Haven't we been through this before? The Mavs last February acquired forward Caron Butler and center Brendan Haywood from Washington and immediately was dubbed contenders to the Lakers' Western Conference throne. It didn't work out too well. The Mavericks were upset 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs by San Antonio while the Lakers strolled to a third straight West title and second straight NBA crown. But the Mavericks are again loading up. And general manager Donnie Nelson feels even better about their chances after Tuesday's trade with Charlotte in which the key piece was getting center Tyson Chandler. "All roads lead through L.A. the last time I checked,'' Nelson said in an interview with FanHouse. "If you're against the likes of (Pau) Gasol and Andrew Bynum in the post, you need athletic big guys that can defend in the low post.'' Nelson called Chandler a "good get.'' He spoke of how pleased he is with having Chandler and Haywood, who was re-signed as a free agent last week, as a duo at center. http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/07/13/...llenger-to-lakers-west-throne/?sms_ss=twitter
