Mavs Open Short Training Camp a Much Different Team
Arriving at the Mavs first official practice today one could easily assume that this team never won a title. A small group of media people that were all locally based, no ESPN talking heads, and only 10 basketball players made what should be a huge moment for a franchise with it's first Championship seem normal. Other than Shawn Marion's choice of hair color, the most eye catching issue were the players in attendance. Or the lack of players in attendance. During Coach Carlisle's q and a we learned that Brandon Hayward would be the starting center for the reigning champs. Sounds good on the surface until you realize that Tyson Chandler, the best center in Mavs history, is not on this team. He joins the NY Knicks frontcourt that Jason Kidd pointed out is the same the frontcourt that qualified the USA for the Olympics. Ian Mahinmi will be Hayward's back up for now. J.J. Barea, Deshawn Stevenson, Brian Cardinal, Caron Butler and Peja were all missing as well. So much for t...