Will Dwight Howard Spurn Logic, Lakers for Houston or Dallas?
The money, power and attention Dwight Howard so desperately wants are all there for the taking if he re-signs with the Los Angeles Lakers. So why isn’t he shouting from the rooftops that L.A., and not Houston or Dallas, is where he longs to be?
According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, Howard is in no rush to commit to a Lakers return, and in fact, he’s apparently giving some serious thought to a few other teams, particularly the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks.
Though Howard is adamant his free agency not be marred by the circus-like environment that surrounded his departure from Orlando last summer, word already has spread to multiple levels of his support staff that Howard re-signing with the Lakers is far from a done deal.
Howard can talk about avoiding a circus all he wants, but if we’ve learned anything from the way he’s handled virtually every public decision of his basketball life over the past couple of years, it’s that he craves the attention that comes with situations like this one.
If we step back and look at the situation logically, it seems like Howard can’t possibly be serious about leaving Los Angeles, can he?
For starters, Howard can make about $118 million on a five-year deal if he re-signs with his current team. Moving to another team as a free agent or as part of a sign-and-trade deal would limit Howard to “just” $88 million on a deal that could only span four years.
The NBA set up its collective bargaining agreement to encourage star players to remain with their teams, and by looking at Howard’s situation as an example, it’s pretty clear that there are some serious financial incentives to staying put.
And in theory, Howard’s Los Angeles income wouldn’t just be limited to his salary. Everyone knows that the endorsement dollars are bigger where the market is more robust, and L.A. gives D12 the opportunity to make a mint away from the basketball court.
In addition, Howard loves the bright lights and attention in Los Angeles. A place like Houston hardly provides the media exposure Howard seems to prize so highly.
Finally, we learned during the year that Howard and Kobe Bryant clashed more than once over the alpha-dog issue in L.A. The two of them never got along because both believed they were the Lakers’ best player. Well, that was one issue. The other one had to do with Howard’s apparent inability to conduct himself like an adult.
With Bryant recovering from a ruptured Achilles, Howard should be free to take control of the team. (God help them.)
The dollars and the attention are in Los Angeles. That’s beyond doubt.
But there are a couple of positives about leaving L.A. that we’ve got to mention for the sake of objectivity. For one thing, there’s a case to be made that wins might not be so easy to come by if Howard sticks around in Los Angeles.
With a high profile, a championship legacy and an apparent willingness to laugh as the luxury-tax threshold recedes in the rear view, the Lakers have the ability to turn things around in a hurry. But Mike D’Antoni certainly hasn’t proved that he’s capable of leading a winner, and based on some of his recent personnel decisions, GM Mitch Kupchak may have lost his touch.
The problem with that line of thinking, though, is that we’ve never seen any evidence to support the notion that Howard actually cares about winning. Sure, there were a few crocodile tears after L.A. bowed out of the playoffs, but we’ve seen far too much selfish behavior from D12 to believe that he was really all that distraught over being eliminated.
The case for the Rockets is pretty simple: They’ve got more young talent, lots of cap flexibility and a home state whose tax situation would ease the blow of the $30 million Howard would leave on the table by abandoning L.A. And for what it’s worth, it seems as though at least one current member of the Rockets is interested in the idea of luring the big man to the Lone Star state.
Dallas has Dirk Nowitzki and the same tax break, but Howard has already tried his hand at joining up with an aging star in L.A., and that turned out to be an unqualified disaster.
Logically, it’s difficult to imagine what Howard could want that the Lakers couldn’t provide. But maybe, what Howard really wants—attention—is at the heart of this latest report.
So if you’re sickened by the idea of dealing with yet another offseason in which D12 is a daily news item, you’re going to need something to distract you. Well, either that, or you could take more drastic measures.
Look, Howard hasn’t handled a single public relations move or career decision well since leaving Orlando. So it shouldn’t be a shock that he’s already mucking this one up. If reason prevails, Howard will be back in a Lakers uniform next season.
I guess the only problem with that thinking is that Howard hasn’t done much lately to prove that he’s a reasonable guy.
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2nd-Round Draft Prospects Guaranteed to Interest the Dallas Mavericks
While much of the attention is being focused on what will happen in the NBA lottery, there can be potential value in all 60 picks on draft night.
