Who is this Ian Mahinmi and why is Cuban trying to sign him?

[Whisky Dog]

Obviously Ian can't be here now, but if he was properly developed he could have been a ing great insurance policy for Dice.

The main issue is Bonner. There are other shooting bigs, and any number of them would have been unknown as far as playoff performance, and unknown is far preferrable to bonafide playoff choker

[FromWayDowntown]

I did not mean ---on this board...

I was referring to anyone in the organization---like the owner...

or at the very least by the media---at least someone to be able to stand up to pop and scrutinize his moves---someone with balls to ask him tough questions

Since you appear to think such criticism is long overdue, you surely have a suitable replacement in mind, no? Who might that be?

By the way, with the 4 banners in the rafters and the decade-plus of extremely compe ive teams and good PR, I suspect that Pop will be permitted to coach here until he decides he's done with it.

Pop's far from infallible, and there have been plenty of curious personnel decisions made by someone in the organization, but I don't think anyone beyond a faction on this board actually believes his job is (or should be) in jeopardy.

[Thompson]

Duncan.Splitter.Dice.Blair and Ian all have to much in common. Ian provides nothing better at any 1 thing than those guys already posses. Bonner actually provides something different by being able to stretch the D and shoot the 3 which gave him the edge. I wasn't for the Bonner signing and definitely don't want to give the er 16 million $ but its obvious why he was kept over Ian. IMO I would have rather both of them left.

There was a time when (supposedly) Larry Brown was interested in Ian. If nothing else, playing time might have raised his trade value and we could have gotten something we needed for him. I can't fathom why he wasn't given more time; whatever time he did get he seemed to make the most of. Spurstalk would go into meltdown mode if he proves to be a good player for Dallas, and it should. Quality big men are hard to come by, and we've already given one away for nothing to Houston.

[mystargtr34]

I hope he does well .. Even if it's with the Mavs.

[Indazone]

The Mavericks have just offered Haslem their full mid-level exception starting at $5.85 million this season, a league source said.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...agentbuzz071110

[murpjf88]

The Mavericks have just offered Haslem their full mid-level exception starting at $5.85 million this season, a league source said.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...agentbuzz071110

Link can't be found. I guess I'll take your word for it.

[Dunc n Dave]

The Mavericks have just offered Haslem their full mid-level exception starting at $5.85 million this season, a league source said.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...agentbuzz071110

They are calling it a block of the Heat down in the NBA Forum.

[TD 21]

Why pay Haywood so much and then sign a young prospect?

Because you need more than one center per team.

This is an excellent signing by the Mavs. It would be an upset of epic proportions were he to become a star or anything even resembling that of one, but there's no reason this guy can't be at minimum a quality rotation player in this league. All of the physical tools are there, plus he has a decent skill level and he's ready to play.

This could come back to bite the Spurs to an extent. Granted, he wasn't going to play here, but still, to let him get away to the Mavs after the Scola fiasco. Not good.

What a steal by the Mavs. The Nets would have been better off signing Mahinmi for the bi-annual exception than wasting 3 years/$10 million on Petro.

[DesignatedT]

Because you need more than one center per team.

This is an excellent signing by the Mavs. It would be an upset of epic proportions were he to become a star or anything even resembling that of one, but there's no reason this guy can't be at minimum a quality rotation player in this league. All of the physical tools are there, plus he has a decent skill level and he's ready to play.

This could come back to bite the Spurs to an extent. Granted, he wasn't going to play here, but still, to let him get away to the Mavs after the Scola fiasco. Not good.

What a steal by the Mavs. The Nets would have been better off signing Mahinmi for the bi-annual exception than wasting 3 years/$10 million on Petro.

calm down buddy. he hasnt proved anything whatsoever so far.

[TD 21]

Neither has Petro and he just got $10 million. As I said, I have no illusions of Mahinmi being a star, but to get him for $1.8 million is solid. This could easily be a bargain by the mid point of next season.

[ffcommish]

Ian looked like a nice prospect on the court last season, but he was still pretty raw after the Spurs put a lot of work into him so I can understand them letting him go.

On the Mavs side, it's a pretty nice pickup to get Ian this far along with the Spurs putting in all the foundational work.

