Don’t believe the lie. Kobe Bryant wasn’t dishing out compliments to the Mavericks as some sort of clever ploy. He was being straight up honest.
“No question,” Kobe said Saturday when asked by our girl Gina Miller whether the trade moves the Mavs to the Lakers’ level. “I hate to say it, but it’s true. … Trust me, I don’t like it by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s a great move by (Dallas). It pains me to say it. But you guys made two great pickups.”
Puhleeze, Kobe. Everyone knows he loves to compete. I bet he gets even more excited for his next (and last) matchup with the Mavs. He lives to overcome new challenges. And that’s exactly what the Mavericks are now. A new challenge.
Here’s what Kobe had to say about Caron Butler: “You’re going to love him,” Bryant said. “I hate to say that, but you guys are going to absolutely love him. You put him on a contender and I’m telling you, you’re going to love him. And he’s tough as nails, too.”
Just How Good ARE The Mavs Now?
Mark Cuban is noticeably excited:
“It makes us significantly better,” owner Mark Cuban said. “Damp [Erick Dampier] is having problems with his knees and requires rest every now and then and we were in a spot without having a shot-blocker behind him. Drew did a great job. He laid it out there every game for us to try to fill in. Going into the season we thought that would work and it just didn’t play out as planned.
“Any which way you evaluate his performance, [Haywood] has been a top 5-to-7 center. And he’s a top-5 center defensively. This gives us a lot of flexibility.”
The question on everyone’s mind is whether this trade for Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood really makes the Mavs an elite team like Los Angeles, Cleveland, Orlando, and possibly Denver. Let’s look at the new lineup.
PG – Jason Kidd
SG – Caron Butler
SF – Shawn Marion
PF – Dirk Nowitzki
C – Brendan Haywood
6th – Jason Terry
7th – Erick Dampier
8th – JJ Barea
9th – Roddy Beaubois
Not a bad lineup, but not terribly deep at Power Forward or Center now. With Dampier injured, Haywood is the only true center on the team, leaving only Eddie Najera and Tim Thomas (if he ever rejoins the team) as the only fresh legs for to play some minutes at Power Forward or Center.
What we’ll see is a lot of rotating down, where Shawn Marion takes a break while Jason Terry or Roddy Beaubois get some playing time, shifting Caron Butler down to his natural spot at Small Forward. Or we’ll see Haywood sit and Dirk take some minutes at Center with Kidd, Terry, Butler, and Marion on the court.
Possible Holes in the Team
The biggest hole in the team is the 13 man roster. That means there are two spots on the bench NOT being used. Dallas needs to fill those roster spots this week if possible so they have a full rotation heading into the playoffs. All it would take is one or two tweaked ankles in the Power Forward or Center spot and the Mavs would have no hope for playoff advancement.
Dallas is guard heavy and forward light, as far as the number of players available to play each position. Terry, Barea, and Beaubois can each play the Point Guard or Shooting Guard position. No worries about those two positions. Matt Carroll and DeShawn Stevenson are both shooting guards who will likely never play.
The money’s been spent on starting big men, which means Dallas has no real backup plan in case of injury. Tim Thomas is nowhere to be seen these days, Eddie Najera is a defensive threat but not a scorer.
Pick up two Power Forward / Centers while you can and this team has a shot.
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The Mavericks haven't had a player I've enjoyed watching since Finley. This will at least bring me back to watching them.