Just in recent years, Marc Gasol, Gilbert Arenas, Manu Ginobili and Carlos Boozer are among the players picked in the second round of the NBA draft who went on to become All-Stars in their NBA careers.
Last year, the Dallas Mavericks picked up Jae Crowder in the second round, who ended up being a solid rotation player for the club, and Bernard James, who got some playing time at the center position as well.
While this may not be a strong draft class up front, plenty of players who are currently projected not to be first-round picks could end up making a serious impact in the NBA.
The Mavericks need all the help they can get if they want to get back into the playoff mix, and if they play their cards right, they could end up getting a second-round pick who can help their squad.
Here are some potential second-rounders who will be capturing the Mavericks’ attention in the next month.
C Jeff Withey
Depending on where you look, Jeff Withey is either projected as a late-first- or early-second-round draft pick, and if he does slip into Round 2, the Mavericks should do whatever they can to bring him in.
The Mavericks are in need of a big man who can make a difference defensively, and that is certainly where Withey could come in.
Withey is a legitimate 7-footer who averaged over eight rebounds and three blocks a game at Kansas last year. He is excellent at protecting the basket and could give the Mavericks a great backup, or even starting, center for years to come if he can develop his offensive game.
PG Myck Kabongo
Myck Kabongo is an under-the-radar point guard prospect who could easily fall into the mid-second round come draft night.
However, Kabongo has shown in his college career that he has the ability when he is on the court to be a serious playmaker.
Kabongo is an excellent passer and is extremely quick in the open floor, and he also operates very well in the pick-and-roll.
Kabongo isn’t a good shooter and still needs to get much stronger defensively, which is why he will slip to the second round. However, if the Mavericks can bring him in and slowly build him into the rotation, he could end up being a huge bargain.
SF Adonis Thomas
Adonis Thomas out of Memphis is a player who could be exactly what the Mavericks are looking for late in the draft.
Thomas is a work-in-progress on the offensive end, but the former Memphis standout is an extremely tough and gritty player who can end up being a bruiser defensively.
Thomas can use his athleticism to rebound the ball effectively at the pro level, and he could be a player who develops into a stopper if he can work on his perimeter game.
The Mavericks already have a player similar to Thomas on their roster in Jae Crowder, but if Dallas decides to part ways with Crowder via a trade in the offseason, it would be nice to have Thomas there to take on that role.
PG Nate Wolters
Nate Wolters may end up being limited on the defensive end and needs to bulk up and improve his quickness if he wants to make it in the NBA.
However, one thing is for sure, Wolters can flat-out score the basketball.
Wolters can shoot from distance, get into the lane, hit free throws, and he also has the ability to get his teammates involved in the game.
He has a great presence on the court and a high basketball IQ. It would be smart for the Mavericks to at least consider Wolters if he is still on the board when Dallas picks in the second round.
C Dewayne Dedmon
If Dallas still finds itself without a big man in the second round, it may want to look into USC big man Dewayne Dedmon.
Dedmon without a doubt had a disappointing college career. He never made the impact that many believed he would in SoCal and has big strides ahead of him if he wants to make it in the NBA.
Still, Dedmon has serious potential, especially on the defensive end. Considering that he didn’t even pick up basketball until age 18, Dedmon has come a long way and should only continue to improve.
Make no mistake, Dedmon is a project, but with his shot-blocking ability to go along with his athleticism, he could be worth taking a flyer on in the second round.
SG Vander Blue
Anyone who watched Marquette’s run to the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA tournament can tell you: Vander Blue can straight-up play.
Blue’s jump shot may be unconventional, he needs to improve his ball-handling, and his basketball IQ simply must get better.
However, Blue is a playmaker, and even though his jumper is a bit unconventional, it is still highly effective. He can create for himself off the dribble and hit the jumper, or get to the rim. Defensively, Blue’s quickness and athleticism should make him a good NBA defender.
The Mavericks took a chance last year in the middle of the second round on a Marquette player who was undervalued, and they may be smart to do the same this year with Vander Blue.
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Dirk Nowitzki Talks Paycut, Wants Dallas Mavericks to Contend
After a tough season in which they missed the playoffs for the first time this century, the Dallas Mavericks have reason to be optimistic heading into the near future. Dirk Nowitzki, who has been the heart, leader and best player for the Mavericks for several years now, is reportedly planning on taking a major pay cut in order to help his team win sooner rather than later.
