Tuesday Morning Donuts: The Mavs On Stage

   “Among the guys up on that stage,’’ Mavs voice Bob Ortegel says to me, “I could grab five of them and put together a better team than some of those 11- and 13-win Mavs teams I used to broadcast. There is real NBA talent up there.’’

   Keeping in mind that “new signee’’ Jason Kidd was on the stage, the overall talent level received quite a boost. But what all those guys had to say in front of an AAC audience of Mavs fans and media on Monday did have a positive vibe.

   Assorted notes from the day at team HQ -- DallasBasketball.com’s “12 Hours Of Monday Mavness’’ – offered in Tuesday Morning Donuts form:

   DONUT 1: Did GM Donnie Nelson slip up when he mentioned Erick Dampier as if the incumbent center was slated for backup duty?

    Said Nelson during the noon press conference: “It excites me to have our quarterback back and to have Shawn Marion on one wing and Josh Howard on the other. You got a runner like no other in Drew Gooden that can get up and down the court with the best of them. You got Dirk, who knows how to play the game a little bit. And then you got Erick Dampier coming off the bench and giving you that role that you need. …’’

    Wait. … what?

    Donnie later clarified when asked about the remark by the DMNews’ Eddie Sefko. It seems the GM was referring to the squad’s improved versatility and visualizing the game-closing fivesome.

    What made the scene just a bit uncomfortable: While Dampier wasn’t part of the press conference, he was in attendance, having come upstairs from yet another basement workout to view the festivities.

        DONUT 2: So who is the Mavs’ starter at center? Erick Dampier. If the Mavs had a depth chart, he’d be listed first. He’s the incumbent, he’s put a great deal of time into preparation this summer, and he’s the most obvious/conventional answer.

        But – and here’s the part of this that is no revelation to readers of this space – there may be nights when giving Gooden heavy minutes at the 5 is advantageous. Carlisle talked at the presser about wanting Dallas to become a better defensive team. Mix that in here. Damp maybe responds well to a kick in the pants. Mix that in, too.

        But Damp is still the guy to beat out as the starter … and neither Damp or Gooden figures to be the “finisher’’ at the 5 … and isn’t that the most important thing?

        DONUT 3: That four-sided jumbotron high-def video screen at the AAC is something special. Kind of like Jerry’s TVs … including the fact that I definitely could bounce a punt off it.

        DONUT 4: Jason Kidd was attendance at the presser, of course, because while he’s not a “new’’ player he is a “newly signed’’ player. (Odd though, that James Singleton was in the building but not on the stage. And odder still that, as I reported at the time on Monday, Kris Humphries apparently forget to arrange his travel schedule so he could be in attendance. Hmmm.)

        Kidd mentioned the moment when he knew Mark Cuban was serious about re-signing him?

        “When he showed up in New York,’’ J-Kidd said, “wearing a sports coat.’’

        DONUT 5: FISHTV is about to roll … with Video Visits with Shawn Marion (posted last night), James Singleton, Tim Thomas and Drew Gooden. We talk fashion with Gooden, get an injury update from Thomas, argue the value of the pit bull with Singleton and … my experience with Marion was pretty cool … The Matrix sort of “raps’’ a greeting to DallasBasketball.com readers.

    Stay tuned for more!

        DONUT 6: And speaking of video: Here’s the beauty of the Mavs setting up the press conference so the public-at-large could be involved. A fan YouTubed the whole thing.

        DONUT 7: So they debut the new uni's in LA against the Lakers, eh? Forget about a uniform jinx there. Can you figure out WHY the Mavs would choose to do so?

        DONUT 8: The new uniforms themselves? I like 'em ... but I'm know no Karl Lagerfeld, so what the hell do I know? I will say that I was hoping for something more than just a shift in colors from the previously-used greenies. It's a delicate balance: You want something that'll sell (yes, that would be the answer to Donut 7: Display these uniforms on the grand stage in LA) ... you want something that the players will dig ... you don't want to go outrageous (see Hefty Bags).

        DONUT 10: The discussion of an improved defense is an annual occurrence around these parts. Coach Rick Carlisle gave it the usual go.

         "This summer started when we were able to get back Kidd, signing him began to trigger other things to happen," said Carlisle. "We will be better defensively ... ''
        I will give the Mavs this: In Marion, they have added somebody who is more than just a "good 'team' defender'' (which is code for saying a guy isn't a very good individual defender). Carlisle noted that Marion has been a premier defensive star in the NBA in this decade ... and the Mavs of this era have never had one of those.

        DONUT 11: My initial quickie impressions of Nathan Jawai: He is exceedingly polite and pleasant. He is massive -- but not Shaq-massive. More like Mbenga-massive. But he is not muscularly cut like Mbenga. Maybe some martial-arts training would help?

        DONUT 12: Bob Ortegel's Podium Starting Five: "Jason Kidd at the 1, Quinton Ross at the 2, Shawn Marion at the 3, Drew Gooden and Tim Thomas at the 4/5,'' Bob O tells me. "I would coach that team and we'd win more games than some of those old Mavericks teams.''

        DONUT 13: And just to remind that the Mavs don’t exist in a vacuum: Let’s go to Denver, where Kenyon Martin is (still) talking about his conflict with Mark Cuban on Denver's 104.3 The Fan:

       "He apologized to my mom and that's all he had to do. Just move on from it. He has a team to run down there and I have a job to kick their butt every time we play them."

       There. Out of the vacuum and into reality. You’re welcome.