New Guy Number Two

Drew Gooden is coming to Dallas.

Add a dash of Katherine Hepburn to this sentence; and that's to be the savior of my Mavericks.

I see a couple of potential problems. First has to do with, for lack of a better word, player-taming. Word around the coffee pot is he's got no discipline and is a wee bit of a knucklehead. The teams he's been on haven't seemed motivated to keep him. Second has to do with position. Gooden's a rebounder, but not a banger. Can he realistically back up Dampier, or supplant him as starter?

Not enthusiastic. A news bit on DB.com has me wondering who's screwing who here.

For a little pick-me-up, the good folks at Basketball Reference have picked their All-Decade team for the Years Zero. It's a team I'd trust against the Forces of Evil, no problem. Guess who starts at forward alongside Tim Duncan?

Hint: It ain't Garnett.
-BJ

News Flash!

According to TMZ, they've got cameraphone video of The Dunk That Never Happened -- a high school kid attending a skills camp dunking on The Baby James. According to rumor, shortly after it went down, Lebron called over a guy and next thing you know all the reporters onsite were asked to turn over any video recordings.

Dear Person Who Authorized The Confiscation,

I'll be blunt. Where are your brains, in your ass?

Do you have any idea the positive press you could have gotten from this? Offhand, I can think of three or four different ways this could've turned out to be manna from Heaven as far as James's personal image goes. He could've embraced the kid and called him brother. He could've offered the kid's folks courtside seats for the next season. At the very least, he could've gotten a lot of positive mileage just by shaking his hand and congratulating him on a lucky shot.

Instead, you did something that drips with superdickery. On top of walking away from the handshake at the conference finals, it adds up to make Lebron James -- the poster boy for tomorrow's NBA -- look like a dick. And if it was you, sir, who asked the reporters to do this, you are a dick.

You idiot.
-BJ

Let's Be Real Here

Odom's going back to LA. You know it. I know it. Ceiling Cat knows it. Basement Cat (secretly a Lakers fan) knows it. This is an arguement over the NBA equivalent of a sawbuck; surely somebody with common sense will put it back on a strictly business level. Nice to dream. Never gonna happen.

I hate the offseason. Is it October yet?
-BJ

PS: Hi Angry Trey! :-D

You Gotta Be Fuckin' Kidding Me!!!!!

According to the man's agent, the Orlando Magic have matched the Mavericks' offer to Marcin Gortat. Putting them over the salary cap, flushing any chance of making any moves next offseason, overfilling their team with oversized players (and screwing Brandon Bass back onto the bench like as not). And by the way, fucking us out of a near as make no nevermind essential upgrade.

Fuck(8*10^3)!

Well let's hope Messrs. Cuban and Nelson have another miracle up their sleeves. Is there anyone else in free agency right now that'll work for midlevel money and can play decent Big-Ass Center?
-BJ

J . . . K . . . L . . . M . . . Mate. Matrix.

Okay, so we're saying goodbye to Wright, George, and Stackhouse. Bass too, probably, because his position's been filled and he's looking for more minutes and money anyway. (UPDATE: Confirmed, the Magic have made him an offer, 4 years, $18 million.) Between them, some pretty good ballplayers, with yards of heart and guts.

That's what we're losing (so far). What're we gaining?

It's the talk of the town (behind the Rangers looking better than they have any right to). Shawn Marion, called The Matrix for reasons that pass understanding, is coming to Dallas.

Paraphrasing Bugs Bunny; "I don't even know what a Matrix is. I'd better find out more about 'em."

Shawn Marion
Birthdate: May 7, 1978
Height/Weight: 6'7", 230 lbs
Position: Forward
Seasons in league: 10, first round draft pick (#9, Phoenix) in 1999
Career averages:
17.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.3 blocks, on an average of 37.6 minutes per game (regular season)
Assorted honors and stuff: 4-time All Star, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist
Notes: Marion's spent most of his career with the Phoenix Suns. By and large he thrived there, until he grew unhappy with his compensation and asked for a trade. He was one of the players that went to the Heat when the Suns traded for Shaq in 2008. The Heat traded him to Toronto at the trade deadline earlier this year for Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon. We got him in a four-team swap party that's over my head to analyze, quite frankly -- whatever, we got him.
In The Wash: Fast, tough, terrific offensive player, and somebody who can defend the league's best professional headaches. Can start as a small forward, back up Dirk as a power forward, or play power forward while Dirk plays center. In the basketball sense I like the move. However, a happy locker room is essential to this team's success. And Marion's got a history of whining if he doesn't feel appreciated.

Marcin Gortat's offer sheet has been signed, and Orlando has one week to match. Latest update from the Morning News says the big guy is hearing they might, which would throw a very large monkeywrench into the Mavs machine.
-BJ