According to ESPNDallas.com’s Tim MacMahon, Nowitzki plans to take a “significant pay cut” one year from now when his current (guaranteed) contract runs out. Said Nowitzki, “At this point of my career, it’s all about competing and winning. It’s not about money.”
Now heading into his 16th year in the NBA, Nowitzki continues to amaze me with his loyalty, selflessness and pure dedication to basketball and the city of Dallas. I still remember vividly prior to the 2010 NBA season when people around the country expected Nowitzki to go and join a contender.
That was the summer of free agency, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and others were all trying to find their respective paths onto teams where they could win without having to carry the load. Already people were talking about Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Amar’e Stoudemire and all the other players who switched cities in 2010 and 2011 in the pursuit of winning championships.
While plenty of players went with the biggest paycheck and many more went with the best team, I remember Nowitzki’s experience the most because he had a very specific goal. He wanted to win a championship, and he wanted to win it in Dallas.
When Nowitzki decided to stay in Dallas, choosing to not even take a maximum contract, it surprised nearly everyone. With no star power beyond Nowitzki himself, the Mavericks were written off quickly enough as no longer being title contenders.
While the Miami Heat were the obvious favorites, the San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and even the young Oklahoma City Thunder all seemed more interesting than the Mavericks, whose only remaining star lingered only out of loyalty.
It would be an understatement to describe the national reaction to the Mavericks winning the championship that year as shock.
What separated Nowitzki from his contemporaries that year in terms of his legacy was not that he had won his first championship. It was that he had won it in the city where he began his career with some of the same teammates he had spent years losing with. Rather than simply skipping town and joining a team that was already ready to win, he transformed the team that was already there into a team that was capable of winning.
Many stars in their later years join up with teams that are obvious contenders. Some well-known examples include players like Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash, Ray Allen (twice) and a plethora of others.
There is nothing necessarily wrong with doing so. However, in this era when players have far less attachment to the cities in which they play than they ever did in the past, it is refreshing and at least intriguing to see that Nowitzki still cares about playing in Dallas. It appears to be obvious that Nowitzki would rather try and fail in Dallas than go anywhere else and succeed.
For all of these reasons, I believe Nowitzki completely when he says that he will willingly accept a pay cut to help the team win one year from now. Doing so opens up the possibility for the Mavericks bringing in top-tier players to help them win a second championship in the city where he wants to win.
Chris Paul and Dwight Howard are obvious targets but not the only ones. With Nowitzki presumably willing to play for as little money as it takes to help the team win, one would expect that the Mavericks will find a way to turn that salary cap space into players of value, one way or another.
With free agency being more important than ever and with players more so than ever being judged on how many rings they win instead of what they did to win those rings, players like Nowitzki are a dying breed.
At least, health providing, we will be able to watch Nowitzki for a few more years.
Adam Waksman is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report who writes primarily about the New York Jets and the NFL. Be sure to follow Adam on Twitter to receive updates right away.
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Kings saga faces possible final chapter in Dallas (Yahoo! Sports)
SEATTLE (AP) — Inside the small club on Seattle’s Capitol Hill late Monday night, the chant would not be contained by the walls, drifting out onto the street with every urging scream from the performers on stage.
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Bleacher Report’s Official Submission for Dallas Mavericks’ Uniform Re-Design
Mark Cuban is taking a different approach to find a new uniform design for the Dallas Mavericks starting in the 2015-16 season. Instead of spending a bunch of money, hiring designers and actually talking to people who know what they’re doing, he’s asking fans to submit their designs.
With the Mavericks missing the playoffs for the first time since 2000, the year that Mark Cuban bought the team, he seems to be a bit stir-crazy.
There are no referees for him to yell at, no media to complain to or about and few people thinking about the Mavericks in general.
In order to get a few eyes his way, and a few more basketball fans putting Dallas on their minds, he’s cooked up this scheme to see if he can strike gold in a sea of joke submissions. (Via Blogmaverick.com)
The Mavs are going to re-do our uniforms for the 2015-16 season… if we get a unique and original design. What’s the best way to come up with creative ideas ? You ask for them. So we are going to crowd source the design and colors of our uniforms.
