As is always the case this time of year, the NBA rumor mill was churning at full speed before the deadline. Unlike like last year, Dallas failed to make a splash this time around.
A year after the Devin Harris/Jason Kidd blockbuster trade, Dallas decided that while there were places to improve another major shakeup wasn't worth either the money or sacrificing long term flexibility.
"We felt at this point we'd keep this group together, make a real good solid run at it and keep our options open for the future,'' president Donnie Nelson said.
"Teams are looking at the financial side,'' he said. "The country is going through a hard time and the league is no different. We're all looking at every dollar and every penny.''
Of course, this isn't to say Dallas didn't try. In the past week, the Mavs had been linked to dozens of player including Vince Carter, Shaquille O'Neal, Brad Miller, John Salmons, Raymond Felton, Rudy Gay, Kirk Hinrich, Chris Kaman, and Baron Davis. GM Donnie Nelson and owner Mark Cuban were certainly busy.
“It feels like Dallas has 100 different scenarios juggling in the air,” one Western Conference executive said Thursday.
Unfortunately, the lack of tradeable assets and draft picks prevented the money and players from ever coming together in any of the rumored deals. Dallas, who is currently two games out of ninth but also only 4.5 out of second, will have have to find a way to contend without any roster additions.
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The Mavericks may not have improved, but the teams above them in the standings were all relatively quiet as well. The Rockets made a small trade in moving Raefer Alston for Kevin Lowry and Brian Cook, but it came only a day after learning Tracy McGrady would require season ending knee surgery. The New Orleans Hornets actually traded center Tyson Chandler to try and save money, but had to awkwardly welcome him back after he failed the physical.
It may have been an uneventful deadline day, but the lack of moves shouldn't make the final two months of the Western Conference playoff chase any less fun to watch.
Wes Cox is a Dallas based blogger whose thoughts on the Mavs can be read daily at www.mavsmoneyball.com.
