Monday Donuts: Dirk Vs. Barkley, Crabtree's Contract, Mavs' Summer Grades, Stack In NY, Reggie Miller Is A Stalker?

     Monday Morning Donuts: Sports Illustrated gives the Mavs a summer grade, I’ve got inside scoop on Michael Crabtree’s contract dispute, Stack’s odds of landing with the Knicks, a snappy retort to my views on the foibles of Josh Hamilton, a Parlor Game of Mavs Positivism/Negativism, Reggie Miller as a stalker, Dirk Vs. Barkley, and the lovely Misty Mav with her cap on backwards.

     DONUT 1: Can we have some fun with Sports Illustrated’s offseason grades of the NBA teams without taking it all too seriously?

     Good. Here goes: Scott Howard-Cooper assigns a “B’’ to Atlanta, Sacramento and Dallas. Atlanta gets its B because, Scott says, the Hawks retained the talent that made them a 47-win team. … but added nothing of substance that signifies positive change. Sacramento gets its B because the Kings used their draft pick on a point guard. … but added nothing of substance the signifies positive change. And why does Dallas get the same B?

    Well, I don’t know. In comparison to Atlanta, the Mavs kept their 50-win team intact and ADDED Shawn Marion. And in comparison to Sacto, the Mavs used their draft pick on a point guard, too.

    How are they all B’s?

    OK, OK. It’s just for fun.

     DONUT 2: My right-hand man, David Lord, is strongly suggesting that I’m being far too hard on the feet-of-clay revelations of Josh Hamilton. D-Lord takes the stage:

     Fish, you know I'm usually on your side, but not this time. I find the only hypocrite in the Josh Hamilton story to be you, as you gleefully do everything you can to try to undermine whatever explanation he has offered ... when in Josh Howard stories and Mark Cuban stories and in everything Mav-related, you do everything you can to give them the benefit of the doubt.

    That's the only hypocrisy I'm seeing here.

    From the get-go, you jumped eagerly to calling Hamilton a hypocrite, except I don't recall him ever holding himself out to be a saint; he's merely a guy with a checkered past who has owned up to it and has taken steps to live a better life. If he slips at some point, what is hypocritical about that? He never claimed perfection, has he?

     This story you're pushing has the real feel of "casting the first stone" in some sort of "I'm better than this guy" motif. And I'm bothered by the spin you're using here. If you have hard facts to say he's been hiding a life of chick-chasing booze hound excess, let's hear them. From what I can glean, he lives under a microscope due to his past problems and he's the guy we've been told: someone who like the rest of us is trying to do it right, but can mess up too.

    He may be an athlete - but he's human. Give it a rest.

     DONUT 3: And a rest it shall get. I hope that I come across as “skeptical’’ as opposed to “hypocritical.’’ And if my scribblings suggest “glee’’ I apologize for being such a skill-less communicator.

   But I’ve said my piece and I’ve said my prayers. And so a rest it shall get.

     DONUT 4: Stack’s chances of hooking up with the Knicks following his tryout? Somewhere between “50-50’’ and no chance at all, according to the NY rags.

     DONUT 5: A bout of negativism on DB.com Boards – from some unhappy Mavs fans, anyway … or maybe they are just trolls – caused me to suggest a Parlor Game: If you are a consistently negative DB.com Boards poster/Mavs fan, post something positive. Meanwhile, if you are a consistently positive fan, post something negative.

      It’s fair to say I fall on the half-full side. So here’s my entry … my negative offering:

    The very attribute that drove Mark Cuban to buy his favorite team. … the very attribute that gives Donnie Nelson his qualities as a boss and as a person … are also the very attributes that cause this organization to be way too sincere when it says, ‘We love our guys.’

    Even though they say that by rote, as a platitude, as a PR thing. … their actions reveal that to some degree, they mean it. And just as Jerry Jones once said to me that an owner (or any businessman) should ‘Never let yer money get mad,’’ it stands to reason that you should “Never let your money get happy,’’ either.

   The people who run this team have a genuine affection – even a friendship, in some cases – with each other and with their players. Does that create a positive work environment? I suppose. But it has also led to problems like:

   Josh Howard.

   Don Nelson.

   Steve Nash.

   Start with J-Ho. Relationships have led to an over-valuing of a guy like Josh Howard. I believe there have been deals to be made with Josh … good deals. … that Dallas didn’t make because of their unwavering belief in him. When he was goofing up all last summer the Mavs (who might’ve been doing serious intervention behind the scenes, for all we know), the Mavs’ reaction was to hug him tighter. Donnie’s dealings with Josh and so many of the guys really are like the actions of a father at the family dinner table.

