Mavs Moneyball

AndyTobo Talks Free Agency

2012-05-16T19:32:51Z

AndyTobo Talks Free Agency

Have a look at Andy's piece from SBN Dallas. It talks about Deron Williams.

Rowdy, Proud and Loud... and other awesome(ly bad) slogans!

2012-05-16T18:58:10Z

Whether or not you're willing to admit it, marketing can have a massive effect on your daily life. How many times do you find yourself whistling along to a commercial jingle and then using that company because of their great campaign? (Seriously, if you're also guilty of this please tell me because sometimes I feel insane for knowing the words to the Empire Today song...) Also I realize there's a difference between marketing and advertising. I just couldn't actually tell you what it is.

Aaaanyhoo, SBNation's resident snark expert Jon Bois has been doing a series on the worst slogans in sports. Today, he addressed the NBA's sublime marketing skills. And by sublime I mean a little bit on the sad side. Do any of us actually really latch on to those seasonal catch-phrases? For example... can you name this year's slogan for the Mavs?

Go ahead, think about it for a minute. I'll post the answer after the jump.

That's right, it's "Are You ALL IN?" If you remembered that one, kudos.

Jason Terry Pays a Visit to the Guys on TNT

2012-05-16T13:56:01Z

Jason Terry Pays a Visit to the Guys on TNT

The man has a future in broadcasting.

Point Guard Shopping

2012-05-16T13:45:00Z

Editor's Note: Front-paged for impressive, in-depth analysis!

There was some good discussion and feedback after my post on the center market, so I thought I'd move on and look at the free agency picture for the Mavs when it comes to point guards.

There are many options for the Mavs here, with Jason Kidd and Delonte West entering unrestricted free agency this summer (and potentially not returning), so there will inevitably be some interesting moves here, unlike at center, where the Mavs could conceivably return the same rotation (if they keep Haywood and Mahinmi).

There are 5 starting point guard options that I see (I will address backups briefly at the end).

Starters

1. Deron Williams. The big kahuna. Obviously, Williams is the lone superstar and gem of the 2012 free agent class, and for good reason. People forget, but it was only a couple years ago that D-Will was considered the best point guard in the game, even ahead of Chris Paul (mainly due to Paul's injury concerns at the time). In fact, you could argue that even as soon as last April, Williams had a decent grip on that title, but Paul's impressive play against the Lakers in the first round catapulted him into the top slot in people's minds.

In any case, Williams is an elite all-around point guard. He is an exceptional ball-handler, with a tight handle and solid control of the ball at all times. He's not as quick as Ty Lawson and Tony Parker, but much like Chris Paul, he has a devastating crossover (YouTube has plenty of clips) and has the ability to get in the lane for lay-ups and floaters. The long-range shot is there, and he can often times be very streaky, as evidenced by his 57-point outburst this year, and similar scoring feats in the past. He's also just a really big, strong body at point guard, in the mold of a young Jason Kidd.

More after the jump...

If the Mavs got Williams, it has been strongly suggested that Kidd would stick around and play as a backup. This is an intriguing idea, since it was pretty clear this year that Kidd is unable to contribute greatly for 30+ minutes a game on most nights and the Mavs struggled mightily to create good half-court flow without him (and even with him, frankly). Kidd's play, in general, was also considerably poorer due to astronomically high turnover rates, questionable decision-making, and lack of scoring punch -- his 3-point shot wasn't on for most of the year, and outside of that, he hasn't got much these days.

Williams would solve many of these problems -- he is a far more accomplished scorer and penetrator and would be a great pick-and-pop partner of Dirk Nowitzki's. He seems like a perfect fit for Rick Carlisle's flow offense, and his size and athleticism would help the Mavs be competitive against the new era of uber-athletic point guards (Westbrook, Rondo, Parker, Rose, etc.).

Despite some rhetorical downplaying by Cuban, it seems Donnie Nelson is very locked in on getting D-Will to the Metroplex. At only 27, he would be the perfect guy to take the "keys" from Dirk Nowitzki and help transition into the next era of the Mavericks. Getting him could also attract plenty of other top-flight free agents to Dallas for years to come (cough, Dwight Howard), and would conceivably revive the Mavs' offense from its pathetic 2012 state. Williams would automatically be the best non-Dirk-Nowitzki Mavs player since Steve Nash left, and is considerably better than any other point guard on the market.

