At 14-10 the Mavs are flirting with mediocrity. They are good enough to beat the lowly teams, however they cannot defeat the top teams such as the Lakers and the Nuggets.
Dirk Nowitzki is playing as good as he ever has. Jason Terry is far and away the leading candidate for the sixth man of the year award. The problem is, the Mavs still are not legitimate contenders out west.
With the 2010 free agency competition coming faster and faster, teams are trying to position themselves for making a big splash. Teams are trying to find a way to either keep their superstars, or find a trade that would allow them to rebuild.
The Toronto Raptors are a perfect example of this situation. Chris Bosh will be a free agent after next season with the majority of the other superstars in the NBA. The Raptors have two options in this situation. They can either try to build a solid team around Bosh to convince him to stay, or they can trade him now while he still has value and start to rebuild, while also freeing up cap space.
The Mavericks have been looking to shop Josh Howard since this past off-season. The Raptors have failed to be competitive, even though they added Jermaine O’Neal during the off-season. It is very possible that before the trading deadline in February, you could see a huge blockbuster deal go down between these two teams.
The Mavs would trade Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Gerald Green, Jerry Stackhouse, and cash to the Raptors for forward Chris Bosh. This would free up some cap space for the Raptors, especially since Jerry Stackhouse will become a free agent after this season. The Mavericks would finally get a legitimate big man to put aside Dirk, and make a serious run at the title.
The biggest question is whether or not the Raptors feel like they have any shot at keeping Bosh once his contract is up. Only time will tell, but signs are starting to point to a blockbuster deal between the Mavericks and someone before the trading deadline gets here.
12 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Andrew Ungvari 6 months ago
If the Raptors did decide to trade Chris Bosh they could do a whole lot better than Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Gerald Green, Jerry Stackhouse, and cash.
If Bosh told Toronto that he wanted to go home to Dallas, the Raptors would rather have the cap space than that shit sandwich of a deal.
Don't write things like "It is very possible that before the trading deadline in February, you could see a huge blockbuster deal go down between these two teams."
How do you know it's very possible? Because you want it to happen?
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Blake Gibbs 6 months ago
the big part in this deal is that it would also free up some cap space for them to make a run at another free agent in 2010 when just about every superstar is going to be out there...
Also, there have been rumors floating around the past couple days about a possible trade between the mavs and raptors for chris bosh. So, no i didn't just put this out there bcuz i want it to happen. However, i personally think it WOULD be pretty sweet.
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Andrew Ungvari 6 months ago
Please provide me with the link to one story that has Bosh going to the Mavs in a trade. There is no way in hell that Raptors would make that trade considering they will have tons of cap space in 2010 also. Don't you think they would rather try to re-sign Bosh and add two more players with the cap space they have instead of trading him for that pile of junk you threw out there?
The Mavs would be lucky to get Jermaine O'Neal for that combo. If the Raptors do decide to trade Bosh it would have to be for at least one young stud which the Mavs don't have. At least the Wolves got Al Jefferson for Garnett. The Lakers got Caron Butler for Shaq. The Nets got Devin Harris for Kidd. Are you trying to tell me that the recycled Gerald Green is a stud. What would the Raptors do with Josh Howard or Jason Terry?
The Raptors have another season and a half to make a move to make Bosh happy. So why would they trade him now? They have O'Neal's contract which expires after 2010 as well as Bargnani to throw out there. That's $25.5 million in contracts that expire in 2010 they could move for Andrei Kirilenko, Gilbert Arenas, a package of Emeka Okafor and Gerald Wallace, or Michael Redd.
There are no "rumors floating around". The only way the Raptors trade Bosh to the Mavs is if they get back Nowitzki.
Please post a credible link when you get the chance.
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Mark Brown 6 months ago
Interesting, I'm not sure how successful It'd be. If Bosh came, the Mavs would still be pretty soft in the middle. I mean, Bosh isn't a true center and doesn't like to play there, and neither does Nowitzki. And I'm not sure how willing Toronto would be to trade Bosh considering his level of play so far this season.
