Full-Court Press

Who did the Mavs work out?

The Mavericks have three picks in Thursday's NBA Draft, all in the second round — Nos. 34, 50 and 60. They have worked a number of prospects who they believe could still be around when they select. Here’s a sampling:

Guards
Player, Ht/Wt, School/Country, Age

Yannick Bokolo, 6-2/180, Congo,22
Athletic combo guard with defensive skills

Aaron Brooks, 6-0/160, Oregon, 22
Quick point guard with ability to get to the basket

Zabian Dowdell, 6-3/200, Va.Tech, 22
Strong, athletic combo guard and streak shooter

Nate Funk, 6-3/195, Creighton, 23
Solid, all-around player with good range

Taurean Green, 6-0/177, Florida, 20
Confident floor leader who can drive and shoot

Adam Haluska, 6-5/210, Iowa, 23
Attacking guard who gets to the free-throw line

Coby Karl, 6-5/216, Boise State, 24
Pure shooter with great range; overcame cancer

Petteri Koponen, 6-4/195, Finland, 20
Skilled point guard with high IQ and good shot

Mustafa Shakur, 6-3/190, Arizona, 22
Makes good decisions in up-tempo offense

Sun Yue, 6-9/205, China, 21
Excellent court vision with skills to play the point

Forwards
Player, Ht/Wt, School/Country, Age

Nick Fazekas, 6-11/235, Nevada, 22
Excellent face-the-basket shooter

Herbert Hill, 6-10/240, Providence, 22
Solid package of low-post skills

Antanas Kavaliauskas, 6-10/250, Texas A&M, 22
Hard worker trying to develop mid-range shot

Demetris Nichols, 6-8/216, Syracuse, 22
Good athlete but not much of a mid-range game

Ivan Radenovic, 6-10/244, Arizona, 23
Can face up or post up, creating mismatches

Centers
Player, Ht/Wt, School/Country, Age

Stanko Barac, 7-1/240, Bosnia, 20
Gritty big man with a good jump hook

Kyrylo Fesenko, 7-0/235, Ukraine, 20
Rebounder and shot blocker, operates from perimeter offensively

Aaron Gray, 7-0/270, Pittsburgh, 22
Good shotblocker and rebounder with developing offense

-- Jeff Caplan

KG to Lakers?

The LA Times is reporting that the Lakers and T'wolves are talking about a potential four-team swap that would send Kevin Garnett to LA, with the Lakers losing Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. The Lakers have made the playoffs the past two seasons with Kobe and a cast of injured scrubs. How far could they go with Kobe and Garnett? 
Can the Mavs afford to stand pat with other teams trying to get stronger and become contenders?

-- Garza, Mavs Lite

mocks, mocks and mocks

With no first round pick in this year's NBA Draft, the Mavs aren't making many headlines. But that doesn't mean there isn't any intrigue. With three second-round picks, who knows what they're going to do?

Just for fun, here's an informal list of Mavs mock picks from various Web sites:

www.nbadraft.net
34. PG Gabe Pruitt, USC
50. PF Glen Davis, LSU
60. PF Milovan Rakovic, Serbia

www.draftexpress.com
34. SG/SF Marcus Williams, Arizona
50. SG Russell Carter, Notre Dame
60. C Darryl Watkins, Syracuse

www.hoopshype.com
34. SG Alando Tucker, Wisconsin
50. C Stanko Barac, Bosnia-Herzegovina
60. SG D.J. Strawberry, Maryland

msn.foxsports.com

34. SF Wilson Chandler, DePaul

50. PF Stephane Lasme, Massachusetts

60. PG Aaron Brooks, Oregon

It's all about the double

After watching the Spurs and Cavs muck it up again, with San Antonio walking away with yet another NBA title, it underscores a lot of things in regards to the Mavs' situation.

1) the Mavs' defense still is not good enough.
2) the Mavs' are not mentally tough enough.
3) the Spurs aren't going away for a while.

and last, but most important:
3) the modern game is all about the double-team.

Sure, Tim Duncan stunk, but it was all the attention he drew that opened lanes for Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to combine for 51 points. And with Parker's jump shot becoming a legitimate weapon, the outcome of the series was little more than an inevitable formality.

So with Parker, 25, emerging as a shooter and more complete player, he is going to draw more and more attention. Soon teams will have a choice to make: allow Duncan to beat them or give Parker that privilege.

The Cavs chose Parker, who is just now entering his prime, and you see how that worked out. The Finals MVP -- read that again -- is only going to get better. That's not good news for the Mavs.

Can any of you see Josh Howard rising to that status? What about Devin Harris? Jet?

And there, folks, is the key. An NBA player of stature has to either command the double, or make teams pay for doubling. There is no in-between. Dirk Nowitzki is the only player on the Mavs' roster who can do both of those things.

Will he ever have a teammate who can do the same?

He better, because the Spurs now have a pair of them.

-- Garza, Mavs Lite

Tony Parker made sure the Spurs now have two Finals MVPs on their roster. Are we seeing the birth of another Shaq-Kobe dynamic, albeit a healthier, friendlier, more positive one?

Rumors, party people

This is the time of year, when you don't stop hearing about rumors.
Some of the ones that won't go away:

Rashard Lewis to Boston
Shawn Marion to Boston
Pistons pursuing Grant Hill
Suns pursuing Grant Hill
Ron Artest to Miami

With the NBA Draft on June 28 and free agency beginning in July, this could be a wild off-season.
And we haven't talked about the Mavs yet.

What do you think would be some good moves for the Mavs?

-- Garza, Mavs Lite