I'm not sure what to make of the chances of getting him. Some sources claim we have no better than a 50-50 shot while others suggest he is "leaning towards" Dallas. I would honestly not be shocked either way. Some potential things that could throw a wrench into the Mavs' plans: 1) The Top-3 pick. If the Nets do land a top-3 pick (especially the top pick, which would be Anthony Davis), that could potentially put pressure on D-Will to stay, and 2) If the Dwight Howard trade saga somehow escalates again, and Orlando decides to give in and trade Dwight to the Nets (by all indications, his top choice). These 2 issues could be interrelated -- if the Nets get a top 3 pick, they could potentially package that with Brook Lopez and Marshon Brooks to send in return for Howard. In the end, though, there's a lot of things that have to happen before we can have a clearer picture. As of today, I still think the Mavs are his best option if he really cares about winning.

2. Steve Nash. This is being widely touted as the front office's "Plan B" if they can't land Williams. It would obviously make for an incredible story -- despite having left eight years ago, he and Dirk Nowitzki are still linked more than any other two former teammates I can think of.

At 38, Nash has plenty of game still left in the tank. His minutes were reduced to a shade under 32 this season and his scoring has slightly dipped, but he remains a top-flight assist man (10.7 per game) and a world-class shooter (he shot a blistering 53.2% from the field -- a tie for his career high -- and 39% from 3 this year). Side note: I strongly believe that Nash is the greatest all-around shooter in the history of the game (3's, free throws, from every spot on the floor), and spatial analytics seem to back this up. Not related, but it was really interesting to me, and was brought up at the Sloan Conference.

Like Williams, Nash would bring an immediate spark to the Mavs' half-court offense. He is an absolute "basketball maestro" (as Erik Spoelstra put it) and one of the great pick-and-roll passers of all time -- he's worked wonders over the last few years with overall inferior talent. Bring his skill set to Carlisle's system of floor spacing and ball movement, and the offense would presumably hum. He's also much more of an offensive threat than Jason Kidd as he is a much craftier dribbler in traffic. He also has a variety of cool runners and is pretty good (for a sub-par athlete at point guard these days) at finishing tough lay-ups. Unlike Kidd, though, he can't play good one-on-one defense (or much defense at all, for that matter) and isn't as strong or as good a rebounder, so we would have to bring in a good defensive guard. Kidd is pretty much gone if we get Nash -- highly unlikely that Donnie Nelson wants two 38+-year-old point guards on the team.

If the Mavs got Nash, a quality backup would be an absolute must. There were rumors recently that the Suns are going after Nash with a 2-year $20 million dollar deal. It's flabbergasting to me that the Suns don't want to move on and get their rebuilding project started, but it's probably irrelevant since I don't think Nash will return unless they can acquire a major free agent -- and he's said as much. That said, I think Nash might be worth $10 million per-year for 2 years. He has been freakishly dedicated to taking care of his body for the past several years (healthy eating, sleep, rest, etc.) and I can see him maintaining his current level for the next couple years (especially with the Mavs' well-known use of cryotherapy).

$10 million might sound like a lot, but that's about $9 less than what Deron Williams would demand, so we would presumably have the money to re-sign Delonte West or another quality backup, or even bring Jason Terry back (some of the names available: Kirk Hinrich, Andre Miller, Leandro Barbosa, Jonny Flynn, Keyon Dooling, Baron Davis, John Lucas, Gilbert Arenas, Jannero Pargo, Jamaal Tinsley).

3. Goran Dragic. Dragic is the most intriguing point guard on the market in terms of potential. Nash's former backup in Phoenix, he really burst out onto scene in the Suns' sweep of the Spurs in 2010. Based on his very good play as a starter in Houston during Kyle Lowry's absence this year, he will undoubtedly get many offers from teams needing a starter.

And for good reason. I recently watched some tape of Dragic this year, and I came away amazed at how tremendously skilled he is. He is just so smooth with his dribbling, uses his physical abilities very well, and displays very good playmaking ability -- reminds me quite a bit of a smaller Manu Ginobili.

Dragic is an excellent penetrator and finisher in the lane (kind of like a JJ Barea), has a wide range of creative dribbles (like the Euro-step, behind-the-back, etc.), and can force steals with his active hands and feet on defense. The one possible knock on him is his inconsistent jump shot (he only shot 33.7% from 3 this year), but he still shoots a respectable 46% from the floor and upped his free throw percentage to 80.5%.

He, to me, looks like a classic late bloomer like his former mentor Steve Nash. Admittedly he is not in the mold of a traditional pass-first point guard, but this season he showed improved offensive vision and floor leadership for the Rockets. If he were thrust into the role of starting point guard for the Mavs, I would expect continued development of these qualities, and maybe even evolution into an All-Star-caliber player. Dragic is only 26 and he has a truly exceptional variety of skills, so there is great upside.

