Dallas Mavericks and their 'guarded' approach

Jose Calderon – an important new signing

So what were the Dallas Mavericks thinking this off season? They did their bit trying to entice Dwight Howard to play for them, and did engage in initial talks with the Boston Celtics to try and get a trade for Rajon Rondo going. However, the Celtics were clear enough when they said Rondo was now the leader of the franchise, and that they want to build the young team around him.

A move for Rondo would have gone a long way in trying to convince Howard to choose Dallas as his destination, however both the Mavericks and Celtics didn’t push that seriously for a trade, and so that was that. Howard chose Houston, Boston chose a trade that took away all the veterans from the 2008 championship winning roster, and the Dallas Mavericks were left in the lurch again, just like last year. Were they disappointed? Probably, but it wouldn’t seem given Cuban’s reaction on Leno.

So what did they do when they needed to go and sign frontcourt players, players who could add length, rebound and defend the ball, apart from shooting it? Well, they signed guards. And a whole lot of them at  that. The current roster has eight guards out of a total of 15. The intriguing aspect: Most of those deals are proper contracts, not one year deals; a clear indication that there is method to the Mavericks’ madness. Unlike the last couple of years when they failed to land any major free agent and had to resort to 1 year contracts to make up their roster, the Mavericks had a plan B this year and they went out and got it done.

At the beginning of the off season, Dallas had a couple of choices, amnesty Dirk Nowitzki and use a big chunk of the money to attract potential free agents, or keep Dirk Nowitzki and build the team around him. Simple choice really. Just like Dirk did in 2011, they chose to keep the faith in their superstar.

Recently, Mark Cuban made it clear in his blog post that he wants to win as much as the other guy, but not at the cost of throwing away the organization’s culture down the drain. His continuous faith in his coaching staff as well as his players is reciprocated by their unflinching support of his passion. Both Cuban and Nowitzki came into the Dallas Mavericks organization in their respective capacities as owner and player at about the same time, and so share a special spirit and camaraderie that is rarely seen in the NBA. Read the complete Cuban blog here.

Their dealings this summer leave them with the option of being in the whereabouts for any possible trade situation in the season, and next summer, when the free agent class is huge, and the options are that many more. Also, this season is the first since 2011 when Dallas have a multitude of options at the guard positions, and this adds some much needed versatility to the team. The addition of proper offensive weapons will help them spread the ball, and play more of that flow offence we got to witness in the 2011 championship winning season.

The signings of Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis are very good in that regard. Calderon is an old school point guard; very efficient, pass first and a good spot up shooter. He will add great value to the Mavericks this season, helping Dirk get the ball in his favourite spots, and making it easier for him. Ellis is an explosive scorer, who gets to the basket very well, and is very quick.