Official NBA 2006-2007 season thread

[Fusion]

Cuban is actually acting calm, very unlike him. I would've expected him to come out blasting away the way he usually does. Instead, he's being very calm about the whole thing, saying that he won't blow up the team or fire Avery. As a fan, I have already said that those things would be a GOOD thing to do, but the team's owner shouldn't be saying those things right after a disappointing loss. Cuban and the team management need to take a month off and then come back and evaluate things without the raw emotion so fresh in their minds. You know, I've never had a problem with Cuban as an OWNER. He's passionate about the team, spends whatever amount needed to win (most players, past and present, have had max contracts from Cuban), and cares about the fans. I don't like or condone his antics on the court, but I take the good with the bad. To me, he did everything you could possibly expect out of an owner to help his team win. His team just let him (and the fans) down.

 

[Dravid]

Classic

 

[Anil]

tough luck fusion...and congrats dravid on a good call, like fusion said you made a bunch of outrageous calls and one of them came true, so no need to gloat too much... , let's see how cuban reacts to this stunning upset....

 

[Dravid]

Warriors will go to conf finals. My next prediction

 

[Sanz]

To me, he did everything you could possibly expect out of an owner to help his team win. His team just let him (and the fans) down.

Mark Cuban didn't do everything he could and neither do I think that his team let him or Mavs fans down. IMO Cuban is responsible for this problem, he interferes too much in team composition and team selection.IMO he wanted success too soon and blamed Nash for Dirk's poor performance during those days and hence let the best point guard in NBA go to another team that too in Westerm Conf., he let Finley go and yet didn't bring better talent to replace them. He replaced Don Nelson with Avery Johnshon a rookie coach. And guess what Nellie toyed with Avery's mind. Great or even owners dont interfere in their GM's of Coaches work.

Mavericks may have won more games this season than they did during Nash-Dirk-Finley era, (and I have said this before) but they are not better than the Mavs of 2000-04, neither in talent nor in coaching.

 

[Sanz]

You know, I've never had a problem with Cuban as an OWNER. He's passionate about the team, spends whatever amount needed to win (most players, past and present, have had max contracts from Cuban), and cares about the fans.

Its not about money, its about minding his own business. If you have a GM, trust him, let him decide what is best for the team, If you dont have a GM, hire one.

MAx Contracts doesn't mean that he is a great owner, it just means that he is overpaying most of his players. Players like Terry(7.5m), Crosher(7.3m), Dampier(8.5m), Stackhouse (9m) are overpaid, they wont get that kind of money elsewhere. Terry and Dampier are supposed to make a lot more in nest4 seasons. Even in the past he signed players for ridiculous amount of money, Did you know that even though Michael Finley was releas in 2005, Cuban paid him 15m in 2005-6, 17m in 2006-07 and will pay 18.5m in 2007-08. Remember Shawn Bradley - He was release in 2005 as well, he is also being paid 4.5m for past two season and will get another check for 4.5m next season.

 

[Anil]

Warriors will go to conf finals. My next prediction

that is quite possible given that their next opponents will be either the jazz or the rockets...a series that could go either way if the warriors stay this hot...

 

[Fusion]

Mark Cuban didn't do everything he could and neither do I think that his team let him or Mavs fans down. IMO Cuban is responsible for this problem, he interferes too much in team composition and team selection.IMO he wanted success too soon and blamed Nash for Dirk's poor performance during those days and hence let the best point guard in NBA go to another team that too in Westerm Conf., he let Finley go and yet didn't bring better talent to replace them. He replaced Don Nelson with Avery Johnshon a rookie coach. And guess what Nellie toyed with Avery's mind. Great or even owners dont interfere in their GM's of Coaches work.

Mavericks may have won more games this season than they did during Nash-Dirk-Finley era, (and I have said this before) but they are not better than the Mavs of 2000-04, neither in talent nor in coaching.

Nellie had complete control of team composition when he was Dallas' coach and GM, and that never got us anywhere. All Cuban did was write expensive checks for players Nellie brought in, who frankly were failures. Today, the team's personnel decisions are made by a committee, Donnie Nelson (Don Nelson's son, what a weird dynamic that is!) is the head of basketball operations for Dallas. He is mostly responsible for player decisions and Cuban respects his opinion and listens to him. Let's talk about some of the decisions Cuban has made. He pushed Don Nelson out the door. You know why? Because Nellie refused to preach defense. He was content with trying to assemble a team that could out-run and out-score everyone. That's been Nellie's blue-print since his Milwaukee days. Well that has never worked in the history of the NBA (even Phoenix has yet to win it all with this approach). History has proven that Nellie-ball doesn't work. Nellie-ball will win a playoff round here and there, but has never (and will never) win a Championship. Cuban got frustrated with the Mavs losing year after year to the Spurs and the Kings and his relationship with Nellie soured. You don't live in Dallas so you may not have followed the story closely. But Nellie basically quit on the team after Nash left. He was supposedly so upset that his favorite player left that he lost "passion" for coaching the team. What BS! Just because you don't get to keep a player you like you will quit on the team? Doesn't reflect greatly on Nellie's character. Now on to Nash. Yeah Cuban let him leave. Even today, I say that was a good decision. In Dallas, Nash was never going to play at an MVP level. In Dallas he didn't have the fast, athletic players that can shoot three's as well as regularly drive to the basket. So all the opposition had to do was guard the parameter and Nash was mostly ineffective in the playoffs. Mike Bibby and Tony Parker used to outperform Nash every year when he was in Dallas. So in Dallas, we just didn't have the players to compliment a system Nash could thrive in. He has that in Phoenix and is doing well for himself. Same thing for Finley. A player that was content on taking the jump shots and would disapear in the playoffs. Have plenty of those on the roster who are not making Finley's max contract money. Again, I don't see how Dallas' failures in the post-season can be blamed on Cuban.

