The Mavericks' Quiet Summer

Along with LeBron’s 48-point eruption and one of the most ho-hum finals in NBA history, the 2007 playoffs will be remembered as the year that Dallas, the most dominant regular season team, were bullied, intimidated and embarrassed by Baron Davis and his scrappy crew of overachievers and borderline psychopaths.

Dallas' stunning first round implosion combined with last year's meltdown in the NBA finals posed a set of tricky questions for the Mavs' front-office this summer, all of which gravitated around the big one: what now?

While Mavs' owner Mark Cuban and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson indicated they wished to keep the nucleus of the team together, a lot of experts felt it was time to make some big changes in the Big D.

Marc Stein, of ESPN, said: "There is no way Dallas can show up in October and pretend you haven't just impaled yourself on a stick in two straight playoffs...I don't see how you come back to camp with that team."

And Bill Simmons used the analogy of a home invasion when talking about the Mavs' postseason disaster - everybody got tied up, threatened for 24 hours, and the living room was set on fire before the intruders eventually left. The victims (Dallas) knew there was no going back to the same house, not with all those traumatic memories.

So, should it have been a wrap? Was it time to for redirection? Was it time to blow up the 06-07 Mavericks?

No. For all their deficiencies, this Dallas squad is going to be a top regular season team and a legitimate championship contender for a long time. To disband this group would have been foolish. Unlike the Suns, where the window of opportunity closes as Nash ages (I know, cliché), Dallas has the comfort of knowing their top three guys are fairly young and still improving. Sure, there were weaknesses Dallas had to address in the off-season, but there was no need to go into panic mode.

No heart, no fire, the balls. These were some of the criticisms levelled at the Mavs as they choked themselves out of the playoffs. So what should they have done this summer? Firstly, they needed to toughen up; they needed less family time, they needed a good talking to by Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, they needed to watch Shogun Assassin on a continuous loop. Dirk should have hired Charles Oakley as a sparring partner instead of taking that spiritual trek through Australia.

Secondly, they needed to get themselves a couple of heavy dudes. A big, hard-nosed swingman should have been at the top of the Mavericks shopping list - along the lines of a Raja Bell, Bruce Bowen, or a Shane Battier.

While I’m pretty sure they didn’t take the measures suggested to toughen up, the Mavs have addressed their need for a big guard by trading Greg Buckner to Minnesota for Trenton Hassell. Buckner was brought to Dallas for his toughness and defensive mentality but added little to the mix. However Hassell, at six foot five and 233 pounds, gives the Mavericks much-needed size at the guard spot. He can play beside either Jason Terry or Devin Harris or can spell Howard at small-forward. And, more importantly, he can step up and defend bigger guards like a Davis or a Wade who have troubled the Mavs’ smaller backcourt in the past.

As for the Wolves, the trade initially looks like another botched effort from McHale - Hassell and Buckner’s contracts are similar - but, on closer inspection, Buckner’s contract could give the Wolves more roster flexibility since the last two years of his five-year, $19 million deal are optional. Plus the 31-year-old Buckner will provide leadership and a positive locker room presence on a very young team.