RATLIFF for FINLEY?

[cyman3]

I cant see MAVS trading NASH/NOWITSKI (the 2 building blocks). But if they do lose in the next round b/c of their lack of BIG MEN (sorry but LAFRENTZ doesnt cut it- his value actually dropped since landing in dallas), i can see them going out and looking for a good center.

LaFrentz + Najera (they love him) + Bradley arent going anywhere (IMO).

So FINLEY for RATLIFF, do u do it? Would u include BIG DOG and make the trade even bigger?

[Guest]

Finley is worth more than Theo Ratliff.MF is a 20/5/4

type of SG/SF and Theo is just a 7/8/3 guy.

[dj_me]

Finley, LaFrentz & filler for Dog & Theo

JT/DD

Finley/Glover

Ira/DJ

SAR/Hendu

LaFrentz/Nazr

[Diesel]

Statwise, Finley is worth more. However, ON Dallas' team, Ratt would be 10 times more valuable than Finley... And I mean 10 times.

here's why. With Dirk, they don't need Ratt to be a big Rebounder. With Dirk and Nash, they don't need Ratt to put up 20. IN fact, when Finley got hurt, the offense kept on Clicking with NVE in his place.

What they do need is interior defense. Seeing that they play a good Zone and they play Bradley from time to time... Theo's style of help defense and his shot blocking would be amplified on Dallas' team. He'd be in a better position than when he was in Philly and played beside Ty Hill/Matt Geiger. I think tht the Key to that relationship would be Dirk.

I would actually make the proposal of :

Theo/Grob for Finley/Lafrentz.

Nellie is a coach who won't mind benching Grob if he can't play within the confines of his offense. Because of that, i think Nellie would get the best out of Grob.

[Blunt91]

and propose that deal to him. Finley is the exact type of shooting guard we need. He can score as well as play tough defense. I think that trade benefits both teams although we loseTheo's defensive presence but gain a better rebounder in lafrentz. Maybe we could sign another bigman via freeagency.

[Guest]

Theo isn't going to make a difference againest Shaq

or the Kings.In fact,he isn't any better than Keon

Clark.

Theo isn't even that much better than Raef LaFrentz

[SunsFan]

If the Mavs put Finley on the trading block for a big man, they could do a lot better than Ratliff.

They could easily land Magliore for Fin. If they really wanted a big time player they could make a run at Eddy Curry or Jermaine O'Neal for Finley and another player(not Nash or Dirk of course).

[cyman3]

when u trade an athletic big guy like RATLIFF, u are suppose to get a better SG in return. its the concept of trading BIG for SMALL (in a smart way, of course).

but like SUNSFAN said, they could possible do better than just Ratliff.

but IMO, i think Ratliff could do damage defensively against the KINGS... either webber or divac. no one can stop SHAQ, so im not even going to go there...

[Blunt91]

Magloire isn't better than Ratliff just more physical. Oneal is better suited at Pf and Eddy Curry is too young to make an impact on a championship contender team like the Mavs.

[Guest]

I just don't see much difference between guys

like Theo and Clark....A big part of Theo's blocks

comes because he gambles leaving his man open.

[cynic]

O'Neal for Finley? Curry for Finley?

Those are the cornerstones of their respective teams. Curry will be the best center in the East next year, and O'Neal is already the best PF in the East.

Finley is the third best player on his team. He is not worth either of those PREMIUM big men.

Magloire is definitely reasonable, but they'd have a tough time landing either of those top two.

[Diesel]

That's funny....

I never seen Magloire near an Allstar game.

Take this from a Kentucky fan.... Magloire is good. However, Magloire is not better than Theo right now nor will he be in the next 2 yrs. I think Theo is a punk and Magloire is more physical... BUT, Theo is good at what he does. What he does is disrupts offenses. You put Theo beside the right PF and History shows that he becomes an effective defensive weapon. Dirk has the size that SAR lacks. I have always said that Theo besides a big PF like Dirk or Duncan would make a great defensive Combo.

Secondly, Stop Shaq? What C can stop Shaq? That's a stupid request.

Lastly, Curry will be a solid C but right now, he's not in the same class defensively. Remember, if Dallas wanted Somebody to rebound and score, they'd be happy with Lafrentz. But they need somebody who will keep people out of their Paint making easy scores.

[SunsFan]

Curry the best center in the east? Is that supposed to be a joke? That wouldn't be much of a compliment even if it were true. He had a strong second half. Big deal. He is still a 10 point 4 rebound player. I bet guys like you were all over the Kandi man when he finished strong a couple years ago right? Now look at him. He's a joke. Curry still has A LOT to prove.

