Part of that huge mistake was letting Steve Nash sign with Phoenix so he could afford Dampier. The Suns made Nash and offer, but Steve gave Cuban a chance to match, which Mark turned down. Part of the reasoning at the time was stopping Shaq. You weren't going to win the West without stopping the Big Whatever. Dampier is an overrated player, but he at least has size. Of course, Shaq didn't stay with the Lakers for long.
Cuban didnt want to give a long-term contract to Nash because he was aging (that was in 2004), so he just signed Dirk, letting Nash walk away. So people that thinks Cuban spends a lot of money to get a succesfull team, he didnt want to pay Nash and the next year (I dont remember correctly) Nash becomes MVP.
Not really. Dirk and the Mavs have had plenty of chances. It's not like keeping Nash would've taken them any further than they've gotten or made Dirk a better player. Besides, I think Devin Harris and Jason Kidd were and are better fits for Dallas than Nash. Mavs have always had great talent with a deep team for the majority of this decade. What they lack is mental toughness and I hate to say it cause many may disagree with me but it stems from DIRK NOWITZKI. Dirk is not championship material. You just can't win a championship with Dirk being the #1 guy even if you surround him with a terrific if not best supporting cast (Mavs current roster) in the NBA. Lets replace Dirk with some other PF/C number 1's from teams past and current and keep the Mavs roster the same. I guarantee they advance to the Finals if not win it all. Hakeem Shaq Ewing Robinson Barkley Malone KG Duncan You can NOT trust a 7 footer who does NOT play the CENTER position. Especially one who averaged 10 rebounds only once in his career. No matter how wet his jumper is. Dirk = Fake Superstar who really should be a number 2 option.
I don't think that Kidd and Harris are/were better fits. Nash and Nowitzki had excellent chemistry and Dirk was just entering his prime. Also, Cuban gave Dampier (lol) almost as much money as Nash wanted. Had he given the money to Nash, he could have spent on a better frontline instead of all the money that went to Kidd etc. They got very close with Dirk as the #1 option (against the Heat). As I said, they DID go to the finals with Nowitzki as the #1 option. Ewing, Barkley, Malone (from your list) did not go any further.
A) I don't think anybody could have predicted Nash would have had a resurgence like he did. Nobody saw that coming. He really looked like he was slowing down with the Mavs before he got traded. I think Harris and Jkidd are much better defenders thus making them better fits for an already soft Mavs team. B) They did get very close with Dirk as the #1 option. My point was the guys I mentioned would get at least that far as well or win it all. Besides, Cuban should have known Dirk was Fugazzi after 05-06 Finals. C) If you replace Nowitzki this year with Ewing, Barkley, Malone and give them Dirk's supporting cast they're going to the Finals/winning it all.
Honestly, the Dampier signing did help them in the short-term. Dampier had many decent playoff performances doing things like offensive rebounding and being a presence in the paint. He was integral in the Mavs beating the Rockets in 05, and the Spurs and Suns in 06. He never lived up to his contract, and his game has really fallen off over the last 4 years. Dampier had opportunities to make huge plays in the Finals vs the Heat, but he never delivered and was pretty offensively inept...but that wasn't his job and others failed too. The real problem is the opportunity cost. If they would have kept Nash, it's debatable whether or not they would have reached the finals, but at least Devin Harris could have been used to acquire another big man better than Dampier. Or they could have still done the Kidd swap and then send Nash for a big man. And Phoenix would have never been great and not made those deep playoff runs every year, so yeah, it was probably a horrible idea to sign Dampier instead of Nash. But that type of mistake is made time and time again. I hate Cuban, but I wouldn't call him cheap over that. It was a miscalculation.
A. It was the right thing to do. Nash can flourish in an uptemp system that is why he has never made it to the finals. On the other hand, the Mavs played better defense (thus slowing the pace) and put Devin Harris ( can actually play a lick of defense) in the starting line up .....this paving the way for them to make to the finals.
Who stopped Ewing, Barkley , and Malone......HOF's. Who stopped Dirk.... 1. Dirk's inability of grabbing the stage and being a Superstar 2. Dwayne Tyrone Wade, Jr
hate to say it manu flops but man that guy is pure balls out there he may not be as athletic when he was younger but man he is just as crafty and tough. its hard not to root for a guy like that especially when he is playing the freakin mavs like honestly the spurs maybe the team i root for in the west this year if the Thunder get eliminated. they can take down the mavs - anyone who does that gets a shiny star in my book then they could play either the suns or blazers -- amare annoys me on the suns (though nash is great) and they have a rivalry which will be fun to watch -- portland despite their gritty perfomance i have issue with pritchard's way of stepping in last minute and taking the guys we wanted then they could play the lakers or the jazz (most likely lakers) and then again i'd be rooting for them big time i am not a fan of parker but i do like pop as a coach and their young guys in Hill and Blair
This series was over as soon as the Spurs crushed their souls in game 3. Dirk has no heart and no toughness. Butler is pissed because he got benched for JJ BAREA LOL? Carlisle is r****ded for playing Dampier over Haywood. I don't care how much better he plays with Dirk. Entire team is falling apart and all I can do is :grin:
Anyone else think it'd be worth it for Carlisle to give Roddy B a chance to play in this series? He can't be a worse option than JJ Barea at least...
I've been saying this for a LONG time. Carlisle seems to be pretty stubborn about not playing Roddy...
Yeah but they were really lucky that year. The teams they played to get to the finals were all pretty banged up/missing major players. Then they lost to one of the worst teams ever to win a title. There is no way a team wins a championship with 'Next-year' Nowitzki leading them, not unless he grows some balls and develops a consistent inside game.
