Grading the Dallas Mavericks' Trade Deadline Performance
The NBA trade deadline came and went earlier today, as teams from across the league made their last-ditch efforts to better their team this season. While there were a few significant deals that went down, like J.J. Redick heading to Milwaukee and Jordan Crawford going from Washington to Boston, overall it was a dud of a trade deadline that saw no huge names get moved.
While Josh Smith, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Rajon Rondo, DeMarcus Cousins and other stars were at one point or another rumored to be on the block, none of them were traded, and all will remain with their current teams for at least the remainder of this season.
The Dallas Mavericks were largely expected to make at least some kind of move before the deadline went down.
Dallas is sitting at five games under .500 and four-and-a-half games out of the eighth spot in the West. They have only four players on their roster who are under contract for next season, and two of them are rookies.
The Mavericks could have been big buyers and gone after a star to play alongside Dirk Nowitzki and O.J. Mayo, giving the Mavs their own big three moving forward. They could have made at least one significant move to bolster their team this year and stride towards the playoffs even if they didn't land a superstar.
On the other hand, they likely had many players who were attractive to other teams because of their expiring contracts and veteran status. Contending teams definitely could have used guys like Chris Kaman, Vince Carter or Shawn Marion (who has two years still on his deal) for a playoff run this season.
However, the Mavericks instead did practically nothing.
They weren't totally quiet, as they did acquire backup guard Anthony Morrow from the Hawks in exchange for Dahntay Jones.
Morrow does have a set of skills that Dallas can use. He is a deadly three-point shooter, who has averaged as many as 13.2 points per game in his NBA career (in 2010-11 with New Jersey).
While Josh Smith, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Rajon Rondo, DeMarcus Cousins and other stars were at one point or another rumored to be on the block, none of them were traded, and all will remain with their current teams for at least the remainder of this season.
The Dallas Mavericks were largely expected to make at least some kind of move before the deadline went down.
Dallas is sitting at five games under .500 and four-and-a-half games out of the eighth spot in the West. They have only four players on their roster who are under contract for next season, and two of them are rookies.
The Mavericks could have been big buyers and gone after a star to play alongside Dirk Nowitzki and O.J. Mayo, giving the Mavs their own big three moving forward. They could have made at least one significant move to bolster their team this year and stride towards the playoffs even if they didn't land a superstar.
On the other hand, they likely had many players who were attractive to other teams because of their expiring contracts and veteran status. Contending teams definitely could have used guys like Chris Kaman, Vince Carter or Shawn Marion (who has two years still on his deal) for a playoff run this season.
However, the Mavericks instead did practically nothing.
They weren't totally quiet, as they did acquire backup guard Anthony Morrow from the Hawks in exchange for Dahntay Jones.
Morrow does have a set of skills that Dallas can use. He is a deadly three-point shooter, who has averaged as many as 13.2 points per game in his NBA career (in 2010-11 with New Jersey).
