Donuts: Twiddling Our Thumbs 'Til Schedule Time

Tuesday Morning Donuts … and while each and every one of the following dozen items is truly fascinating, insightful and amusing -- from LeBron's acceptance of Drew Gooden to J.R. Smith's Crips-and-Bloods communiques from jail -- I’m really just twidding my thumbs until the Mavs’ NBA schedule gets announced in a little bit. … Oh, and by the way: I just figured out why no NBA type was willing to give me any early hints about the Mavs schedule …

     DONUT 1: ... Because DOING SO IS A FINABLE OFFENSE!

     The Cavs, Rockets and Wolves are all going to get fined for leaking schedule info to local media outlets. That’s one way to keep sources from being sources, I suppose.

     DONUT 2: LeBron James doesn’t love Drew Gooden? That was the word from Cleveland … but Brian Windhorst tweets to say that “Gooden & LeBron are back on good terms. LBJ called to help recruit him. Cavs didn't have enough money.’’

     DONUT 3: Did you want the Mavs to keep Ryan Hollins? Yes, you did. A smart, high-energy 7-footer worth developing? Yes, you did. Did you want to pay your taxi-squad center $2.3 mil a year and commit to three seasons of him? The Mavs don’t want to do, that Minnesota does, and I’m not sure what the T’Wolves have on their resume to suggest that they are necessarily making the smarter decision.

      DONUT 4: Remember Todd McCulloch? The Canadian-born NBA center? He’s still playing professionally … but now his profession is … pinball. 

     DONUT 5: Mark Madsen doesn’t own his own name.

     DONUT 6: "The Assassination Of Devean George By The Coward Donnie Nelson." A good by-the-rules-and-numbers look at Devean’s recent path out of Dallas.

     DONUT 7: When we talk about acquiring Chris Kaman from LAC, we’d better always also mention the fact that we think he has a trade kicker that will cost his new team millions. (Unless you want to believe that Donald T. Slumlord is going to pick up that tab.) So put that on the “no’’ side of the “Let’s Get Kaveman’’ side of the ledger.

     DONUT 8: I’m trying to wrap my head around the downside to Dallas pursuing Ramon Sessions. Do the Mavs tell themselves that $33 mil for a five-year commitment to the kid isn’t justified because of the commitment made to the talents of the three-guard combo of Kidd, Jet and J-Ho?

     Or …

     DONUT 9: Do the Mavs anticipate another, better deal on the horizon? After Sept. 9? Just before Nov. 30, when “The Buck Shot’’ expires? For a big?

     Or …  

     DONUT 10: Is the only “deal’’ here one that allows the club to save some money by cutting Buckner? That clearly wasn’t the initial plan; having Buckner sidecar’ed into the Shawn Marion trade was purposeful. But I suppose … as time passes … the gears controlling that sidecar can shift.

     DONUT 11: I guess this makes me an Ugly American, but the idea of Linas Klieza to Greece seems like such a waste.

     Now, the rumors that have Iverson getting an offer to go Euro? That’s actually sort of cool.

     DONUT 12: Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: "Nuggets guard J.R. Smith's tweets are raising questions among fans. Several recent posts by Smith on his page are written in a way that is commonly associated with the Bloods street gang.’’

     We’ve covered this territory before. Is J.R. “keeping it real’’ with gang allegiances he built before becoming an NBA player? Or does he just like to “play’’ tough?

     Either way, I say we all should be careful what we wish for when we express our desire for the Mavs to be more “thuggish.’’ If we’re talking about “stronger rebounding,’’ that’s one thing. If we’re talking about recruiting members of the Crips, that’s another.

     DONUT 13: Instant updates on the Mavs and whatnot from DB.com are available at twitter.com/fishsports