Now it's a Texas (Bermuda) triangle

At approximately 9:57 p.m. on Tuesday, July 29, 2008, the Western Conference's Southwest division became the most competitive division in the NBA. Ron Artest was traded to to Houston Rockets for Bobby Jackson, a No. 1 draft pick and a player to be named later.

What does this mean? Simply this: a trio of Big Three's triangled around Texas. Duncan/Parker/Ginobili. Dirk/J-Kidd/Josh Howard. Now Yao/McGrady/Artest.

Or how about Paul/West/Peja?

But unlike the other squads, Houston now has a dominant center, and two smothering defensive presences (Artest and Battier). Houston also has two All-Star caliber forwards in Scola and Carl Landry.

They could plug in a homeless man in the Point Guard slot and still win close to 60 games.

While it's good news for Rockets faithful, New Orleans, San Antonio, Dallas and Memphis have got their work cut out for them.

The Rockets could be poised to become the Mavericks of 2005-07. Good at everything. Solid defenders, solid jump-shooters, solid on the offensive glass.

But could they meet the same fate as those Mavericks? They were a Jack of All Trades, but a master of none. They couldn't dominate one aspect of the game, so when teams adapted, they didn't have anything new to throw out.

If anything Houston will make for an interesting case study. Provided they don't get Igoudala, they won't be very relevant at the PG. They will now have to compete with two hall-of-famers (Kidd and Paul) and a rookie who threatens to redefine the position (Mayo).

It should prove once and for all just how important a PG is. Can a team run a decent offense with firepower at every position, but no distributor? Can a big man, a lock down defender and one of the best all-around players in the game duplicate the chemistry and commitment that brought the 2007-08 Celtics the title?

Some things I know for sure:

—If T-Mac can't get out of the first round this year, he should hang up his spikes, he never will.

—Imagine the penetration of Artest and T-Mac with the inside presence of Yao and the outside shooting of Battier. I bet Jeff Van Gundy wishes he could come back and coach.

—Unless Dallas can pick up J-Smoove and San Antonio pulls off a whopper, Houston and New Orleans will be duking it out for the No. 1 or No. 2 seed come April 2009.

Talkin' Trades

While Dallas hasn't joined in the Nuggets/Warriors/Clippers/76ers level of making big offseason moves, things are starting to heat up.

Josh Howard seems to be the best trade chip Dallas has to offer right now. His athleticism, as well as his good jumper and penetration ability seems to make for a good fit with a number of teams.

His downside is: his inconsistency could serve to make him a project. At 27, Jo-Ho is a little too old to be taught how to play again.

Ron Artest seems to have a spotlight on him, but the Mavs and Kings are having difficulty deciding what he's worth.

The Mavs offered Brandon Bass and the Stack-attack for Artest. While I hate to lose someone like Bass, I would definitely be on board with this trade.

Artest gives the Mavs some toughness, both emotionally and defensively, which would be a good thing. The Mavs have been missing a lock-down defender who can take the Ginobilis, McGradys, Kobes and others.

Plus he can score, which was starting to be a problem in the last days of Avery's administration. There were times that the halfcourt offense just looked plain uncomfortable.

With Jason Kidd on your team, a stagnant offense shouldn't be an issue.

As much as I like Bass, he plays Dirk's position, and if you move him to the 5, he's too small, and he also plays Jo-Ho's position, so he can't go to the three. And he's almost too good to be Dirk's backup, so I would be willing to trade him for a better fit like Artest.

Then Sacramento countered with a Josh Howard for Ron Artest trade. That's over the line though. As many problems as Josh Howard has had, I don't see any reason that he can't return to All-Star form this year. Especially when he's not running only isos.

I don't think that Artest is worth losing Jo-Ho. With the problems the Mavs have had of late, chemistry is the last thing that needs to be messed with.

So the question becomes, who would you trade Josh Howard for, if at all?

The Dallas Morning News' MavsBlog talks about a Josh-for-Josh trade with the Hawks' Josh Smith.

An intriguing possibility. J-Smoove is younger, an athletic freak, and apparently doesn't want to stay a hawk.

But, with the signing of Gerald Green, we've already got a great athlete. Though it would be interesting to see a lineup of Diop/Dampier, Dirk, Josh Smith, Gerald Green and Jason Kidd.

That lineup has two monster athletes who can penetrate at the 2 and 3, a lights-out shooter who has been known to break an ankle or two at the 4, and the game's best passer at the point.

Given that Green and Smith are both only 22, suddenly a Dallas team that got a lot older with the Kidd trade becomes younger again.

Add that to the cap space created by Kidd's expiring deal next year, and that could put the Mavs in position to go higher as teams like the Spurs inevitably slow down.

But what kind of commitment can Smith offer defensively? The problem with phenomenal athletes like Green and Smith is that they can often seem content with their gifts, and not commit to playing the hard-nosed D that wins titles.

But Smith averages about 3 blocks per game, as well as a steal and a half. If Carlisle can beat some defense into Gerald Green, and with the addition of Diop, all of a sudden the Mavs are no slouches on interior defense.

The only weakness they would have is the same one that plagued them in the Hornets series. A young, quick point guard can beat J-Kidd off the dribble, which can cause the defense to compensate leading to open looks for other players.

Teams like the Hornets, Spurs, Suns, Celtics and now the Clippers can be dangerous if you allow this to happen.

