Myth-Busting the Market for the Mavericks

A fantasy GM is born every minute and ideas are tossed around, some stick and some are shot down.  Based on names that haven't been discussed here as of late, we are going to take a look at some of the players being thrown around as potential signings and trades that could be made with the remaining assets that the Mavericks have.

Andre Iguodala:  The swingman for the Philadelphia 76ers has been a target for the Mavs for at least a season or two.  His name was in heavy discussions prior to the trade deadline last season before Dallas went ahead and decided to pursue Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson from the Washington Wizards.  Evan Turner's selection by the 76ers definitely support the claim that Iguodala could be on the block.  The secondary fact that Turner was flat out atrocious during the summer league could also support the fact that Andre could have some added value for the short term for the Sixers.  Contractually, it's questionable if his contract is friendly for the Mavs, he is due 56.5 million dollars over the remaining four years of his deal.  Depending on what is sent in return, there is always a concern of redundancy with pieces like Caron Butler and Shawn Marion if they aren't involved in the deal.  The big problem in the situation is "The Arm and Leg" theory I've discussed when it comes to a player like Chris Paul.  In this instance, the Sixers would want to incorporate busted down big man, Elton Brand in any kind of deal for Iguodala.  While it's questionable about Andre's deal, there is no debate that Brand's contract is an albatross.  There is basically very little left in the tank for Elton and he is due roughly 52 million over the next three years.  That is a major bullet you would have to bite to acquire Iguodala, I don't see it as a match.

Rudy Fernandez: Rudy is disappointed with his role in Portland and has been looking to be shipped out for quite a while.  There is another issue of redundancy between Fernandez and Jason Terry.  Both provide a nice spark off the bench and Rudy has shown to be a very capable shooter with range.  The problem is the price-tag for Rudy, it's actually too LOW.  Fernandez is making just a little over a million dollars this year.  He's a bargain, which makes Dallas just one of a list of teams that are interesting in acquiring him. The price-tag is low and both teams are over the cap so the salaries have to match.  The Blazers see him as a talent and they won't give him away just to give him away, so that scraps the idea of Alexis Ajinca or a trade exemption.  If you try to eliminate the redundancy and ship Terry out in exchange for Fernandez it gets incredibly complicated.  Jason Terry is set to make over 10 million next season, so a deal would involve more parts from Portland's side and that's not going to be worth it in their eyes to take on Terry.  It doesn't appear to be a match.

Gilbert Arenas: There is a laundry list of concerns when it comes to Agent Zero.  Washington wants to unload Gilbert Arenas and make room for John Wall to become the face of the franchise.  They want to unload him, but they still want to get value in return.  He is due over 80 million dollars over the next four years.  That is Dirk Nowitzki money and no one will ever confuse Gilbert Arenas for Dirk Nowitzki.  The early the contract could be terminated is after the 2012-13 season, he has a player option but who is going to walk away from 20+ million dollars?  There was an apparent rift in the locker room in Washington and Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood were rumored to be on the anti-Arenas side of the situation, there is no need to bring that history back into the fold.  Again, it all goes back to value.  You'll have to give up significant assets to obtain Arenas.  Are you willing to give up your financial flexibility this year and going forward to acquire Agent Zero?

Tracy McGrady: The Mavericks could clearly roll the dice on T-Mac and offer him part of their Mid-Level Exception, a very SMALL part of it.  The aging scorer had workouts with the Clippers and the Bulls over the past 10 days and still hasn't come away with a contract, that should be a red flag.  There are still question marks about his durability and the bigger concern seems to be whether he will cooperate being a complimentary player off the bench.  Reports in Chicago indicated he believes he can still be a starter in the NBA, history tends to suggest otherwise.  He has played 65 games in the past three seasons.  You can't put McGrady in a staring role because he simply can not be counted on with his knee issues.  The price-tag can easily be made into a low-risk offer, but the headaches McGrady could cause are not worth the trouble. 

Allen Iverson: This is a case of Tracy McGrady without the injury concerns.  Iverson clearly believes he can still be "The Answer" for whichever team he plays for.  After leaving the Sixers in 2006, Iverson has played for four different teams.  He hasn't been "The Answer" for a long time and he's only caused problems in rotation alignments for every team he has been on over the past four years.  Teams seem to improve as well after he departs, that isn't a great sign in endorsing Iverson as a free agent signing.  McGrady, injuries and all, has been tested out by at least two teams, while Iverson hasn't heard a peep from anyone in the league.   He is unwilling to accept a secondary role on a team and he only creates a bigger logjam at the guard position.

All of these players have parts to their game that could help the Mavericks but they don't do anything to put them over the top.  Instead, these players just create more problems rather than solutions.  Thus, these are not moves the Mavericks should look at making.