You know what an NBA uniform looks like. You know what the Mavs colors are for today and the past. We want some new ideas that stay true to our logo and at least close to our current color schemes. Show us what you got !
How do you participate ? You post your ideas/pictures/graphics/videos/photos directly on this blog. Yes we want every one to see them. Steve Jobs said “everything is a remix” . Uniforms probably more so than even technology. So we want every post to inspire other ideas and posts.
…
If we really like your design and you, I may even throw in some tickets.
So there you have it. What do you, the creative mind behind the uniform that the Mavs are going to make gobs of money from through jersey sales, receive? Maybe some tickets.
Sure, it’s a bit cheesy, and the prospect of just getting a few tickets to a Mavs game in exchange for a uniform design seems a tad cheap on Cuban’s part, but it is kind of a cool idea.
That’s why I decided to throw my hat into the ring and rig up my own design for Dallas’ uniforms come 2015.
My initial thought is probably what 90 percent of the people out there thought; they’ve got to bring back the green and blue color scheme from the beginning of this franchise’s time in the league.
From there, the only thing that I knew I should do is center the design around Dallas’ superstar: Mark Cuban himself.
That’s right, it’s not the Dirk Nowitzki show in Dallas, or even the O.J. Mayo, Chris Kaman or Darren Collison show. For the past decade this team has been all about Cubes himself.
With that I decided to center the design around what’s first and foremost in Cuban’s life—Shark Tank.
After Cuban missed a meeting with free-agent point guard Deron Williams last summer in order to film an episode of his reality show, Cuban’s priorities were questioned, and his reputation as an owner took an enormous hit.
With these new uniforms, Cuban can finally go ahead and just mix the two, all while advertising for his hit show.
The NBA was already talking about allowing advertisements on jerseys last year, so why not just jump the gun and become a pioneer?
However, stopping there would leave us just a bit short of what Cuban’s vision truly is.
The rest of the uniform’s design is more or less summed up by his Sketchers commercial from last year.
Obviously this design is going to call for the baggiest shorts possible for the Mavericks’ new uniform. What I’m thinking is grabbing 15 pairs of parachute pants and chopping them off at the knee.
From there, we’re going to move on down to the feet. Dallas is going to become the only team in the NBA to have completely uniform shoes, and the first to be sponsored by Sketchers.
Every player is going to get his own pair of Sketchers Relaxed Fit shoes with the extra roomy toes and the super cushy insoles.
Dallas is about to become the most comfortable team in the NBA.
Can you design a better uniform? Probably.
Go ahead and show me up and you could be the proud owner of a pair of tickets to a Mavs game sometime in the future.
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Realistic Free Agency Targets for the Dallas Mavericks
After a 41-41 season, the Dallas Mavericks are in need of some serious regrouping as they move forward into the 2013-14 campaign.
The Mavericks had their 12-year playoff streak ended this season. They will be looking to make some renovations as nine players currently on their current roster are eligible for free agency.
It’s likely the Mavs will be bringing back some of their players. Still, they will certainly be looking improve their roster in every area and will have the necessary cap space to do so.
Many Mavs fans are clamoring for the team to go sign a superstar like Dwight Howard, but considering that the team was mediocre this season, attracting a free agent of Howard’s profile will be challenging. Dallas has very few young up-and-coming players and the team’s best player is nearly 35; the Mavericks realistically won’t be in the running for a player of that magnitude.
Instead, they would be smart to go after second-tier free agents who will still greatly improve their club but who should be easier to get under contract.
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Are Dallas Mavericks Headed Back to Early 2000s Version of Team?
The Dallas Mavericks are doing something right now that the franchise has not done in over a decade: watch the NBA playoffs from home.
After a 41-41 season, the Mavericks found themselves on the outside looking in of the stacked Western Conference and missed the postseason for the first time since 1999-00.
Dallas has been a consistent commodity in the NBA playoffs up until 2013, with only San Antonio having had a longer active streak going into this season.
Still, Dallas will now be forced to try to pick up the pieces from what was a lost season, and try to right the ship moving forward.
The Mavericks will without a doubt be looking to make a splash in the offseason.
Dallas’s pursuit of both Deron Williams and Dwight Howard last offseason was well documented, and this year the team likely will be trying once again to bring another superstar to Dallas.
