Completely biased and unbalanced coverage of the Dallas Mavericks.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on May 28, 2010 under xOther | 
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Remember the time Brendan Haywood was in a commercial for Eastern Motors? Me neither. Probably because it was a local commercial in the D.C. area and I, well, don’t live there. It’s a bummer, really, because as far as commercials involving NBA players singing in a car go, it’s top-notch. Enjoy:
Video via Truth About It.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on May 27, 2010 under Commentary, News | View Comments
In an interesting wrinkle for the Texas Legends, Eddie Sefko reported earlier this week that the Legends could inherit the roster of the Los Angeles D-Fenders. The L.A. team will phase out for the D-League’s upcoming season for financial reasons, but reportedly has plans to phase back into the league for the following year. What exactly the league should do with the rights to the team’s players is a difficult question to answer, and it’s one that remains unresolved.
As a precedent, Sefko cited the dissolution/relocation of the Anaheim Arsenal to Springfield, where they then became the Springfield Armor. The comparison makes sense when broken down into its most simplistic components: one team ends, another begins, roster transfers. But all indications point to both scenarios being incredibly complicated, which makes a comparison a bit dicey. For one, the exact circumstances that dictated the Arsenal’s move are a bit…fuzzy. The roster ended up moving to Springfield as a new team started there (along with a new ownership group, I might add), but the situation wouldn’t exactly mirror a potential move from L.A. to Frisco.
For one, the general D-Fenders infrastructure, as I understand it, is to remain in place. The team will phase out rather than disappear forever, with the intent not to end operations but to cease them while the model is reworked. Obviously the players will not be retained in the meantime, and the D is still unresolved as to best handle the situation with player rights.
As if the D-Fenders’ one-year hiatus wasn’t enough of a complication, their ownership situation makes things extra interesting. The D-Fenders are owned by the Lakers, and as one of the few D-League teams owned by a mothership NBA franchise, Dan Reed and the D-League have great incentive to make this work. Team ownership has to maintain its allure for other NBA outfits, and to see L.A. run a team for so long and then lose out on its entire roster would certainly qualify as a disconcerting sight. Still, it’s not like the D-Fenders can just put hooks on all of their current players and reel them back in once the organization is stable again.
It’s the one-year break for the franchise and ownership incentivisation that make the outcome of this ordeal incredibly fuzzy for the Legends and the D-Fenders alike. Maybe, as Sefko described, the Legends will inherit the D-Fenders roster. In such a scenario, the Legends would still be able to benefit from the expansion draft, which would allow Nancy Lieberman, Del Harris, Spud Webb, and Donnie Nelson to further customize their roster. Essentially, the Legends would have the right of first refusal on any of the D-Fenders’ former players, and should they choose to cut every one of those players loose, they’d be entitled. Again, this is only if the D-League does indeed decide to move the L.A. roster to Frisco, because otherwise Texas would be forced to build their roster solely through the expansion draft, the D-League draft, and by using undrafted talent and NBA assignees.
That could be a rougher road, but perhaps one fitting for an expansion team just setting its roots.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under The Grapevine | View Comments
Posted by Rob Mahoney on May 26, 2010 under xOther | View Comments
Video via NBA.com.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on May 25, 2010 under Commentary | View Comments
Jason Terry is the most important non-essential Maverick.
Although this year’s playoffs proved that Terry’s game is anything but unsolvable, he remains one of the few Mavs capable of creating their own offense. That’s a valuable skill regardless of team context, but given how stagnant the Dallas offense can be at times, Terry’s skills remain a crucial part to unlocking this current roster’s offensive potential. Had JET been a productive scorer in this year’s playoffs rather than handcuffed and tossed in the corner, it’s possible the Mavs would still be alive. He can’t do everything on his own like Dirk Nowitzki can, but you have to believe that Rick Carlisle, Jason Kidd, and the rest of the team can do a better job of enabling one of the team’s more efficient scorers. He may need a little help reaching that level of production, but the fact that it can be reached makes him valuable.
