Samuel Dalmebert?

[fairweatherfan]

Seriously, the guy was beat out by Javale McGee.  No thank you.

Yup. Just saw this gem from an article about the roster cuts:

Dalembert’s release brings us one step closer to a world where JaVale McGee is the Mavs’ starting center, which suddenly rockets them up the rankings of must-watch League Pass teams.

Not sure if the second point was because the writer believes McGee makes them that much better or if it's a subtle joke since the Mavs will get extra air time on Shaqatin-a-fool.

It's the latter, though McGee also can make crazy highlight-reel plays in addition to the lowlight ones.

Nthing the "no thanks" to Dalembert crowd.  If we had an open roster spot, maybe, though he doesn't help much even in a best case.  But it just makes no sense without one.

[jambr380]

I definitely don't think the Mavs are trying to tank. First, and foremost, they have Dirk who is nearing the end of his career - the last thing he wants to do is tank. Next, they made big signings (and re-signings in Matthews, Williams, and Barea) and traded for Pachulia. I know Matthews is supposed to be on a minutes restriction, but he apparently looked pretty good the other night and that restriction may end sooner rather than later.

And finally, DeAndre Jordan just basically ripped them off and they were left with a middling team. I think we can expect a pick in the 12-14 range (where we hope the Wolves pick also ends up :0)

[LooseCannon]

looks like the mavs are setting up to tank and rebuild- dwight powell had a double double the other night-someting like 12 points and 14 rebounds

Not saying this to disagree with you, but genuinely asking--- why did they sign Deron Williams? Is that a calculated move to disguise the tank?

I actually do think that the Mavs are trying to win, but I'm extremely unsure. They look like they tried to reload, go stuck half-way, and are now too good to tank but too bad to compete (barring some kind of Nowitzki rejuvenation). Don't Williams and Nowitzki need to go down (which is a distinct possibility!) for them to get in the bottom 5-10?

I would say they put together a roster that has a theoretical chance of making the playoffs but is easy to shift into tanking if things go bad.  I don't believe in beginning the season in tank mode, but I endorse doing that once the season appears lost.  I think Cuban is willing to tank, but not until Nowitzki is done, unless he has no other choice.  Ideally, he wants to have a roster that is good enough to be a contender if he can lure a couple of good free agents to Dallas, which means waiting to see how Parsons and Matthews recover.  Blowing things up before he sees how they do would be premature.