I was watching the Mavs - Kings game when I began to think... How is Dallas going to be able to pay all 5 of the all-stars that they have on that team right now? I'm not sure what contract status is with Nash but I think they'll have to max him out soon? and is Dirk already maxed or does he still need it? What about Finley? Then they have to get LaFrentz to stay... whose going to be gone? I know the first instinct is Finley but, the management actually sat down with Nowit. , Nash, and Finley to ok the trade.. obviously they care alot for Finley's input. Then add that to Dallas has some decent role players on the bench, the question remains: who will they lose? -LTF
Dirk and Fin have already received max contract. Nash will be next. I really don't see LaFrentz or NVE getting max deals, but you never know. The Mavs finally have a decent big man so I'm sure they'll do whatever it takes to keep him happy (that is, until they decide to go after Duncan somehow).
LTF, I think you forgot who owns the team. Mark Cuban!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the man that paid like 100 million out of his own pocket just to customize the AAA to fit his needs. Yes...he paid for **** like every players locker to have a PS2, DVD, flat screen tv, and stereo system. And did you know he also paid for the luxury suites to have computers hooked up to the internet with cable connections?
If you have bird rights on the players then you can go over the salary cap. Which is why Portland and NY are like what? 40, 50 mil over the salary cap. NVE already has a big contract, as does Finley and Dirk. Raef will get a big one this offseason, as will Nash, whenever his contract is up. Yes, he does have bird rights on those players. They just wont be able to sign any FAs for years, except for roleplayers for the 4.5mil exception.
Portland, though, is a great example. You're morgaging your future by locking your self into all those long term deals. Allen was sort of the proto-Cuban, only much more polite. Now, Portland is locked in with Kemp, Pippin, and a host of other ageing untradable cap-killers for the long term. It's gonna be a long, slow fall for them. While thusfar, Cuban has been able to trade out of his mistakes (like Howard) what he's doing is like taking out a new credit card to pay off your other credit card debt. It only delays the problem, while magnifying it's scope.
I would think that Finley and Van Exel won't be Dallasites for too much longer. Wouldn't you rather keep Raef, Nowitzki and Nash?
It's not the same thing at all. Kemp and Pippen were at a point where their career was going to take a downturn. Everyone knew it. The gamble was to win THAT year and the price to pay was to take on their long contracts. Dallas is in an entirely different situation. Who would NOT want to lock up Nowitzki, Nash, Finley, LaFrentz long-term?? They are all young enough and have the peak of their careers still ahead of them. Even Howard was not a mistake and neither was Van Exel. Howard, in the end, got them Van Exel and LaFrentz. There are still a lot of teams that would love to have Van Exel. Do I have to say New York? To me, this is proof that trading for the best available talent pays off more often than not. I will be rooting for Dallas in the playoffs, that's for sure...
As fun as it is to dream up trade scenarios involving Fin, I really doubt the Mavs deal him anytime soon. He's just in a bit of a slump lately, and that's understandable considering his injury, the emergence of Dirk and Nash, and the addition of NVE and LaFrentz. He'll be back to his old self in no time. He may no longer be the most talented player on the roster, but I still see him as the emotional leader of the bunch. Dirk doesn't have enough fire in him (yet) to fill that role imo. Plus the guy's been here - playing hard and heavy minutes - since the dark days. That's got to mean something to the fans and to the organization. Unless trading him brings over Shaq or Duncan, the man's staying put.
The difference between Dallas and Portland, it seems to me, is that Portland was indiscrimately taking on every firesale. They'd trade up in talent and in contract size without any regard to how the pieces would fit together into a team. I think Nelson has been careful about what contracts he locks the team into. They look for pieces to the puzzle. In this last trade, they had needed a guy who could be an underneath presence and block shots. They also felt they needed an upgrade on Tim Hardaway. They got both.
Dirk, and Fin are already max out so they're out of the equation. Nash has three years left on a 6 year contract. He has the option to opt out after this year. My guess is that he restructures his contract so that he not only lowers next years salary but also so that he can opt out after next season. That would allow the Mavs to resign LaFrenz this offseason, and then max out Nash the year after that (his 4th year with the Mavs). Most of the role players (Griffen, Wahad, Bradley, Buckner, Johnson, Najera, Eshmeyer) are already signed to 3 or more years. The only players not signed long term are Newman, Manning, and Wang.
