Mavs Presser - "Defying The Odds"

[DarthVegito]

Hey everyone! Thanks for coming today. Yeah we know the attention is squarely on the NBA draft today, but we wanted to welcome in a few new players of our own and just kinda give the fans and you guys a preview of how this season will progress.

First since it is draft day, we'll speak about what took place today. So I heard rumblings from some hat thought we should have taken Aldridge with our 3rd pick. Well don't fret. We have a plan and have had one since the beginning. And NONE of those plans involved LaMarcus Aldridge. I realize many are high on him and think he will be great, but we were not one of those teams. Sure he has great potential, but in our eyes LaMarcus was still a chance and we didn't want any "chances" with the third pick. We considered taking Rondo and hoping we could flip him for the value he is worth. The problem there is that that also is no guarantee. We have 2 PGs on our roster of that caliber, teams know we NEED to deal him. We lose leverage. So after sifting through many, many, many trade offers we thought that the deal with the Spurs was the best one for us. It landed us our future 2 as we've been looking for. With that being said the Dallas Mavericks proudly present our newest acquisition.....

J.R. Smith!

Sh!t..Sorry wrong picture...

Introducing J.R. Smith!

We are excited to have Earl Joseph Smith III on our team! And while we are introducing new players we'd also like to welcome...

Antawn Jamison

So I'd like to talk about our new team mantra this year. That is "Defying The Odds". Basically what this means is that the Mavs have continued to "defy" the odds in the past 2 years. We've silenced the doubters, the haters, and the ones who continue to question our moves as an organization. I'm going to point out a few things I think need to be pointed out.

First we were told we would never be able to get rid of that Larry Hughes contract...we did. We received Utah's 06 1st rounder in return. We then turned around and traded that lottery pick for Keith Van Horn. Most did not like that we did this. They said we were crazy for giving up a lotto pick for a guy whose numbers they claimed were inflated. Well they weren't inflated. He went on to help push us into the playoffs and to a Game 7 with the Sonics. Which exceeded expectations. We then traded Jake Tsakadalis for what gave us the 3rd overall pick in the same draft.

The moves we make within this organization are always part of a bigger plan and always well thought out. We are counting on the detractors to continue to criticize, and doubt, and of course hate. But we will rise above as we have been and continue to prove everyone wrong. See you in the playoffs this year!

[DarthVegito]

You guys can ask any questions!!

[BeeBall Reasons]

Hi, Zach Lowe reporting, with the Sonics eliminating you from the playoffs in a painful 7 game series and selecting players rumored to be at the top of your board right before it became your selection each of the past two years, where do they rank on your list of rivals?

[Pelicans78]

Reports are surfacing that your team is making a run for Nikolas Tshytface. How would he fit on your team?

[DarthVegito]

Hi, Zach Lowe reporting, with the Sonics eliminating you from the playoffs in a painful 7 game series and selecting players rumored to be at the top of your board right before it became your selection each of the past two years, where do they rank on your list of rivals?

Thanks for the question Mr. Lowe. Ok so I will answer this as diplomatic and professional as I can. The Sonics are hands down #1 on our list of rivals. We did expect to make the playoffs last, although we did not expect to go so far and have a good chance of winning a series. We thought we matched up well with Seattle, and honestly the adjustments the Sonics made after Game 3 made all the difference. It was a great series and even though we weren't expecting to move into the 2nd round, as you put it yourself, we suffered a very painful Game 7 loss. Throw in the Sonics having the picks ahead of us in two straight drafts and getting the lucky draw of CP3 and Roy, both guys that we badly wanted at the time. Yeah I'd say it's a pretty strong rivalry on our end and should be on the Sonics side as well. We split the regular season series, and finished the season on fire and pushed them to 7 games in the first round. So this will definitely be one to watch. But as I'm answering I'm thinking about who we would consider "rivals". I think the Sonics and Rockets rank high as top rivals. We do plan on reclaiming our title as the best team in Texas. Outside of those two teams we really haven't made any other rivals that we know of. Of course the Lakers always have a bulls eye on their backs. They are the standard of the West. Consistent conference champs and they are where we are aiming to be, so knocking them off any chance we get is always nice. If any other teams would like to step and become a rival, feel free to step on up.