The Mavs are in desperate need of another star to put alongside Dirk Nowitzki, as the seven-foot Dirk is on the tail end of his Hall of Fame career.
However, the front office may have limited options in bringing about a superstar player.
Chris Paul and Dwight Howard seem likely to return to Los Angeles. Josh Smith isn’t the best fit in Dallas and even players like Brandon Jennings or Al Jefferson may be a stretch.
So the Mavericks must have some sort of backup plan if they can’t bring in the top player that they may want to.
One direction the franchise may choose to go to is to bring the Mavericks back to the style that they played in the early parts of the 2000s.
Once the Mavericks’ playoff streak began, they were consistently one of the better regular-season teams in the Western Conference under Don Nelson.
However, they never broke through in the playoffs, only making the NBA Finals once in that decade, and not winning the franchise’s first NBA championship until the next decade in 2011.
Mark Cuban was able to make Dallas competitive by using the strategy of overpaying for certain players to come in and complement a budding Nowitzki. Although he may have overspent, he was able to lure them to come join the upstart Mavs and turn them into a playoff contender.
They already had a core of Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash on board, they would soon go out and acquire players such as Juwan Howard, Nick Van Exel, Raef LaFrentz and later Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker to add on to the talent they already had.
While those Mavericks teams were certainly talented, they were unable to be a serious threat for an NBA championship due mostly to their lack of defensive prowess.
Still, it is entirely possible that Dallas could go back to that very same strategy this offseason.
If the Mavericks don’t get the exact free agents they want, Mark Cuban and GM Donnie Nelson may feel pressure to get this team back to a playoff level sooner rather than later.
Instead of investing in young players, they may end up overspending for veterans to try to help them win now.
The Mavs tried a similar strategy this season, signing many players to short-term contracts, but it proved not to be successful. However, if Dallas is unable to get who it wants initially, the pressure on the organization to be winners here and now means that it could try once again to bring in a lot of one- or two-year contracts to established vets.
As ESPN’s Tim Legler discusses in this video, the issue this year is that the NBA free-agent class is relatively weak. This isn’t a good year to try to bring in four or five difference-making players, and the Mavs will have to be creative in order to get back into the playoffs.
Could Dallas overpay to try to get a player like a Monta Ellis, Paul Millsap, Andrei Kirilenko or J.R. Smith? It is entirely possible considering that Dallas has to try to find a way to become a contender when Dirk is still a superstar.
Still, it is important for the Mavericks not to lose sight of the mistakes that were made in the last two seasons. Going for broke on one or two superstars isn’t the right strategy, and neither is bringing in nine new players to short-term contracts.
Dallas instead must find that middle ground to build a contender for the next several seasons. The blueprint from the early 2000s can provide a look into a way to build a team good enough to make the postseason; however, Dallas has greater goals than that, and Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson must evoke a brand-new strategy this offseason to bring the Dallas Mavericks back to prominence.
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Does Dirk Nowitzki’s Future Belong with the Dallas Mavericks?
The Dallas Mavericks wrapped up the season at 41-41, a record which would have earned them a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs play in the West and finished out of the playoffs by four games.
Dallas failed to make the postseason for the first time since 2000, leaving Dirk riled and restless. “Struggling to make the playoffs” is not in his vocabulary (not even in the German, which I believe is “schadenplayöffs“).
After undergoing knee surgery late in the offseason, Dirk didn’t play until December 23 when Dallas was 12-15. They promptly lost their next four games and eight of nine after Nowitzki returned.
Following two more months of middling basketball, the Mavericks finished the season on a high note, going 15-9 after March 1. But they still fell far short of punching their ticket to the postseason.
Ultimately, Dirk’s future consists in a truly agonizing choice: retire in two or three years as a career Dallas Maverick or try for another ring elsewhere. He cannot and will not have both.
What is Dallas’ Plan?
During the January slump, Dirk vented his frustration to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com, saying, “So either you break the whole thing up and trade me, or you get a bunch of one-year deals and try to be a player next summer. That’s the decision we made, so now we’ve got to fight through it.”
So, even Dirk knew that this year would probably be a wash. And Cuban has also stated he will not trade Nowitzki (via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News).
Since the one-year deals didn’t work, it’s up to Dallas’ front office to lure the top free agents this offseason.