I didn't read this anywhere, but I would expect Dragic to command anywhere from $8-10 million a year on the open market. In my opinion, he would be worth that investment for the Mavs if Deron Williams goes elsewhere. I'm not sure whether I would take him over Nash, but he is a good long-term option.

4. Jeremy Lin. You knew this name would be here. I'll admit, I'm a pretty big Jeremy Lin fan. His was one of the greatest rags-to-riches sports stories I can remember, and he just seems like a grounded, nice dude. The Knicks are over the salary cap, so the most they can offer Lin is the mid-level exception, which is around $5 million. Unless New York signs Steve Nash (for more than the minimum), I think it's pretty likely that Lin returns to the Garden, but I'll talk about him anyways.

Pretty much everyone knows about the great run he had with the Knicks in February. During that stretch, he was their primary offensive scorer and he put up some pretty crazy numbers (something like 25 ppg and 11 assists). That obviously didn't sustain, partly due to drastic changes in the offense after Carmelo Anthony's return and the resignation of Mike D'Antoni. Some of Lin's detractors point to this as proof that he is nothing more than a "system point guard." That isn't entirely wrong -- D'Antoni is famous for giving his point guards more freedom than most, and that team really depended heavily on Lin to take shot attempts since heavy minutes were being doled out to journeymen and non-offensive-playmakers (Bill Walker, Jared Jeffries, Tyson Chandler, etc.).

That isn't happening in Dallas. Lin would be expected to transform into more of a pass-first player, an area where he showed some improvement toward the end of the year. Even more generally, though, he just needs to become a more consistent, reliable performer. He has difficulty dealing with intense on-ball pressure (as was exposed in that national TV loss to Miami), sometimes loses control on his drives, and loses track defensively.

For these weaknesses, though, he remains capable of incredible plays -- finishes at the rim, passes, etc -- and tremendous energy and intangibles. The way he lifted that rather rag-tag Knicks outfit to several unbelievable wins was truly unique and inspiring. Lin has had to scrap and claw for every NBA opportunity he's had and he seems to be a very high-character, humble, and hardworking teammate, something that exuded great positive energy and had a big impact on changing the Knicks' culture this season.

5. Chauncey Billups. Mr. Big Shot himself is the last viable starting point guard option I see for the Mavs in 2012. I've always been a huge Billups fan, back from his days with that lovable 2004 Pistons team. Career-wise, he is one of the four most accomplished point guards of the last ten years (along with Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Tony Parker) and has a long resume of playoff success, clutch performances and, well, big shots. Unfortunately, he's also 35 years old and coming off an ACL tear in March that ended his season for the Clippers.

Assuming he recovers fully and in time for the start of the 2012 season, I think Billups will still be a quality starter. His shooting numbers were kind of janky this year, but probably mainly due to the fact that he only played 20 games and it was a weird lockout year in which the Clips played him at two-guard alongside Chris Paul for a while. I would expect his three-point FG percentage to return to around 40% and his field-goal percentage to rise as well (it was a horrific 36% this year). Aside from being a great shooter, Billups is a good floor general, physically strong defender, and savvy veteran presence in the locker room. He also has a lot of familiarity with Rick Carlisle, having played for him back when Carlisle coached the Pistons in 2002. In fact, it was under Carlisle that Billups became a top-shelf point guard in the league.

Given that he is coming off an ACL tear, I think most teams will be wary to offer him big money or a long contract. It's pretty well-known, also, that Billups has no interest in playing for non-contending teams, so it's possible he could be looking for a deal around the mid-level exception or slightly more. Unless Williams, Dragic, and Nash are all off the table this summer (and the free agency period is a total disaster), I can't see the Mavs trying to go after Billups. He's a player that provides a degree of stability and experience at point guard, but not someone who would totally revamp the Mavs' offense immediately. Signing him would also not address the goals of getting younger and more athletic in the backcourt, a real need this summer. Add in the fact that he's coming off an ACL tear, and it seems pretty unlikely the Mavs will sign Billups.

6. Other Randoms That Could Technically Be Somebody's Starter but not the Mavs

- Raymond Felton. Pretty unexciting player who somehow made $7.6 million last year despite shooting 40.7% from the field and 30.5% from 3. He did, however, manage to light up the Mavs from 3 that one game when LaMarcus Aldridge made the game-winner...

- Jameer Nelson. He has a player option this season for $7.8 million and he deserves to be slapped if he actually doesn't pick that up.

