Did Dallas dodge a bullet by missing out on DeAndre Jordan?

[Heavincent]

$87 million for a guy that is useless on offense if he's not getting wide open dunks Overrated defender too. Low basketball IQ. Historically bad FT shooter.

Jordan is better than Pachulia, but $14 million better?

[DMAVS41]

In fairness, even though I didn't want us chasing DJ...the Mavs would use him much better than the Clippers do.

Dirk would provide space and Rick would run things that would give DJ a better chance to play to his optimal level.

[Heavincent]

In fairness, even though I didn't want us chasing DJ...the Mavs would use him much better than the Clippers do.

Dirk would provide space and Rick would run things that would give DJ a better chance to play to his optimal level.

I've gotta disagree with you there. Mavs don't have a distributor like Paul to spoon feed him open dunks. And I'm pretty sure they were planning on posting him up...that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Carlisle is definitely a better coach than Doc though. You're right about that.

And the thing about Jordan is that his defense is totally overrated imo. Great shot blocker obviously, but he's not an intelligent player, and he's lazy on pick n rolls. Defense is supposed to be his big calling card, but you could make the case he's not even a top 5 defensive center.

[DMAVS41]

I've gotta disagree with you there. Mavs don't have a distributor like Paul to spoon feed him open dunks. And I'm pretty sure they were planning on posting him up...that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Carlisle is definitely a better coach than Doc though. You're right about that.

And the thing about Jordan is that his defense is totally overrated imo. Great shot blocker obviously, but he's not an intelligent player, and he's lazy on pick n rolls. Defense is supposed to be his big calling card, but you could make the case he's not even a top 5 defensive center.

Actually Harris is excellent at throwing lobs. Most wouldn't know this unless you watch the Mavs consistently, but just look at what we did with Wright...you really think we aren't doing that and more with a far better player? Parsons is also an excellent passer on the pick and roll.

He'd just have more space as well...the whole team would. Yea, Paul is great, but he just pounds the ball and pounds the ball...that isn't how the Mavs play. It would be fast moving and fast/hard rim runs like Wright and Chandler used to do.

It's not really player specific for the Mavs. It's the system...although Harris and Parsons are really good at what you are talking about...it's way more the system. Wright was getting dunks left and right with us. He had a 21.5 PER with dallas...the rest of his career? He's been noticeably worse on offense.

And the big thing is Dirk...he's drawing a big far away from the basket.

LOL...if you think Rick is going to base an offense around DJ post ups...just LOL...he'd never do that in a million years. Would we throw him the ball a bit more in the post with more space to work with? Yea, sure...if it worked. But it wouldn't be slow post ups. It would be off quick seals when the ball moves side to side.

I agree DJ is over-rated...hence I didn't love going after him and would rather have gone a different direction, but the Rick/Dirk combo usually gets players to play the right way unless they just quit altogether like Rondo and Odom. I don't think DJ was that "quit" in him...

[Heavincent]

Actually Harris is excellent at throwing lobs. Most wouldn't know this unless you watch the Mavs consistently, but just look at what we did with Wright...you really think we aren't doing that and more with a far better player? Parsons is also an excellent passer on the pick and roll.

He'd just have more space as well...the whole team would. Yea, Paul is great, but he just pounds the ball and pounds the ball...that isn't how the Mavs play. It would be fast moving and fast/hard rim runs like Wright and Chandler used to do.

And the big thing is Dirk...he's drawing a big far away from the basket.

LOL...if you think Rick is going to base an offense around DJ post ups...just LOL...he'd never do that in a million years. Would we throw him the ball a bit more in the post with more space to work with? Yea, sure...if it worked. But it wouldn't be slow post ups. It would be off quick seals when the ball moves side to side.

I agree DJ is over-rated...hence I didn't love going after him and would rather have gone a different direction, but the Rick/Dirk combo usually gets players to play the right way unless they just quit altogether like Rondo and Odom. I don't think DJ was that "quit" in him...

