The precedent for truly great teams has been set over the last 50 years. The majority of NBA champions repeat, the others are held in less high of regard. Only in the mid 2000s did we suddenly get hit with a rash of one and done champions. Until that point, it was either repeat or be forgotten in the eyes of history.
Sure right about that even though I've never thought of it that way. No one remembers the trailblazers winning it, or the supersonics or even when the warriors won it post Chamberlain.
Even the Spurs have never won back-to-back championships. Only the Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, Bulls, and Rockets have won two in a row.
Barea is an score-first point guard who can make a pass, but prefers to score. Roddy didn't play in the playoffs because he was injured. He's been injured. Butler is healthier than Roddy at this point, from what I've read. Roddy hasn't had enough playing time to determine what he can or cannot do. I know Kidd has taken Roddy under his wing to try and mentor him. He definitely has the offensive skills to not only start, but to be an all-star. He reminds me of Russell Westbrook at this point, but with a better outside shot. He can get to the rim. He's super quick. He CAN make some highlight reel passes. But he doesn't consistently look to get his teammates involved, so he's more of a shooting guard. But a confident, healthy Roddy running pick and roll with Dirk is much, much more dangerous offensively than Kidd. He'll be the mavs future after Dirk. He's the only young guy on the roster with even a hint of legitimate all-star potential. If he applies some of his quickness and athleticism to the defensive side of the ball, he'll be a starter once Kidd retires. Maybe not at the 1, but he'll start. He's too dynamic of an offensive threat not to. And the Mavs will need that when Dirk is gone. But don't mistake his not playing in the playoffs with the Mavs' confidence in him. He's one of the few untouchables on the roster. Rightfully so. He's going to be very, very good IMO. As for the Mavs being 1 & done? I think not. They might not WIN the championship, just 'cause so much of that comes down to matchups and injuries. But I certainly feel that they can be a better team next year. Kidd/Roddy/FA Butler/Terry/Stevenson/Dominique Jones Marion/Brewer/Peja Dirk/Cardinal/FA Chandler/Haywood/Mahimi I think the Mavs are likely to lose Barea. His playoff run was too high profile and some team out there is going to over pay for his services while offering a starting position. But looking at what's remaining is very, very stout. Extremely versatile.
I think they have a really good shot at a repeat. It's pretty clear from listening to the free agent players and Cuban that priority is to re-sign the free agents and the free agents want to stay obviously. And, Cuban won't stop with just having the same team back if he can help the situation with more moves. I would say the Mavs have a really good shot at a repeat with the same faces or even with some new faces. The Heat and other teams will obviously be looking to improve their rosters...but the Mavs still have a great shot at it again even with the same cast of players. I don't think vets aging one year is going to change much as to the Mavs' player performance. I think the question is more can the other NBA teams put together a complete team that can compete with the Mavs? Mavs should be even better next season if the key roster guys are back playing a full season once again.
I rather have multiple championships than back to back ones. besides the casual fan tend to forget about the Rockets back to back also.
I mostly agree that the Mavs are still going to be a formidable team next season, but I don't think there is any way they can stay as deep as they were this season, unless the CBA agreement still allows for owners like Cuban to pay whatever they are willing to pay. As of today, without player/team options to retain or resign any of their free agents (Barea, Chandler, Butler, Stevenson, Peja, Cardinal) their payroll is around 56.7 million(I'm no cap guru, this was just a quick addition of their guaranteed contracts next season). I guess only time will tell if they will have the ability or want to bring back any or all of those guys. I agree barea is gone, but would also guess peja, cardinal and one or both of butler/stevenson won't be brought back either.
Yeah, with the CBA up for grabs, it's really too hard to tell. I don't know what the options are, really. If the CBA doesn't allow for a team over the cap to exceed the minimum to resign players, the Mavs would be screwed. Parity, at that point, would REALLY take over.
Ah, NBA fans. How they amuse me. I actually like parity. I like seeing champions lose. It doesn't take anything away from me. Rather, I am very disappointed when the same team wins again - what a waste of a year of competition for everyone else and for die-hard fans of various teams.
I agree with you for the most part. I think parity makes for a more exciting product. I get no joy, whatsoever, in seeing teams win 3 championships in a row. I think it would do wonders for the NBA, as a whole, if teams like Toronto, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Minnesota, NJ, etc had a chance to win a championship. The top end of the spectrum (LA, Boston, Miami, Dallas, SA, etc) would probably hate it. But I do think it would make for a more exciting product.
One of the reasons I wanted to see the mavs lose, besides obvious ones, is that I think the team is old and getting older. They have young players but most unproven. Dirk will stay at a high level for a few years more but before this playoff run Terry was on a clear decline, hell people up here were calling for him to ride the pine before the playoffs. Like some have mentioned they'll lose pieces here and there via FA. Barrea in particular will probably get some sort of insane contract from some sucker then fall off into Tyrone Lue territory. They'll put a decent run together but doubt they'd even make the Finals next year.
I forgot they have Joe alexander and sean williams on their NBDL roster....they did well this year, especially Alexander. I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the team next year in place of Peja.
This is definitely the big thing - and surprisingly not reported on very much. It seems like 9 fans out of 10 look at this offseason in terms of business as usual, when the NBA (unlike the NFL) is insisting on a massive overhaul of the cap and exceptions. If the exceptions go, Dallas is in a major bind with 4 rotation guys (if you include Cardinal) plus Butler up for new deals. If the NBA gets across the board 20-35% salary reductions on current deals (no grandfathered deals, unheard of), they'll be okay as long as there isn't a hard cap below $55M. If the NBA brings back the Allan Houston amnesty rule and opens it up to multiple contracts per team, they can drop Haywood (possibly Marion) and be alright as long as the hard cap stays somewhere north of $60M. Whatever happens, it's extremely unlikely the league comes back from the lockout allowing the Mavs to resign all of their guys and have an $80M payroll. It'll be even more interesting to see what happens to the Lakers....