Then again, should the Mavs acquire an effective shooting guard in free agency, Terry’s impact is minimized. It’s clear that finding minutes for Rodrigue Beaubois will be a priority for Rick Carlisle next season, and with at least Shawn Marion and a scoring 2 taking up minutes on the wing, it’s easy to imagine a world in which JET’s role is diminished. Suppose Dallas hangs on to Caron Butler beyond this summer as well, and you’re looking at four high-minute players vying for for playing time on the wings (though Beaubois will certainly see some time at the point next year).
Terry averaged 33 minutes per game this season in 77 games for the Mavs, but that number could soon fall. In itself, that may not be earth-shaking news, but JET’s minutes could have a substantial impact on his future with the team, as noted by Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas last week. Should Terry’s minutes next season fail to break the 1,500 mark, only $5 million of his 2011-2012 salary ($11.16 million) would be guaranteed. That could potentially make JET an incredibly interesting trade chip going into the new CBA. Donnie Nelson and Mark Cuban were able to turn Jerry Stackhouse’s similar contract — albeit with less guaranteed money — into Kris Humphries and a signed-and-traded Shawn Marion, which is pretty good return value on a player that had limited basketball effectiveness at the time and had only played in 10 games the previous season.
There’s too much to be determined before we know Terry’s role on the 2010-2011 Mavs for sure, but a drastic change would be necessary for JET’s minutes to duck under the 1,500-minute mark. Jason has never played fewer than 1,500 minutes in a season and has played fewer than 78 games only twice (77 and 74 games in the last two seasons). Barring a major acquisition, an unfortunate injury, or a supernatural occurrence that would transform Matt Carroll into a rotation player, we should expect Terry to meet that number rather easily.
Then again, the fact that we’re even having this conversation says a lot about the evolution of the Mavs as a franchise. Since the team evolved from the ‘Big Three’ model to a more Dirk-centric design in ‘04-’05, Jason Terry has been an integral part of the team. He started off as Nash’s replacement at point guard, but ultimately became the league’s most effective scoring reserve, and it was Terry’s success at the 2 that helped to elevate the Mavs in 2006 and 2007. Though Dallas’ top defense have more or less operated in spite of JET’s deficiencies, the iso-heavy offense employed throughout most of this Maverick era only works because of a player of Nowitzki’s unique talents and due to the supplementary contributions of a player like Terry. His game may not be perfect, but no one Mav (aside from Dirk) has been more valuable over the last five years.
Yet now, superlatives all fall in the past tense, and this very post is discussing the possibility of shipping out Terry in the Stackhousian method of player marginalization. JET is merely a season removed from being named the Sixth Man of the Year, and yet many Mavs fans are hoping that in twelve month’s time, Terry will be reduced to a tradable contract. It’s off-putting to think about in those terms because of what it means about the nature of both the NBA and the Mavs’ offense.
If Terry, whose skills really haven’t diminished all that much from his most successful NBA seasons, is no longer a viable candidate for major minutes on this team, is the Dallas offense as we know it truly dead and buried? Is that a condemnation of Dirk’s style of play, or an evolution of his supporting cast to better fit his needs? When the Mavs assembled Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, and Caron Butler — three of the best mid-range shooters in the league — in the same place and the template flunked out of the first round, does that make the Dallas model flawed beyond repair or in desperate need of personnel upgrades elsewhere on the roster?
