With the renewed enthusiasm of Mavericks basketball, you have to like what Dallas did at the trade deadline. The addition of Caron Butler certainly gives the Mavs a steady hand at the 2 guard, but us that really a huge upgrade over Josh Howard? I suggest that the thing that puts this trade over the top, is the fact that the Mavs demanded that Brendan Haywood be part of the deal. Genius.

Surely, the Mavs could not have known that Damp was going to dislocate his finger just days earlier, but still, the depth provided by Haywood in the middle is huge. He just had 20 rebounds against the Pacers. The Mavs are 4-0 in games he has started. Dallas has his "Bird" rights, which means they'll have a great chance of resigning him next year, and they will.

It would have been nice if Drew Gooden could have bounced back on a buyout, but that would have been icing. The Mavericks are better today than they were before the trade (by a mile). Are they good enough to beat the Lakers? Hmmm. Not ready to say that yet, but they're sure getting close.

David Reed

KXII Sports