Mavs Central

Is It Time To Trade Jason Kid

admin — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The championship mystique of the Dallas Mavericks is now gone. The cohesiveness of what was once a well-oiled machine is now nowhere to be found. Inconsistent performances have some questioning whether it is now time to dismantle the former NBA champions and move in another direction. One of those pieces is point guard Jason Kidd.

Multiple teams throughout the league could use Kidd’s leadership and skills at the point. Nagging injuries have forced him to miss time, thus lowering his trade value with anyone the Mavericks may be speaking to about the 10-time NBA all-star selection.

Kidd’s contract is up at the end of the season, and rumors have been swirling around Mavs’ owner Mark Cuban being interested in bringing in a younger, healthier point guard that has the legs to be on the floor more consistently. A logical choice in free agency would be Dallas-raised Deron Williams, the current starting point guard for Kidd’s former team, the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets.

What Jason Kidd’s trade value at this point in his career could be minimal. He is after all, 39 years old with almost 1500 career games worth of mileage on his legs. Should the Mavericks trade Jason Kidd?

What College Did Jason Kidd Play For

admin — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Jason Kidd, the veteran guard for the Dallas Mavericks, had always been a star player even in his youth. In high school, he was constantly sought out by multiple scouts. He shocked NBA pundits and fans alike when he decided to attend the University of California – Berkeley for college. At that point, Berkeley was coming off a losing season and was not thought to be a strong college basketball team. Kidd chose Berkeley over other colleges with strong basketball teams, including Ohio State, University of Arizona, University of Kansas, and University of Kentucky, all top teams during that time. During his stay at Berkeley, Kidd would help lead the Golden Bears to NCAA significance, with back to back NCAA tournament bids. Despite being eliminated during the NCAA tournament, the Golden Bears turned around from a NCAA joke to a respectable force in the PAC-10. After two years, Kidd decided to enter the draft into the NBA, and was a first round draft (2nd pick overall) in 1994.

What Players Do the Mavericks Need

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Dallas Mavericks are the reigning NBA Champions. The roster they had last year will be kept together for the upcoming season, so they may not need to go on frenzy in the offseason or at the trade deadline to add players to the team. As long as their core of players stays healthy, they will once again be very competitive in the NBA playoffs.

The Mavericks and their fans know what to expect from Dirk Nowitsky by now, so the real important part of building that team is putting the right players around him. Mark Cuban has done an excellent job at putting the players around Nowitsky that the Mavericks need to succeed. With Jason Terry’s hot shooting, Shawn Marion’s versatility and the veteran guidance of future Hall of Famer, Jason Kidd, the Mavericks have all they need to make another run at the NBA Finals.

However, if the Mavericks were going to add for depth, they could look for either another long-range shooter or another big force in the paint. They could always use fresh bodies down low to keep Nowitsky fresh and out of foul trouble. They can definitely use guys to eat minutes and keep the other starters at their peaks.The hits keep comin-: The Leadership of Dirk Nowitski: 11 Quotes and Principles All Leaders Can Learn From

Who Will Get Traded From The Mavericks

admin — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Some believe that when it comes to a great team, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. However in the world of Professional Sports the drive is to always seek ways of improving things. So it is not a hard to believe concept that even the Mavericks will be making some changes this year as well. Who should go you may ask? Well it depends on what is out on the table that will be a good fit for this team in their Title run for next season. Although they have a great core of players there is always still a possibility that an even bigger asset to the team could be picked up with the right alignment of talent on the trade block. J.J. Barea, Caron Butler, and a few others may make good bargaining chips for some mid level talent. Of course with the Lockout in full effect it is hard to even comprehend that right now since its highly probable that most of the league is waiting to see if they are even going to have a season, much less what talent is available on the market right now. Lets hopes the Owners and Players get it together soon.

Are The Mavericks In Need Of A ShaQ Type Player

admin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

After the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA championship, many are questioning whether or not they will be able to repeat. First let us look at the age factor, Jason Kidd and Jason Terry are nearing the end of their careers and many NBA analysts are expecting the Mavs to be looking for a legit point guard in the 2012 draft. After they traded their two draft picks to the Portland Trail Blazers for flashy forward Rudy Fernandez, it leads us to question, what’s next for the Mavericks?