On the subject of personell moves - For as sharp as the front office seemed earlier this century, they seem just as dull now. I sincerely believe the Spurs would be in better hands with the elite members of this forum running the show now.

[DesignatedT]

Neither has Petro and he just got $10 million. As I said, I have no illusions of Mahinmi being a star, but to get him for $1.8 million is solid. This could easily be a bargain by the mid point of next season.

Oh yeah Petro was way overpaid. No idea why NJ gave him that. I think he does have a career average of close to 20 mpg in the NBA though. He is a little more "proven" I guess than Ian. who has barely seen an NBA floor

[silverblk mystix]

Since you appear to think such criticism is long overdue, you surely have a suitable replacement in mind, no? Who might that be?

By the way, with the 4 banners in the rafters and the decade-plus of extremely compe ive teams and good PR, I suspect that Pop will be permitted to coach here until he decides he's done with it.

Pop's far from infallible, and there have been plenty of curious personnel decisions made by someone in the organization, but I don't think anyone beyond a faction on this board actually believes his job is (or should be) in jeopardy.

Who mentioned replacing him?

YOU and other always retort with that same ---who will take his place?

Why can't Pop simply be questioned--like it is done in every other NBA city?

I have seen other coaches, gm's, even owners---get pressured---or at least questioned by the media during post game conferences---except for Pop--he seems to have found a way to avoid that...

by being a complete intimidating asshole to anyone asking a tough question--this is where a good owner could look into things and see if his coach might be slipping, to see if his employee might be getting complacent or in senile.


I have always thought that Pop was one--if not the best--coach in the nba but in the last couple to three years---he has really changed IMO.

In the last few seasons there are more and more really peculiar bouts of strange behavior and coaching decisions, along with more frequent alienating of certain players and usually that is a sign of complacency, old/rigid ways and generally ---slippage.

The worrisome part it seems is that his job is NEVER questioned and he keeps getting MORE set in his ways, MORE prone to keep doing things only HIS way and the league has changed. It seems as though he has not ADAPTED at all and no-one is able to question him,etc...

as far as a replacement...ANY name I could post here will only be met with disdain, ridicule and a list of reasons why Pop is superior---but if it ever came to really replacing Pop---I believe that it would NOT be as important to find someone with a better resume' as it would be just to bring in a fresh at ude, a new outlook---a young coach who isn't set in his ways and STILL has that fire of wanting to win a championship---to still prove himself.

Along with Pop's awesome accomplishments , unfortunately, comes a bit of contentment, an at ude of---it is only basketball---it is unreasonable to expect a championship every season, that team is better than everyone else--no-one is on the lakers level---

all of those thing, IMO , are NOT a good sign---and although Pop should be commended for his straightforward honesty---it seems to me to also mean that he is not as hungry anymore, and this is just basketball--nothing to get too wound up about...


on the other hand---a young unproven coach would have NOTHING else on his mind except winning a le AT ALL COSTS---he would have the FIRE that POP seems to have lost long,long ago.

Remember that fire? Remember Pop's passion?

Now contrast it with the last coupla' years with Pop giving the message to his team that it is ok to loaf through the regular season---until the playoffs arrive...
or...

the at ude that once a team seems to be winning handily---just throw in the towel--because---well we just did not have it tonight...

etc...

[SenorSpur]

I would rather have Ian for the LLE than Bonner for 16 mil.

^This

The fact is Mahinmi flashes of production in abbreviated court time, but was never able to even sniff the rotation.

At the same time, Bonner, a one-trick pony, continuously chokes in the playoffs, yet gets a spot in the rotation, and the security of a new four-year deal.

at all the Ian-haters, who think he's trash, even though no one has ever seen him on a regular rotation. Ian never got a chance to prove anythihg, so he's still a virtual unknown.

Meanwhile Bonner is a proven choker, who seemingly can do no wrong in the eyes of the coaches and many on this board.

It wouldn't surprise me if this turns into Scola 2.0.

[SenorSpur]

Because you need more than one center per team.

This is an excellent signing by the Mavs. It would be an upset of epic proportions were he to become a star or anything even resembling that of one, but there's no reason this guy can't be at minimum a quality rotation player in this league. All of the physical tools are there, plus he has a decent skill level and he's ready to play.

This could come back to bite the Spurs to an extent. Granted, he wasn't going to play here, but still, to let him get away to the Mavs after the Scola fiasco. Not good.

