[CBS Sports]Examining how the Mavericks went from champs to their current mess

I agree mavs have slipped but I still think they will sneak into the playoffs (depending on who the center is they add and if these kenneth faried rumors are true about going to dallas)

 

Really? I doubt it at this point. If they were in the East, yeah. But I think New Orleans will take another step foward this year. OKC won't miss the playoffs like last year. They might make it as an 8th seed, but they'll have to beat out Phoenix, which will be tough because the Suns have a far easier division than Dallas (and therefore play against weaker opponents more often).

Also, I don't think Faried ends up in dallas. While he probably gets traded at some point this season, the rumor of Faried going to Dallas seems to be more speculation than anything tangible at this point, and even so, Dallas lacks assets to acquire him. Assuming Denver sold low on Faried, the best deal Dallas could conceivably offer would be Pachula and Felton (expirings), Justin Anderson or Dwight Powell, and a low 2016 draft pick via Memphis (Dallas traded away their 2016 first and second rounders to Boston).

Even if the above trade did go through, Dallas would be left with an even shallower bench and would have a frontcourt of Farid and Nowitzki. Historically, Dirk has needed to play next to some sembalance of a rim protector to to well. Tyson Chandler, Erick Dampier, Brendan Haywood etc. A Faried-Nowitzski lineup leaves Dallas incredibly open to giving up easy points.

 

The Mavs and Lakers have the same problem. They both have decided to tie their franchises to aging superstars. If either team would've been open to moving these players two or three years ago they would be better off today. More cap space and a young star or two makes it a lot easier to attract (and keep) top free agents.

Not that I'm complaining though. I'd like for Kobe and Dirk to play another 4-5 seasons if they could.

 

All 53 of Dirk's teammates since 2011, ranked

Spoiler

53. Lamar Odom
52. Rajon Rondo
51. Derek Fisher
50. Jared Cunningham
49. Chris Wright
48. Justin Dentmon
47. Josh Akognon
46. Troy Murphy
45. Greg Smith
44. Sean Williams
43. Yi Jianlian
42. Mike James
41. Gal Mekel
40. Shane Larkin
39. Chris Douglas-Roberts
38. Ricky Ledo
37. Eddy Curry
36. Dwight Powell
35. Dominique Jones
34. Jameer Nelson
33. Kelenna Azubuike
32. Anthony Morrow
31. Wayne Ellington
30. Raymond Felton
29. Roddy Beaubois
28. Ian Mahinmi
27. Richard Jefferson
26. Amar'e Stoudemire
25. Dahntay Jones
24. J.J. Barea
23. Chris Kaman
22. Brian Cardinal
21. Charlie Villanueva
20. Brendan Haywood
19. Bernard James
18. Jason Kidd
17. DeJuan Blair
16. Elton Brand
15. Sam Dalembert
14. O.J. Mayo
13. Al-Farouq Aminu
12. Delonte West
11. Darren Collison
10. Jae Crowder
9. Jose Calderon
8. Jason Terry
7. Devin Harris
6. Brandan Wright
5. Shawn Marion
4. Tyson Chandler
3. Chandler Parsons
2. Vince Carter
1. Monta Ellis


From "LemonBrigade" in the comments:

A mathematical ranking - average win shares per year

Spoiler

1 Tyson Chandler 10.3
2 Jose Calderon 6.3
3 Darren Collison 5.6
4 Chandler Parsons 5.5
5 Samuel Dalembert 4.9
6 Shawn Marion 4.4
7 Vince Carter 4.4
8 Monta Ellis 4.3
9 O.J. Mayo 4.2
10 Brandan Wright 3.9
11 Jason Terry 3.8
12 DeJuan Blair 3.4
13 Elton Brand 3.4
14 Ian Mahinmi 3.4
15 Al-Farouq Aminu 3.3
16 Jason Kidd 3.0
17 Devin Harris 2.9
18 Jose Barea 2.7
19 Brendan Haywood 2.7
20 Richard Jefferson 2.3
21 Delonte West 2.2
22 Chris Kaman 1.6
23 Jae Crowder 1.5
24 Amar’e Stoudemire 1.4
25 Charlie Villanueva 1.4
26 Rodrigue Beaubois 1.3
27 Greg Smith 0.8
28 Wayne Ellington 0.7
29 Bernard James 0.6
30 Jameer Nelson 0.6
31 Dwight Powell 0.6
32 Rajon Rondo 0.6
33 Mike James 0.4
34 Dahntay Jones 0.4
35 Troy Murphy 0.3
36 Lamar Odom 0.3
37 Raymond Felton 0.2
38 Sean Williams 0.2
39 Dominique Jones 0.1
40 Chris Douglas-Roberts 0.1
41 Derek Fisher 0.1
42 Josh Akognon 0.0
43 Brian Cardinal 0.0
44 Jared Cunningham 0.0
45 Justin Dentmon 0.0
46 Yi Jianlian 0.0
47 Anthony Morrow 0.0
48 Chris Wright 0.0
49 Ricky Ledo -0.1
50 Kelenna Azubuike -0.1
51 Eddy Curry -0.1
52 Shane Larkin -0.1
53 Gal Mekel -0.4

 

Wow why is Dallas continuing to add vets like Jefferson? The ship has sailed, they should be trying to get young talent instead of scavenging for vets.

 

Jefferson actually spurned them for the Cavs today.

 

Apparently Cuban didn't read the article posted a few days ago. They'd be better off doing what the Lakers did last season (signing a bunch of younger-ish guys) on one year deals and seeing what they can do.

 

This is really the difference. Morey doesn't just try to hit home runs in free agency, he drafts and makes smaller moves for players and picks that become genuine assets, as well as bides his time.

This could probably also be updated to reflect Lawson. Heck, past moves to get Scola, Lowry, and Dragic could be included, as well as being the one to "draft the Chandler Parsons, not give a max contract to the Chandler Parsons."

 

That's just crazy talk.

The Spurs, Warriors, Clippers and Rockets are all going to be elite like last year. The Warriors are the only one of those teams that didn't noticeably improve and they won 60+ games so I think they'll be fine.

The Thunder should be back. They should be a top 5 team too.

Memphis has, at worst, stood their ground.

The Pelicans should be better.

That leaves the 8th seed as the only spot that is up for grabs. And in my opinion, Utah and Phoenix are both better than Dallas right now. Dallas has no depth, their big signings are Deron Williams, Wes Matthews and Zaza Pachulia grin. Wes Matthews is coming off a career threatening injury and it is totally possible he'll never return to form. Deron Williams has looked washed up for years and has also been injury prone. Zaza Pachulia is Zaza Pachulia. And of their only two returning starters, Chandler Parsons is coming off a serious injury and Dirk is old and played like he's old in the playoffs.

Honestly, even if they're healthy I think they'll be 9th or 10th in the West, but it's also totally possible that several of their key guys miss substantial portions of the season or struggle to return to form (considering the injuries Matthews and Parsons are returning from and the injury history and/or age of Deron Williams and Dirk Nowitski). If that happens, they could easily be all the way at the bottom of the conference.

They're going to be a disaster. And I'm going to really enjoy watching Cuban look sad all year long.

 

Has it been confirmed that Parsons had micro-fracture surgery?

 

This, lol