I have been a Dallas Mavericks fan through the good times as well as the bad. However, lately I haven’t been quite so happy with some of their moves. Not long ago they so obviously forced former head coach Avery Johnson out of Dallas. He was replaced by former Detroit Pistons’ and Indiana Pacers’ head man Rick Carlisle.
During Johnson’s four seasons as the head man, the Mavs always made the playoffs. The highlight was a trip to the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat during the 2005-06 season, which ultimately ended in a six-game loss.
In my opinion, that success alone more than warrants another season at the helm. How can you get rid of a man who helped lead the team to the franchise’s first finals appearance?
After the trip to the finals, it was pretty much downhill. The past two seasons the Mavs failed to make it past the first round. They lost to Golden State in 2007 and most recently to New Orleans.
Like every other playoff team Dallas was forced to make a trade. They sent rising star Devin Harris and additional players to New Jersey and in exchange received an overrated Jason Kidd and some spare parts.
When I first heard that the trade had gone through, I thought to myself this is going to make the Mavs a lock to win the NBA title.
Actually, it had a negative impact on what they were trying to achieve.
Kidd is 35 years old and isn’t getting any younger. If they’re lucky, the Mavs will get one or maybe two more good years out of him.
Once that time runs out where do you go? You gave up Harris, who had so much potential and could have been a starter for a long time in Dallas.
J.J. Barea and Jason Terry are the only other point guards on the team.
Would you really want Barea or Terry leading your team? I know I sure wouldn’t.
If Dallas has any shot of getting back to the NBA finals, they have to go out and get a legitimate third go-to player to take the pressure off Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard.
You have to realize that Nowitzki isn’t getting any younger and his window to win a championship is slowly closing.
The only way the Mavs will get a good point guard, however, is to give up Howard or one of the other promising young players.
For some reason, I don’t see them making that same mistake twice. It is the Mavs, though, and you never know what owner Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson, president of basketball operations, are thinking.
There are going to be some changes around Dallas this offseason, and hopefully they will include a point guard who can lead the team back to the NBA finals once again.
