The Possum and the Goose

This summer, for the first time in a long time, my Mavs (yes, I own them) did something they haven't done in awhile....on paper, they improved. When the rest of the NBA was supposed to be playing dead (a prediction that didn't quite come true, for the most part), the MBT (Mavs Brain Trust) dropped hints of their intent to feed upon the wounded.

We watched Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson and Shaq all change teams while embraced in a spectator's silence, when our moment finally came to fruition. No, the MBT did not exactly pounce on a limping prey, but they did capitalize on Toronto's signing of Hedo, which left Shawn Marion available for spare parts.

Other than Wright, the MBT sent away a couple of links in the chain which served to constrain previous efforts. The roster space granted in return for Devean George and Jerry Stackhouse was already a good deal, but throw in Marion and the Mavs finally have a steal that works out in their favor....and that doesn't even take into account the possibility of what Humphries (an all out hustle guy compared favorably with Edward Najera - though recent hints suggest Humphries may not remain a Mav for long, per DB.com) and Jawai (a rugged, though undersized, young center who could also be short on time in a Mavs uniform) may bring to the table.

No, Gortat isn't putting on a Mavs uniform, and the failure to convert Greg Buckner's partially guaranteed deal into anything of substance can't be ignored, but in the end....this summer should be viewed as a positive one. If nothing else, the Mavs should be a very fun team to watch, and the addition of Marion will improve our perimeter defense tremendously - meaning, there is a chance Dampier's immobility won't be as exposed as it has been in the recent past.

Put me in the camp of the "yet to be convinced" on Drew Gooden, but on paper he does seem to at least address the problems the Mavs had with undersized, athletic centers. We'll see.

In short, while the league didn't quite play possum to the degree of the "nuclear winter" Mark Cuban predicted, the Mavs still came away with their golden goose.

Is that where the title came from, or was I simply remembering the time a good friend taunted a goose as a group of us floated the Guadalupe in New Braunfels, and that goose followed us down the river - as said friend continued to call it like one summonsing a slow to cooperate puppy, until the goose did finally catch up and proceed to attack that friend - causing him to have to; A. Use his inner tube as a shield and, B. Pocket the memory of how it feels to push a goose away by its throat.

Honestly, it could be either one and I can only hope that Marion leads to such glorious memories as that ornery goose.