Empty the Bench

We’re not going to spend too much more time on the latest (actually successful) iteration of the Jason Kidd-to-Dallas trade that went down today because we already broke down the earlier, very similar version over the weekend. Check in there for a more detailed analysis. We talked a lot about why we like the move for Jersey and aren’t huge fans of the Mavs’ end. We will say this version is better for Dallas. Even if they are dishing out about $11 million more, they retain Devean George and Jerry Stackhouse. While neither is an impact player, they’re both serviceable bodies, something Dallas is going to be short of going forward.

We also talked about the fact that Devin Harris is being overlooked and that he could be as good as Jason Kidd in a year or two, and that’s become common sentiment around the intra web. What I don’t get in all these discussions is how people can keep talking about the two first-round picks and DeSagana Diop as afterthoughts. First-round picks are valuable commodities, and I don’t care if they’re in the latter stages of the round. Good players can always be found in the first round. Dallas currently has the 24th pick in the draft. In the 2005-07 drafts alone the following players were selected at or below the 24th pick: Monta Ellis, Craig Smith, Daniel Gibson, Paul Millsap, Jason Maxiell, Linas Kleiza, David Lee, Ronny Turiaf, Kyle Lowry, Jordan Farmar, Andray Blatche, Ryan Gomes, Arron Afflalo, Glen Davis, Brandon Bass, and Louis Williams. There is always talent available late in the first round, and first-round picks also have considerable trade value.

Those of you in fantasy leagues will want to make sure Erick Dampier is on a roster because Dallas will be riding him. Hard. They really don’t have much of a choice at this point, because Diop was the only other player on their roster who can keep up with legit centers for any length of time. The Damp Man has never been known for prolonged stretches of effort and/or health though, and relying so heavily on him seems like a risky proposition to me, especially in a revamped West loaded with post players. If injury doesn’t strike, foul trouble will. Often. The bold prediction here is a foot injury for Dampier after a few weeks of 30+ minute efforts, followed by another crushing close to the season for the Mavs. In any event, there’s no question Dallas is going to miss Diop in the playoffs. They’ll miss his interior defense, his minutes and his six fouls.

More scathing trade analysis, baseless Vince Carter speculation and shameless Peter Vecsey bashing after the jump…

As an aside, one guy to keep an eye on in the Nets and Mavericks dealings wasn’t even part of the Kidd Trade. Antoine Wright could emerge as a factor for the Mavs this season. He was the 15th overall pick in 2005 and is competent in almost all phases of the game, even if unspectacular in all of them as well. Wright is young, reasonably athletic and can score so he could provide decent minutes and spark for a shorthanded Dallas squad on the wing, especially with Eddie Jones clearly no longer a plus NBA player.

On the flip side, New Jersey is now undoubtedly in better shape for the long run, and they might not be that much worse this season. As Jim Peterson mentioned during the Minnesota broadcast tonight, the Kidd trade finally pulls the Band-Aid off. New Jersey can move on with Devin Harris, Josh Boone, Sean Williams and perhaps Diop. As Brian mentioned today, the next step is to dump the bloated contracts of Richard Jefferson ($42 million over the next three seasons) and Vince Carter ($66.8 million over the next four seasons).

As shocking as it may sound, sources close to the situation say that Vince will be dealt before Thursday’s trade deadline. I know, what kind of moron wants to take on an aging malcontent with an aversion toward effort who is making that kind of money? Isiah? Nah… The NY Post is a rag and Peter Vecsey is full of shit, but they’re suggesting Memphis might be willing to deal Mike Miller for Vince. That’s a real noodle scratcher for me. I guess it makes some sense from a marketing standpoint for Memphis because Vince inexplicably maintains star status among casual fans and fills seats, but Mike Miller is simply the better basketball player right now- not to mention the better locker room player for a rebuilding team. They also speculate that Jermaine O’Neal could be involved, but what’s the point there? He would only hinder Jersey’s young bigs in their development, and he misses as many games as Vince sandbags. Stay tuned, but this sounds like a lot of hot air to me- Vince Carter’s contract makes him nigh invulnerable to a swap.