<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News The Mavericks toyed with the idea of signing Bonzi Wells before the swingman landed in Houston. They opted not to make a strong play for Wells for many reasons. One of those reasons is because they feel they have a Bonzi starter kit in their possession ? without the potential headaches that could come along with the original version, who has had his share of off-court situations. Maurice Ager is built like Wells. He has the same, rare combination of thickness and quickness. He's a good rebounder for his height, which is the same as Wells' 6-5. And he's quick, tough and doesn't mind working hard at the defensive end of the court. In short, the Mavericks think the rookie out of Michigan State has the potential to play like Bonzi. That would give the team plenty of options at small forward and shoot- ing guard beyond this season. Jerry Stackhouse will be a free agent next season, as will Josh Howard, although Howard will be restricted. Because of this, the Mavericks feel they need to see how strong Ager can be this season. "I've always tried to be aggressive," Ager said Sunday. "If you're tentative, you're not going to play as well. We lift a lot of weights at Michigan State. You got to be tough. And that toughness has helped me get to this level. Honestly, I like going to the basket. Sometimes I'll settle for the 3. But my game is driving the paint." He's definitely not afraid to be assertive, which is a nice way to say that a rookie is shooting too much. Through the first week of training camp, Ager has been, as Mavericks coach Avery Johnson says, a typical rookie. He has flashed some solid signs of his considerable ability. And he's dribbled the ball off his feet a few times, too. But mostly, Ager has shot whenever the opportunity presented itself. And, sometimes, even when it didn't. As Johnson said during two-a-days in Denton, "his name is not listed next to 'passing' in Webster's dictionary." That much was clear Sunday during a scrimmage that was part of the Fan Jam at American Airlines Center. Ager had a long jumper and a tough layup in traffic in the first half. He finished 4-of-11 from the field and had 13 points for the victorious Blue team, which beat the White squad, 61-57. Ager took more shots than anybody else in the 40-minute game. "He's aggressive," Johnson said. "He's full of energy. And he was really excited to put on his uniform. We want him to continue to feel that way in March and May and maybe June." Ager said it was an indescribable feeling putting on the official uniform for the first time in a game situation. He told Jason Terry before the game that he was overwhelmed at the thought of finally reaching the NBA. "This doesn't feel real," he said. "It's been a dream all my life. A lot of people don't get this far." The Mavericks are banking on Ager getting even further before his career is done.</div>LINK
Ager will be a good shooting but Bonzi is ready now. I guess they didn't sign Bonzi because they think he is a headcase which is partially true.
I wouldn't have minded Bonzi but after snagging Ager, Buckner, Johnson and George. It would have been rough signing him and distributing minutes. Unless this was of course referring to before the draft and offseason. But if not, I think were better off without Bonzi.
Bonzi is good, besides his remarks twords Dirk a couple years ago. But our rotation will be fine without him. Like Rok said, finding minutes in the depth would be hard, already seems complicated to me as it is. Terry/Ager/Buck/Johnson/Stack/George is plenty to deal with
His defense is ok. Not bad or good but somewhere in the middle. Don't expect him to guard a superstar.
I actually they did do good at getting Ager than Bonzi, because he is younger, and Bonzi is just an old hagged up fluke.