It’s difficult to say. There are so few easy questions in team construction, especially for a team like the Mavs that need to be fixed but isn’t necessarily broken. Terry epitomizes the issues Dallas faces moving forward, and the questions of how best to use him in the offense, how to hide him on defense, and whether or not his production is worth the effort moving forward are all valid. They’re just not easy, and whether JET hits the 1,500-minute mark in ‘10-’11 or not, what the Mavs choose to do with Jason Terry will greatly influence both their immediate and long-term futures.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on May 23, 2010 under The Grapevine | View Comments
Posted by Rob Mahoney on May 22, 2010 under News | View Comments
Mark Cuban said more than “no comment” when asked about LeBron James’ impending free agency, and now he’ll pay the price. Cuban will be fined a cool $100,000 for some pretty harmless remarks that apparently violated the league’s tampering rules, but Mark is as big of a fish as the league could hope to catch. This isn’t about making Cuban pay for his words, but about making it abundantly clear to coaches, managers, and owners around the league that impending free agents — namely, LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh — are completely off-limits for discussion until July 1st.
For good measure, the NBA also fined Suns’ GM Steve Kerr $10,000 for commenting on the same issue.
You can read the full transcript of Cuban’s comments on LeBron below, or watch the video of his comments (from CNN Money) here.
“Come July 1st, yeah, of course, anybody would be interested in LeBron James. And if he leaves via free agency, then it’s going to be tough. If he does like I’m guessing, hoping he will, which is say, ‘I’m not going to leave the Cavs high and dry,’ if he decides to leave — there’s still a better chance he stays — then he’ll try to force a sign-and-trade and that gives us a chance.”
[Do you think it's likely he'll stay with Cleveland?]
“Don’t know. I don’t know. What I do know about LeBron, in the minimal time I’ve spent talking to him, is that he just wants to win.”
[So he needs a team that can win.]
“Yeah. Money is not his issue, he needs to be someplace where he trusts the organization. Look, Dan Gilbert in Cleveland did everything he possibly could. That’s just the way the game works. If there was a template we all could follow, we’d all have championship rings.”
And, for kicks, here are Kerr’s comments on the Dan Patrick Show:
[Can I lump the Suns in to the LeBron sweepstakes?]
“If he’ll take the mid-level, we’ll give it to him.”
[What's mid-level?]
“About 5 and a half million. I think he’ll take it, don’t you think?”
[Where do you think he's going to go?]
“I have no idea. I want him to stay in Cleveland. I think that’s good for sports when you’ve got players you connect to over a long period of time, so I hope he stays.”
Are Kerr’s comments really worth a $10,000 fine? And is the difference between them and Cuban’s really equivalent to $90,000? If the league wants to fine Cuban for citing how his team can acquire LeBron, that’s one thing, but Kerr’s remarks were obviously made in jest. This could easily turn into a witch hunt of team officials that have made comments regarding LeBron from around the NBA, but instead the league seems to be using Cuban and Kerr as a cautionary tale. I take it the message was received, as $100k (or even $10k) is a bit pricey for a rather limited sales pitch.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under Commentary, News | View Comments
Marc Stein dropped the biggest bomb of the Mavs’ off-season thus far: barring a rapid advancement in the negotiations between Dirk Nowtizki and the Mavs over a possible extension, Dirk is expected to opt-out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
I know what it sounds like, but relax and take deep breaths. Dirk becoming an unrestricted free agent opens the door for a potential disaster this summer, but it’s far, far more likely that Nowitzki will remain a Maverick in 2010-2011 and beyond. The real motivations for Nowitzki’s potential opt-out are not to test the free agent waters or flirt with other teams around the league, but rather because of two potential economic benefits (as outlined by Stein) that Dirk can only access by signing a new deal this summer:
Opting out to sign a new deal, for starters, would lock in terms based on the NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement through the life of the next contract. Under the league’s current system, Nowitzki is eligible for a four-year maximum contract from Dallas worth $96.2 million once he opts out. The most he could receive from another team is a four-year deal worth $93.1 million.
Signing a three-year extension to the last remaining season on his current contract, by contrast, would expose Nowitzki to potential after-the-fact reductions to his annual wage if league owners are successful in their attempts to lower the value of maximum salaries in the next collective bargaining agreement.
…Another motivation for Nowitzki to opt out as opposed to signing an extension is the ability to secure a no-trade clause in a new contract.
