Cuban has also been willing to go well over the luxury tax each year to keep his team competitive. That gives his GM a lot more flexibility in closing deals and going after big names.
or maybe, others have seen what your blind ass is missing. caron is declining and does not represent a player that takes us over the top. he was a marginal upgrade for this year, but was not worthy of a rotation player. maintaining flexiblity is more important for the present as future with Yao (and therefore organizational direction) is still up in the air. not a player that has been moved this season has even come close to making me go "damn, we missed the mark by not being involved in that one" Bosh isn't going anywhere. Martin is probably staying put. Iguodala's contract sucks and he's not worth parting with any of our young bucks for (although i'd gladly pass ariza along for him).
I know exactly what you're talking about, but Morey has tried, too. I lived in Dallas from 2006-2009, and have went to a couple of Mavericks-Rockets game, and Cuban runs that team well. Have had over 50 wins for 9 years now and a trip to the NBA Finals (as well as deeper playoffs pushes) in there. Morey has tried, but injuries have hammpered that. If TMAC would have worked hard this summer, we would have won the championship with McGrady-Yao-Artest, with Brooks, Landry, Scola, Wafer, etc., contributing big time. There is no doubt in my mind.
Well, according to Les and Morey they are going to be predatory. Right? or was that just lip service? DD
It's easy to say that the Mavs have done better when Dirk has been relatively injury free for most of his career. The Mavs have just mixed and matched players around Dirk, some worked, others haven't but the staple is Dirk and he's had a better career thus far then Yao or Tracy. So credit Don Nelson for stealing Dirk on draft day and Mark for not dealing Dirk for Shaq back a few years ago.
They've had an absolutely amazing player in Dirk. And there is one difference between Dirk and TMac/Yao. He's simply been healthy. It's easy to spend money on your team when you know who your centerpiece is. Cuban knows Dirk will always be 100% ready to go in the postseason, so he's much more inclined to spend money to put legitimate championship talent around him. Think back 2-3 years ago. If TMac/Yao were players with healthy track records, don't you think Les would be easier persuaded to push all of his chips in and spend a little extra to push this team over the hump?
We need to get something from McGrady. Yao needs support (2-3 star or close to star players to even have a chance to win it all.) I'm going to say this right now but this team will never win with Yao as the first option.
Could that be attributed to Dirk having a better supporting cast than what Yao and Tracy have had? Dirk didn't have to carry as much of the load as Yao and Tracy had to.
Studdog, its not about butler even if i disagree with u about being a marginal upgrade which makes you the blind on to make that comment. Butler is much better than any wing we have and would be a major asset to have. If you think he's marginally better than what we have, then maybe u need to get league pass and watch games. The real issue is pretty highlighted in your post about who we can't get. So basically you're saying this pick we get or that 7m player we sign needs to turn into a high end all star type within his 1st couple of yrs? Thats why i think the rox are headed to mediocrity. Assumming Yao will be durable and a 20-10 or that guy will be high impact is crazy. What the other elite teams have is that elite player. Its alot easier finding or trading for caron butler types or drafting brooks than it is getting dirk,duncan,kobe, or james. The rockets either need a few more all star level players,they can be borderline or a real star. Unless you're in the high lotto, its easier to get the boderline all star guy than trading for the top end guy unless you're loaded.
Just because TMac and Yao were healthy for a postseason doesn't mean they were for EVERY postseason (obviously). What about 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009? And you can throw out 2004 because it was their first year together. As for 2007, the two years prior probably shied Les away from picking up a 3rd legitimate star, and rightfully so.
I seriously doubt Yao will be the first option once he returns. With the emergance of AB and CL, Yao would be second to third option at best. Though this team has adopted a faster style of play and more ball movement, at times we'll still be forced to play a half-court game. When that happens the offense won't go stagnant, especially with Yao on the court. I see it as a win win situation.
Messing around with the trade machine I came up with this. http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yh4cbwo Throw in our 1st round pick to the Warriors as well.
we fundamentally disagree with each other, which is ok. I don't like the snide comments you make acting like you know more than others. you have an opinion on how you would handle things. leave it at that. in my history, i've been right more than i've been wrong. after watching years of ineptitude with CD, I've come to appreciate the way Morey handles things. He's calm and calculated and won't make a move just to make one. I appreciate that. I also readily admit that he's not infallible. In a world of the internet, larry coon and trade machines, there is significant clarity in trades. unless you are a moron, you can readily discern what theoretical trades are on the table. who we'd want, and who it would take to get them. i like how this team is set up with flexibility. as i've stated repeatedly, we have the draft, free agency and next years trade deadline to significantly upgrade this team. If all come and go and we haven't made a major move, then you are right. we will be stuck in mediocrity. however, i'm not willing to go all in for a marginal upgrade (pathetic three point shooter, good defender, marginal shot creator) that could potentially take us out of future moves by losing a current role player. my hopes for this deadline is that toronto would have been out of the playoff race and that the kings and hornets would have been waiving the white flag. none of that has transpired. that leaves me looking at low risk trades and the real possibility of hanging onto tmac and letting him expire.
Or this.... http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yfjq98n With New York and Chicago being one of the few teams left to still be interested, we should make something work out with them.
And a Houston-Golden State-New York trade: http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yzdmkfc Works for all teams. Maybe throw our first round pick to Golden State.
