Thursday, August 21, 2008

Mavs Full House

Throughout this offseason, we here at DallasDedicated have given you our reasons why the Mavs should sign Summer League signee Charles Rhodes and draft pick Shan Foster. After confirming that Foster is headed to Italy for the year, signing Charles Rhodes would have been the next option for the final roster spot. We know that Rhodes will be part of the Mavs training camp, but that could be the last time he wears a Mavs uniform. The 15th and final roster spot has just been given to Devean George. The Mavs re-signed George to a 2-year deal yesterday that is worth $4 million. Devean George does fit well with the team, but is he worth having over rookie Charles Rhodes?

Charles Rhodes has done nothing but up his value after performing well on the Summer-League, even getting many offers from European teams. If Rhodes does indeed not get picked up by this Mavs team (which now looks likely), another NBA team will definitely put him on their roster. Rhodes is a powerful rebounder and defender, not to mention the 64 percent shooting he displayed this summer. Devean George is a proven vet, but let's face it: His most memorable moment was originally blocking the Jason Kidd to Dallas trade back in February. Rhodes might have made little impact this season on the deep Mavs bench, but Rhodes over George in the long run seems like a lot better of a move.

What were the reasons the Mavs decided to do this? Rick Carlisle visited George at his home in Minnesota a couple of times this summer to talk to him face-to-face about how the 6-8 veteran would fit in his system with the Mavs. George's agent cited multiple teams that were all interested in his client, but in the long run, "playing with Jason Kidd for the entire year won him over." The deal does make sense for Carlisle, George is a proven three-point shooter that can play 3 positions and defend the perimeter. If Rick Carlisle believes that George is the best option left for the final spot, then we here at DallasDedicated must trust him. However, many fans have been waiting for a trade or signing that will up the level of excitement for the upcoming regular season, and the signing of George is a "been-there-done-that" move that will certainly not have any fans throwing a party about.

The real underlying issue about this deal is the fact that we now have ANOTHER player who's deal runs out on June 30, 2010. That means that other than Dirk, Terry, and Diop, every other player's contract will be up in the 2010 offseason. I'm already developing a twitch thinking about this. In the 2011 season, who knows what the roster will even look like. It could be Dirk, LeBron (free agent in '10), and Diop leading the way at the AAC in 2 years. OR...it could be explosion time. If Mark Cuban was ever going to rebuild and start over, the 2010 offseason would be the perfect time for him. Can't you just picture Cuban sitting in his office contemplating all the possibilities? It's a scary thought, and we here at DallasDedicated will be losing sleep because of this image in our minds....

--ND

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