Dude I'm just going by what was said when they "signed" him. Cuban said he would become a focal point and they would feature him in the offense.

I'm not saying Dallas wouldn't have been a decent fit for him, but I don't think you would have seen a different guy than you're seeing now. He's a garbage man.

[BarberSchool]

His shot blocking is top 5 clearly. His off/def rebounding is top 10. His occasional highlight dunk off a lob....impressive.

Unfortunately, he is still, after all these years, like his overpriced teammate Stephenson, is mentally stuck in childhood.


Deandre is still unable to remember proper defensive awareness and rotation. He is horrible defending the P&R, and is always an offensive liability and a helpless momentum murderer at the FT line.

When his team is up, in a low pressure, uptempo setting, and the game moves at a pace where there is no room for thought and strategy to intrude.....and where he feels confidence being a follower to any teammate taking the lead.........he shows flashes of dominant brilliance.

But this isn't when&where you want peak performance from an $87 million dollar player. A team with championship aspirations, would hope that a player with that price tag, would be able to play their best in high pressure, slowed down, half court, playoff scenarios.

And we see the polar opposite with DeAndre.

[DMAVS41]

Dude I'm just going by what was said when they "signed" him. Cuban said he would become a focal point and they would feature him in the offense.

I'm not saying Dallas wouldn't have been a decent fit for him, but I don't think you would have seen a different guy than you're seeing now. He's a garbage man.

Well, that is a bit of a different claim. You first claimed we didn't have the team in place to throw lobs to him. This just isn't the case. DJ is Wright on steroids...he's vastly superior. Wright/Chandler were monsters on rim runs...DJ would be better.

So that is the first part.

By featuring...that can mean many different things. I know Rick well enough to know he's not force feeding DJ in the post in a traditional way.

Now, if it's swinging the ball from side to side with DJ performing quick seals in the paint with Dirk drawing the other big to the 3 point line...or running pick and rolls with Parsons with Dirk drawing the other big out...those are realistic.

But there was never a chance in hell that this team under Rick was going to legit post up DJ consistently in a traditional way.

We were getting Wright 6 shots in 18 minutes a game. One of the reasons I say we'd use him better is because of that. If we can get Wright that many looks...I'd feel pretty confident in getting DJ a lot more than 5.5 shots in 32 minutes.

[DMAVS41]

I was thinking about this when I watched the Clippers-Suns game when paul was out, reddick was out, and blake was ejected.....that was his time to step up as "the man" and he completely folded, looked lost and was getting abused

we often joke about lebron or cp3 being a "mental midget", but I legitimetly think dj is just that....you watch him in pre-game and will hit free throws with ease, then in the game cant even hit one. all mental.

imo dallas lucked out with him changing his mind...pachulia is either getting a double double or close every night, he might not have the shot blocking or athleticism of jordan, but he is doing what needs to be done on that team to win.

Dmavs, you know whats up with mcgee? He can provide that shot blocking and athleticism similar to dj. Given they are both not the brightest, but mcgee comes with a much cheaper price tag

I don't want anything to do with McGee tbh...the dude scares the shit out of me. I'm not even sure Rick/Dirk can tame that wild stallion.

[eklip]

I think you underestimate the impact a player like Jordan has on the offense. It makes the job of every ball handler so much easier. A lob pass to DeAndre is much easier than a pass between defenders in traffic. Even when he doesn't get the pass, his defender has to stay close to him to make sure that he takes away the easy baskets.

Dallas runs the perfect system for a center like DeAndre. They run pick and rolls on almost every possession with many different ball handlers (Deron, Parsons, Barea, Devin, ...) and Dirk is probably the PF who creates the most space for his teammates.

DeAndre has the best on-off court numbers in LA. NetRtg on: +5.3, off: -7.2.

The only negative about DeAndre is his FT shooting, otherwise he would be the perfect center for Dallas and Carlisle's system. So no, they didn't dodge a bullet.

He's also extremely durable which is rare for super athletic centers like him.