Is Shawn Marion Still Worth This Much?

Getting straight to the point, I have no idea what the hell Dallas is doing in this sign-and-trade for Shawn Marion. I don't think Marion has five productive years left, and if he does I think they are more than likely at the 4. That's Dirk Nowitzki's position, in case the Mavs forgot. I also thought Jerry Stackhouse's contract was much more valuable than overpaying Marion. Not to mention Dallas threw in Antoine Wright? I absolutely hate this trade for the Mavericks. In more detail, here is exactly why:

Dallas is built around Nowitzki, Josh Howard and Jason Terry, whether Terry starts or not. While Kidd is an important piece to their puzzle, those are the three players who make the Mavs run. Dirk eats up most of the minutes at the 4, Howard at the 3, and Terry at the 2. Dirk is Dallas' primary option because he's such a difficult matchup. He's 7 feet tall, which makes him big even for the 4 position. But he's also a threat all the way out to the three-point line and off the dribble, which means he has the ability to take most 4's far away from their comfort zones on the defensive end. He can post, he can spot up, he can beat slower defenders with his handle. He is a matchup nightmare for most teams. Dallas usually goes to Howard early and often in the first and third quarters, and then he fades and tends to float as the game progresses. When Howard disappears, Terry often steps up and takes his place as one of the Mavs' primary options next to Dirk.

How does Marion help any of Dallas' strengths or take away from its weaknesses? I have no clue. He doesn't really help Terry or Dirk much. He could help Howard some by moving him to the 2, but there's not much about the way Howard plays that would be all that much more effective at the 2 than it is at the 3. Howard attacks for five minutes at a time, then disappears. That's not going to change by getting someone else to play off the ball, it will only change by adding someone else who can play on the ball and distribute the ball to keep Howard engaged. Not exactly what you get Shawn Marion for.

Marion's best position in his career has been the 4 because he rebounds extremely well and has huge athletic advantages over most 4's. The advantages Marion had over most 3's were much greater than the size advantages he gave up. But where is Marion going to play for Dallas? After signing Marcin Gortat to play the 5, most of Marion's minutes will have to come at the 3 where I don't think Marion holds much of an advantage anymore. He's never been all that proficient off the dribble, and at 6'8" isn't really all that imposing anyway. So you have a player in Marion whose career success has been predicated on his incredible athleticism. You trade for him to play a position where he doesn't have the same athletic advantages, and you sign him for 5 years when his athleticism seems to be waning? Doesn't make sense.

The only way playing Marion at the 3 makes the Mavs any better is if you pay Howard more minutes at the 2. Howard can probably give you spot minutes in the backcourt, but isn't exactly scary there and means that either Kidd or Terry has to sit a little more. Howard is not aggressive or consistent enough for that move to make a lot of sense.

A lineup with Howard and Marion on the wings does allow for Dallas to match up better against the changes made by the Lakers and Spurs. The Mavs are right in that Howard and Wright would not have fared well against Manu Ginobli and Richard Jefferson, or Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest. But Dallas overpaid by a lot for an aging player whose best position isn't where he's now going to be playing. The Mavs gave up an extremely valuable piece in Jerry Stackhouse's contract just for the right to sign a player who will not be effective for five years to a five-year deal. In a League where everyone seems to be trying to cut costs, Stackhouse had one of the more attractive contracts available. And the value of Stackhouse's contract is that he was attractive to every team looking to cut payroll for next year or to balance out their roster. Teams like Charlotte (Gerald Wallace or Raja Bell), Chicago (John Salmons), New Orleans (James Posey), and Washington (DeShawn Stevenson and Andray Blatche combo) all become viable.

While Marion is still an above-average player, that's at the 4 and not the 3. At the 3, he's pretty much middle of the pack. I don't think this makes Dallas all that much better in the short term. It doesn't seem to add up.

