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Dallas Mavericks (Last Year: 50-32)
Live 2009 NBA Draft Grades:
24. B.J. Mullens, C, Ohio State
Mullens is definitely worth the risk at this point. He gets swapped with Rodrigue Beaubois which isn’t a surprise since the Thunder will reportedly high on Mullens and adds to their youth movement. (Even though I think Mullens will be a bust.) (Pick Grade: Makes Sense)
56. Ahmad Nivins, PF, Saint Joseph’s
With Brandon Bass an unrestricted free agent, Nivins is a solid pick as a possible replacement. His game is still raw, but he does play hard on the glass. (Pick Grade: Makes Sense)
2009 NBA Offseason Transactions:
2008-09 Season Summary:
The Mavericks quietly put together a decent season on their way to a ninth straight play-off appearance. They helped themselves reach that mark by developing some solid team chemistry and a defined pecking order. That combination helped Mark Cuban’s team win 50 games and advance past the first round of the playoffs since 2006. Jason Terry embraced his bench role and won the NBA 6th Man of the Year Award while providing that needed scoring punch off the bench. Even the ultra scrutinized Josh Howard was able to fight through his early season struggles to be very reliable down the stretch. The first round win over the Spurs opened many people’s eyes to the fact that unlike their in-state rivals, the Mavericks still have some options and hope in the years to come.
2009-10 Projected Depth Chart:
C: Erick Dampier
PF: Dirk Nowitzki/Drew Gooden/Kris Humphries/Ahmad Nivins
SF: Josh Howard/Shawn Marion/Tim Thomas/Shawne Williams
SG: Jason Terry/Quinton Ross/Matt Carroll/James Singleton
PG: Jason Kidd/Jose Juan Barea
NBA Free Agents:
C Ryan Hollins (RFA)
SG Gerald Green (UFA)
2009-10 Team Salary: Approximately $68.7 million
2009-10 Expected League Salary Cap: $57.3 million
NBA Offseason Needs:
1. A Point Guard – The Mavs are at least going to explore the option of bringing back Jason Kidd. Unfortunately J-Kidd is about 60 years old and if they want to have a shot at winning it all with Dirk, they need someone young that can be a pass first point guard who can hit open threes (and play defense). Mark Cuban needs to give serious thought to picking a point guard with their only pick in this year’s draft.
2. Re-signing some talent – Even though Cuban is filthy stinking rich and isn’t in any trouble financially (oddly enough, he says the team lost money but they are over the cap and the eccentric owner doesn’t seem concerned at all) the Mavs owner is going to foolishly spend money. Realistically the best way for him to address the need for depth on his current squad is to bring back some of the unrestricted free agents from last year’s team. Other than Kidd, Brandon Bass and Ryan Hollins are very good candidates to be brought back to Dallas.
3. A Big Man – Dirk is a seven footer that can’t really defend other seven footers. Erick Dampier is going to turn 34 this summer and his minutes will likely decline for the third straight year. Going through the Western Conference in the post-season, Dallas is going to see several dominating post players and having a capable defensive presence to body up those big men is crucial. The problem is that they only have one draft pick and zero flexibility in free agency due to their massive team salary which is once again well above the salary cap.
Written by Paul Banks of NBC Chicago and the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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