Pirate Galaxy » u have specialist fielders will you see im

LAS VEGAS -- The consensus opinion among NBA coaches and executives surveyed during the Las Vegas Summer League is that the Dallas Mavericks made a wise move to give Harrison Barnes a maximum contract, given the circumstances.At 24 years old, Barnes is a proven, quality, versatile starter who has yet to hit his prime. Hes expected to help the Mavs compete for a playoff berth during Dirk Nowitzkis twilight and be part of Dallas core after the face of the franchise rides off into the sunset. Sure, $94 million is a lot to give a good role player, but that was market value for Barnes, and the Mavs will still have the salary cap space necessary to be aggressive bidders again next summer.After letting Chandler Parsons leave, the Mavs are much better off with Barnes than without him. However, league sources gave mixed reviews regarding the Mavs optimistic vision for Barnes growth into a go-to guy after he averaged career highs of 11.7 points and 1.8 assists per game in a complementary role for the Golden State Warriors last season.Youre going to see a lot more to his game than youve seen in the past, Mavs owner Mark Cuban said. I think he can do a lot more than hes been asked to do, and thats what we expect to see. ... Maybe not first year, but I think hes going to grow into [the role of go-to guy]. Just because a guy hasnt done things doesnt mean he cant do it.Asked about Barnes offensive potential, one skeptical Western Conference executive said: At best a third option.The biggest issue with Barnes is that he hasnt demonstrated the ability to make plays off the dribble, in isolation or as a pick-and-roll ball handler, in four NBA seasons. He is a more explosive athlete than Parsons, but Barnes doubters say he isnt nearly as fluid and lacks the feel for the game of the players hes replacing in the Mavs lineup.Hes been a championship-level system player for Golden State for several years, and hes coming into a situation where were going to need him to be more of a primary guy, coach Rick Carlisle said. Its going to take time to develop the mentality, make sure were getting him in the right situations to do it, but he has the ability and hes a worker. Im confident that hell get there.Mavs pull off coup with BogutA few years after Dwight Howard spurned the Mavs to sign with the Rockets, a starting center picked Dallas over Houston. The Warriors allowed Andrew Bogut to choose between the Mavs and Rockets as his trade destination, according to league sources.The Rockets were willing to make the same trade as the Mavs to get Bogut, which was essentially to take a future second-round pick along with the veteran big man in a salary-dump deal that helped give Golden State the cap space required to sign Kevin Durant.A source said the Philadelphia 76ers also showed heavy interest in trading for Bogut but were never seriously considered by the Warriors, who wanted to send the center to a playoff-caliber team as a token of their appreciation for his contributions the past four seasons.Acquiring Bogut in a contract year is widely considered a coup for the Mavs. He can provide the Mavs everything that Zaza Pachulia did last season but is much more mobile and athletic.Hes a top-five center as a defender without question, Carlisle said. Hes a premier rim protector, hes one of the best centers at taking charges, and he really understands the game. Offensively, were going to look to get him involved. Hell be a guy we look to throw to on the inside some, and we know hes a great passer and a great roller.Powell will have an increased presenceDwight Powells days as a fringe rotation player should be done. The Mavs didnt give the 24-year-old Powell a four-year, $37 million deal to have his primary role be shooting arrows on the bench to celebrate Wesley Matthews 3-pointers, as it often was late in the season, with Powell getting a DNP-CD in 10 of 27 games after the All-Star break.I expect him to be a rotation player, Carlisle said. The last two years weve been working toward this period where we could get him signed to a longer-term deal and integrate him to our everyday rotation. ... Hes a combination 4/5. I see him playing both positions. Time will tell how much at each, but I do believe there are going to be a lot of situations where hell play both positions in the same game.Powell might have taken a discount to stay in Dallas. A league source said the Brooklyn Nets were interested in Powell and pondering making a four-year, $48 million offer to the restricted free agent.Youth movementThe Mavs are committed to a youth movement as they fill out their roster. Their minimum-salary slots have primarily gone to veterans in the past, but theyve made a philosophical shift to give those roster spots to developmental prospects.One example is 25-year-old power forward Quincy Acy, who agreed to a two-year minimum deal with Dallas on Thursday.Cuban expects the Mavs to have as many as four rookies on the roster, all of whom will be signed to three-year deals for the minimum or close to it. Second-round center A.J. Hammons and 23-year-old Argentinian wing Nicolas Brussino have guaranteed deals. Summer league star Jonathan Gibson and undrafted forward Dorian Finney-Smith have agreed to three-year deals with some guaranteed money.Gibson has lit it up in Vegas, averaging 20 points per game while shooting 53.6 percent from the floor and 46.4 percent from 3-point range. He wouldnt exactly be a traditional NBA rookie as a 29-year-old who has played in Israel, Turkey, Italy, Iran and China. The Mavs see Gibson, who averaged 42 points per game in China last season, as potentially a poor mans Jason Terry.Finney-Smith has struggled offensively in the summer league, getting only two buckets in the first four games, but Dallas considers him a prospect because of his defense. At 6-foot-8, 220 pounds with a 7-foot wingspan and a 35?