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Believe it or not, Kobe doesn’t think the world revolves around him. #stunned

As we await LeBron’s decision, let’s take a quick look at the names that came out of the 2003 NBA Draft. You tell me if you think there’s ever been a better draft year.

1. LeBron James
2. Darko Milicic
3. Carmelo Anthony
4. Chris Bosh
5. Dwayne Wade
6. Chris Kaman
7. Kirk Hinrich
8. T. J. Ford

That’s just the top 8. Moving down the list we also have these gems:

• David West
• Sasha Pavlovic
• Boris Diaw
• Leandro Barbosa
• Josh Howard
• Luke Walton
• Mo Williams
• Kyle Korver

That’s a star studded draft class if I’ve ever seen one. Four of the top five draft picks are current superstars in the league. So I picked five other years that “might” compete. Look at the names in bold. I’m comparing the four best of each year with the four best of 2003.

Other contenders

1987 NBA Draft Class

• David Robinson
• Scottie Pippen
• Reggie Miller
• Kevin Johnson
• Horace Grant
• Mugsy Bogues
• Mark Jackson
• Reggie Lewis

1979 NBA Draft Class

• Magic Johnson
• Bill Cartwright
• Cliff Robinson
• Jim Paxson
• Bill Laimbeer

1985 NBA Draft Class

• Karl Malone
• Patrick Ewing
• Chris Mullin
• Xavier McDaniel
• Detlef Schrempf
• Charles Oakley
• Joe Dumars
• A. C. Green
• Terry Porter

1984 NBA Draft Class

• Hakeem Olajuwon
• Michael Jordan
• Charles Barkley
• John Stockton
• Kevin Willis
• Otis Thorpe
• Alvin Robertson
• Sam Perkins

1996 NBA Draft Class

• Kobe Bryant
• Allen Iverson
• Steve Nash
• Ray Allen
• Peja Stojakovic
• Jermaine O’ Neal
• Stephon Marbury
• Antoine Walker
• Zydrunas Ilgauskas
• Ben Wallace (undrafted)
• Derek Fisher

Mark Cuban admitted to Randy Galloway two days ago that prior to the 2007-2008 season, the Mavericks could have traded Dirk for Kobe straight up. And yet Cuban and Nelson didn’t want him. Do what? They didn’t want Kobe? The most driven player in the entire league? The self-starter?

On top of that, Dallas could have traded Josh Howard for Pau Gasol. That was an option briefly discussed, but the Mavericks sat on it and Gasol was gone to L.A. Nice going, guys.

Imagine it. Devin Harris at point. Kobe Bryant at shooting guard. Brandon Bass at the small forward. Pau Gasol at power forward. Erick Dampier at center. Jason Terry, Tyronn Lue, and DeSagana Diop coming off the bench. Sounds pretty good to me.

Devin Harris slashing to the hoop, dishing out to Kobe. Kobe fakes outside, lobs it in to Gasol. Bass and Dampier down low for the rebound. Where’s the downside here? True, Devin isn’t the ultimate point guard, but Kobe would have either straightened him up or pushed him out. Same with Damp. I can picture Kobe giving Damp the verbal tongue lashing he’s always deserved. In response, we’d see an extra five points and 4 rebounds per game from Damp.

Kobe won’t settle for laziness. He gets the best from his teammates or he makes them leave. Call it a strength or call it a weakness. Dallas needs someone with real passion for the game. Kobe would have been the spark Dallas hasn’t seen since Finley carried the team before Dirk.

Ah, what would have been. So much for that. Instead, we have a Round One playoff elimination, Jason Kidd, pot smoking Josh Howard, and no backup center or driving force behind this team.

Add Kobe and Gasol to the list of historic tragic misses that have come to be expected from your Dallas Mavericks.

