02/22/13: D-FW sports chat with The Ticket's Craig Miller

Ok, let's get this thing started. We are supposed to talk Mavs and NBA, but I'll field questions on any topic, as long as they are serious sports questions, because that's what I do best. Fire away.

This is an example of what I will not tolerate during this chat. And, for the record, I like eggs, but only scrambled.

It's going to be all about timing this offseason for Dallas. What if Howard is playing the field, and he takes his sweet time? Dallas got Mayo and others last year after they missed out on D-Wil--so, if you're Dallas, do you gamble and wait on Howard or Smith or whoever and risk someone else swooping in and signing someone like Mayo? Or, do you reduce your flexibility by signing someone like Mayo first, then still trying to land that big fish (or two?). It will be an interesting game of poker, for sure.

The course was decided two years ago when Cuban decided to not bring Chandler back. It's not what I would have done, but I understand his logic. Going forward, in order to contend, you must land Howard and then build around him. Or Paul. But honestly, the odds are greatly against that happening. So then you must decide if an aging Dirk is still a centerpiece on a title team. If he is, you do your best to build around him with spare parts and hope you hit on something big. If he's not, you are almost forced at that point into a massive rebuilding project--which can take many shapes.

I hate to tell you this, but what was left of the ABA was absorbed by the NBA almost 40 years ago. Sadly for the league, but good for the Spurs, Nets, Nuggets and Pacers.

As I've said the past few seasons, I can't believe how good they are. I keep waiting for them to fade away, but this season's team looks as strong as any in recent memory. They've got a good chance of having the home court throughout the playoffs. They've got the best record in the NBA against current playoff teams. They are deep and well coached. Duncan seems to have found the fountain of youth. I could see them winning the West, but I can go so far as to pick them to beat Miami--mainly because LeBron is playing at an insane level right now.

On one hand, you don't want Cuban to fall into the trap that Jerry fell into when he held on to his stars for too long. But, even if you trade Dirk, you are not guaranteed to find another franchise player, which is what you really need to win a title. Be careful about wanting to blow things up and trade Dirk, because unless you trade for (or draft) a LeBron/Duncan/Kobe/Dirk-type, you are probably going to end up being very average. And how often do one of those guys come along? They are really, really hard to find.

It's actually a fascinating matchup--two teams that are used to being in the playoffs, and now both desperate for a win, and both playing much better in their last 10 or 15 games. Neither can afford many more losses, so it might actually be the best matchup of the season of two sub-500 teams. Give me Dallas since they'll be at home, 113-52.

I would take the one giant Haley. That way, you only have one opponent to focus on. Trying to keep track of all of the mini Haley ducks would be too much.

As I said earlier, I would have kept Tyson. Center is always the most important position, and there are only about 5 good centers in the NBA. Defense is always more important than offense, and he's the DPOY. He brought so much more than just his numbers--he brought an attitude that the team never had. I would have taken my chances with Tyson and Dirk and whatever else you wanted to keep, within reason, from that team and I would have tried to maximize Dirk's window. Would you have been a lock to win another title? Of course not. But instead, you've wasted two years of Dirk and banked on landing long-shot free agents. I don't think it was worth the risk when you finally had the center that your franchise had been looking for for 30 years. Again, Cuban has very good reasons for doing what he did, it's just not what I would have done because I value the center position above all others.