So one day in late April, I checked in on my blog and noticed a lack of something. Sifting through them, I found pieces on Hedo, the Young Gunz, the Amazing Race, video games, the Olympics, etc. But the one thing that was truly missing was a piece about the franchise - CB4. And yeah, sure, maybe I did that because every other media outlet was beating the whole "Chris Bosh" topic to death; but still.
Like many others, I don't want to take Bosh for granted. And so with the realization that he may be gone very soon, I wanted to dedicate the next 30 days or so to him with my writing and this very blog. After all, this may be my last chance to discuss him on here.
The mission - should you choose to read it - is simple. Everyday, I'll breakdown a different team's outlook in regards to acquiring our franchise player. We'll take a look at how a potential transaction will affect both sides of the spectrum, and whether or not such a move could potentially go down.
Disclaimer: Let's please keep in mind that I'm not majoring in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement; so if there's a few errors here and there in that regards, please let me know. Thanks!
Previous Piece: The Cleveland Cavaliers
Today's Piece: The Dallas Mavericks
Players of Interests:
Dirk Nowitzki
Erick Dampier
Caron Butler
DeShawn Stevenson
Rodrigue Beaubois
Brendan Haywood
If there's one city that had the most craziest basketball year, it would have to be Dallas - HANDS DOWN. Obviously, there was All-Star weekend. The world's best basketball talent all converged onto the Texas city only to be greeted by a snowstorm? Yup. On top of that - because everything has to be bigger in Texas - the actual All-Star game was played at the new Cowboys Stadium that clearly was built with the U.S. stimulus money. In regards to the basketball side of things, Dallas had another very successful year. Already one of the best teams coming into the trade deadline, the Mavs made a splash by acquiring Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson from the Wizards. And after tearing up the NBA soon after, many were convinced that Dallas was the most equipped to make a title run this year.
However - it all came crashing down in the first round of the playoffs.
See, if there's one thing that Dallas has taught me, it's that spending money doesn't guarantee you anything in the NBA. Going into tax territory may increase your chances of playoff success, but at the end of the day, you still have to play the game. So, the question for me now is: Has owner Mark Cuban learned that lesson as well? Depending on the answer to that, the Mavs could go many different directions this off-season; especially with the possibility of Dirk Nowitzki opting for free agency.
But let's say Cuban does whatever it takes to bring in Dallas-native Chris Bosh. What could be sent back our way in a Sign and Trade? Like I said, it really depends on Cuban's willingness to continue spending money. If he has no problem with being locked into a ton of long term deals with no cap relief, then they have a few things we could ask.
For instance, Caron Butler, Erick Dampier, and DeShawn Stevenson all hold very large expiring contracts. Combined with the our expirings of Marcus Banks and Reggie Evans, we could use these contracts to speed up the rebuilding process.
Of course, we have to take into consideration the unlikeliness that Cuban parts with all three contracts, but if there's one I'd love to have the most of the 3, it would have to be Caron Butler. Not only would he give us close to 11 million dollars in expiring money, but he'd also be the perfect mentor to someone like DeMar DeRozan. I see a lot of similarities between the two. When Caron first came into the league, he didn't have the greatest of handles (he still doesn't for a wing player) and he was a horrible 3 point shooter (still is - 31% career 3 pt. percentage). But if there's one thing Caron could be applauded on, it was his ability to capitalize on what he did do best, and that's make that mid range jumper, slash to the bucket, and get to the free throw line. Those are all the things DeMar relied on in his rookie season. So if we could get Caron to help out DeMar even for just one year, I think it would pay dividends down the road.
Lastly, the other player that I hope we could squeeze out of Dallas is someone they're pretty high on: Rodrigue Beaubois. This guy just oozes talent on the court, and could very well burst out once Jason Kidd leaves. But does Cuban let him go knowing it may have been a mistake to let Devin Harris go?
Mr Preferred Scenario:
Raptors Trade Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon
Mavericks Trade Caron Butler (expiring), DeShawn Stevenson (expiring), Rodrigue Beaubois, TPE
Ignoring the semantics, the premise of this transaction is pretty simple. Dallas brings Chris Bosh back home to team up with Dirk, Kidd, Marion, get to put Terry back at the 2 spot, possibly re-sign Haywood, and get to keep Dampiers' awesome expiring contract. At the same time, they get Jose Calderon to platoon that point guard spot with Kidd, something Jose is quite familiar with doing already. Meanwhile, the Raptors get roughly around 15 million in expiring money in Butler and Stevenson. Butler will be advertised as DeMar's mentor and the wing scorer we need to stay competitive this year, while Stevenson will probably be advertised by BC and MLSE as a stopper who has a competitive swagger (lol). I laugh because it'll probably happen that way too. We also get to dump Jose's contract for a wicked young point guard prospect in Beaubois. Just imagine him running the fast break with the Young Gunz...
More Likely Scenario:
Raptors Trade Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon
Mavericks Trade Erick Dampier (expiring), DeShawn Stevenson (expiring), Brendan Haywood (re-signed), Draft Pick/TPE of some sort.
In this trade, I go with the assumption that Cuban keeps both the present and future in mind. He keeps Caron Butler who prove to be that wing scorer for next season in a championship run, but also expires for cap relief. He also gets to keep Beaubois, not wanting to have the feeling of letting two young point guards go with nothing to show for it. I'm just not sure how a Dirk and Bosh front court works though, but that's not our problem. Preferably, I'd love to get Beaubois, but if not, I definitely want a re-signed Haywood coming our way to play next to Bargnani.
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