If the rumors of a complete overhaul aren’t grossly exaggerated, MavsUpdate will be needing a new banner image yet again. The Mavs are sure to make some roster changes in addition to the head coach. One Bucks blogger is calling for a Josh Howard / Jerry Stackhouse trade for Michael Redd. That’s an interesting thought. Assuming Redd is as good as they say he is, he and Dirk could make an interesting combo. But Redd is not a name we’d necessarily get excited about here in Texas.

Certain names are more glamorous. Kobe. Nash. KG. Shaq. Gasol. Duncan. Bosch. LeBron. These are the types of names that draw a crowd. There ARE others, of course. But none, sadly, are likely to don a Mavericks jersey any time soon.

Will we see another superstar in Dallas? Will Dirk even be here when the dust settles? It’s too early to say. Though I would think that at least a couple Mavs are safe from being dealt. Let’s be real: a team needs a core group in order to retain fan base and loyalty. Not to mention the difficult or sheer impossibility of exchanging a whole team.

In case you’re new here, this is Dallas, and the expectations are high. It’s championship or bust. Nothing short of a trip to the NBA Finals could satisfy Dallas fans and Mark Cuban at this point.

So who is safe? If it were based on performance, I’d say Dirk Nowitzki, Brandon Bass, Tyronn Lue, and Jason Terry are your core. Terry has underperformed in playoffs past, but he’s the one Maverick who intentionally ignites the crowd. He treats the AAC as though it’s always been his home. No other player is as emotionally invested in the Dallas fans as Jason Terry. For that reason alone, he stays. Dirk is the face of the franchise, and still just one superstar and a center shy of a championship run. Tyronn Lue has been the best midseason addition to this team.

Players on the way out? Look for Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George, and JJ Barea to have seen their last days in Mavs uniforms. Jason Kidd? Hard to say. He’s the biggest disappointment (because no one apparently watched him play when he played for New Jersey), but also the man with the best excuse. “Coach didn’t let me play my style.” Whatever. Kidd is a nice guy. But he’s no Steve Nash.

So we wait with bated breath to hear of offseason trades and acquisitions while the rest of the country watches Round 2 of the NBA playoffs. All I have left to say is: go Lakers.

It’s anyone’s guess whether the Dallas Mavericks will enter tonight’s game prepared to face the team with the second best record in the Western Conference. New Orleans has had an extraordinary season, hopefully not like the extraordinary season the Mavericks enjoyed last year which ended in first round failure.

If the Mavs win, they could face New Orleans in said first round. If they lose, they may face the Lakers. Either team poses unique challenges that the Mavs are ill equipped to face.

All in all, the combo of Gasol and Kobe pose the greater threat. Dallas did not perform well enough against L.A. this season, so the mental edge would definitely go to the Lakers. Guess it’s a good thing Kobe didn’t get his way last summer, eh?

New Orleans will run the Mavs into the ground, much like the Warriors did last year. But there’s a chance that Jason Kidd brings enough leadership and ball control to handle this young and energetic team.

There’s no such thing as an easy matchup this year. Dirk and Kidd will have to lead the Mavs one game at a time through a grinding schedule of top level playoff contenders to make it back to the Finals. As a matter of fact, let’s not even talk Finals. Let’s talk Round One wins and leave it at that for now.

Let’s see if we can get any juice out of Jason Terry and Brandon Bass, the two most important contributors after the obvious Dirk, Josh, and Jason. Make no mistake. Every player has to show up tonight. Tonight’s game is too important.

Tipoff is at 6pm CST tonight.

In a disappointing fourth quarter, the Lakers pull off a win against the Dallas Mavericks. Despite leading most of the 2nd half, Dallas allowed a Kobe-less Laker squad close a 12 point gap and eventually take the lead with Kobe back on the court.

This Dallas team doesn’t want it bad enough. They seem to run out of gas when the game is on the line. You can’t be disappointed with the outcome of this season if the Mavs don’t do everything they can to win. Right now, they don’t deserve a playoff spot.