Just looking at the Mavs new roster and WOW I didn't realize how good an offseason they had. ANTHONY JOHNSON - Plays hard, good all-round 2-way player DEVEAN GEORGE - Great shooter, in Dallas system, he will get those open looks. He struck me as a bit of a slacker in L.A., Avery will set him straight much like he did with Damp. GREG BUCKNER - Another good all-round player AUSTIN CROSHERE - Similar game to KVH, but Clutch where Van Horn isn't so much I don't know who Maurice Ager is unfortunately. The best thing is these guys will fit in easily with the Mavs system AND they kept ALL their key players....even Stack. The only question is HOW on Earth are they going to figure out the point guard position - they have 3 guys that could start as point guards (okay D. Harris could probably only start for the Hawks or the Sonics but you get my point) What do you guys think, Dallas looks like the team to beat this year, no?
<div class="quote_poster">phunDamentalz Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> What do you guys think, Dallas looks like the team to beat this year, no?</div> IMO, yes. We had a quiet offseason and flew under the radar in terms of the people we picked up. All of them will be solid contributors. Johnson will back up Harris and allows Terry to play his natural 2 guard spot most of the time, which will help our offense. George gives us some spot up shooting and seems to be a good fit. Buckner is the same type of player who gives us something at both ends of the court. Croshere is just plain better than Van Horn, and Ager will surprise lots of people this year. I think we are looking great and should be in good position to make another run at the championship, barring an injury.
They had a good offseason, but the Raptors had a way better offseason. 1. Resigned Chris Bosh 2. Drafted Barganani 3. Signed Anthony Parker 4. Signed Jorge Garbajosa 5. Signed Fred Jones 6. Got rid of Eric Williams, Arron Williams, Matt Bonner 7. Traded a pylon in Rafeal Arrujo, for a stiff in Eric Humpfries
<div class="quote_poster">norespect Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">They had a good offseason, but the Raptors had a way better offseason. 1. Resigned Chris Bosh 2. Drafted Barganani 3. Signed Anthony Parker 4. Signed Jorge Garbajosa 5. Signed Fred Jones 6. Got rid of Eric Williams, Arron Williams, Matt Bonner 7. Traded a pylon in Rafeal Arrujo, for a stiff in Eric Humpfries</div> Fred Jones and Garbajosa I like. Bargnani was a number 1 pick so we'll see IF he can live up to that. The TJ Ford - Charlie Villanueva which you didn't mention was a gamble also. I still think Dallas had a better offseason: Dallas had a great team (Finals) and made them much better. Toronto had a bad team and made them probably better but they also made a couple of gambles.
PG-Harris, Johnson, Ager SG-Terry, Buckner SF-Howard, Stackhouse, Pops PF-Nowitzki, George, Croshere C-Diop, Dampier, Mbenga This is how i'd do it. Avery should work well with this talent.
Dallas didn't have that great an off-season as really they didn't need to. re-signing Jason Terry was the main target which they did successful although they did overpay. That is the trend these days. The guys they added were soild, nothing speical. Some of them will play a decent role. How Anthonyt Johnson does will be important. If he is as soild as he was for the Pacers he will be a good pick-up. If he can give them some points and get some assists he would be a good addition. Considering Dallas only had to get Armstrong to get him, It's not like the trade was a gamble. Buckner will basically replace what Adrian Griffin gave Dallas. Some good D and some points here and there. I don't really see Croshere or George giving them anything. They are more likely to get hurt than produce. Saying that Dallas don't need them to really. There weren't many blow you over moves this summer but Toronto did ok I agree this summer but really Houston did the best purely because they added two proven players who are very good players in Wells and Battier. That said, Dallas will obviously be a top 4 team again this summer. Team to beat in the west right now purely because they are the defending west champs