What a steal by the Mavs. The Nets would have been better off signing Mahinmi for the bi-annual exception than wasting 3 years/$10 million on Petro.

Yeah, he wasn't going to play here because Pop was never going to abandon his obssession of casting Matt Bonner as the next Robert Horry - no matter how much he continously sucked and choked.

[admiralsnackbar]

I have always thought that Pop was one--if not the best--coach in the nba but in the last couple to three years---he has really changed IMO.

In the last few seasons there are more and more really peculiar bouts of strange behavior and coaching decisions, along with more frequent alienating of certain players and usually that is a sign of complacency, old/rigid ways and generally ---slippage.

Don't you think it's telling that your time-line on his decline as a coach is commensurate with losing seasons in which he had to make crazy decisions due to injuries to his main horses? In which his best players were simultaneously hogging a significant part of the payroll for the first time?

And when has Pop not alienated players who he felt were under-performing or under-seasoned? I'm not saying I always agree with it, but you can't take a behavior that he's always demonstrated and label it slippage just because we've strung together a few teams that didn't make the finals.

[DespЏrado]

Ian's ceiling = Elson = nothing to be worried about.

[admiralsnackbar]

Meanwhile Bonner is a proven choker, who seemingly can do no wrong in the eyes of the coaches and many on this board.

Yet Bonner got PT and Ian didn't. We may not know much about Ian's game, but I'd wager his coaches did. Hmmmm.

[bigdog]

I still root for Mahinmi. If the Spurs don't resign him and he plays well, even in Dallas, I'll be happy for him, because I truly think he deserves a better chance in game action than he had here. I just hope he plays like absolute against the Spurs. Other than that, go get em, Ian. Shut up everyone on this board and have a solid career.

[silverblk mystix]

Don't you think it's telling that your time-line on his decline as a coach is commensurate with losing seasons in which he had to make crazy decisions due to injuries to his main horses? In which his best players were simultaneously hogging a significant part of the payroll for the first time?

And when has Pop not alienated players who he felt were under-performing or under-seasoned? I'm not saying I always agree with it, but you can't take a behavior that he's always demonstrated and label it slippage just because we've strung together a few teams that didn't make the finals.

well, yeah you may have a point---and I hope that that is all that there is to it...

because in the end all most of us want is to have the spurs win---win les of course...

and IMO it still wouldn't hurt to be able to question Pop's decisions and to hopefully find a way to make Pop feel accountable---instead of untouchable...

[admiralsnackbar]

well, yeah you may have a point---and I hope that that is all that there is to it...

because in the end all most of us want is to have the spurs win---win les of course...

and IMO it still wouldn't hurt to be able to question Pop's decisions and to hopefully find a way to make Pop feel accountable---instead of untouchable...

That's fair, but in the end I don't think he likes losing any more than we do.

[slick'81]

well see how this turns out ian will get a chance somewhere and if he were to become a pretty serviceable player in dallas

[admiralsnackbar]

In the end, it's a moot point what becomes of Ian -- we have greater areas of need than the 5 position. With limited funds, you pick up what you need, not what you'd like.

Like others in here, I wish Ian the best and hope he does shape up into a baller -- but he hasn't yet, and we don't have any time or reason to bring him along now that Splitter looks to be signing.

[ka mate]

From the few Mavs games I've seen last season, I wander if Mahinmi can actually see any significant minutes in Dallas. Carlisle loves to play small and looking at the way he played Roddy B, Mahinmi will have to work real hard to earn Carlisle's favour and crack the rotation.
I just don't see Mahinmi seeing regular minutes under Carlisle... unless Haywood gets injured or something.

[DrSteffo]

Because you need more than one center per team.

This is an excellent signing by the Mavs. It would be an upset of epic proportions were he to become a star or anything even resembling that of one, but there's no reason this guy can't be at minimum a quality rotation player in this league. All of the physical tools are there, plus he has a decent skill level and he's ready to play.

This could come back to bite the Spurs to an extent. Granted, he wasn't going to play here, but still, to let him get away to the Mavs after the Scola fiasco. Not good.

What a steal by the Mavs. The Nets would have been better off signing Mahinmi for the bi-annual exception than wasting 3 years/$10 million on Petro.

This.