Does Dallas Trade Really Close the Deal?

With all due respect to my man Jason Kidd, I'm not too sure his arrival in Dallas does much to change the Mavericks' chances in this years playoffs.

The deal to send Jason Kidd to Mavericks has reached its conclusion, and with so much hype having surrounded this blockbuster deal, one would expect the Mavericks to immediately jump everyone and move into the first place in the "power rankings". But the balance of power in the West has not shifted back to Dallas with this trade, and quite frankly, I don't think that it has shifted in Dallas's favor at all.

Prior to the trade, and in terms of talent, Dallas was considered to be behind the likes of the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. Now that the trade has gone through, they are still behind the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs.

Kidd is a great addition, and I think adding him sures up a first round victory against some of the lesser teams in the West that have great point guards, like Golden State with Baron Davis, the New Orleans Hornets with Chris Paul, and the Utah Jazz with Deron Williams. Before the trade, the Mavericks were clearly going to be outplayed at the point guard position with Devin Harris in the lineup. But now that they have sent Harris to the New Jersey Nets, and Kidd is there, he at least neutralizes everything those point guards can do with his own offensive ability. And Kidd's size certainly limits some of what Baron Davis and Deron Williams would have tried to do in the post or in the paint against Devin Harris.

But as good as Kidd is, he can't compete with the size that the Lakers, Spurs, and now the Suns, have in the paint. As the Suns have proven over the past few seasons, you can't get through the Western Conference only playing small ball, and yet the Mavericks decided to orchestrate a trade that, in effect, makes them smaller. They lost C DeSagna Diop, which means that Eric Dampier is their lone "big man" with Dirk Nowitzki being the next closest thing. That could mean big trouble for the Mavericks when they go against the Shaq, Amare, and Duncan, because Dampier will undoubtedly, and rightfully so, get in foul trouble guarding anyone of those guys, and that may mean that Dirk will have to guard them, and that will undoubtedly effect his offensive game, if the fouls that he accumulates don't render him to the bench for most of the game.

I understand the trade though. The Mavericks couldn't win the roster that they had prior to the trade, and bringing over J-Kidd puts another star alongside of Dirk that could help carry the team during stretches when Dirk isn't at his best. But at the end of the day, you have to question if this trade was the right one. In my opinion, it does little more than fortify a first-round victory against a low-seeded opponent. However, I guess if you're the Mavericks and you just lost to Golden State in the first round last year, maybe that's a mission that they had to complete.