Though the main big man for the Mavs was newly acquired Tyson Chandler, will the defending champs need a Shaq type player to back him up? After the Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers to win the championship, it was evident that even though they overcame all the odds, they are still in need of another center. Though they had two young big men in Ian Mahinmi and Brendan Haywood, I believe that the Mavericks are definitely in need of a Shaq type presence down low to help spread the floor for Dirk and company. While the NBA lockout is definitely leading to many questions about the upcoming season, we will just have to continue speculating as to what is next for the Mavs.

First Steps to Creating an NBA Fantasy League

admin — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Your friends may be all caught up in NFL Sunday Ticket right now but pretty soon it-s going to be basketball season again and March Madness will take over everyone-s world. Beat them to the punch by setting up your very own NBA Fantasy Leaguehere are the first steps.
Go to EPSN.com: It-s got the best advice and everything you need to start your own fantasy league. It-s not hard but it can be complicated so get online right away to find out what you need to buy and when you need to start.
Pick a Date: Go ahead now and talk to your buddies about which night of the week works for them. You-ll need a draft date and at least one time a month when everyone can get together so put it on the calendar as soon as possible.
Start Scouting: If you want to have the best fantasy team ever you-re going to want to start reading all the preseason chatter. Find out who-s doing well at practice and what your Mavs are looking likeyou-ll be glad you did.

Groundhog’s Day in Dallas

www.mavscentral.com — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Is it wrong to feel like we are trapped alongside Bill Murray in a never ending cycle of identical season upon season. It may be still be December, with Groundhog’s Day over a month away, but already the eerie feeling that we’ve been here before is beginning to sink in. The Mavericks are streaking, among the hottest teams in the league throughout the early season. Also performing well about league average are the division rival Spurs, defending champion Lakers, along with the Jazz, Nuggets and upstart Thunder. So what has changed since a season ago? Well on the bright side, it seems as if the Suns have lost a step with the departure of Amare Stoudamire, though in reality, the suns never proved to be a true title contender even while racking up astronomical regular season win totals. The point is, the Mavs have been a perennial title threat since their last NBA Finals appearance in 2005-2006, yet have been unable to replicate similar post-season success. Since that fateful season and the heartbreaking loss to the Heat, the Mavs have not won less than 50 games, peaking with a phenomenal 67 win season the following year in 2006-2007, but have won only 1 playoff series, a first round matchup against the Spurs, only to be dispatched by the Nuggets in round 2. An upset at the hands of the 8th seeded Nuggets, a 5 game surrender against the Hornets and vengeful payback by the Spurs have otherwise sent the Mavs home early.Excuse the less than optimistic feeling about breaking the Maverick’s post-season curfew, however, this team simply doesn’t look any different than those still fresh in the memory. Perhaps, all the winning has finally spoiled this fan of a franchise who at point had turned in 10 straight losing seasons, but at this point, a nice regular season mark simply isn’t good enough. Win 50, win 60, heck, chase the record win 72, but when elimination time rolls around, don’t get your hopes up once more only to come crashing back down. The Mavericks need another key contributor, however, sure to have a sterling record through the trade deadline, that missing piece isn’t likely on its way, just as it was not acquired this summer. Until then, look for this team to stay well within its comfort zone, racking up wins until they truly matter.

Keys for Mavs Improvement

www.mavscentral.com — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:44:47 +0000

With limited help coming in through free agent, as the Mavs have so far been unable to land a big name by sign and trade, the current team is going to have to make major strides forward from within in order to take the next step going in to the 2010-2011 season. Assuming Dirk Nowitzki can maintain his current level of production, and management is obviously willing to bet 20 million a year he can, the Mavs should continue to be competitive in the West, though a true championship contending team has eluded the city of Dallas since 05-06. Here are a few ways the Mavericks might could make a play to advance further in the playoffs, all without acquiring any more players this off-season.Use Tyson Chandler Appropriately This is the Mavericks’ lone big acquisition (in terms of size and contract) for the summer, so the temptation is to throw him out there and see what he gives the group for 30 minutes a game despite his well documented injury concerns. If the Mavericks decide Chandler is really the answer this season (more on this later), it doesn’t make sense to waste his best efforts in the regular season, when the current unit more or less has done fine on its own, securing a 2 seed last season. Don’t limit him to over-the-hill Shaq numbers, after all he’s only 27, but play him within reason until it’s time for a post-season push, ensuring he will be healthy and fresh when it matters most.Find Playing Time for Youth When teams can’t acquire new talent, the best way to improve is by developing young assets. Following this logic, the Atlanta Hawks have improved from 37 to 53 over the last 2 seasons, relying largely on the progression of Josh Smith and Al Horford. The Mavs have young talent in the form of Rodrigue Beaubois and All-Summer League squad selection Dominique Jones. Getting them on the floor and into meaningful rotation roles may mean less time for Jason Terry and even some spelling of Kidd, but the current unit could use a youthful infusion at times.Wait for the Trade Deadline The beginning of the season is by no mean the end of the line for improving a team’s roster. If Chandler isn’t working out or is once again plagued by injury, his expiring contract will still prove attractive for a rebuilding team looking to free up cap room. An aging Caron Butler also has an expiring deal, and could prove to be a major piece in bringing a bigger contributor to the Mavs starting lineup next February.