-inch vertical jump, Finney-Smith has the size and athleticism to defend multiple positions, similar to ex-Maverick Al-Farouq Aminu. Dean Lowry Super Bowl Jersey . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. 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There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has said that his team went on making mistakes that led them to miss out on a chance to remain unbeaten against the visitors. They had whitewashed them in the ODIs and T20Is and won the first two Tests, before being upset in the third Test in Sharjah.Pakistan put up only 281 in their first innings. Four players made half-centuries but none of them got past 74 and scored a hundred. In the second innings, they lost four of their top five batsmen before the deficit of 56 could be erased.Then, having recovered with the help of Azhar Alis 91, Pakistan lost their last five wickets for 33 runs and could only set a target of 153. West Indies won the match with five wickets and more than two sessions to spare.It was disappointing that we didnt win, Misbah said. Overall, we didnt play up to our standards. Our batting was bad, and so was our fielding.West Indies played with discipline and we went on making mistakes and lost it. Its a setback losing a Test match in your own conditions, where you are so good, and to a team ranked lower than us. No matter how good the opposition plays, you really need to come back strongly after that.After the fourth days play, Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur had felt his team was fatigued and that was why they werent as good as they could have been. Misbah, though, put the loss down to complacency.We have one thing in mind - to treat every game as equally important, he said. When you are the No. 1 or No. 2 team, you have to play every match at a certain standard to keep that reputation.When you have a longish series, sometimes, you [tend to] relax and I think this is exactly what happened with us. We probably didnt respect the opposition, which is why we were troubled in early matches and made a lot of mitakes in this third Test.However, going into the next two series [in New Zealand and Australia] we know how tough things will be. We also know that we are capable [of winning], and when we play at our full potential we can win matches anywhere in the world. We have lost some momentum with this loss, but we have to regain it and work very hard for it.OOne of the opportunities Pakistan had to take control in Sharjah was when the chase began.dddddddddddd Despite the smallish target, West Indies appeared nervous. Opener Leon Johnson began his innings by edging twice to the slip cordon in two overs. Both were put down. Misbah said such sloppiness was the result of a lack of specialists.As far as the slip cordon is concerned, unfortunately, we have to make some changes to it. Only Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq are regulars. Azhar was hit on the hand so he couldnt field in the slips, Misbah said. We are trying to train specialist slip fielders. Only when you have specialist fielders will you see improvement. So we are focusing on that. Misbah didnt appreciate the flak his team received on social media. At times, we read on Twitter that a slip catch is a sitter. Only someone who has not played cricket can say that. Slip catches are never easy, even the best slip fielders drop catches.The other issue Pakistan have is the balance of their XI. They are keen to have an allrounder at No. 7, which was why they had drafted Mohammad Nawaz into the squad. But the left-arm spinner bowled only 15 overs in Sharjah, and didnt impress with the bat, even though he was involved in a 41-run stand for the sixth wicket with Azhar.Its Nawazs first series so he needs time, Misbah said We need someone at No. 7 who can bat and bowl, and he has the potential to fill that role for us like Jason Holder does for West Indies. He works very hard, he just needs some time.It was learnt that a day before the third Test, Pakistan were set to go in without their frontline left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar. But the team management changed its mind before the toss. Zulfiqar was used for 24 overs in the match, but only three of them came in the second innings. When asked why he was under-bowled, Misbah took aim at the surface in Sharjah.Take the answer from the groundsman who made the pitch. If the ball doesnt turn even on the fifth day, then how will you bowl spinners? ' ' '