WHOA NELLY: Mavericks hire new GM

Hey, what's up? Nothing much. Kinda quiet. Looks like the roster is set. Wonder what's next OH SHIT:

The Dallas Mavericks have agreed in principle with Houston Rockets VP of basketball operations Gersson Rosas to become the franchise's general manager, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

For Mavs owner Mark Cuban and president Donnie Nelson, the hiring of Rosas is a coup for an organization that has been committed to finding a way to strengthen its basketball operations. Rosas will be given significant latitude to shape the direction of the franchise's pro and college personnel departments, free agency and scouting.

As an integral part of rebuilding the Rockets' roster with Houston general manager Daryl Morey, Rosas, 35, is considered one of the NBA's best young executives.

WOW. This is nuts and totally unexpected. I've talked to a ton of Mavericks fans who have wanted Donnie fired for the last two years, so I guess they must be feeling better. It appears Nelson gets to keep his title of president, I would guess, to mostly hang around to help the franchise with the business stuff and remain a public face.

But if the article is correct, it appears Rosas will now be in charge of the player personnel in all aspects. There's always a wonder how much a GM has control in Dallas (some figure Mark Cuban is the GM) but while Cuban might have the final word/his hand in some of the bigger free agent signings, it's been mainly Donnie responsible for the drafts and everything else.

The draft. Wow. Houston has MURDERED the draft in the last three years. Completely nailed it. Meanwhile, the Mavericks have been the opposite. This move can only mean better things for the Mavs draft.

Donnie was a wonderful GM during the 50-win-a-season run all the way up to the title. He was great at using Cuban's money to keep talent around Dirk, whether through trade or free agency. He was never keen on the draft, but he didn't have to be. I can't help but wonder with the new CBA putting more emphasis on building through the draft and less on free agency, that Cuban wanted a GM who was already used to doing that. No better place to pick from than Houston. The Rockets pretty much used the assets from drafts in the last three to four years to get James Harden and Dwight Howard.

Again, crazy news. But welcome. This move hopefully signifies the Mavericks will be ready for the next-generation of NBA team building and Dallas won't have such putrid drafts.