How much blame should be aimed at Dallas' front office right now?
The Dallas Mavericks made easily the most polarizing trade of the 2014-15 season when they sent Jameer Nelson, Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright and a protected 2016 first-round draft pick to the Boston Celtics for Dwight Powell and Rajon Rondo.
At the time it was made, this was a rare trade in that it was both vexing and logical. Knowing what we know today, have we let Dallas' front office off the hook with its decision to strike the deal when and how they did?
Here's further analysis from the SB Nation Mavericks blog Mavs Moneyball:
"The Mavs did their research I'm sure, they had all the information we did and probably more. They decided that, despite a ton of evidence otherwise, Rondo would be worth more than what they gave up (I mean, Christ, his defensive impact was actually much larger than any of the data would have suggested before and he was still an abject disaster, that's how unfavorable the data was!). I realize they were making a gamble on having a higher playoff ceiling, but that's like gambling on a 200-to-1 horse because the payoff is higher."
Some will say the move had to be made, and that's fair. But did Dallas have to surrender all they did? Could they have acquired a different, better point guard at an equal or slightly higher price?
These questions are for the birds. We'll never have any answers. But it's still useful to look back at why such a costly mistake was mad, so that similar decisions are avoided in the future.
(h/t: Mavs Moneyball)
Photo Credit: AP Photo/John Raoux