What they need to do this summer: Charlotte Bobcats

Most people have considered the Bobcats a young, up and coming team for a few years now. They haven't been able to get over the hump and into the playoffs, though. The last two or three years, Charlotte has been stuck in purgatory: not good enough to compete with the big boys, and not bad enough to get a difference maker at the top of the draft. So what do you do if you have good young players, but no superstars to make you relevant in the postseason?

1)Trade Raja Bell. Bell is Charlotte's only player who has a contract expiring in 2010, which means the Bobcats might be able to find a team desperate to save money or get as far under the cap as possible next year. Yes, Larry Brown values the presence of veterans like Bell. But Charlotte doesn't need good guys nearly as much as they need great players. While they are at it, Charlotte should see what they can get for Gerald Wallace, and Emeka Okafor. It's not that I don't like these guys, it's that they aren't talented enough to carry a team, and that's what they would have to do for the Bobcats. For other teams who are closer to the top, these players could make a big difference though, and they might be worth a lot in a trade. Once Okafor's base-year status expires, wouldn't it make sense for Charlotte and Miami to talk about trading him for Michael Beasley if the rumors about Riley not being a big fan are true? Or maybe to the Hawks for Josh Smith? And what about Raja Bell to New Orleans for Julian Wright and Rasual Butler? Would a team like the Knicks give you Wilson Chandler for Bell and Alexis Ajinca to get rid of Jared Jeffries contract? I don't really have many good ideas for how to trade Gerald Wallace, but the point is that Charlotte does have some guys other people want. Packaged right, the Bobcats should see if they can get a talented player on his rookie contract who hasn't yet met expectations.

2) Change the philosophy. If you have middle of the road talent, you need to at least have a philosophy that can make those players appear better. Phoenix did this a little bit with Shawn Marion, who isn't a middle of the road talent but was made better by the Phoenix system. At the 3, Shawn Marion had a flawed shot, an average handle, and would have relied more on his elite athleticism than his skills. As a 4 though, Marion is an even more elite athlete, and his ability to stretch the floor by knocking down shots is a plus, not the minus it was as a three. Phoenix was able to get away with playing Marion out of position because he's a very good defender and rebounder. If they can't figure out a way to get more talent, they have to find a way to get more out of what they have. Make chicken salad out of chicken ... Boris Diaw is another example from the Suns, and part of the reason I suggested shopping Okafor above. The easiest way for Charlotte to change their philosophy is to get the ball to Diaw, who is one of the best passers from the post in the League. If Charlotte can run more of its offense through Diaw (which is only possible with a bigger scoring threat at the other big man), the floor opens up and Charlotte becomes a matchup nightmare for teams with slower 5s.

3) Start Ray Felton at the 2 next to DJ Augustin. Felton is not a full-time 2. I understand that and don't even think he's a full-time starter. But again, Charlotte needs to make its opponents match up to them instead of always matching up to their opponents. While a Felton-Augustin backcourt is undersized, it is also very quick, and one of them is going to annoy whatever 2 has to chase him around. If Charlotte can't get a wing who is talented enough to beat other wings off the dribble, they should manufacture that same

So in an ideal world, how would Charlotte look next season? Smaller and more unpredictable. They have a nice chip in DJ Augustin who can get into the paint with ease. Now they need a couple of other guys who can do the same. They also need to take more risks. For example, if Charlotte could talk Miami into the Okafor-Beasley trade I mentioned above and New York into the Bell/Alexis Ajinca-Chandler/Jeffries deal, their starting lineup could look something like this:

• Augustin
• Felton or Henderson
• Chandler
• Beasley
• Diaw

That lineup has a lot more potential to develop into something than the one they have now. Or at least I'd be a lot more willing to buy a ticket to see that team, which is another huge problem for the Bobcats. Go big or go home Charlotte. Being on the verge of the playoffs doesn't do much for me, and developing at a snail's pace does even less. You're in NASCAR country, you should know what Ricky Bobby's dad, Reese Bobby says: "if you ain't first, you're last."