But Dirk was bearish on the free-agent market when talking to MacMahon in January, “We hoped for Dwight. Why would he leave the Lakers? To me, it makes no sense. He’s in a great situation. Why would CP3 leave?”
Nowitzki enters the final year of his contract next season when he will make $22.7 million.
He recently told MacMahon: ”I could never see myself playing for another franchise, putting another jersey on. That would be probably the hardest thing I’d have to do in my life…but I also want to play at a high level with a good team that we can be proud of…”
So Dirk can’t envision his departure from Dallas, but if he’s really hungry for another championship ring and the Mavs aren’t playing at a high level, he just might do the hardest thing he’s had to do in his life (not such a hard life in that case).
If they plod through another mediocre season in Big D, the greatest player in franchise history might just decide to ride off into the sunset.
Or he might follow Derek Fisher’s lead and ride across the vast plains for a title shot with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Or he’d sure fit in well with the Houston Rockets. Rest assured that Daryl Morley has a manila folder in his desk stuffed with potential scenarios to land the gangly giant from Wurzburg.
Will Dirk Return to Top Form?
The season had an odd trajectory for Nowitzki. After struggling to find his legs through an erratic month of January, Dirk missed two games with a right abductor strain. Those already marked the 28th and 29th games he had missed in the young season.
But something about that brief absence set him on the HOV lane to recovery.
He averaged 18.0 points on 45.4 percent shooting in February, including a formidable 54.2 percent from three-point range. He also posted 8.5 rebounds that month.
In March, though Dirk couldn’t hit his treys at the same torrid clip (46.8 percent), he poured in 20.0 points per game on 54.8 percent shooting. That’s the Dirk Dallas fans know and love.
But Nowitzki seemed to tire down the stretch even as the Mavs nipped at the Los Angeles Lakers for the final playoff spot. Beginning with a damning 20-point loss to those very Lakers on April 2, Dirk’s averages declined to 16.7 points on 43.7 percent shooting over the final nine games.
He posted a season average of under 20 points for the first time since 2000. It was also his first season with a player efficiency rating under 20. Of Dallas’ 10 most used five-man lineups, only three of them had a positive floor rating, and the top two did not include Dirk (per 82games.com).
Perhaps the German wunderkind is just getting long in the tooth, as the wear and tear of huge playing time finally takes its toll.
Nowitzki is 25 minutes shy of 40,000 career minutes in the regular season. He’s also played an additional 5,281 minutes in the playoffs.
To help provide context for how long Dirk has been in the NBA, longtime retirees Steve Francis and Wally Szczerbiak were drafted the year after him. Steve Nash was drafted two years before Nowitzki and still trails him by 2,200 minutes, which is roughly the equivalent of the entire 2011-12 season.
Dirk has plenty left in the tank, but he may be a diminished player going forth, which is always a depressing decline to witness—especially when paying $22 million for it.
Greener Pastures?
Speaking to Tim MacMahon, Nowitzki stated: “Honestly, I can’t really see myself going anywhere else but here. Really, the pressure is on Mark (Cuban) and Donnie (Nelson) to get this franchise back to where it belongs, and they know that. Then we’re all good, everything’s fine.”
While it’s common knowledge that Dirk is not possessed of letter-perfect English skills, there seems to be a logical assertion implicit in his use of the word “then.” As in, given that the pressure is on, if Cuban and Walsh know that, then it’s all good.
And if Cuban and Nellie don’t know that? Then it’s not all good.
One might be tempted to say something along the lines of this: “Of course the Mavs front office knows the pressure is on. Cuban has piles of money and he’s gonna make some big moves.”
Ah yes, but the easy rejoinder to that is simple: Tyson Chandler.
Directly after Dallas shocked the Miami Heat to snag the 2011 championship, Cuban let Chandler exit stage left to join the New York Knicks and netted little more than Andy Rautins in return (who has not played an NBA game since).
Chandler wasted no time in winning Defensive Player of the Year and quickly became a heart-and-soul player for New York. Dirk is still bitter.
But don’t worry, Nowitzki doesn’t seem to consider free agency or throwing a tantrum to force a trade as viable options. It appears the 34-year-old will remain in Dallas until he either decides to retire or Cuban fails to sign any decent players, whichever comes first.
