Friday, May 9, 2008

Looking Back at Better Times...


Does anyone else remember the joy of watching the 2005-2006 playoff run to the Finals? (Not the Finals, we at DallasDedicated do not discuss that series.) The game 7 win over the spurs (is that capitalized? Doesn't really matter, a spurs fan doesn't know the difference.) was the easily the best moment in franchise history. My fellow writer Nate actually threw up with 10 seconds left--out of excitement. It's moments like those we miss. Anyhow, looking back at how great of a season that was, I thought of no better way to cope with this season's disappointment than to revisit than 2005-2006 team...

Where are they now? Players who have left us

--Marquis Daniels
Was traded to Indiana, where he is still playing today. He finished this season playing in 74 games, starting only one and getting 20.9 minutes of action per. His statistics might now have developed into the eye popping numbers we had expected, but he is still eating well, as he made nearly $6 million last season.

--Keith Van Horn(y)
Luckiest man ever. Paid millions just to move to New Jersey.

--Adrian Griffin
Left for his native Chicago after the season. Played there until mid-season when he was traded to the Seattle, er, Oklahoma City, Sonics. Only played 6 minutes per game there.

--Darrell Armstrong
Believe it or not, Darrell, who turns 40 in June, is still playing the the NBA. Left with Marquis and Co. to Indiana, but now plays for Jay-Z's New Jersey Nets (It's the ROC!).

--Josh Powell
Previously a favorite at DallasDedicated, Josh is on the verge of earning "journeyman" status. He is now with his fourth team in three years. Also was in the Indy trade, playing 7 games before being shipped to Golden St., where he left in free agency and now plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, where he started 25 games, saw action in 64, and set career highs in minutes, ppg, rebounds, assists, and everything else.

--DJ Mbenga
Things have been a little rough since being waved by the Mavs. He signed with Nellie's Golden St., then was subsequently waved. LA Lakers granted him a 10-day contract, liked what they saw, and signed him for the remainder of this season.

--Rawle Marshall
As a Mav, he was everyone's favorite D-League player. He finished the 2006-2007 season with the Pacers, and is currently playing in Serbia for KK Hemofarm, where, as I learned, his name is spelled "Roll" Marshall, is the only American on the roster (who is he going to listen to Jay-Z with?) (It's the ROC!), averages 14.6 ppg, and statistics are really hard to read in Slavic. Also, as weird as it may seem, they have a statistical category for "blocks received", like every time your shot gets blocked. I can't decide if that is an interesting stat to keep, or a dumb Euro idea.

--Doug Christie
After his 7 game stint with the Mavs, he didn't play until 2006-2007, when he had another 7 game stint, this time with the Clippers. He has been out of the league since, though technically is not "retired". We think it is his wife who is keeping him from playing.

--Pavel Podkolzin
After he left the Mavs in 2005-2006, he never played in the NBA again. Cuban's second attempt at developing a huge, foreign, white guy did not turn out as well as the first go around. In 2006-2007 he played in his native Russia for Khimki BC (teammates with former Duke standout Daniel Ewing). Currently, he is playing for Lokomotiv Novosybirsk, alongside former NBA player Lee Nailon.

So there you have it, I hope your thirst for ex-Maverick happenings is quenched. Anything to get your mind off of this season, i know. Next up in a couple of years: Trenton "not a" Hassell, Jamaal "not so" Maglor-ious, Gana "Diop it like it's hot" Diop and Malik "why do I have a Muslim name" Allen.

Also, just for old times sake...THE best video in Dallas Mavericks History--at the end of game 7 against the spurs.

--PD

No comments: