MVN - Most Valuable Network

My thoughts on Gerald Green, DeSagana Diop, and J. J. Barea

As Joe recently reported, it’s been quite a week for the Dallas Mavericks in terms of activity.

Let’s start, of course, with the news earlier this week that both Gerald Green and DeSagana Diop have agreed to join the Mavericks next season. Neither one of these guys is a big-name free agent, but the could help in their own way.

However, did the Mavericks get a good deal for these guys? Let’s look at them individually.

Gerald Green

I love this kid’s athleticism and his ability to get to the basket. Really you need no proof that the guy has freakish skills once you’ve seen in performance in the 2007 Dunk Contest.

The issue with Gerald Green has never been his talent. It has to do with his commitment to the game of basketball. He made a big mistake back in 2005 by coming straight out of high school to the NBA. He wasn’t mature enough, quite frankly, to play the game yet on a professional level. His second season with the Boston Celtics made it appear that he was really starting to develop into something–he averaged 10.8 minutes a game–but this was on a weak roster that managed to lose more games than any team in the NBA. Obviously there was some sort of red flag that led Danny Ainge to include him in the Kevin Garnett deal. The same red flag appeared pretty quickly in Minnesota; the guy obviously has the talent to succeed in the NBA, but he doesn’t always practice or play as hard as he should. He only managed to play in one game after being traded to his hometown Houston Rockets.

The good news for the Mavs is that Green’s contract lasts only for a year and is at the minimum salary. It won’t cost against the MLE and he will certainly be worth the risk if he develops into a halfway decent player.

DeSagana Diop

I’ve always liked ‘Gana, even if some of the skills he brings to the floor are limited. He can rebound the ball well, block shots, and play some pretty solid defense. Guys with Diop’s size are hard to come by in today’s NBA, especially ones who will play with his level of hustle.

Unfortunately, Diop has no offensive game to speak of. The guy didn’t even score much in the 2007 Vegas Summer League when he was up against NBDL players and rookies. He’s a horrible free throw shooter and for some inexplicable reason rarely dunks the ball. I did have the pleasure of meeting him back in 2006, so if it’s any consolation Diop loves the Mavericks organization and is a really great guy with the fans. His sense of humor, in addition to his good relationship with Dirk Nowitzki, are clearly reasons Donnie Nelson was willing to overpay for him.

That said, Dallas clearly did overpay to get Diop back from New Jersey. $5.75 million isn’t the kind of salary you give to a guy who averaged 3.0 points a game in his best season. With Diop eating up the full MLE, it prevents the Mavs from signing a Corey Maggette or a James Posey this offseason.

However, there is hope. My friends as Dallasbasketball.com are reporting that Dallas is hoping to execute a sign-and-trade with New Jersey for the big fella so that Diop’s salary doesn’t count against the MLE. Potential trade pieces? Eddie Jones, who picked up his $2 million player option, is a possible target, as is a sign-and-trade with Devean George.

J. J. Barea

Spanish-language site Primera Hora is reporting that fan favorite Jose Juan Barea (known affectionately around here as J. J.) will be signed to a 3-year deal worth approximately $1.8 million a season. While this hasn’t been officially confirmed, it seems likely that Barea will remain a Mav next year. He’s a solid third point guard due to his scoring and passing ability, but his size (he’s listed at 5′11” and that’s a stretch) will probably keep him from becoming elite. $4.8 million over three years is certainly not too much of a financial burden, so I can’t object to the move.

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So there hasn’t been any major moves yet this offseason, but the activity by the Mavericks so far suggests that at least Rick Carlisle, Donnie Nelson, and Mark Cuban are looking for creative ways to get their team prepared for next season. We’ll have more as it breaks.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 5:42 pm and is filed under Showboating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.