Well, for Denver, this deal was all about getting rid of discontent and getting under the cap for rebuilding... Howard's 20m contract expires in a year, and Hardaway in 2... Especially, TAW's bloated contract which is 5 years out. NVE's contract is 4 years out, Johnson's is 2 ... LaFrentz was thrown in to sweeten the deal, and they knew he was on his way out anway, in a year ... he was necessary in order to get rid of TAW off the books. And they end up with a first round pick, an OK cheap role player in Donnell Harvey, who also provides backup at PF, a relatively cheap PG to replace NVE, and a temporary solution to an injured McDyess. They got rid of two very disgruntled players, and the ability to go after Duncan or some type of franchise player in a year, replacing NVE. If you are looking at it from a rebuilding perspective, its not a bad trade, eliminating unrest... Could they have gotten more? Probably... but they obviously didn't like what offers they got right now, and this gives them another year to figure out what to do. For Dallas, this is a deep pocket game, and since Cuban doesn't care about luxury tax, they just gained 2 starters, and a valuable backup at PG for a backup PF, PG and low 1st pick. And if they don't work out, they gained valuable trading chits for future trades... They really needed LaFrentz, and will make sure he gets the red carpet treatment, so he resigns when his contract is up... Dallas is so far over the cap, they can't just sign guys, they have to trade for them, or resign their own players. So, they now have a starting center, a starting SG, and NVE/Johnson to trade, as well as the other players now expendable, such as Bradley ... it wouldn't shock me to see them waive TAW... but he can actually provide them some depth at SF ... And they can afford to let him sit on the end of the bench, if they have to. Both people got what they wanted... but it does seem that Dallas made out like bandits (that Cuban trade for Howard looks like a stroke of genius now), and balanced out their team ... and they WILL be a much better team because of it. Hey, Nash and VanExel ... that'll be one of the better backcourts in the league...
Good deal for Dallas, but still not enough defense. For one thing LaFrentz can disguise Dirk's lack of defense. Another thing is that the Mavs are horrible at rotating to the open man. It will only get worse when you throw 3 new player into the mix.
People can hate all they want, but that team is now the lost undefensable team in the league. Know what makes them better than what people think? They play share the ball. Sure some people will not get as many shots as they are accustome to getting, but rings solve all that. They already lead the league in scoring and that will surely go up. I give props to Dallas for making it happen, plus they get rid of Howards contract and gain a center which is rare. Until someone beats LA in 7 games, they are still the team to beat, but I don't think anyone wants to face Nash & Nick in the backcourt along with Finley,Raef, and Dirk on the front line.
I can only think this will hurt chemistry. Nick wants a lot of shots and he want the ball in crunch time. So will Nick start as SG? Either that or he gets benched or Nash gets benched. I'll be curious to see how Nick blends onto the team.
Does Don Nelson like white people or something? Shawn Bradley Cherokee Parks Dirk Nowitsky Steve Nash Raef LeFrenz
Exactly! What happens when Nick gets on one of his "I'm shooting poorly tonight so I'll take 25 more shots to get out of my funk" nights. And, didn't he have some sort of injury that he was contemplating getting surgery? Raef was a good pickup, but outside of Hack-A-Shaq, Dallas still has nothing to counter Shaq. It's still the Lakers' world...everyone else is just hoping they stay disinterested through the playoffs. (IMO, the T-Wolves did a better job at preparing for Shaq. The pick up of Marc Jackson will benefit them more in this regard.)
I know he doesn't play for the Mavs anymore. That's not the point. Didn't Don Nelson draft him? He also had Chris Mullens in Golden State.
It was a stupid trade , no doubt about it but in 2003 they are starting from 0 (without Dice contract ) and they are going too have 2 lottery picks + (good free agents in 2003 ) so if they will do all the right moves they have a good chance to be in the playoffs in 2003 .
Nelson didn't draft Parks. That was Jim Cleamons. Its not like Nellie is playing white guys that aren't worthy of playing. Shawn Bradley is so far back on the bench its rediculous.
