there's Van Exel, the blast from the past that Mavericks fans still seem enamored with. When properly motivated, Van Exel might still be a step up from what the Mavericks have. But he's 33 years old and has talked about retiring after this season. His agent said this week that Van Exel would love to return to Dallas. But is he really a difference-maker?
The Mavericks are in the worst bargaining position possible because everybody knows they need a point guard.
In the end, the three players who got Dallas off to a 19-10 start amid injuries and a difficult schedule might end up being more palatable than the alternatives.
Mavericks taking guarded approach
Sure, the Mavs want a quality point guard, but at what cost?
02:06 AM CST on Friday, December 31, 2004
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News
Last time we checked, NBA teams don't give away quality point guards, at least not outside of Dallas.
And so, with that parameter set, the Mavericks will spend the 56 days before the Feb. 24 trading deadline wrestling with the problems they have at point guard. Do they make a trade? What would they give up? Can they acquire an impact point guard, since they clearly have plenty of the functional variety?
The possibilities range from the costly (Baron Davis) to the affordable (Earl Watson), from the sentimental (Nick Van Exel) to the absurd (Gary Payton) and from the possible (Derek Fisher) to the impossible (Jason Kidd).
And when it all flushes out, the Mavericks could find themselves exactly where they are right now.
Running the relay team of Jason Terry, Devin Harris, Marquis Daniels and Darrell Armstrong at point guard has been a mostly frustrating exercise for Mavericks coach Don Nelson. Last week, he said one of his point guards was too old (Armstrong), one was too young (Harris) and the other wasn't a point guard at all. He didn't even include Daniels in the mix. This is what happens when four guys have the unfortunate job of following in Steve Nash's wide wake.
"The point guard is the key," Terry said. "Nash was it for years here."
Issue No. 1 for the Mavericks is to decide whether this season provides them a chance to win big, which means at least getting to the Western Conference finals.
In the West, where San Antonio stands above it all, nobody else is intimidating. At 19-10, the Mavericks are in a soft spot of the schedule and could find themselves 23-10 when they visit the Spurs on Jan. 14, provided Dallas takes care of business at home.
If the Mavericks decide they have a shot at the No. 4 seed and a realistic chance to plow through two rounds of the playoffs, expect them to roll whatever dice needs to be rolled.
The top point guards in the league are Nash, Kidd (if healthy), Davis, Stephon Marbury, Mike Bibby, Steve Francis, Dwyane Wade, Gilbert Arenas, Tony Parker and Chauncey Billups. Of those, only Kidd and Davis are likely to be floated as trade fodder this winter. Kidd has four more years on his contract after this season at $75 million. Davis has four more years at $63 million.
Considering the Mavericks would have to give up at least two of their good young players (Josh Howard, Marquis Daniels and Harris), along with considerable other assets to get either Kidd or Davis, and considering that they balked at Nash's $60 million request, hitting a home run seems impossible.
Then there are the second-tier point guards such as Minnesota's Sam Cassell, Denver's Andre Miller and Memphis' Jason Williams. They are followed by Memphis' Watson, Golden State's Fisher, Minnesota's Troy Hudson and Cleveland's Jeff McInnis. If you like any of those players, you must take with them all the baggage that comes with players who have been career backups or mid-level starters.
And then, there's Van Exel, the blast from the past that Mavericks fans still seem enamored with. When properly motivated, Van Exel might still be a step up from what the Mavericks have. But he's 33 years old and has talked about retiring after this season. His agent said this week that Van Exel would love to return to Dallas. But is he really a difference-maker?
The Mavericks are in the worst bargaining position possible because everybody knows they need a point guard.
In the end, the three players who got Dallas off to a 19-10 start amid injuries and a difficult schedule might end up being more palatable than the alternatives.