I will admit, when I first heard about the trade, I was just a wee bit peeved at the Mavericks management. The last thing the Mavericks needed is what they got in the trade - two more point guards, another smooth shooting 7-footer, and a defensive specialist guard. Does adding more of the same make you any better? There are only so many opportunities to score in a basketball game, and there is only one ball to go around.

I am reminded of when I learned about the law of diminishing returns in an Econimics class. If memory serves, the professor explained it like this:

Let's say that you are craving a hot dog. The first one you eat is out of this world. You can't believe how good it tastes. In fact, it tastes so good that you help yourself to another one. Ah...this hot dog is also very, very good. Now, you haven't eaten since morning and it is now late afternoon, so no harm in having another one. What a good hot dog. You know, there is nothing better than a good hot dog - so you have one more. Hmmm...this hot dog is not bad, but you think that you might not have hot dogs again for a while. You've had your share.

Just like with eating hot dogs, there is a point in time when adding more offense to your basketball team is no longer worth it.

At this point I should let you know that after having a day or two to think about the trade, I started liking it. The things that the proponents were saying made some sense. My biggest complaint regarding the trade was that it would take the Mavs out of the running for Tim Duncan after next season. Mark Cuban claims that the Mavs probably wouldn't have been in the running anyway. With the reduced TV contract, there will be a much lower salary cap than was expected, thus less money to offer Tim Duncan. Besides, he never said he wanted to come here. Also, the fact that the Mavs did not add a big body in the middle to bang with Shaq was turned around by Coach Nelson like so: Nellie says that adding a versatile, smooth shooting, mobile center will force a guy like Shaq to come out on the perimeter and play defense, instead of camping out around the basket. This will allow other Mavs to drive the ball to the basket with out fear of a Shaq rejection. Having to come out and guard a mobile, smooth shooting center would also cause Shaq to expend more energy, and hopefully wear down as the game goes on.

So I bought into that - hook, line, and sinker.

The Mavs win over Sacremento just two days later helped swallow the trade. But just one week later, the Mavs were thoroughly dominated physically, by the Heat. Just last night, the Nuggets (the other team in the trade) almost pulled of a win over the Mavs by playing a similarly physical style - a style that Dallas is just not suited to play.

The bottom line is this - the Dallas Mavericks are a soft team. That was the one thing that Juwan Howard brought to the team. Even Tim Hardaway brought a bit of toughness with him. Now they are gone. Granted they were replaced by better overall players, but will the trade result in a better overall team? That remains to be seen.