Dallas Mavericks (Updated 24th Sep, 04)

Starting Five		Player Rating
C	Erick Dampier	7
PF	Dirk Nowitzki	8.5
SF	Marquis Daniels	6.5
SG	Michael Finley	8
PG	Jason Terry	7
		37

* Player Rating on a 1 to 10 Scale. 10 denotes best at position in the NBA with no weaknesses, 5 would be average player who holds his own etc.

Reserves		Position Rating
C	Calvin Booth / Shawn Bradley / Pavel Podkolzine / Evan Eschmeyer / DJ Mbenga	5
PF	Alan Henderson	3
SF	Josh Howard / Tariq Abdul Wahad	6
SG	Jerry Stackhouse	7
PG	Devin Harris / Dan Dickau	5
		26

* Ratings based on ability of bench to fill in a position. More than one backup at a position would influence the rating as would one player's ability to play multiple positions. For eg. Dallas' depth in the backcourt influences the overall rating for SG and SF though no true playmaker hurts the PG rating.

Sep 04

So the team is all set. I can claim to be prophetic but Dampier almost didn't happen. What I can't understand is why Mark Cuban (who I think is brilliant) has six centers on the roster. Dampier is fine, Shawn was already here, DJ Mbenga is a project. Why bring in Booth? Is he really better than Bradley? Might rebound better but won't change shots like Shawn. Eschmeyer is back to haunt Cuban for one of the worst contracts of all time -- has anyone ever been paid so much for so little? P-Pod and Mbenga may as well stay home and bump heads for the rest of the next two seasons.

But seriously, all those centers has actually hurt the depth of this team. What happens if Dirk gets a sprained ankle? With a loaded West, a month on the IL for Dirk could actually keep them out of the playoffs. Or worse, they might rush him back and turn him into another Grant Hill.

My suggestion: move Bradley for a young PF. Even throw in one of the projects (P-Pod has more trade value) if it would get you the right player. Would Memphis give up Swift for Bradley, P-Pod and/or a draft pick? Swift may never be an All-Star but he's the type of athletic PF/C that would complement both Dirk and Dampier.

 

Old Post - June 04

Lets get one thing clear -- Dallas is going to make a trade or two.
If they don't, this will be the weakest team they've opened the season with in years. The loss of Nash hurts. Cuban was probably hoping to give him a 3-4 year contract, gradually working Devin Harris in as his point guard of the future. Now they have to first re-sign Daniels and can have him and Harris share PG duties. Still more than a step down from last year. If Dallas is really ready to go young, look for them to move Stackhouse and/or Finley too. Stackhouse / Walker / Fortson / Laettner for Shaq may still happen.

Prediction: Expect this team to change drastically between now and the start of the season. I see Cuban hanging on to the young guys (Daniels, Harris, Howard) along with Finley and Nowitzki. There will be a new big man in town too -- if not Shaq, then Dampier or Ilguaskas. Walker and Laettner are in the last year of their contracts so they're either pawns in a trade or salary cap space next year.