Curry was the 4th best player on an Eastern Conference bottomfeeder.

Finley was a major component to a team that finished with the best record in the entire league. When he got injured, the Mavs went into a tailspin.

Jermaine O'Neal is a stretch. I'll grant you that. However, it looks like Indiana is going to get bounced in the first round for the 2nd year in a row. Reggie Miller is done and they have nobody ready to replace him. If the Pacers wanted to shake things up they could add Finley, replace O'Neal with Harrington and not skip a beat.

It's worth a shot because like I said, Finley is worth a [censored] of a lot more than Theo Ratliff.

[Diesel]

If McDavid took over the Hawks' ownership and he was a hands on type person, he might just trade with Dallas and make Finley part of the Cornerstone of this Hawks team. Dallas would want Ratliff. Like I said before, Rattliff would have huge value on Dallas' team. (Similar to the way that Anderson, Barry, or Daniels would have huge value with us.)

[dj_me]

On a team like Dallas, which is all about gambling, it would be okay for Theo to gamble. Nelson would make sure that there is some type of help placed when Theo moves for a block. I was actually thinking Theo is a little like Ben Wallace, with fewer rebounds of course. Theo would be a tremendous help on a team that could use his type of help on the defensive end. Plus Dallas gets another scorer

Nash

NVE

GRob

Dirk

Theo

Their bench needs a little help other than Najera, but Nash,NVE, and Dirk can play most of the game.

[Diesel]

I think that given PGs like Nash and NVE, Big Dog would be a welcome scorer. Our problem with Big dog has been that we don't have the ball handlers to use him sufficiently. Our Problem with Theo is that SAR is too small to line up with Theo. Physical teams look to punish our frontcourt because of our lack of Size.

I like the trade because it gives us a good SG and a rebounder/scorer at C. Honestly, I don't know if Lafrentz is much better than a Healthy Nazr... But I do know that he has good trade value if it comes to that. Also, Finley is a player that can become a cornerstone here. Meaning that if we could get him, then JT is not guaranteed to stay always.

[Guest]

Ben Wallace also gets steals and Theo doesn't.Theo

will get you some token points, but nobody is scared

of his offense to be honest.

Dirk is a worse defender than Shareef is.Theo is only

a hair better than Raef LaFrentz.Out west Theo makes

no deference.

[cynic]

OK, smart guy, who is the best center in the east?

Brad Miller? OK, maybe Big Z, but I he's a walking injury.

Curry was not it. Not last year anyway. I didn't say that he was. I said that I think he has an excellent chance to be next year. No, it's not much of a compliment, but it's true. So, you have very little to argue.

Kandi? That's absurd to speculate that I'm 'all over Kandi'. I've never liked Kandi. This is just an ignorant comparison anyway. Kandi can't shoot, but it doesn't stop him from trying. He's peaked. He might be a 12 / 10 center with 2.5 blocks if stays healthy. That's not horrible (save the lousy shooting percentage), and the few good months he put up last year and the year before were indicators that he was coming into his prime. This is the key. He was 26 years old before he posted a decent stretch. He's 28 now. He's not getting any better.

Curry, on the other hand, was barely 20 (younger than Shaq in his rookie year) when he started his good run. He shot about .630 in the last four months of the season, and while he still needs to work on his rebounding, he is showing that he can be a dominant scoring force in the years to come. Is he entering his prime? Unfortunately not. He's not even close to as good as he can be. The Bulls are not going anywhere. Eddy Curry, much to your chagrin, is going to be a star.

[Guest]

Most people who get a good deal of blocks do so from the weak side. Everyone "gambles." Esp in the East, where most centers are offensively challenged, gambling on a block, or at least a shot alter, is generally worth it. How many times has Theo "gambled" on a block and had the driving opponent dish to the "left alone center" who completed the flush...? Not many I would wager.

This argument is bunk.

[cynic]

I almost let you get away with saying that Harrington could step in for O'Neal and the Pacers 'wouldn't miss a beat'.

OH! That's rich!

You're calling Curry 'just a 10 - 4 player', and then you say that Harrington is as good as O'Neal????

Harrington is a 12-6 player, chump. He shot 43% from the field at 23 yrs old.

But, you're probably still impressed from that 40 pt showing that he put up on the Hawks. Talk about drawing conclusions from few games!

In the Bos - Ind OT game, O'Neal put up 19 pts and 22 reb and Harrington put up like 3 and 4.

Yep, I'd say they wouldn't miss a beat.

Get outta here, kid. You argue what you want to be true, not what is.