The dude is 36 but he still has the motor to go at top speed for 36 minutes a game and competently defend shooting guards.  And though he doesn’t score much, he’s shooting efficiently.  And when he’s on the floor, the ball movement is terrific.  Whatever the Mavs’ options in a given possession, Kidd will make the most of it.  Unfortunately, the rest of the posse doesn’t do a ton with the opportunities.

Jason Terry can’t shoot straight this year.  I don’t know what’s up with that.  Actually, his three-point shooting has been going downhill the last few years—maybe he lost a half step and doesn’t get quite the same space that he used to get?—but whatever the case, he hasn’t been able to hit the side of a barn this year.  And since like 80% of his value is in his shooting, that’s something of an issue.

Marion is still a good player, but he’s not nearly the big rebounding versatile defending combo forward anymore.  Sure, he’s still got some bounce, but at this point here’s just…good.  And Jason Terry can’t shoot straight this year.  His three-point shooting has been going downhill the last few years.  Whether he’s lost a half step and can’t get the same space to shoot that he used to, I don’t know.  But whatever the case,  he can’t hit the side of a barn this year, and since like 90% of his value is in his shooting, that’s something of an issue.  And then there’s Josh Howard.  Yeah, sure, he’s coming off surgery, will get better, yadda yadda, but even healthy he too is merely a good player.  I note this because in the Mavs’ run to the Finals in ’06 he was terrific and I thought he looked good to stay at that level.  But it didn’t happen.  He shot very well from outside for two years, but he can’t shoot straight anymore either, regardless of his health.

Really, Jose Juan Barea is the only Mavs player other than Dirk who’s having a great year.  He has real value as long as he continues to shoot the lights out and do a decent job of staying in front of point guards.  But it’s not like he’s an up and coming game changer.

I guess I see the Mavericks as contenders by default, merely because neither Denver nor Phoenix are for real.  The Mavs have a decent shot at the Western Conference Finals, I suppose, but that’s their upside.  And the weird thing is, I think of the Mavs as being such a smart franchise, but in a salary cap NBA, flexibility is the truest expression of management smarts (after wins).  But they signed Jason Terry to a butt-ugly that clogs up their cap space for the next few years.  And yeah, Dirk’s a machine, but how long can he do that for another two, three, four years?  Maybe.  Probably not.

AI is one of my favorite players ever and I love watching the guy on the court—as long as he doesn’t play for my team.  It’s nothing against AI and it doesn’t have anything to do with off-the-court stuff; I never paid much attention to that.  Rather, having big-contract players with oddball blends of gifts and detriments can be huge commitments in this trade-restrictive, salary-capped league.  And Iverson is an extreme case.  As I wrote last year, getting the most out of AI’s sui generis package requires fully customizing a roster around him.

Remember, AI needs a backcourt mate who can play point guard but also ably defend shooting guards.  How many of those are there in the NBA?  How many are starter-quality players?  How much money do they make?  And can they shoot well from three?  Because, do you want to spend a third of your payroll on a backcourt that can’t shoot?  You’re talking what, Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd, and…who?  That’s just the start.  Basically, Hall-of-Famer or not, Iverson’s addition to a roster still creates as many personnel problems as it solves.  Just look at the roster of the team he took to the Finals: bar none the least likely Finals roster of the last 25 years.  (Is this a stronger argument for Iverson’s Hall of Fame inclusion or Larry Brown’s?)

So now Philly comes along…  Remember, we don’t even know how good Iverson is at this point.  That he didn’t work in Detroit doesn’t mean that his abilities suddenly deteriorated.  He didn’t fit, he got injured, etc.  He only played 67 unhappy minutes in Memphis, was injured, released.  The present state of his abilities is unknowable.  The only way we’ll find out if he still has it is to get him signed and out on the court.  But in Philly?  The only reason it’s worth considering is because AI doesn’t make big money anymore, and it would be a one-year contract.

OK, then three (among many) questions for Philly:

1. Elton Brand was injured, and then played, and didn’t fit in, and was still rusty and then was injured, and then was rusty…  Now, finally, Brand looks like he might, might, be close to being 80% of the guy Philly thought they were signing to a max deal.  You’ve got him for years to come and are hoping like crazy that he won’t be an albatross.  You want to throw AI into the mix, too?  Really?  Two guys who monopolize the ball, while you’re also trying to develop young players on the roster?

2. What happens when Lou Williams comes back?  How are those minutes split?  Neither Williams nor Iverson is over 6-feet tall.  It’s hard for me to imagine the two spending much time on the court together unless it’s at Rucker Park.

3. Really?

That said, could it work out?  Well I for one think that Iverson might still have it; I haven’t seen strong suggestions to the contrary, and I don’t bet against him.  I think this could be really good for him, just by proving he’s still got the chops.  Could this work out for Philly?  Ummm, sure: I’m a romantic.  And since I don’t have an emotional stake (or $) in the 76ers, I say go for it!  Roll the dice!  You’re nuts but good for you!

