Although Walker is vastly overrated, this trade still is weird. It's not like Raef was doing much anyways, so Dallas got something out of it, but what the hell is Boston thinking. Delk is better than Welsch, Mills is mediocre, and Raef is ehhh. The only possible good thing they could have gotten is Welsch, but he hasn't proven anything yet.
Uh, they've been doing that for 2-3 years now... No one will just give them a quality big man, unless they are willing to give up Dirk.
Agreed. What exactly does Walker give that Dallas didn't have? Walker and Jamison were probably the last things that Dallas really needed. Yet, those are the 2 "stars" that Dallas goes after. Go figure. I guess the Mavs' philosophy is that if they are going to be soft, they might as well go all the way, and try to create serious mismatches, which they will be able to do. However, it's sad that they haven't realized that it doesn't fly in the playoffs. Does Dallas know what a role player is? Only Najera seems to fit the bill.
When you have no good perimeter defenders coupled with ZERO interior defense whatsoever, then the other team will have a field day going to the hoop. Only Shawn Bradley has any presence inside, yet he still isn't better than avg at protecting the goal, mainly because of his lack of mobility. The Mavs will be chewed up and spit out inside in the playoffs.
U do not want Dirk playing C full time. Other 5 in the league might not have the skills to hurt him on the score board but they sure do have the bulk that does as much damage to his body. Dirk will break down in 20 games if he has to bang with other centers.
Walker seems to be a player that fits Don Nelson like a glove. High octance offense is his game, preferably with a bunch of players capable of playing multiple positions. Walker is all that and I can see Nelson playing him at 3, 4, or 5 depending on the matchup. And they didn't exactly give up players they needed to get him. Let's face it - with or without Walker, the Mavs weren't going to win a title. It's all about having the best player on the court, and they still don't have a Shaq or a Duncan on that roster. But they're gonna win a bunch of games this season and will be an entertaining group to watch.
Wow, first the Mavs get rid of Van Exel for the Warriors best player, and now they get rid of La LaFrentz for Antoine Walker? Great moves by the Mavs. What the hell were the other teams thinking?
The other teams got rid of their wannabe superstars with big contracts... Warriors never won anything with Jamison for 5 seasons. People act as if Jamison led them to glory. Walker is a ball hog and is the main reason why Boston's offense is horrible.
Has anyone considered the possibility that Cuban is not through dealing? He now has too many players that require the ball. Could one of them be leaving, like Finley? If so, where might they be going? And for whom?
Sam, I think they would have done this regardless of the Lakers. Cuban and gang seem to follow the formula of old where you load your starting five with All-Stars. The five-prong attack. I mean, not every team can have a Shaq, Ducan (or Yao; someday). So, they do it by numbers rather than a single "super-duper star." Dirk is great. But not like Ducan or Shaq. They also know that the Rocket (w/Yao) will be a thorn in their sides. So, they are trying to out "talent" us too to counter the Yao/Francis factor.
By the way, the Rockets have done "something." The hiring of a JVG will bring in a new offensive philosophy, team oriented mind-set, and commitment to defense. He's also nipped in the butt any confusion who's team this is: Francis/Yao. All others better produce, or they sit! No babies allowed! Cat and MoT! That means you! Snack Bar is getting a chance with minutes. He better take advantage of it. JJ/Pike will bring in shooting. And JJ will bring in D. Dallas never had a problem with team chemistry or their offensive system. They already had that in place. Their problem was just personnel (supporting cast) and defense. They should tinker. The Rockets always had good talent. The problem was trying to figure out a way to mesh the team into one unit.
They won't be getting a good big man worth a crap. Too bad they turned down NVE for Brian Grant. Grant is much more useful for Dal than Jamison.
Creating mismatches is Nellies whole game. No coach puts the strangest combonations of players on the court trying to creat a mismatch than Nellie, hence the nick name "The Mad Scientist". Don't tell Dallas that aproach will not be met with success in the play-offs when they were pretty damn successfull last year. As a matter of fact what year has this core of players and coach not enjoyed some play-off success. They have never gone out in the first round and last year they made it all the way to the conference finals before losing to the eventual champs. As far as role players are concerned I think it can be argued that Dallas has a few of those as well. Travis Best, Josh Howard, Edwardo Najarah, Tony Delk, Danny Fortson and Shawn Bradley. That is a pretty damn good group of role players with Best, Howard and Najarah all excellent defenders.
Uggh, my life is ruined. Couldn't they have at least dumped Vin? Would it have been that hard to match salaries?
FYI, It looks like Jamison will come off the bench. You know, because Walker is better than Jamison...sheesh. As a Mavs fan, I hate this trade. Hate it. They also said there are no more deals to be made...so this is what the Mavs are stuck with. I hate Antoine Walker. He's a crappy, shoot first PG trapped in a round, fat PF's body.
The point is that there is not going to be any one set line-up. Don Nelson is coaching this team and he will change it up regularly. Some different line-ups you are sure to see. 1 - Nash 2- Finley 3 - Walker 4 - Jamison 5 - Dirk 1 - Walker 2 - Howard 3 - Jamison 4 - Dirk 5 - Fortson 1 - Best 2 - Howard 3 - Jamison 4 - Fortson 5 - Najara Nellie can do so many things with this group that it is scary. The second best team in the league last year just got a lot better.
Wow... Nash Finley Walker Jamison Nowitzki Boston is now all Paul Pierce. 5 billion shots for him to take now... Interesting!
It's shocking that Juwan Howard has turned into Jamison + Walker. And yet another talented big man is added to the west. Geez the east sucks.
