<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Waneko:</div><div class="quote_post">If he was more concerned about playing for a contender he would have taken the Knicks mid level and made the Knicks bump up a level or two in the standings.</div> Now that's funny!
Or he could join a already championship contending team and make and give em what they need, a solid center.
I don't understand what everyone sees in Dampier. He's 30 years old and put up averages of about 8-6-1 in the five years before last year. People don't reach their peak and suddenly break out at age 30. Unless of course it's a contract year. Why will averages of 8-6-1 help the Mavs? Or anyone for that matter? Dampier worked hard last season to get the money flowing in - now that he has his contract, what makes you think he'll work hard again? And by the way, Cuban went on this whole rant about how Nash was already 30, and they didn't want to give him a 6 year deal, because who knows what would be in 6 years. Dampier is 30 also! Why is this good for the Mavs? If I'm a Mavs fan, I'm pissed as hell that I'm gonna get 8-6-1 out of this guy. And I gave up a great role player, and hustle player in Najera. Phew, got that out of my system. By the way, the Knicks are lucky they didn't acquire Dampier or Walker. Dampier, for the reasons I stated above. Walker, because the last thing they need is another shoot first player, what with Marbury and now Crawford on the team. And another big man who won't post up (a la Tim Thomas and Keith Van Horn, both of whom are big but soft - that's why they play SF). And just to continue on a tangent, in my mind Isaiah is like a time bomb, and you better hope if you're a NYK fan that he doesn't go off and make a stupid move. You gotta hope all his deals keep getting nixed. I don't trust the guy. Good businessman - hell, if you're an NYK fan you're saying "Marbury and Crawford? Best backcourt ever. Season tickets, sign me up!". But I'm not so sure he's building a decent team here. At least he's doing something though, unlike Layden.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting FFSBasketball:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't understand what everyone sees in Dampier. He's 30 years old and put up averages of about 8-6-1 in the five years before last year. People don't reach their peak and suddenly break out at age 30. Unless of course it's a contract year. Why will averages of 8-6-1 help the Mavs? Or anyone for that matter? Dampier worked hard last season to get the money flowing in - now that he has his contract, what makes you think he'll work hard again?</div> Only time will tell. I think the Mavs are looking for a 12/12/2 guy. Damp never played 30 minutes a game until last year, and he's never played for a contender. He doesn't have to carry the team in Dallas, just has to lean on Tim Duncan, Yao Ming and Brad Miller. I think he can do this. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">And by the way, Cuban went on this whole rant about how Nash was already 30, and they didn't want to give him a 6 year deal, because who knows what would be in 6 years. Dampier is 30 also! Why is this good for the Mavs? If I'm a Mavs fan, I'm pissed as hell that I'm gonna get 8-6-1 out of this guy. And I gave up a great role player, and hustle player in Najera. </div> Yeh, does seem to be contractictory, but to clarify, he said point guards tend to decline after 30. Big men tend to hit their stride around 30 and tend to play at a high level until 35. That's just what Cuban said. (Seems like the Rangers said the same thing about Pudge Rodriguez a few years ago, he proved them wrong.) Well, the difference is that the Mavs really need a guy like Dampier and Dampier was the best man available for the job (not counting Shaq). I'm giving Donnie Nelson a lot of credit for transforming the Mavs this offseason. It might take a year to jell, but at least it's a balanced defensive/offensive team. They knew that they had to get better on the defensive end, they couldn't keep playing guys like Walker at Center, and had to get rid of some long term contracts. Mission accomplished. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Phew, got that out of my system. By the way, the Knicks are lucky they didn't acquire Dampier or Walker. Dampier, for the reasons I stated above. Walker, because the last thing they need is another shoot first player, what with Marbury and now Crawford on the team. And another big man who won't post up (a la Tim Thomas and Keith Van Horn, both of whom are big but soft - that's why they play SF). And just to continue on a tangent, in my mind Isaiah is like a time bomb, and you better hope if you're a NYK fan that he doesn't go off and make a stupid move. You gotta hope all his deals keep getting nixed. I don't trust the guy. Good businessman - hell, if you're an NYK fan you're saying "Marbury and Crawford? Best backcourt ever. Season tickets, sign me up!". But I'm not so sure he's building a decent team here. At least he's doing something though, unlike Layden.</div> Right you are. Walker will not be missed in Dallas. All New York needs is a bunch more old, max out players that don't perform. Isaiah is one of those guys that I'd be very nervous about. He always seems to be looking for the next Isaiah and builds teams in his image. Guys like Bird seem to look at the players they have and fill in a team around them. To be fair to Isaiah, he is in a tough situation, lots of overpaid players with very little trade value.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting FFSBasketball:</div><div class="quote_post">And just to continue on a tangent, in my mind Isaiah is like a time bomb, and you better hope if you're a NYK fan that he doesn't go off and make a stupid move. You gotta hope all his deals keep getting nixed. I don't trust the guy. Good businessman - hell, if you're an NYK fan you're saying "Marbury and Crawford? Best backcourt ever. Season tickets, sign me up!". But I'm not so sure he's building a decent team here. At least he's doing something though, unlike Layden.</div> Couldn't agree more re: the knicks and Isiah. But back to the topic of the thread. Wow. This trade really improves the Mavs. I am still a little worried about Dampier's performance, but more becuase of his history with injuries than his desire. I think that now that he's on a conender, if he's healthy, will fit in well. Can't run as well as others on the team, but seriously, the Mavs have been looking for a legit center for how long? They finally have one. I still think they will miss Nash. Terry, while not a pure point, will be a decent enough player to coach Daniels and Harris, who I think will both end up better than Terry. But it will take a while before this PG rotation can run the team. Dallas really struggles last year when Nash wan't on the court. And I think they need to get rid of Stackhouse. Don't know who would want him, or what they could get in return, but they really don't need him. So if this trade goes through, Dallas has Terry and Harris at 1, Daniels at 1-2, Finley/Stack/Howard at 2-3, Dirk at 4, and Bradley/Booth/Pavel/Dampier at 5. A bit crowded at the 3 & 5, I expect more moves, but that's more than a decent line-up. Good mix of offense/defense, as well as vets/youth.
I think they should ship Stack and Terry again. Terry is a mostly shoot first kinda guard but he might be looking to pass first in the Dallas system but I doubt it. Also, with him starting at the point, it will withhold the breakouts of Harris and Daniels IMO. They are both exciting PG's and will eventually be better then Terry anyways so if you let em play more, they will get better. Start Daniels cause he has a year expeirence and then slowly move Devin up. For Terry and stack they can make their team even better. Or if they want to keep thier threat of Stack/Finley/Dirk then just trade Terry for some good role players. Wow next year is gonna be somethin. Dallas didn't look that strong after losing Jamison and Nash but now they are right back in it. Good thing they got rid of Walker as well.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Zhone:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm not sure if I'd call it "official" with the soonest that Damp could sign being September 21st or so and then having to wait through league approval, although it's definitely "confirmed." Also, as a side note to the thread-starter, please don't start 2 threads on the subject with the exact same title, since there are other threads on this, this one will be merged eventually. You might want to talk about it in the Warriors forum or the Mavericks forum.</div> Sorry about that, caught up in the moment and still a newbie.