Hope that answered your question!

[DarthVegito]

Reports are surfacing that your team is making a run for Nikolas Tshytface. How would he fit on your team?

So yeah...those rumors or reports are absolutely false. That player has never been in our plans and I don't see a future where the Dallas Mavs ever offer him a contract. We have a very specific plan and will attempt to follow it as closely as possible.

[Pelicans78]

How important is this offseason considering your team has 20 million in cap space, other teams in the West have added pieces, and your rivals to the south in Houston have 24 million in cap space?

[DarthVegito]

How important is this offseason considering your team has 20 million in cap space, other teams in the West have added pieces, and your rivals to the south in Houston have 24 million in cap space?

Semi-important. A lot depends on who will be available in FA. We don't feel like the FA class this year is very strong. So once we sign our main guy(s), we are perfectly content with waiting if there is no one worth dishing out cap space. What we will NOT do is give out any contracts to players we don't think are worth them. This organization will never be one that signs unworthy players to ridiculous contracts. We see that very thing handcuff many many teams around the league. We will not be one of those teams. But yes, this off-season is fairly important.

[BallSoHard]

There was a lot of controversy about you trading the 3 pick for JR Smith. Can you give us your thought process on how this happened ? If Rudy Gay would have fallen, would we be writing a similar story ?

[DarthVegito]

There was a lot of controversy about you trading the 3 pick for JR Smith. Can you give us your thought process on how this happened ? If Rudy Gay would have fallen, would we be writing a similar story ?

Great question. There was a lot of controversy and I honestly don't understand why. This was a 3-man draft to us. Meaning their were only 3 players worth drafting with the 3rd pick. Our target was Brandon Roy. He have holes at the 2 and the 4. There were no Power Forwards in this 3-man draft that we considered taking with our #3 pick, therefore if we didn't get Roy then our plan the whole time was to trade out of the pick. We knew our chances of getting Roy were slim even after the lottery revealed our 3rd pick. It was Roy or bust. We considered drafting Rajon for value and trading him to the highest bidder, but what would the highest bid be? Many teams wanted Rondo, and many teams approached us with offers. None were of our liking. So why would we think after we pick him they would have gotten any better? Going that route would be taking a gamble. Reaching and taking Aldridge, which many thought was the right pick, was also a huge gamble in our eyes. We honestly just didn't like the prospect. We wish him the best but he just wasn't a fit for our team. Call it intuition if you will.

So when one would think of the 3rd overall pick you would hope you wouldn't be taking too much of a gamble. So when the J.R. Smith trade hit our desks, we thought long and hard about it. What were the benefits and disadvantages? Well let's say we drafted Rajon Rondo. And we get all the same mediocre offers we received during the draft, and then the Spurs offer us Smith and 10 points for Rondo. Well were going to make that trade. What are the things every team looks for in players? Talent, youth, high potential, and a team generous contract. We achieved ALL of these. Smith is 2 years into his career and still has the highest potential, he's very young, and is still on his rookie deal. We missed out on Brandon Roy, but Smith was better to fill our needs than any player left in that draft in our eyes. So once again I don't understand what the fuss was all about. We are very very excited to have J.R. and look forward to watching him grow and excel even more in a Dallas uniform.

As far as our 4 spot goes, don't everyone worry. We have special plans for this position. Very special plans. And all of those plans don't involve max contracts either

[Pelicans78]

If you had a hole at the 4, why not draft LA who could make up for the loss of drafting Al Jefferson?

[TrayWithAnA]

If you had a hole at the 4, why not draft LA who could make up for the loss of drafting Al Jefferson?

I second this question. If 4 is such a big need, why not address it with Aldridge? Could it be that the Mavs organization is banking on convincing someone to leave their current team and make the trek to Dallas for the right amount of money?

[Pelicans78]

Have you 2nd guessed yourself on trading away Granger? You could have fielded a young team consisting of Biedrins, LA, Granger, and Deron Williams. Now you have a mix of veterans and very young stars. Are you rebuilding or trying to contend now?

