A camp fire chat with Mavs Central

Matt at Mavs Central and I exchanged a few questions on the Jazz vs. Mavs match-up on Monday. You can see my answers to some Mavs questions at Mavs Central.

Here is the transcript:

The scene:

(CB Jack leaning by the fire working on the ultimate roasted marshmallow...to be used in a classic SMORE...the marshmallow catching on fire and CB frantically shaking and blowing it out before his masterpiece is engulfed in flames)


CB Jack: Stupid marshmallow...question for you Matt, Are you happy with the Kidd trade? Why or why not?


(Matt sipping some hot cocoa from a stainless mug while wearing a horrible plaid flannel and "riDIRKulous" beanie)

Matt @ Mavs Central: When the first trade was announced, I was against it. Then they had to move some pieces around to get it to work and I felt a little better about it since losing Keith Van Horn/Trenton Hassell does not hurt as much as Jerry Stackhouse/Devean George. As for now, I am still on the fence a bit.


CB Jack: (applying his burnt offering to the graham cracker) Which player in the Jason Kidd trade will Dallas miss the most?


Matt: Losing Devin Harris hurts a bit, but losing DeSagana Diop hurts more (since they did get Kidd in return for Harris). Erick Dampier has been playing well recently, but he has a tendency to foul out or disappear for weeks and there is not a whole lot behind him on the depth chart. It also forces Dallas to play Dirk at some 5 and he can get abused at times when facing someone like Tim Duncan or Dwight Howard. Diop actually played Duncan well enough to slow him down at times.


CB Jack (starting a new marshmallow because the last one was too burnt, upset because his stick just fell in the dirt and now he has no stick with which to roast his new marshmallow): Devin Harris used to give Deron Williams fits. Deron historically plays very well against J-Kidd. How does this make you feel if the Jazz and Mavs met in a 7 game series?


Matt (moving his chair because the smoke keeps following him): I think Kidd's "experience" would help him out a bit during the playoffs if they met up against each other. If the roles were switched and Dallas was getting Devin Harris in the the trade and Williams played well against him, then I would be worried a lot more.


CB Jack (eating a graham cracker and chocolate with no marshmallow): Do you prefer a long haired Dirk or a buzzed Dirk?


Matt (now standing because he's extremely bugged by the smoke, contemplating whether he should drop the "smoke follows beauty" joke): I can do either. I am a fan when he shaves his head at the beginning of the season and gradually lets it grow out through the season. I guess some players were giving him crap for shaving it late into the season last year, calling him Samson and such, so he has decided to keep it long all the time now. But If I had to choose one, I would go long hair. He looks scary at times with that sweaty hair flopping around in the fourth quarter while he is growling after hitting a big three. Honestly, who else does that?


CB Jack (wondering if Matt is going to drop the "smoke follows beauty" joke): Do you agree or disagree with Mark Cuban's ownership style?


Matt (nervously waiting for a text message from a buddy saying Dirk is out for the game so he has an excuse when Utah wins): I have no problem with Mark Cuban. He is known for putting his foot in his mouth at times or does something that makes you cringe, but at the end of the day, he has done so much more and has brought some much good to the franchise, I can live with the bad. The atmosphere around the 2007-08 Mavs is eleventy billion times better than the 1997-98 Mavs.


CB Jack (crossing his fingers that Deron gets in trouble in Park City over the weekend and is suspended one game by the team so he has an excuse in case the Jazz lose): If you could create a Dream Team starting 5 out of the Jazz and Mavericks, who would win out at each position?


Matt (bedding down and watching the smoke curl its way into the sky in a flowing pattern that resembles Dirk's mullet): If I had to stick to each player's exact position on the team, I would go with:
PG: Deron Williams
SG: Jason Terry
SF: Josh Howard
PF: Dirk Nowitkzi
C: Mehmet Okur
6th Man: Jerry Stackhouse
Token Bench Player: JJ Barea
Coach: Jerry Sloan

CB Jack (snoring because he fell asleep the minute Matt starting talking about JJ Barea as the Token Bench Player in a Dream Team 5): zzzzzzz

Matt (realizing the JJ Barea comment was the most ridiculous comment of the night): Good night CB.

Tortoise from Three Amigos: Good night Matt.