I think Toronto could get more but it's not a horrible deal. Why not get rid of Jerry Stackhouse's bad contract and sign some free agent?
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Blake Gibbs 6 months ago
that would be part of the lure fo toronto, they could get rid of stackhouse's contract (which is pretty hefty) either right away, or they could wait for the end of the season when it expires. The Raptors main focus in this would be getting a VERY good player in his prime(howard), a nice player for now(terry), and young guy with loads of potential(green), and then more wiggle room for 2010
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jason gao 6 months ago
I think it might not be a bad idea to let go Chris Bosh. Why? Yes, Chris Bosh is good, but it always seems like something is missing in this toronto raptors team, after Bosh been there. For the Toronto rapotrs basketball fans market, don't worry about it, toronto is great basketball fans city with top 10 attendence every season in NBA. I just think Bosh is not the center piece for every team. Bosh might be the 2nd or 3rd guy in most good nba teams.
In the 2010, raptors have 35 million ( chris 15 million + O'Neal 24 million) off the book. I think Bryant would like to bring back Amaire Stomaire, the guy he draft and may be Sharon Marion, Steve Nash have been clear that he will sign with raptors, Nash will be a good leader and PG off the bench in that stage of his career. They might can even trade Bosh before the offseason, get Josh Howard and some players in return.
I think by the time, if they got Josh Howard, sign Amaire Stomaire, and Steve Nash. With the players they left, they have a good core player :
Amaire Stomaire, Sharon Marion, Josh Howard, Andrea Bargnai, Jose Calderon, Steve Nash and Jason Kapono, plus you have picks every years, with a caution with picks, they might end good in the bench.
So don't worry about Bosh, fans are already get tire with Bosh. Let's more on.
Yeah, Chris , do not think you are M. Jordan in Canada, nobody care about if you move back to USA. because you did not done anything great yet in Canada.
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Caelan B 6 months ago
what are you talking about...... learn to spell. this is you (I think Bryant would like to bring back Amaire Stomaire, the guy he draft and may be Sharon Marion, Steve Nash have been clear that he will sign with raptors) you mean bryan colangeleo and SHAWN marion not sharon amare not amaire bargnani anyways just wanted to point out your horrific spelling. have you watched a raptors game?
if you do please watch bosh, he scored 5 straight 37+ games, hes a mvp canadaite, hes helped the raptors go to the playoffs 2 straight years and what has kept them from the second round is sam mitchell and now mitchell is gone. so now bosh will play his true potential he also got them 47 wins in 2006 and in 2005 they only got 27 so in one year boshs ppg goes up by 5 rpg goes up by 4 and apg goes up by 2 and gets them 20 more wins so i think he has done something in canada actully alot inn canada and in 2010 alot of teams are makeing room for him (knicks,new jersey)
(p.s please send me the link that says nash wants to sign with the raptors)
So don't worry about Bosh, fans are already get tire with Bosh. Let's more
so don't worry about Bosh, fans are already GETTING TIRED with Bosh let's MOVE o
they might end good in the bench
what the shit?, i dont even know how to correct that.
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Hoops4life 6 months ago
I think Nash is more likely to sign with the Knicks than the Raptors, depending on if a certain coach is still there
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Robert Kleeman 6 months ago
Even if the Raptors agreed to this cockamamie proposal, Bosh would not make the Mavericks any better than they already are.
The Mavericks would give up the knock-down bomber who can shoot them out of rough spots and an athletic forward who can defend and draw fouls. The Raptors would forefeit an All-Star for a knock-down shooter who is also streaky and unreliable in pressure situations, not to mention defenseless, and a troubled one-time All-Star who takes too many bad shots and has spent most of this season on the injured list.
