NBA Observations

I haven't written anything about the NBA since the season started. I was planning on waiting until the end of the regular season but too much has gone on for me to ignore so I have to drop some thoughts here.

- First up, of course, is the Jason Kidd trade.

From the moment Bobby Perez sent me a link at work describing the original trade, I was against it. In fact, I was so against it that I created a Facebook group urging the Mavericks to keep Devin Harris. For a brief time, I thought that Devean George and Jerry Stackhouse had saved management from itself but alas, my hopes were still shattered (although the trade that DID go down was better for the Mavs than the original proposal, albeit more expensive for Mark Cuban). There were several reasons that I was not in favor of the trade: we were giving up our depth and our future, Harris is a better deal than Kidd when you factor in their contracts, by losing Diop we'd be depending on Eric Dampier to man the middle by himself (gulp!), Kidd's style of play did not mesh with Avery Johnson's offense, etc. But here's the key reason that I was against it: bringing in Jason Kidd did not make the Mavericks the prohibitive favorites in the Western Conference and that is the ONLY reason this trade would have made sense.

The Mavs were not going to win the title this year. That wasn't going to change by bringing in Kidd. I thought that the team would be better (although considering that the team has gone 5-6 since Kidd's arrival, looks like I was wrong about that) but this was not the move to make and, more importantly, this was not the time to make it. Look, Jason Kidd is a great player. He'll be in the Hall of Fame one day. But I guarantee you that when Tony Parker, Chris Paul and Deron Williams all heard that Devin Harris was being sent to the other conference they were all doing Cousin Balki's Dance of Joy. Harris may not be as good a point guard as Kidd but right now he's a far better defender. In fact, I'd be willing to say that he's probably the best defensive point guard in the league. That point was just further driven home with Kidd's first games as a Maverick against Paul (who went for 31 points, 11 assists and nine steals), Williams (17 points and 20 assists) and the fact that he was famously left out of the final half minute against the Spurs.

One other thing that I don't understand is the sentiment that Jason Kidd would help the Mavericks by being a leader. That he would help heal the fractured locker room. My response was a definite, "Huh?" When has Kidd EVER been a good locker room guy? The guy has whined and complained at every NBA stop he's ever made, including HIS VERY FIRST TEAM: THE DALLAS MAVERICKS!!!!! I have absolutely no idea where the notion that Kidd could be of help in the locker room originated but it is completely misguided. And I briefly mentioned this before but since I'm here I'll continue...

Kidd is wrong for Dallas because his style of play doesn't mesh with Avery's offense. Hmmmm, if only we had an example of Jason Kidd playing in an offense that he didn't like. Oh wait, we do. How about when Kidd first entered the NBA and his style didn't suit the offense of then-coach Jim Cleamons, who was trying to institute the triangle in Dallas. You mean to tell me that no one in the Mavericks' organization thought of this? Actually, I'm sure at least one did. And here's the most telling sub-story about the entire trade situation: Donnie Nelson never talked about it. Nelson has one of the shrewdest minds in the NBA and over the years he's made many outstanding moves for the team. He got Dirk Nowitzki for Robert Traylor, he brought in Steve Nash, he got rid of the contract of both Raef LaFrentz AND Antoine Walker. Yet whenever someone from the organization discussed this trade, it was always either Mark Cuban or Avery Johnson. That leads me to believe that Nelson was not in favor of it. Very telling indeed.

Finally, I don't understand why the Mavericks had to give up so much. It was well-documented that Kidd wanted out of New Jersey and that Dallas was his primary preference. Shouldn't that have made it a buyer's market? Shouldn't the Mavs have been able to dictate the terms of the trade? Were any other teams even remotely in the running for Kidd? Ok, LeBron wanted him in Cleveland. What did the Cavs have to offer that the Mavs couldn't top? And if worse comes to worst, couldn't they have simply waited until the off-season to make a better trade AND to allow Jason Kidd and Avery Johnson a full training camp to become acclimated with one another? Why can I think of these things when management cannot?

Now, not only have the Mavericks lost two solid young players in Harris and DeSagana Diop, but we've lost our draft picks for this year (when there's still a very real chance that we can miss the playoffs and end up in the lottery) and 2010. Great.



- Over the past few days, I've become aware of something. In a league that has produced high fliers like Dr. J and Michael Jordan, agile behemoths like Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal, 6'9 point guards and seven footers who can drain three-pointers, LeBron James is the most talented player in the history of the league. Think about this for a second: LeBron is 6'8 3/4 and weighs 260 pounds. That's the same size as Karl Malone. He can pass like Magic Johnson, has the athleticism of Michael Jordan and is possibly the fastest player in the league. The NBA has NEVER experienced a player with his combination of physical talents.

That's not to say that he's the best player in the league. Personally, I still bestow that title to Kobe Bryant. But the fact that LeBron can even be considered as one of the best when he isn't even close to reaching the height of his potential is just downright scary. He's already impossible to guard one on one. What if he adds a mid range jumper? And a low-post game? And continues to improve his defense? And let's keep in mind that he is only 23 years old (supposedly). How enormous are the possibilities? Fairly or unfairly, he won't be considered among the greats unless he wins multiple championships. Jordan is often mentioned as the GOAT in large part because of the six pieces of bling he has. But as phenomenal a player, and as driven a competitor he was, we have to keep in mind that Jordan was also given the best possible coach (for him) and the best possible sidekick (again, for him). We know for sure that LeBron doesn't have the right sidekick and I would argue that he probably doesn't have the right coach either. Can you imagine if he gets them? LeBron still doesn't have the killer instinct of a Jordan or Kobe, or even a Magic, Isiah or Hakeem. But he's getting there. I'm still impressed by the way he shut down Kobe in crunch time on national television. And let me just add that he averaging 42 points per in the last three games.



- There are two exciting races going on in the NBA right now: the race to see which 50-win team from the West will get left out of the playoff while two sub 40-win teams from the East get in; and who is going to win MVP. Quite frankly, the former pisses me off and I'd rather not talk about it. Suffice it to say that I think David Stern should find a way to fix that particular problem before worrying about expansion into Europe.

The second, however, is quite interesting. Last year, I was quite happy that a player from my hometown team won the MVP. But even I have to admit that Dirk was the weakest MVP in a long time (even if there wasn't really anyone more deserving). This year we have the exact opposite situation. There are four players who could legitimately lay claim to being this year's Most Valuable Player: Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James and Chris Paul. Of that list, the first person I'd have to knock off is KG. As much as he means to the Celtics, and despite the infectious passion that he's infused onto that team, two things cannot be denied. One, the fact that his numbers are not as good as his competition and two, the fact that the C's were still a pretty good team even when he was out. LeBron would also have to be docked points for playing in the East. I'm obviously a fan of the guy but I cannot deny that Mamba and CP3 constantly have to play against tougher competition. Personally, if I were voting at right this moment, my vote would go to Kobe because the Lakers are on top of the conference. But with the playoff race in the West being so tight, a lot can change between now and the end of the season.