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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Mavs sit in first place in the Southwest Division at 29-15 with eight games to go before the All-Star break, but still something needs to be done. This team has been very inconsistent thus far, and has also struggled at home this season which is uncharacteristic of this Mavericks team. There is more than one problem with the Mavs, but the biggest at this point is Josh Howard.
Coming into this season, Mavs fans thought once Josh Howard recovered from offseason surgery that he would be the missing piece to put this team up there with the elites of the NBA. That hasn’t exactly happened. Josh is barely averaging 12 points and 3 rebounds per game, mostly off the bench. That coming from a guy who used to average around 18 and 7 per game, that just isn’t going to cut it. Dallas has had issues scoring and with Josh not scoring either, it really doesn’t solve the problem at all.
The two guard spot has haunted the Mavs for years and moving Josh Howard before the deadline will hopefully bring them a player who can produce more consistently at that position. There have been numerous names thrown out as of late like Andre Iguodala, Kevin Martin, and Caron Butler and I honestly believe any of those guys would be a tremendous upgrade over Josh Howard at this point.
I have gone back a forth on this issue and I think the Mavs should be pursuing Andre Iguodala.
LeBron is obviously the most productive small forward. Here are the most productive players at each of the other four positions: PG: Chris Paul (9.8 Wins Produced), SG: Andre Iguodala (8.0 Wins Produced), PF: Marcus Camby (11.8 Wins Produced), C: Dwight Howard (10.0 Wins Produced).
The guy is a beast in my opinion. Iggy is averaging 17.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game this season. I also think A.I. could play the point if needed to eliminate some of the J.J. Barea experiment. Here is the catch though. It has been reported in a few different places that Philadelphia wants any team that is interested in Iguodala to also take Samuel Dalembert to help give the Sixers some financial relief. I would be totally fine with that as long as the Mavericks don’t have to include Erick Dampier in that deal. I want the Mavs to hold on to Damp until the summer where his contract could prove to be valuable. If Dallas can put together a package using Josh, Matt Carroll, and someone like Drew Gooden or James Singleton, then that trade would be very beneficial to the Mavericks. Josh Howard, Matt Carroll, and Drew Gooden would work for Iguodala and Dalembert.
Colby (New Jersey)
The Sixers have the wrong type of players in the wrong type of system. There name has been involved in numerous trade rumors but what is more likely to happen...riding themselves of a bad contract or firing the coach (Eddie Jordan)?
Chad Ford (1:37 PM)
Sounds like they are ready to trade Iguodala, especially if they can move Dalembert in the same deal and get some cap relief that way. In the right system, I think Iguodala would be fantastic. I've heard Dallas with interest. Same with Cleveland. I'm surprised there aren't more teams. He's a bit overpaid, but he's very good.
Whatever the Mavs do, or whoever they pursue, I think one thing needs to be clear…Josh Howard needs to be traded before the deadline. I like Josh but he just seems disinterested and unenthused. A team like the Mavs that wants to make a title run doesn’t need that distraction.
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