Neither team gets what it needs in this fantasy deal. The only place I have read any mention of a Chris Bosh to Dallas deal is in one of DMN Writer Eddie Sefko's responses to an inquiry about getting him. Sefko said that it might be something the Mavs explore given Bosh's Dallas-area ties. This was in one of the weekly newsletters Sefko and D-Moore do. He was not suggesting that the Mavs and Raptors are talking about such a deal as I write this.
This deal is not going to happen unless you figure out a way to bait some surgeons into sneaking up on Donnie Nelson and Bryan Colangelo, knocking them unconscious and removing the brains from their heads.
Why the hell would either team make this deal? What does Toronto gain aside from maybe Stackhouse's expiring contract that it could use to lure a free agent there in 2010? What can Howard and Terry do for them that the current cast cannot? And as Andrew asked, why wouldn't the Raptors just hang onto Bosh until 2010 and see what options they might have to keep him as the centerpiece?
The problems both teams need to address are interior and perimeter defense, and toughness, and this trade solves neither.
The last thing the Mavericks need next to Nowitzki is another jumpshooting seven-footer who backs away from contact at the end of games, cannot defend a tree stump and lets guards and small forwards push him around in the fourth quarter.
The other night when the Mavs played the Raptors in Toronto, Bosh finished 6-20. Wanna guess who was guarding him for most of the game? Devean George, a guard or small forward, depending on how you want to use his defensive prowess.
If a guard can push Bosh around and harangue him into bad shots, what makes you think he will bring the testicles, mental toughness and heart Nowitzki sorely lacks in fourth quarters?
Bosh is more of a mid-post player than a low-post one and he's prone to jacking up jumpers at the end of close games, instead of punishing smaller defenders like George at the rim and drawing fouls or and-1s. As a defender, Bosh is a marginal weak side shot blocker who is frequently out of position on defense and can be pushed around on either end without much effort.
Yes, his offensive arsenal and athleticism are freaky, but what good are those qualities when he cannot use them to his advantage against elite teams?
Dampier and Diop are marginally good post defenders, which makes them valuable, but both are offensive liabilities. You cannot dump it to them at the end of games because of their foul shooting and their lack of offensive game.
As much as I hate to say it, the player Dirk Nowitzki needs to win a championship is Tim Duncan. Nowitzki needs to play with someone who can bang, defend and generate points in the post with the game on the line, whether it's drawing fouls or using an array of jumphooks, lay-ups, dunks, runners or spin moves. Duncan can take physical punishment from the league's strongest forwards-centers on the defensive end and then dish it right back as a go-to scorer.
You can count on Duncan to be a vocal leader, to snap at his teammates when he doesn't get the ball, and to make the best possible play when he does get it. Most importantly, you never wonder about where his heart is in a key playoff or regular season match.
I think Dirk is a nice guy at heart who wants to win, and I'm not accusing him of not working hard. His flaws are too much for him to overcome, and like Kevin Garnett, he needs the right players to cover up his flaws and highlight his strengths.
A big guy with such an agile touch, who can score 35 points has to be good for something, right? Just not good enough to be the best player or leader of a title contender.
If the Mavs made that trade, you'd have a lay-up and dunk field day in the paint and teams would sag off other shooters in Terry's absence and dare them to win with jumpshots. Basically, that's what teams do now.
So, beyond maybe a year or two of increased ticket sales and fan fervor, the Mavs would make themselves no more a contender than they are now.
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Andrew Ungvari 6 months ago
Sefko also wrote:
"Said Bosh of someday being a Maverick: "I'm not sure, maybe when I'm real old and almost out of the league. You never know. I'm sure they're going to have people on their free-agent list. It's just something you got to pay attention to when the time comes.""
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Janet Kessler 6 months ago
I think the one thing we all can agree on is, the ain't going anywhere without some kind trade for a quality big man. I still think they should get Kaman, forget Bosh.
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Janet Kessler 6 months ago
The ain't going anywhere without a trade(my bab).
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