Re-signing Dirk: Good for Basketball

www.mavscentral.com — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:37:52 +0000

Let’s get this clear; it was never a realistic consideration for Dirk Nowitzki not to resign with Mavs this offseason, nor for the Mavs to not resign him. Dallas is the only NBA home Dirk has known over the course of his 12 years of service, and considering the new 4-year deal is now official, it certainly appears the Mavericks have no intention of letting the longtime face of their franchise don another team’s jersey. Seeing a player, especially a superstar in today’s volatile NBA climate, stick with the same team for what will amount to 16 years, were he to play out his entire contract, is a refreshing change of pace. Looking down to South Beach, where the Miami Heat’s new high-prized second banana is drawing league-wide criticism, Dirk’s decision is exactly what a lot of fans across the country had hoped would happen with James and Cleveland. A sense of ownership for a team’s long term success, a sense of loyalty, heck, the general sensibility not to carve out the collective heart of your devoted followers on prime time television, all of this is why Nowitzki’s legacy in Dallas, and throughout the NBA, will go down as a great one, whether or not he ever hoists the trophy at year’s end.Winning is important, no doubt, after all that’s why we play sports. But Dirk has been a consistent winner throughout his career, leading the Mavs to the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons, even if the biggest win of them all has eluded him. The willingness to stay put and chase that goal with the same city on your back is an admirable endeavor, with the temptations of free agency well documented this summer. Like Jordan was “the man” in Chicago, Bird was “the man” in Boston and Kobe is “the man” in L.A., the seven-foot German will go down as Dallas’ man, whether or not that title comes with an NBA title of its own.

Mavs Summer League Roundup

www.mavscentral.com — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:30:56 +0000

With NBA Summer League action safely in the rear view mirror, the Mavs squad of first and second year players closed out an up and down performance by blowing out the Sacramento Kings summer team in the finale. The summer got off to a rocky start as the young Mavs dropped their first two at the hands of the Rockets and Nuggets, before finally rebounding with a one-point victory over the Bucks. Before Sunday’s win, the team took a 6-point loss to John Wall and the Wizards, bringing the total Win-Loss to 2-3. Though coaches do like to see how players respond to various situations in an in-game format, all in all, summer records are more or less meaningless, with individual performances serving as a better barometer of an organization’s success. After all, the bright spots from the team are the only ones that will show up on the NBA roster when game results actually matter. Here’s a look at the summer-Mavs’ most high profile players and how they fared in the Vegas heat.Rodrigue Beaubois After a surprisingly successful rookie campaign in which Beaubois generated a lot of buzz around the league, don’t read too much into his underwhelming summer stats. Beaubois was plagued by turnovers throughout, averaging 4.2 as compared to just 3.0 assists. His summer was highlighted by a 28 point outpour against Houston in which shot an efficient 12-20, although this game as unfortunately the statistical outlier.Dominique Jones The rookie out of South Florida gave the Mavericks’ their most impressive performances. Though he proved he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn from outside, not managing a single 3-pointer all week, Jones was able to use smart angles when slashing to the basket to either finish or draw the foul, while showing some grit on the defensive end. After a shaky start to the summer, Jones closed out strong with a 28 point flurry against the Wizards and a 17 point 7 assist (to just 1 TO) effort against the Kings.Jeremy Lin The unsung Harvard grad who went undrafted just months ago, sent arguably the most unexpected reverberations through summer league circles. In only 18.5 minutes a game off the bench, Lin looked more comfortable running the point and more of a vocal presence than Beaubois, while shooting at efficient 52 from the field. Lin showed surprising athleticism and quickness, even when pitted against 1 pick Wall, enjoying a meteoric rise in popularity as a result of the matchup. The Warriors moved to sign Lin soon after the close of summer league play.