   Maybe there is a place is professional sports for, ‘Josh, shape up or we’re shipping your butt to Milwaukee.’ Instead, the Mavs have been very reluctant to trade him. … and even more reluctant to let Josh hear his name in trade talks.

   Nellie? All of the people around Nellie considered him “family.’’ All of the people were wrong. Down deep, Nellie runs his basketball biz like a biz. Ask his previous owners. Ask his present owner. Ask Mullin.

    In the end, it wasn’t “family.’’ Here we are, five years and two coaches later, and there are still hurt feelings. Nellie’s not hurt, though. It’s the other guys left in his wake. … the guys who thought they had “relationships.’’ They are hurt.

  Steve Nash. My belief of why that blew up in Dallas’ face? Mark thought he had an understanding, a friendship, a bond, with Nash. He never envisioned his “friend’’ saying, “Yes, that deal sounds good, Mark.’’ … and then next thing you know he gets a call from Steve saying, “Mark, I’ve got a better deal … but I can’t tell you what it is. … and it’s take-it-or-leave-it.’’

    There were a number of other factors involved here, and over the years, Mark has outlined them all. Steve’s age, Steve’s defense, blahblah. The biggest – and completely understated – aspect: The Mavs thought their relationship with Steve would trump all.

    Relationships still rule at the AAC. Relationships have helped make Dirk what he is. Relationships give Dallas inroads in international dealings. Relationships are a foundation of this franchise’s otherworldly turnaround. Relationships cause everyone from Cuban on down, everyone from Dirk on down, to feel like their co-workers “have their back.’’

    But … who is the “mean principal’’ in the Mavs organization? Who is the person who inspires some “go lift some more weights’’ attitude? Is there an iron fist?

    I’d be interested to see the results if the Mavs didn’t “love each other’’ quite so much.

       DONUT 6: And that, Dear Reader, is about as negative as I can manage feeling about 9X50. I know. … it’s … what, the opposite of a “back-handed compliment’’? To say a Mavs’ “flaw’’ is their organizational niceness would be a “front-handed criticism.’’

     But that’s how I feel.

     DONUT 7: Misty Mav turned her hat backwards, just for you. Now go consider buying a DallasBasketball.com T-shirt from her, please.

     DONUT 8: Readers of this space should already understand this (“The DUST Chip’’ and all). But just to reinforce: Amid a skillion stories this weekend stating that in the Summer of 2010 players like LeBron “can get more money and more years’’ from the Cavs than anyone – a comforting thought for Clevelanders – the fact is that Cleveland cannot offer “more.’’

     Not “more’’ than a new team can offer LeBron (and Wade, Bosh and the rest) in a Sign-and-Trade. The same.

     DONUT 9: I have what you might call “second-hand knowledge’’ of the Michael Crabtree matter. Second-hand in the sense that I was sitting right there as my man Nate Newton was engaged in phone conversations with David Wells, the Dallas-based bodyguard/bail bondsman who happens to be the cousin and advisor of Crabtree, the spectacular Texas Tech receiver engaged in a rookie-contract dispute with the 49ers.

    And here’s what I know: It’s not really Crabtree who is telling the 49ers he might sit out the entire year and re-enter the NFL Draft next season if San Francisco doesn’t meet his demands. Nor is it veteran agent Eugene Parker who is telling the 49ers such an incendiary thing.

     No, it’s David Wells. And David isn’t even saying it to the 49ers! He’s just saying it to reporters.

     That’s creating the impression that Crabtree is some sort of a “diva’’ when in fact, all we’ve got here is a cousin who thinks Michael is “the best player in the whole draft’’ – the sort of thing an agent wouldn’t say but the sort of thing a relative would say.

     On Friday, David Wells popped off one more time, to ESPN’s Joe Schad. And then after that, I’m told, Team Crabtree convened and – led by Eugene Parker, as it should be – ordered David Wells to quit talking to reporters.

    There’s a reason lawyers don’t represent themselves in court. And there’s a reason smart lawyers don’t let their cousins who are bodyguard/bail bondsmen represent them in court, either.

     DONUT 10: Reggie Miller is a stalker? And is so relentless in his pursuit of another man’s fiancée that the situation requires a restraining order … and an announcement banner attatched to an airplane? 

     DONUT 11: Instant updates on the Mavs and whatnot from DB.com are available at twitter.com/fishsports ... Join up there … and wear your new T-shirt while you do it, maybe?

     DONUT 12: So who is a better NBA star, Dirk Nowitzki or Charles Barkley? Would you believe ... it's a dead heat?