Bottom line: would I trade Jo-Ho for J-Smoove?

Yes.

How the Mavs can win the title and Dirk can win the Finals MVP

I consider myself a student of history. I enjoy watching trends, and I enjoy using those trends to predict what could happen in the future.

Given that propensity, I did some looking back on the last few professional sports championships (hockey excluded), and found out that all the champions and Finals MVPs had something in common.

This lead me to a foolproof way that the Dallas Mavericks can win a title and Dirk can win a Finals MVP: Dirk needs to get engaged.

Sound foolish? Of course it does, but hear me out.

Let us start with the 2007 NBA Champion Spurs. Tony Parker, your MVP, was engaged to Eva Longoria, and got married a month or two after the Finals.

Then we'll move on to the 2007 Boston Red Sox. While Mike Lowell is already married, Kevin Youkilis was engaged to some hot lady, and he was a crucial part of the World Series win.

Super Bowl XLII MVP Eli Manning was also engaged, and got married within a few months of the Super Bowl.

Fast forward to this year's Finals: Paul Pierce is engaged to some hottie, and he got Finals MVP. He'll probably be married by the end of summer, and he's got a ring and a trophy as a wedding gift, much like Parker, Youkilis, Eli.

Now it's Dirk's turn.

Obviously, I don't know his relationship status, but with Tony Romo unavailable, Dirk should be the No. 1 bachelor in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

You're telling me the Dirkster can't find some floozy to get engaged to, then break it off after they win the Finals?

The sporting gods would never know until its too late, because after all, you can't take away a championship.

More skinny on Shan Foster

The more I read draft day second-guessing and draft-day grades handed out from everyone from ESPN to Fox to a billion other sites, the more I am on board with the Shan Foster pick.

Here are a few reasons why:

The basket is the same in college as in the NBA. It's still a metal circle (cylinder?) with a net on the bottom. The skills required to throw a 29 oz. leather ball into that circle don't change, the size of the hands blocking them do, however.

There is always a place in professional sports for people who do one or two things better than almost anyone else. You think Bruce Bowen is an All-Star? Hell no. But does he contribute to a winning (although I hate them) team? Yes, because he can guard the best player, and even occasionally knock down a three ball. I'm not too sure of Foster's defense, but he's got the shooting part down, and if he can manage to play some good D, well, then, we've got something haven't we?

It never hurts to have a sniper. I figure, if you've got a dead-eye shooter, what are the worst and best case scenarios? Worst case? Something along the lines of Wally Szcerbiak/Brent Barry. Sure, he'll never be the best (or fourth-best) player on your team, but if you've got enough people that can penetrate (Jo-Ho, hopefully Gerald Green, maybe even J-Kidd), and can swing the ball around, it's good to have a dead-eye shooting from the outside. Just ask the Spurs. There's a reason they tried so hard to get Barry back from the Sonics after Kurt Thomas was gift-wrapped for them.

Best case scenario? Probably Ray Allen. Known for most of his career as a primarily outside threat, teaming up with KG and Pierce rubbed off on him, and now he can penetrate (just ask Sasha Vujacic) and play some good D, and now he's got the bling to show for it. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a slasher and a lock down defender to teach him on the Mavs, but maybe he can make do.

Middle of the road scenario (therefore the most likely)? Kyle Korver. While the Mavs don't have a banger like Boozer to force defenders into the lane, Dirk's fade-away still gets enough attention to draw double-teams, and call me crazy, but the less threes that Devean George (assuming he comes back) and/or Eddie Jones take, the better my blood pressure will be.

Finally, the last reason to get excited for the Shan Foster era? A cool nickname: Sugar Shan (remember, its pronounced Shane). I can see myself screaming that as he's shooting the lights out over the Celtics in the 2009 Finals. Or maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

And if he doesn't pan out? Let me be the first to hop on the "Splenda Shan" bandwagon.

On to Greener pastures?

I don't know about other Mavs fans, but I was pretty damn excited when the Mavs got Gerald Green for a minimum contract.

Why? Because it's low-risk, high-reward. Doesn't cost them much, but Green is an absolute FREAK in the athletics department. Plus, he's only 22, and he's actually playing for a decent team. If that doesn't get him motivated, then he shouldn't play basketball.

Want some more reasons that I love this signing? All of a sudden, you've got an incredibly athletic 2 and 3 position with Jo-Ho and Green. Say what you want about Jo-Ho, but he is a damn good athlete.

With Green's athleticism paving the way for Jo-Ho to get some open looks/penetration, this could be an incredible steal.

In other roster addition news, the Mavs drafted Shan Foster with the no. 51 pick. I actually liked the pick. They could use a consistent jump shooter off the bench, and if he develops into something more, super.

I wasn't happy that the Mavs didn't pick up a first round pick. You're telling me cheap-ass Memphis wouldn't have sold Cubes a pick? A pick they could've used on the Superintendant (Chalmers), or Chris Douglas-Roberts.

The re-acquisition of Gana gives me mixed feelings. I like him for his D and his athleticism, as well as for the 6 fouls he can add to Dampier's.

I don't like that they spent the whole MLE on him. If that could have been used for Maggette, that would have been great, if just for the fact that the Spurs wouldn't be able to get him.

I will officially lose my shit if Maggette goes to the Spurs. He is exactly what they need.