Sefko has an article about all the bench players who would like more minutes, but says it hasn't become an issue.
So far, the Mavericks have walked that fine line quite well. Trenton Hassell and Devean George are wily veterans who want to play more, but for the most part, have not been a distraction to the team. The same goes for Juwan Howard, Eddie Jones, J.J. Barea and Moe Ager, all of whom know that it's Avery Johnson's job to make decisions about playing time based on what he thinks is right for the Mavericks.
Deaven George has slightly back tracked from his quasi trade demand. It doesn't matter anyway, because he isn't going anywhere.
"We wish we had 40 minutes for everybody," team president Donnie Nelson said. "But this is the price you pay for being a deep team. Devean's an important piece for us, and we're not actively seeking any sort of move. I know he's frustrated, and we empathize with him. But there's still a lot of season left, and we all know that anything can happen."
It was almost a year ago today that Anthony Johnson got shipped out. He reportedly did become a distraction, and if George or Hassell actually are causing any problems behind the scenes I think they'll probably share the same fate, even if Donnie Nelson is publicly saying otherwise.I thought Avery Johnson had the ultimate quote on it all.
"George wants more playing time," Johnson said. "The way you get more playing time is when the coach plays you, you get out there and do something."
------------------Sometimes when I search YouTube for the latest Mavs related videos I come across things that leave me scratching my head. I came across one of those things last night. No idea why I felt the need to share that.
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Gasol made his Lakers debut last night. 24 points, 12 rebounds, and a Lakers win.
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This Day in Mavs History
2007 Pops Mensah-Bonsu was selected to play in the NBADL All-Star game to take place February 17 in Las Vegas.
Congrats to The Faz for duplicating that honor this year. Pops went on to be the MVP of the game and hopefully Fazekas can do the same. Interestingly, Fazekas is the only member of the creatively named "red team" who is connected with an NBA team.
