Ellis
Parsons
Chandler
Nowitzki
Rondo

Potential all-star starting line up for the Mavs...

Bench is a bit scrawny, but what a starting line up.

Chad Ford:

Brandan Wright is underrated. Ranks 5th in PER in the NBA this year w/ a 26.19 — ahead of Harden & LeBron.

Brandan Wright has been HUGE so far this year, but maybe it was a good sell high?

To get Rondo for a first round pick, a 2nd rd pick, Wright, and useless players like Nelson and Crowder isn't bad IMO. Crowder and Nelson are both low IQ guys who just don't fit this team.

Even though Rondo was underratedly athletic (people forget he did a 360 dunk in a game once), his game is so cerebral that you could see him being an NBA starter until he is 40, well after his body slows right down. The guy is an alien, I've never seen anyone in the history of the game read plays the way he does, it's like he is watching something else entirely. He doesn't just see angles ahead of everyone else, he says angles that simply aren't there, bends the fabric of spacetime, and creates assists out of nothing. I think with all the Mavs offensive options, you won't see him dominating the ball either, which he has been overdoing the past few seasons to the detriment of his team.

The downside is that Wright was one of their best finishers and it would have been amazing to see him and Rondo play together.

The problem is, they only have 2 players on the entire team who can play defense: Rondo and Chandler.

They will outgun everybody though.

Also: How is Monta gonna handle not having the ball in his hands?

I expect they aren't done wheeling and dealing. They'll go all in.

Is it just me or is Rondo slightly overrated?

I believe he is.

All "great" point guards are overrated. They dominate the ball, are assist hogs and use up far too much of the cap for someone who is generally around 6 feet tall. Not conducive to winning. The last high usage point guard to win a championship was Isaiah Thomas back in the late eighties. Speaks volumes IMO.

That aside, Rondo is just smart as hell and fun to watch. Some of the passes he makes are just beyond what anyone else in the league is capable of.

Dallas are by no means a contender though, when you're that bad on defense you will struggle to make it past the 2nd round.

And you've just added another non shooter to a team that needs more outside shooting.

It also remains to be seen how much Rondo has left on the defensive end.

You would want to make sure Tyson Chandler doesn't get hurt now with Wright gone. He's going to be playing a looooot of minutes.

I'm glad you mentioned Rondo defensively Mick because I think that’s his most important asset that he brings to Dallas. They’ll score just fine even though Rondo shortens the court for them, but there is no way Nelson was going to be able to defend the likes of Curry, Westbrook, Parker, Lillard and Conley in a 7 game series. Rondo offers the Mavs a much more capable defender of the likes of the Wests best point guards.
Also really like that you mentioned the Mavs selling high on Wright. He’s been good but I can’t see him becoming anything more than a really handy back up. He’s peaked for sure.

MACDUB,

Great passer, solid defender, poor shooter, below average scorer. Yep, I agree with you!

Interesting fact that people overlook: Rondo has actually evolved into one of the best midrange shooters in the game. (check this out for more: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/courtvision-everything-you-think-you-know-about-rondos-shooting-is-wrong/)

His form is just shite, so he can't shoot the 3 ball and struggles with free throws (especially this season. His numbers are horrible from the FT line).

I think you'll see him lift his game now though. He is so good at getting his bigs open looks from midrange and now he has none other than DIrk Nowitzki to pass to for open midrange shots. He just made Tyler freaking Zeller look like a legit NBA big man out of the pick and roll, so imagine what he is going to do with Tyson Chandler.

He can also exert himself on defense knowing that it's not all for naught playing on a rebuilding Celtics team.

Questions to be answered are:

- Will Monta Ellis be efficient and/or happy with the ball in his hands a whole lot less
- Who is backing up Tyson Chandler, and what happens if he breaks down?
- Are the Mavs making another deal? If so, for what? A backup big? They don't grow on trees.
- The Mavs whole strength is whipping the ball around quickly without it sticking, and with no one person getting a whole load of assists. Is Rondo going to disturb that dynamic?
- How much has Rondo got left defensively?

They still have loads of work to do defensively. They should have signed Trevor Ariza instead of Chandler Parsons. They would have saved money and been a better basketball team. Houston really did well in letting him walk, and no one is talking about it. I'll have Ariza any day: he is deadly from 3 and can guard his position. They wanted another guy who could create his own shot, but Parsons is a minus defender and an average 3 point shooter, even if he is much better at putting it on the floor. They already had a bunch of guys who could create their own shot. They needed a lock down wing who could shoot. They play that position by committee now: Parsons can't guard anyone but is good on defense, Aminu is a great defender but can't shoot so he clogs up the offense. Not what you want when you're paying a guy $16m a year or whatever he is on.

Parsons can't guard anyone but is good on OFFENSE*

NBA Southwest Division is hawt

Yeah all of those teams are better than every single team in the East right now, except the Pelicans.

Would've liked Rondo to stay, but this was always the likely outcome once Smart was drafted. At least Rondo has been traded to a good team in Dallas.

AK-47 you are spot on about defence being where Rondo needs to make the biggest impact for the Mavs. It's going to be interesting, because whilst Rondo can be a lockdown defender, he also loses interest at times. If he can slow down the Wests litany of gun point guards, then that alone will help the Mavs out immensely.

Losing Brandan Wright will hurt the Mavs a bit, because he has been huge for them this season. He's the one piece of the trade I think I'll enjoy seeing in Boston, even though he still doesn't solve the gaping hole at centre.

I hope Boston doesn't go all-in on the tank now and trade Green as well, but I suspect that is next on Ainge's to-do list. Oh well, Karl Towns and Jahlil Okafor, here we come!

Can't wait to see how this pans out in Dallas. I don't think they've quite got enough to win the West, but they're certainly going to be a dangerous playoff opponent.

Just a thought... should Dallas have added Parsons to the deal in exchange for Jeff Green? Green would give them enough offence but a little more defence, especially against Lebron if they were to come up against him in the Finals.