 

[Fusion]

Its not about money, its about minding his own business. If you have a GM, trust him, let him decide what is best for the team, If you dont have a GM, hire one.

MAx Contracts doesn't mean that he is a great owner, it just means that he is overpaying most of his players. Players like Terry(7.5m), Crosher(7.3m), Dampier(8.5m), Stackhouse (9m) are overpaid, they wont get that kind of money elsewhere. Terry and Dampier are supposed to make a lot more in nest4 seasons. Even in the past he signed players for ridiculous amount of money, Did you know that even though Michael Finley was releas in 2005, Cuban paid him 15m in 2005-6, 17m in 2006-07 and will pay 18.5m in 2007-08. Remember Shawn Bradley - He was release in 2005 as well, he is also being paid 4.5m for past two season and will get another check for 4.5m next season.

You are totally ignoring Don Nelson's part in those deals. Nellie was the GM when those contracts were paid out. It was Nellie who thought Bradley would be the final puzzle for a championship roster! He convinced Cuban to sign him to a long-term deal. It was Nellie that wanted the core of his team (Nash, Dirk, and Finley) to stay together. So when Finley's contract was up, Cuban overpaid him because he was convinced by Nelson that Finley was essential to the team's success. If anything, you should fault Cuban for relying too much on his GM's advice!

 

[Turbinator]

Okay wow, I'll be honest, all the experience the Nets had payed off. They played better playoff basketball than us. I am sad, in fact, I am pissed about that last posession still, but what can you do, the inexperience was quite evident.

But still I am really proud of the way the Raptors played throughout the season and in the playoffs. This team, I can see, has a great future ahead of them and will deliver the fans of Toronto more exciting basketball in the years to come. Good job Nets and goodluck against the Cavs, you'll certainly need it .

Thanks Raptors for a great season, now go all that way next time .

 

[Dravid]

What game..amazing atmosphere at the game in the second half. The crowd was really into it. And the last 2 mins. Especially that last steal...the building went nuts..i recorded that and RJs layup from my seats, ill put em up sometime soon

 

[Anil]

What game..amazing atmosphere at the game in the second half. The crowd was really into it. And the last 2 mins. Especially that last steal...the building went nuts..i recorded that and RJs layup from my seats, ill put em up sometime soon

not sure turb is looking forward to that...

 

[Anil]

detroit take game 1 easily over the bulls...this is just the first game but they look too tough and experienced for the comparatively young bulls....

 

[ohtani's jacket]

Avery is a good coach, he just lacks playoff experience. He's been schooled by old time coaches like Riley and Nelson, but it was only a year ago that he out-coached Popovich. In this case, Nellie knew Dirk inside out -- exposing weaknesses that everyone's cottoned onto now. I was aware that Dirk didn't have a post game, but the fact that he was so vulnerable off the dribble -- didn't know that. Dirk getting a post game at this point is about as realistic as Dallas trading for a new point guard or center. What I want to know is what happened to the rest of the Mavs... They didn't have anyone who could knock down a big shot, like Davis, Jackson and Richardson. Their guards were fearless against the Spurs last year. This year they didn't want to ball. Strange.

The Bulls are gonna get killed.

 

[Anil]

the rockets go down against the much deeper jazz in game 7 and the first round comes to an end....as t-mac admitted, the better team won in the end...

 

[Anil]

The Bulls are gonna get killed.

that's what it is looking like...

 

[Sanz]