[IamQuailman]

Great question. There was a lot of controversy and I honestly don't understand why. This was a 3-man draft to us. Meaning their were only 3 players worth drafting with the 3rd pick. Our target was Brandon Roy. He have holes at the 2 and the 4. There were no Power Forwards in this 3-man draft that we considered taking with our #3 pick, therefore if we didn't get Roy then our plan the whole time was to trade out of the pick. We knew our chances of getting Roy were slim even after the lottery revealed our 3rd pick. It was Roy or bust. We considered drafting Rajon for value and trading him to the highest bidder, but what would the highest bid be? Many teams wanted Rondo, and many teams approached us with offers. None were of our liking. So why would we think after we pick him they would have gotten any better? Going that route would be taking a gamble. Reaching and taking Aldridge, which many thought was the right pick, was also a huge gamble in our eyes. We honestly just didn't like the prospect. We wish him the best but he just wasn't a fit for our team. Call it intuition if you will.

So when one would think of the 3rd overall pick you would hope you wouldn't be taking too much of a gamble. So when the J.R. Smith trade hit our desks, we thought long and hard about it. What were the benefits and disadvantages? Well let's say we drafted Rajon Rondo. And we get all the same mediocre offers we received during the draft, and then the Spurs offer us Smith and 10 points for Rondo. Well were going to make that trade. What are the things every team looks for in players? Talent, youth, high potential, and a team generous contract. We achieved ALL of these. Smith is 2 years into his career and still has the highest potential, he's very young, and is still on his rookie deal. We missed out on Brandon Roy, but Smith was better to fill our needs than any player left in that draft in our eyes. So once again I don't understand what the fuss was all about. We are very very excited to have J.R. and look forward to watching him grow and excel even more in a Dallas uniform.

As far as our 4 spot goes, don't everyone worry. We have special plans for this position. Very special plans. And all of those plans don't involve max contracts either

Why did you not inquire about obtaining the 5th pick overall instead of the 10 points? Milsaps could've been yours at that spot

[BeeBall Reasons]

why does nobody ask me questions?

[Pelicans78]

why does nobody ask me questions?

Because you didn't make controversial moves like the Mavs have.

[IamQuailman]

why does nobody ask me questions?

You don't need our questions to pat yourself on the back, brotha!

[DarthVegito]

I second this question. If 4 is such a big need, why not address it with Aldridge? Could it be that the Mavs organization is banking on convincing someone to leave their current team and make the trek to Dallas for the right amount of money?

Guess I didn't make this clear. Let me ask you something, would you draft a guy whom you didn't think was worth the pick? A guy who you think will not live up to expectations. I had 2 holes. I filled one of those holes with this pick. I'm not sure if I'm being asked 15 times the same question for jokes or everyone really doesn't understand that I had 2 holes and needed to fill one of them. The 2 was my BIGGEST hole not my 4. I have plans for my 4 spot whether Amare is available or not. Maybe when I exceed everyone's expectations again this season my moves will maybe stop being questioned so much. Maybe then you all will say, "That Darth...he must have a master plan, because he knows what he's doing".

[DarthVegito]

Have you 2nd guessed yourself on trading away Granger? You could have fielded a young team consisting of Biedrins, LA, Granger, and Deron Williams. Now you have a mix of veterans and very young stars. Are you rebuilding or trying to contend now?

Haven't second guessed my self one bit. The season hasn't even started yet, why on earth would I second guess myself now. The rebuild started in year one when I took over. Every year I expect a better result. And trust you'll know soon enough when we play whether I'm a contender or not. And maybe I'll be asking you what's wrong and if your considering a rebuild.

[DarthVegito]

Why did you not inquire about obtaining the 5th pick overall instead of the 10 points? Milsaps could've been yours at that spot

This was not on the table. Plain and simple.

[DarthVegito]

why does nobody ask me questions?

Be happy they are enjoying giving me **** right now instead of you

[DarthVegito]

Because you didn't make controversial moves like the Mavs have.

This is not a question, therefore it does not belong here. Thank you sir.

[DarthVegito]

Anymore questions!!!!!!!!!

[coltsguy510]

Anymore questions!!!!!!!!!

Why did you trade your pick instead of drafting Aldridge, a top player at a position of need?

[DarthVegito]

Why did you trade your pick instead of drafting Aldridge, a top player at a position of need?

Now put that in your pipe and smoke it!!