I saw a lot of the Mavs. I believe he is less than what he was. I also believe he was dialled out from 'the new world order' in Dallas. This is a guy truly in need of a new environs. he is a man! I would assume Phx, and Nash, and no Q, would be a fit he'd like. I wonder if he'd want to go back to Wisconsin (particularly if Redd emigrates). He is a Phil-type player IMO. How about next to Kidd? He'll have nearly endless choices. Does he have any connection to Houston, Rox, TMac? What is the date of cutting for lux tax purposes?
Finley has slipped for sure but he's still a solid pro. What's happening in Dallas is that he's being made a scapegoat for Mark Cuban's bad financial decisions. Sure he got that fat $100 million contract and is still owed $51 million for the next 3 years but that was all Cuban. It's like he's getting blamed for taking a fool's money. None of the sports geniuses on the talk shows ever mentions that Cuban paid zeros like Rafe LaFrenz ($70 million) and Shawn Bradley ($36 million with a $14 million buyout). This year he goes out and picks up Keith Van Horne who'll make $15 million next year but everyone wants to blame Finley for their playoff crash & burn against Phoenix. And Finley played hurt. The Mavs may rue the day if they let this guy go who for years suffered mightily carrying a dogsh*t franchise on his back. If he goes to the Spurs watch out because he can still stroke the J consistently.
Fins suffered from the same thing that Dirk suffered from: the loss of Steve Nash. Nash set these guys up so well, they came to depend on what he did for them on the court. Cuban and the Mavs tried to pretend all year that losing Nash was no big deal until Nash & the Suns washed them out of the playoffs. With him gone, they floundered all year. Dirk had an so-so year as well and struggled mightily in the playoffs but it was Finley who's getting blamed and is taking the heat off Mark Cuban's questionable moves. He still has a lot of gas in the tank and could flourish in the right environment (Spurs?).
yeah refs should apologize for that one! anyways..I WANT FINLEY FInley is one of my favorite players. He's solid and he's a good jump shooter. He'd be better than Wesley. Why don't Mavericks trade him to another team? Please don't let the SUns get him. LET's get him! Yao, Tmac, and Finley sounds good! very good..then sign Swift..and trade for AD and some athleticism/quickness..and wow!
THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU. I loved watching as idiot media types (*Ford!*, ahem, sorry, that's my allergies) went on and on about how Cuban would revolutionize the game, spend his way to a title, on and on. The Mavs have had one of the most inflexible salary situations in the league for years, only because this guy wanted to show off.
Kelly, If this goes down, could you see him landing in his hometown? He'd be a great addition for that team, IMO.
Every summer there's a new Fin rumor, apparently the closest he's come was back at the 2002 trade deadline (Jalen Rose came instead) and the 2003 draft (Bulls didn't trade up for Wade either, took Hinrich). It makes sense, if he's willing to play about 25 minutes a night and concentrate on defense. As undersized as he was at the 2, Hinrich was among the league leaders in defensive eff. in guarding off guards, but the Bulls need him at the point and Duhon on the bench. Right now Bulls fans are salivating over Raja Bell, but he may ask for too much of the MLE.
Give the idiot savant his due. Cubes took a moribund franchise and turned it into a prime destination for NBA'ers. There was a price to pay, and pay and pay and pay Cuban has, and continues to, because the bills are coming, well due. I respect what MC has accomplished in Dallas. I'd just like to see him lose 68 games next season, and for seasons to come.
Finley could be the main man on any given night, but he's suffered from injuries and he'll probably break down in Jeff's system by midseason. He'll have cycles of great spurts in production after coming back from a break, fall off, get on the IL, and then come back good as new... But he's definitely a guy you get for the playoffs.
Certainly, and he also put the pressure on every other on the league to perform. He's great for the league, I just took offense (like everyone else here) at the reactionary journalism.
dirk had the best year of his career and made the all-nba first team. how did you get so-so out of that?
Its all about the playoffs and he sucked in the playoffs. He showed no leadership and couldnt take control of any game like a great player should. He had a good year. Not great.
True to the former. Cubes is great for the league, and also great for the players! Reactionary journalism has become a redundancy.
Dirk looked lost all year without Nash around. Part of the problem is that they (Mavericks) have never decided how they want him to play: facing the basket (his strength) or as a post up player ala TD. When Nash was here, it made his life easy because Nash really understood the offense and set up both Dirk and Finley very well but without him, Dirk's level of play was VERY uneven on a game to game basis. He also gave me the impression that he never bought into the Mark Cuban company line about the Mavs being better off without Nash. It was obvious to everyone but the Mavs organization that this was simply not true. That's why he simply lost it during the Phoenix series and went off against Terry and Dampier. He did make all-NBA so you can claim that on balance, he had a good year.
It will be interesting to watch as Avery Johnson attempts to remake the Mavs into San Antonio North. Personally, I just don't see Cuban sitting still for such a radical transformation. There is nothing to indicate that Cuban won't be able to stop himself from interfering as he has done every year. For now, AJ is getting what he wants: Bradley will soon be gone and Finley is most likely next in line out of town.
For me it wouldn't be a case of how great he is, but more of is he a marked improvement for the Rockets if we acquire him. Does he add to the team?
coming from a mavs fan, if we have to depend on crackhouse, howard, or marquis daniels for outside jump shooting, we'll be in serious serious trouble. neither of them can hit anything from outside of 15 ft to save their life. i truely believe if the rockets added a player like finley who is still capable of contributing 25-30 solid minutes a night, they'll be in position to win 55-60 games next season. this talk of releasing finley is pure idiocracy since the mavs have no outside shooting other than terry or dirk. this reeks of complete stupidity.
