The Sports Rumors

Mavs Try for Kidd - All Star Saturday Recap

Think about some of the worst decisions you’ve ever made. I can bet that at least half of them, if not more, were made in a rush to judgment, altered state of mind, or a panic. Looking back on those decisions, I think it’s safe to say that they could have been avoided had a little more thought and rationale gone into them. The same goes for the Dallas Mavericks.

Sometimes not making a trade is a better move for a franchise than making a trade in haste. Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers have catapulted themselves from a bottom five to eight seed to a top two team, almost overnight. It is a fact that they pulled of a stunning and lopsided trade. The Suns also made a trade, one that can be viewed as either a great move or a dud, depending on your opinion on Shaq. Two of your biggest rivals have made moves; that doesn’t mean you need to. There is no question that Jason Kidd would be a great addition to the Mavericks and would give them a great chance at reaching the Finals again. But the question is, at what price?

If you believe in selling the farm for a one shot run at the title, I’m sure you agree with trading away Devin Harris, Diop, Stackhouse, picks and cash for a 35 year old point guard. But if you believe in having a team that is competitive perennially, then this trade does not make sense. Fans of all sports have one thing in a common; a short memory. It was only two seasons ago that the Dallas Mavericks were in the NBA Finals. It was just last year that they were the top seed in the West with an incredible record of 67-15! I know they lost their first round meeting with the Warriors, which was as big an upset as any, but you can’t take one series loss and say, “Well, we’ve got to blow this thing up because it’s not working.” Winning 67 games out of 82 doesn’t happen by accident; it is an incredible feat, especially considering that they overcame any sort of hangover from losing in the Finals the year before. This year, amidst all this trade talk, they are only two games out of first place in the west. Obviously, what they have works and where I come from, you don’t fix something that ain’t broke. Period.

Suppose somehow this trade does go through, which at this point looks unlikely given the block by Devean George and the moronic comments to the media by Jerry Stackhouse. (For those who haven’t followed as closely, Stackhouse made public comments about how the Nets will buy out his contract and he’ll return to the Mavs after 30 days. The league didn’t like this and have made clear that they will not allow Stack to rejoin the Mavs.) But take a hypothetical situation and figure that the Mavs somehow find replacements in the deal for George and Stackhouse. Trading away Devin Harris, a 24 year old point guard who is arguably the best defender at his position, is not a good idea. The guy has improved each year he’s played and is the one point guard who has the speed to keep up with Tony Parker. Desagna Diop is also extremely valuable considering the only other center on the roster for Dallas is…. wait for it… Erick Dampier! Now correct me if I’m wrong, but it is the Western Conference that boasts the likes of Yao Ming, Shaq-Amare, Pau Gasol-Andrew Bynum, and some guy named Tim Duncan, right? You want to go to war against those guys with Erick Dampier? I wouldn’t.

Jason Kidd is a magnificent player who creates openings and makes plays that make you hit rewind on the DVR, just to see if your vision is still 20/20. There is absolutely no question in my mind that adding Kidd would help the Mavericks, IF they can hold on to at least Diop. Trading Harris and Diop for Kidd is a bad move and it will set the Mavericks back. The Mavs need to take a deep breath and look at the facts and they are as follows:

*The Spurs may look sloppy because they are in “coast” mode right now, but you never know. One thing you do know is that they aren’t getting any younger.

*The team you have right now is better than the Suns with Shaq. Why? The biggest nuisance for Dirk when playing the Suns was Shawn Marion. He’s not there anymore.

*The Lakers got better, but injuries aren’t being kind to them, and we don’t know what Bynum will be like when he comes back.

Will bringing Kidd in and the shipping away of Harris and Diop make the Mavs better than the Spurs?

No.

Better than the Suns?

Definitely not.

Better than the Lakers?

Highly doubt it.

If the Mavs take all that into consideration, they will avoid looking back at this season two years from now when former MVP Dirk Nowitski is 31 and wondering if they let the actions of others dictate their success; or lack thereof.

ALL-STAR SATURDAY

Dwight Howard is a freak! If you missed the dunk contest last night, you missed greatness. Howard’s first dunk, a toss off the back of the backboard, catch, windmill around the front while still having his head behind the glass made me cover my mouth with both hands, gasp with my eyes wide like a 13 year old girl at a Hannah Montana concert. If you didn’t see the dunk but just watched the reactions of spectator NBA stars like Kobe, you’d be thinking you missed something along the likes of Jordan’s free throw line dunk or one of Dominique’s highlight reels. What made the contest even better was Howard followed that first amazing dunk with even more entertaining ones, like “The Superman”. Gerald Green was amusing as well with “The Birthday Cake”. Anyone who was still skeptical of whether the dunk contest was legit isn’t skeptical today; I can tell you that much.

Jason Kapono can gun it. I knew he won the 3 point shoot out last year but to defend it again this year by tying the record with 25 out of 30 is really impressive. At one point, Kapono buried ten in a row. I really wish Ray Allen was in this contest because there is only one pure shooter who I think is better than Kapono, and he wears 20 for Boston.

The All Star game itself is tonight and I can’t wait. It is the best All Star game of any of the major sports and despite what people may think, these guys get real competitive as the game nears the fourth quarter. One sidenote/grip I have is with the NBA and their handling of the Kobe situation. As you probably know, he was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his pinky. He has made it clear that he wants to avoid surgery and play through the pain so that he can keep his Lakers on track AND so that he can compete for the United States in the Summer Olympics. League rules state that if a player played his last game before the All Star weekend, and intends to play his first game after the weekend, he is required to participate in the actual All Star game. Look, if the guy is willing to risk further injury to his body for his team and for the United States Olympics team, that is admirable and he should be allowed to do that. But risking further injury by playing in an All Star game or facing suspension and fines is taking away from the spirit of the game itself. Everyone knows that Bryant has always tried to put on a show for the fans; see last year’s All Star game in which he was the MVP. It is clear that he is not being selfish and is trying to do what’s best for his team. Give the guy a break and let him sit out if he wants to. It’s not like you’re doing the fans a favor by having Kobe come out half hearted, play for the first two minutes and then sit down for the remainder of the game. Such rules should take situations into consideration, case by case.

Enjoy the All Star game tonight folks and check back tomorrow for my thoughts on that, and much more.