Nellie had complete control of team composition when he was Dallas' coach and GM, and that never got us anywhere. All Cuban did was write expensive checks for players Nellie brought in, who frankly were failures. Today, the team's personnel decisions are made by a committee, Donnie Nelson (Don Nelson's son, what a weird dynamic that is!) is the head of basketball operations for Dallas. He is mostly responsible for player decisions and Cuban respects his opinion and listens to him. Let's talk about some of the decisions Cuban has made. He pushed Don Nelson out the door. You know why? Because Nellie refused to preach defense. He was content with trying to assemble a team that could out-run and out-score everyone. That's been Nellie's blue-print since his Milwaukee days. Well that has never worked in the history of the NBA (even Phoenix has yet to win it all with this approach). History has proven that Nellie-ball doesn't work. Nellie-ball will win a playoff round here and there, but has never (and will never) win a Championship. Cuban got frustrated with the Mavs losing year after year to the Spurs and the Kings and his relationship with Nellie soured. You don't live in Dallas so you may not have followed the story closely. But Nellie basically quit on the team after Nash left. He was supposedly so upset that his favorite player left that he lost "passion" for coaching the team. What BS! Just because you don't get to keep a player you like you will quit on the team? Doesn't reflect greatly on Nellie's character. Now on to Nash. Yeah Cuban let him leave. Even today, I say that was a good decision. In Dallas, Nash was never going to play at an MVP level. In Dallas he didn't have the fast, athletic players that can shoot three's as well as regularly drive to the basket. So all the opposition had to do was guard the parameter and Nash was mostly ineffective in the playoffs. Mike Bibby and Tony Parker used to outperform Nash every year when he was in Dallas. So in Dallas, we just didn't have the players to compliment a system Nash could thrive in. He has that in Phoenix and is doing well for himself. Same thing for Finley. A player that was content on taking the jump shots and would disapear in the playoffs. Have plenty of those on the roster who are not making Finley's max contract money. Again, I don't see how Dallas' failures in the post-season can be blamed on Cuban.

With all due respect, it sounds like Mark Cuban's autobiography. Nellie didn't quit on the team after losing Nash, he probably quit because Cuban was interfering too much into his job. It started long before Nash's departure from Dallas. WSJ reports :-

".....But just as the Nelson-Cuban revival was peaking -- in the NBA's 2003 Western Conference finals -- it started to fall apart. With the Mavericks facing elimination by the San Antonio Spurs, the coach and owner exploded at each other over Mr. Nelson's refusal to fulfill his boss's wish to play an injured Mr. Nowitzki, according to Mavericks officials close to the team's owner.

Mr. Nowitzki had suffered sprained ligaments in his left knee in the third game of the best-of-seven series, but, with the Mavericks trailing three games to one, was cleared by team doctors to play again. Mr. Cuban confronted Mr. Nelson in the coach's office and demanded the star forward return to the court, Mavericks officials say.

Mr. Nelson refused, insisting that playing the young German with the ligament injury would jeopardize his career. The coach also confided in friends that he had promised Mr. Nowitzki's parents, when the Mavericks signed the young man at age 19, that he would look after the seven-footer in Texas like a son.

"You're just looking for excuses to lose," fumed Mr. Cuban, according to two people who heard the blowup. Mr. Nelson threw the Mavs' owner out of his office, these people say....."

http://online.wsj.com/public/articl...kE_nOVXW_KLt1lFtfhZSc_20070508.html?mod=blogs

There is a lot more in that article which tells that Don Nelson didn't really has as much say in MAvs team/player selection as you are claiming.

On Nash, He is an all time great player at least at the position he plays. If you have an all star player then you build a team around him, not without him. Cuban obviously went against Nellie and didn't offer him a new contract. As for him not playing like an MVP, Did you remember Cuban's cheap shot on National Television - ..Steve's a great guy and I love him to death, but why couldn't he play like an MVP for us?" Dummy because he didn't have players to compliment Nash. He wanted to build your team around Nowitzki and not around Nash. In one of your post you suggested that they should get a real point guard like Jason Kidd, Same thing will happen, Mavs dont have players who can play with a real point guard. They just cant and that was the reason why Steve Nash couldn't play like an MVP when he was with Mavs.

Finley - Yes, he was overpaid in Dallas and part of the blame goes to Nellie, but one cant just put the entire blame on him esp when you have an owner who is as aggresive as Cuban.

I have already stated why this loss can be blamed on Cuban, will repeat again

a. Building a team around Nowitzki, b. Having a rookie coach

 

[Sanz]

You are totally ignoring Don Nelson's part in those deals. Nellie was the GM when those contracts were paid out. It was Nellie who thought Bradley would be the final puzzle for a championship roster! He convinced Cuban to sign him to a long-term deal. It was Nellie that wanted the core of his team (Nash, Dirk, and Finley) to stay together. So when Finley's contract was up, Cuban overpaid him because he was convinced by Nelson that Finley was essential to the team's success. If anything, you should fault Cuban for relying too much on his GM's advice!

Good, so you give credit to Cuban for giving the max contracts to his players, but the moment I point to you that these were wrong decision, you blame it all on the GM. Btw, ever checked Knicks players contracts ?

 

[Anil]

first blood(no pun intended... ) to the spurs and they wrest the home court edge from the suns...

 

[Fusion]

Good, so you give credit to Cuban for giving the max contracts to his players, but the moment I point to you that these were wrong decision, you blame it all on the GM. Btw, ever checked Knicks players contracts ?

I don't understand your logic here. I give credit to Cuban for being a good "owner". He's willing to do anything to help his team win. So when Nellie was the GM, he listened to him and shelled out a lot of money for ill-fitting players. You want Cuban to stay out of personnel decisions, but when he listens to his GM and spends money, you fault him for being a bad owner.