Supporting Cast
Last summer, Dallas lost Jason Kidd and Jason Terry to contending teams in the East, but they gained Chris Kaman, Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo.
Kaman flourished while playing fewer minutes than last year and blended in well with the Dallas roster.
Collison ran the point pretty well, but the Mavs are intent on getting better at that position.
Mayo was Dallas’ offensive leader for large portions of the season and could be a piece to build a backcourt around.
But much like Rasheed Wallace, Mayo wants someone to “cut the check” and make it in the largest amount possible.
Brandan Wright turned in another season of efficient numbers in limited minutes. Jae Crowder came out of Marquette and instantly served as a defensive force, as well as a pretty good cheerleader due to his boundless energy.
The aging vets around Dirk also excelled, with Shawn Marion and Vince Carter each improving significantly on their PER from a year ago.
Now Dallas just needs to focus on beating the half dozen vastly superior teams in their conference.
Gunslinging Out West
Don’t tell Dirk, but the Western Conference has become incredibly good since the Mavs hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Not only do the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs continue to sit atop the totem pole, but the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies all look like legit contenders for the NBA Finals.
Add to that mix the burgeoning Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, and you have seven teams that are poised to challenge for their division over the next two or three seasons.
And you had better believe the Lakers will be back with a huge chip on their shoulders next year.
So how can Dallas compete? In short, they can’t. They lack youth, depth and a second star to buttress Dirk. Short of making a huge splash in free agency this summer, Dirk will likely lead the way as Dallas stumbles through another ho-hum season.
Though they have about $21 million coming off the books (per HoopsHype.com), a lot of areas need tending to, far too many to mold these Mavs into a Western Conference contender. So if Dirk wants one last ring, he’ll need to shop around.
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5 Biggest Issues Dallas Mavericks Must Address This Offseason
The roller-coaster ride that was the Dallas Mavericks’ season has come to an end.
After their victory over the New Orleans Hornets, the Mavs close out the year right where they started it, with a .500 record.
41-41 was not good enough to keep the Mavericks’ 12-year playoff streak going, but it did continue their streak of not having a losing record, something the team has avoided every year since 2000.
Although the Mavs closed out the season on a high note, playing their best basketball of the season over the last month, it was still a disappointing year for a team that had expectations of being in the postseason once the year began.
One thing we know for sure is that the Mavericks will not sit idly by in the offseason and that Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson will do everything in their power to try and improve the team.
With that being said, there are obvious issues with the team that must be addressed if the Mavs want to be contenders next season.
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Dirk Nowitzki Shaves James Harden-Esque Beard After Dallas Mavericks Reach 40-40
Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks don’t need the playoffs. They had something much bigger to play for.
Like the ability to appear clean shaven again.
At 21-28, Dirk and crew made a pact not to shave until the team reached .500. Two-plus months and 31 games later, the Mavericks reached 40-40 following an 18-point thrashing of the New Orleans Hornets.
As you can tell (h/t Larry Brown Sports), Nowitzki wasted little time in relieving himself of the forest that was growing on his face. He can be seen smirking as he gives his face a cursory buzz.
Though undoubtedly ecstatic that Dallas hit the .500 mark, Dirk had been waiting to escape the responsibilities that come with being James Harden’s doppleganger for quite some time. He had a barber at the ready once the Mavericks were 35-36.
Much like Harden’s beard, Nowitzki’s had become something of a novelty. His face resembled that of a blonde grizzly bear and people loved it.
Dirk’s beard, I shall miss you. twitter.com/BallinWithBrya…
— Bryan Gutierrez (@BallinWithBryan) April 15, 2013
After watching him sport a jungle’s worth of muttonchops for nearly half the season, it’s almost unsettling to see his face naked again. He looks a good 10 years younger.
Dirk has already shaved. twitter.com/townbrad/statu…
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) April 15, 2013
His untamed facial art will be missed by everyone except Dirk himself.
Oh, and probably his wife as well.
“I might get a kiss tonight,” Nowitzki said (via Mike Fischer of Fox Sports Southwest). “My wife stopped kissing me sometime in February.”
Congratulations, Dirk. In one night, your Mavs reached .500 again, you shaved your beard, regained the right to smooch your spouse and eclipsed 25,000 points for your career.
Talk about your memorable victories.
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