NBA Daily Dribbles: Mavericks Need to Pull Together to Get Through Rough Spot

Countdown  to NBA Trade Deadline: Six Days

What I’m Reading

• Mark Cuban will have everyone in his backyard this weekend. Perfect time to start working on some deals–but not just for the sake of making them, of course.
• Barring any disastrous injuries to the Magic over the next week, GM Otis Smith doesn’t anticipate Orlando being a player at the deadline.
• The Cavs need to make up their mind quick because the Kings, of all teams, might be soon to sneak up under them and grab Troy Murphy.
• Apparently I’ve yet to understand how the NBA trade system works, because I was grossly incorrect in thinking that Ty Thomas’ outburst on Vinny Del Negro would drop his trade stock–not inflate it astronomically.
• Lamar Odom has an opportunity to grab a permanent starting job, but the 11-year veteran is showing hesitation to pick up the role, saying that he “isn’t ready to do that”. I feel that it should also be noted that Odom eats candy like it’s his job.

What I Think About It

Mavs

"There's a fix," Cuban said, according to the Dallas Morning News, "and then there's doing something to do something. If it's an opportunity that we thought would only be available to us in the summer, then we'll grab it. If somebody says, 'We don't want to take the risk in the summer, we'll do it now.' Come on. We'll look at it.

"But we're not going to do something to shuffle the deck chairs. That doesn't help us at all."

Really, Mark Cuban? I can’t think of any situation in the history of the world where musical chairs didn’t solve things.

As long as the Mavs come out of the deadline without sitting in anybody’s lap, they’ll be in good shape.

They really could use some spice in their life, though. Who knows? Maybe this weekend will give the city the spark it has been lacking since the Cowboys failed miserably down the stretch yet again in the NFL playoffs.

The Mavs have to make a deal. They’ve dipped to fourth in the conference and have lost six of 10. And they aren’t getting any younger.

Magic

No Bosh? No Boozer? No problem.

I don’t even think these were possibilities, anyway. But Otis has decided to inform us all that the Magic will basically be turning off their cellular devices for the time being and concentrating on the team that they have.

Hard to argue with that. A well-timed seven of 10 win streak including a win against a dwindling Boston squad has to have Orlando feeling pretty good about themselves down in the Sunshine State.

Regardless, it’d be hard to find a comfortable spot on this team, anyway, unless Smith was to deal one of his heavyweights in the process.

So, long story short, Orlando will continue to be boring yet win games. Yep.

Troy Murphy

While the Cavs still want Antawn Jamison to fill the stretch-four that they’ve been looking to acquire in the past month, it’s becoming increasingly likely that Washington is going to hold onto him, or at least just not trade him to rival Cleveland.

Next option? Troy Murphy. But he might not be there.

Sources indicate that the Kings are exceptionally close to landing the 29 year old power forward. Not entirely sure why an 18-34 team would be willing to take on a contract like Murphy’s, but the point remains that the Cavs have to act fast if they intend on scooping up any of the players that they’ve been targeting.

Even though he’s a better fit for Cleveland, it might be time for GM Danny Ferry to abandon the Jamison pursuit to focus solely on working out a deal for Murphy.

Tyrus Thomas

I suppose it’s a “buy-low” philosophy that other NBA teams have adopted in regard to the Tyrus Thomas situation. Because most teams would be out of their mind to pursue a known locker room cancer as we head to the stretch run and chemistry begins to hold even more importance than normal.

But if teams are willing to take on a head case like Thomas and the price is right, it may be the right move. He’s still got all the potential in the world as long as a hard-nosed coach can straighten him out.

If he was to end up in Charlotte, like the rumored deal has him doing, I have all the faith in the world that Larry Brown could work with him to get him to the point of being as close to a normal, caring human being as possible. Or at least a better teammate.

Lamar Odom

Alright, so I understand Odom’s reasoning behind wanting to give Bynum his starting spot back when he returns from injury. It’s just personally hard for me to not get in cheap shots at the Lakers whenever possible.

But from a basketball standpoint, it makes sense. Odom is very successful off the bench when he can keep his head in the game and Bynum did lead them to a title after coming back from injury late last season. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

It’s just unusual for a player, (especially one that has started 630 of 719 career games), to say something like that. But it is refreshing to see.

Now, what would Ty Thomas do in this situation?

What To Watch This Weekend

Friday–All

Saturday–Star

Sunday–Weekend

Charles Barkley Quote Friday!

On one of Nate Robinson's dunks during All Star weekend: "Any time a little midget does something like this, you gotta give him a 10!"

‘Til Monday…

PD

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