After all, even if they had been terrifically lucky with injuries, New Jersey was going to lose a lot of games this season: their roster is dreadful.  The best coaching imaginable isn’t going to make an all-star out of Trent Hassell or make 35-year-old journeyman Yi Jianlian young again (though some have tried); the Nets were positively destined to be lottery fodder.  And of course they’ve actually been atrociously unlucky with injuries.  Devin Harris played gimpy for the first two games of the season before missing ten of the next (and Frank’s last) fourteen games.  Without Harris, the Nets are not-yet-star Brook Lopez, a swiftly improving Chris Douglas-Roberts, and a bunch of kids (who play like kids) and scrubs.  And apart from Lopez, only Josh Boone (5 shots per game) is shooting over 45%.

Actually, the only advantage the Nets typically enjoy is that Lopez’s unusually good handle and ability to finish with either hand makes him very effective from the high-post, and he regularly gets a step on big defenders who aren’t comfortable that far from the basket.  Since Harris’ replacement, Rafer Alston, is utterly incapable of penetrating, Frank frequently ran the offense through Lopez, and despite an inevitable increase in turnovers, Lopez has largely done an admirable job.  Considering that big men operating on the high-post is almost as unusual to see as a sky hook, you have to give Frank some credit for creatively utilizing the only mismatch on the roster.  Regardless, given their paucity of developed talent, the Nets were going to do a lot of losing this season, whether they were coached by Lawrence Frank or Phil Jackson, (not that Jackson would deign to coach a team with fewer than two established stars.)  Because this was so clear and predicted by everyone, I thought Frank had a real shot to make it through the losing streak.

Also, having a roster without (developed) talent is an inevitable byproduct of the house-cleaning and talent restocking that the Nets have been working on for the last few years.  Yes, they’re awful this year, but in the big picture, the Nets are exactly where they need to be, as I recently pointed out.  All through the time they were shedding very good but expensive players from their roster, they kept Frank at the helm.  So why ax him now?  And what do they do for the rest of the season?  What high quality coach is going to take on a team that’s going to lose 60–70 games this season?  Unless they give Hubie Brooks or Doug Collins a pile of money to come out of retirement for the rest of the season, the Nets will have to hope they stumble upon another wunderkind—as Frank was widely dubbed when he became the Nets head coach at 33 and led the team to 13 straight wins.  I mention that early praise because, with respect to Frank, that initial 13–game sample made him a wunderkind as much as the 0–17 start this season made him a failure; both were overreactions to a small sample of Frank’s work.  The latter overreaction comes from Rod Thorn, a man who does so much right and so much wrong.

Indeed, this firing reminds me that Thorn is one of the best and most godawful GMs in the league—only Danny Ainge compares.   Thorn built a contender out of very little, but then he held on for too long, when the window had clearly closed.  In particular, the pressured re-signing of Vince Carter put them in a serious bind for the future.  However, in just two years Thorn turned Carter, Jason Kidd, and Richard Jefferson into Devin Harris, kids on rookie contracts, an old man from China, and expiring contracts that will give the Nets the most cap space in the league for this summer’s outstanding free agent class.  On the other hand, with few exceptions, Thorn has drafted utter CBA-level stiffs.  (Seriously, you almost wish that Thorn would make Isiah Thomas his head talent scout—but with no authority to make decisions.)

But what really bugs me about the Frank firing is that I don’t think it was a tactical decision; the players never quit on Frank, and he’s always been a capable Xs and Os guy.  Instead, I think Thorn fired Frank because that’s just what you do when your team loses a bunch.  You fire the coach.  You just do, period.  That it’s protocol doesn’t make it less stupid, and it recalls the same thinking that led Thorn to re-sign Vince Carter.  That’s just what you do when your star player’s contract ends.  You re-sign him.  You just do it, period.  And though re-signing Carter wasn’t quite stupid—he was still an all-star level guy—it was clearly the wrong move in the big picture; it showed a lack of patience, vision, and creativity (they couldn’t have found a sign-and-trade partner?)  Firing Frank, on the other hand, shows a lack of gumption.  I might have also put it, “lack of grace under fire,” but come on, who was calling for Frank’s head?  Who was calling for Thorn’s?  I should note the very legitimate possible caveat: it might have come from ownership.  But I sure didn’t see any pressure in the papers or on the TV.  And it’s not like Nets fans were chanting for Frank to be fired—though that’s mostly because there are no Nets fans.

In the end though, the Nets probably won’t pay for their dumb decision; because this season is practically irrelevant to them.  It was inevitable that they were going to be lousy this year, and it’s almost inevitable that they are going to get much, much better in the near future.  Provided the Nets are careful with Harris, he should be fine in the long run, Lopez will get better and better, and it would literally be difficult for the Nets to come out of this summer without at least one legit star from free agency.  Add the 10% chance that Rod Thorn doesn’t screw up their imminent top four lottery pick too badly, and the Nets should be serious contenders within three years.  Lawrence Frank deserved a shot with that team.  But who knows, maybe they draft right, hire Jeff Van Gundy, and I never say another bad thing about Rod Thorn.  I hope so, because I’m not a Nets fan, but I do live in Brooklyn, and I like a good show.