Only players with at least eight years of NBA service time and four seasons with the same team are eligible to have a no-trade clause in their contracts, but such clauses can only be added to new deals. NBA rules prevent major changes, such as adding a no-trade clause, to an existing contract or an extension to a contract, which is largely why Bryant possesses the league’s only active no-trade clause.
You can’t blame Nowitzki for wanting either of those things. It’s not necessarily selfish to act in one’s best interest, and in this case that’s exactly what Dirk is doing. By signing a new deal now, Dirk will lock himself into a more lucrative long-term contract than is likely to be allowed under the new CBA next season. It’s a no-brainer for him, and the possibility of adding a no-trade clause gives Dirk personal protection from being traded to an uncompetitive team in the future. This is how NBA players should protect themselves, and you can’t blame Nowitzki for doing just that.
Coincidentally, the move would actually help out the Mavs in ‘10-’11 should Nowitzki choose to re-sign. As a player who’s been in the league 10+ seasons, the maximum salary Dirk could make in the first season of a new contract is equal to 35% of the salary cap, 105% of his previous salary, or $14 million, whichever is higher. Should Dirk re-sign with the Mavs on a new deal, his salary for next season would actually be just $20.8 million (105% of his previous salary), a bit less than his ‘10-11 salary had he not opted out ($21.5 million). That’s only if Nowitzki pushes the Mavs to the max possible deal, which may not be the case. Dirk has already stated that he’s willing to opt-out and re-sign for a lower salary if it could help the team improve, and we could see Nowitzki sign for a sub-max contract this summer even if he’s worth max money.
That’s not going to clear any cap space for a team that will be well into luxury tax territory, but it does ease the burden on Mark Cuban’s wallet a bit. You’re looking at double the savings for Cuban and the Mavs next season after tax implications, which is a nice bit of financial relief for an owner already dishing some major shekels to keep the team competitive.
While there are plenty of teams around the league that would be interested in hiring Nowitzki at a competitive salary, this is a situation in which loyalty, personal relationships, and history all come into play, and Dirk’s long-term relationships with Nelson, Cuban, and the Mavs will certainly affect his decision this summer. On top of that, Dallas will likely field the most competitive roster among Dirk’s potential suitors, another factor which would give the home team the edge in contract negotiations.
This is a good thing, for both Dirk and the Mavs. Don’t neglect the possibility of the bottom falling out in this team, but signs from Donnie Nelson, Mark Cuban, Rick Carlisle, other GMs and coaches around the league, and Nowitzki himself all point to Dirk’s return. In all likelihood, Dirk will be a Mav next season, and the implications of his opt-out will only affect his and the team’s finances.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on under News | View Comments
The D-League’s presence in Frisco has gone from idea to reality over the course of the last year. What started with a commitment by Donnie Nelson and Evan Wyly has morphed into something vaguely resembling a franchise, with Nancy Lieberman, Del Harris, and Spud Webb taking control of basketball ops. There’s still no roster to speak of, but ‘the Frisco D-League team’ has evolved into the Texas Legends, and the Legends now not only have the faces of their organization in the Liberman-Harris-Webb triumvirate, but logo and color scheme that make it all official. Behold:
Image via Ridiculous Upside.
I’m actually quite pleased with it. Using the Mavs’ color scheme was to be expected, but this logo is what Dallas’ logo should be: modern, basketball-centric, and a good balance between minimalism and flash. Instead, the big leaguers boast a logo that can best be described as Emo Horse. Great.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on May 20, 2010 under xOther | View Comments
Video via Both Teams Played Hard/Marcel Mutoni.
Nothing too groundbreaking, but Cuban talked with CNN Money regarding the Mavs’ potential interest in LeBron James this summer, Mikhail “the Party Beast” Prokhorov, and Mark’s reason for being an NBA owner.
UPDATE 10:41 PM: Surprise, surprise, the league will be considering the possibility of fining Cuban for what would seem to be tampering. Cuban, however, says it’s “not even close.”