http://www.dallasbasketball.com/fullColumn.php?id=3395 Delonte West has been waived by the Minnesota Timberwolves and there is at least one report out there linking him with the Dallas Mavericks. For the moment, let’s treat seriously an NBA.com mention of Delonte and the Mavs in the same breath. Sam Amico, from NBA.com, offers the following tweet (found here): “Delonte West officially waived by Wolves. Early word is he could end up with Celtics, Bulls or Mavs.” Is this good news? Is the … um, colorful … West a fit for the Mavs? Or, considering the similarities between the Mavs’ Jason Terry and the Cavs’ Maurice Williams, would this be a variation of the backcourt that has recently failed Cleveland in the playoffs? Could it be an unnecessary risk to the high level of chemistry in the Mavs’ locker room we so often hear about? Statistically speaking, West hasn’t been very impressive. However, he is athletic and a strong defensive guard. At 6-4, he also provides some height noticeably absent from the Mavs guards … at least in Roddy B, Barea and Terry. One other fact that is worth noting quickly: West has never played more than 71 games in an NBA regular season. This hasn’t always been the result of injury, but it should be an immediate concern nonetheless. Here are some pertinent stats from West over the past two seasons in Cleveland: (數據部份略 請自行點連結看) Offensively, there isn’t much difference between these players. The true difference comes at the other end of the court. Where Barea can be a liability of the defensive end, particularly when paired with Jason Terry, West has shown that he is more than capable of holding his own … and those extra four to five inches of height West has over Barea don’t hurt. In essence, when on the court, West seems to be what we all wish Barea was … taller. Like Barea, could West handle a slice of the minutes at the backup PG position? If so, he would seem to be a fit in Dallas, and a guy that would likely push Barea a little further down the rotation hierarchy. Of course, none of this considers West’s off-the-court issues, or the affect it may have on the minutes available to Roddy B, or possibly to Dominique Jones. As much as production, these may weigh in as equal factors. The rumors of his “relationship’’ with LeBron’s mother … His issues with law enforcement, including being pulled over last season with three loaded firearms … the unfortunate battles with depression … some of that has stolen from his availability to his team and all of it has impacted his reputation. Undeniably, there is this: West pleaded guilty last month to weapons charges. He was sentenced to eight months of home detention, two years of unsupervised probation, 40 hours of community service and psychological counseling. Other than a few minor issues with Josh Howard, the Mavs have been a team that has been able to keep themselves from having these off-court issues. Shawne Williams tried to change that and was quickly banished. Dirk had his turn in the tabloids, but he was not accused of any wrong-doing and his character was not brought into question. Finally, if Delonte West were to come to Dallas and claim a prominent role in the guard rotation, how would this affect the young players, or possibly Jason Terry? We’ve mentioned before that bringing in a backup PG is a precarious proposition for the Mavs as you don’t want to sacrifice player development without a significant upgrade. Is West that? Would it be acceptable to put Roddy B’s development at PG, and possibly DoJo’s complete development, on hold as West took the minutes that may have otherwise gone to them? If there is a desire to keep Jason Terry’s minutes low enough to keep the final year of his contract from becoming fully guaranteed, Delonte West may be a viable candidate to help ensure that takes place. Yet, it’s certainly debatable as to whether or not he is an upgrade. Some fans may be down on Terry, but in truth, he’s not an inferior player to Delonte West. Terry has not done well in the playoffs in recent history, which is why many have begun to question his role. Unfortunately, West has also followed this pattern in the last couple of seasons. For example, two years ago his PER dropped by 1.5 to 12.6. Last season he saw his regular season PER of 13.8 drop all the way to 8.9. The counter to this may be that when Terry struggles on offense he doesn’t have much to offer while West can still contribute on defense. To some extent this is true, though West did see his defensive numbers drop slightly in the playoffs as well. Considering all facets of a possible union between the Mavs and Delonte West leads to a handful of questions, and we haven’t even considered what kind of contract he’ll desire. His salary demands (he was to make $4.6 mil before being waived) will likely play a significant role in whether his signing would be viewed as a positive. While I do like the idea of adding someone with his talents, I question whether or not his baggage is enough to push the idea aside. Is the simple fact that there are so many questions enough to hesitate or walk away from this possible move? We’ll discuss the notion here on DB.com Boards while DallasBasketball.com chases down thoughts from the Mavs themselves … --

※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 114.45.168.112 West是自由球員 Rudy不是 ※ 編輯: popstarkirby 來自: 114.42.102.16 (08/06 18:29)