- Ramon Sessions. Not really what we're looking for, and he has a player option for $4.6 million this season that he should pick up.

- Baron Davis. Too old. Maybe as a backup, but even that's pushing it.

- George Hill. Very solid role player, but he's a restricted free agent with a $3.1 million qualifying offer. Probably going back to Indiana.

- Leandro Barbosa. Made $7.6 million this year, so he would be out of our price range. But he has excellent penetration abilities, and would be a great JJ-Barea-like player for the Mavs.

- Mo Williams. Has an $8.5 million player option that he should definitely pick up. But even otherwise, the Mavs wouldn't want him.

Backups (I am defining "backup" to mean the primary backup who could play 20-25 minutes a game)

- Jason Kidd. The favorite for this job, assuming D-Will lands in Dallas.

- Delonte West. He had great value this season as he played both guard slots on a minimum contract, and produced very well despite missing 20+ games with a dislocated finger. Teams will probably offer him somewhere between $3-5 million a year to be a backup. Seems unlikely to return if the Mavs sign Deron Williams, but could be a legitimate possibility otherwise. He brings great defensive toughness, an ability to create off the dribble and finish in the lane, and hit outside shots.

- Kirk Hinrich. He played behind Jeff Teague in Atlanta this year and scored 6.6 ppg on 41% shooting (he shot 34.6% from 3). He made an obscene $8 million this past season for that production, but I think he should be available for a lot less this year. Unfortunately, his production overall seems to be trending downwards and he's 31, so he may not be worth bringing in.

- Andre Miller. Would be a very solid backup, in my opinion, behind either Williams or Dragic. He brings a great veteran presence, never misses a game, is a reliable 45% shooter, and averaged the same number of assists despite reduced minutes this season.

- John Lucas. A career benchwarmer who gave the Bulls solid minutes during Derrick Rose's absence this year. He shot well from 3 (39.3%), but he's not that young (29) and doesn't seem to be that much of a playmaker.

- Derek Fisher. Too old to really do much but shoot spot-up jump shots for a team that has plenty of playmakers (like the Thunder). Wouldn't fit well in Dallas.

- Keyon Dooling. Gave the Celtics some decent minutes behind Rondo this season, and can shoot the 3, but appears limited otherwise.

- Patty Mills. He played well in limited time after being signed by the Spurs later this year, so it's probable that he will go back to San Antonio.

The Spurs, the Mavs, Free Agents, and the Future

2012-05-16T05:31:08Z

As I watched the Spurs sail through their second-round opener, making it five relatively comfortable playoff wins in a row in a tough-as-ever Western Conference, two thoughts competed in the red angry mass that is my basketball field of vision.

The first was: They’re even older than us.

That's not 100% true, of course. Sure, Tim Duncan is 36, and injuries have diminished him considerably. Manu is 34. But the real MVP of the Spurs this year has been Tony Parker who, while a Spur forever, is just 29. And, of course, key to their success is the fact that they’ve added guys like the 27 year old Gary Neal, the 23 year old DeJuan Blair, the 24 year old Danny Green and the 20 year old Kawhi Leonard.

Still, what if we’ve been worrying about age three thousand times more than we need to---does anyone think Duncan and Manu, two players older than anybody the Mavs have outside of Kidd and Vince, are done? Duncan’s diminished, sure, but that’s more because of injury than age---and his 26-10-2-2-2 last night wasn’t too shabby. Does anyone think it's time for the Spurs to turn the keys over? Do the Jazz think that?

Is this the team that was done last year, despite winning the most games in the NBA? Could have fooled me.

The second was: When was the last time the Spurs made a big free agent splash?

The answer is, they haven’t. Parker, Duncan, and Manu are all Spurs draft picks. As are Blair and Leonard, and Neal was signed as an undrafted free agent. Does this mean we should fire our own incredibly putrid draft team and hire the Spurs’ by any means possible? Obviously.

But does it cast Mark Cuban’s decisions after last year’s championships in new light? Obviously.

Here’s what we know: Cuban's big gamble is going to be right or wrong based on one thing. And that thing is not whether the Mavericks were playing out the end of their string. JJ Barea is 27. Tyson Chandler is 29. Corey Brewer, who looked pretty good at times for that Nuggets team, is 26. Could the Mavs have put a relatively young, athletic team out there for the next several years, much more capable of competing than this last one? Uh, yes.

Could they have signed Tyson, amnestied Haywood, let everybody go who was going this year, let Marion play out his contract next year, and still have some cap space in 2013 to keep building, rather than rebooting? If they'd believed that Dirk didn't need to be eased out to pasture, if they'd believe that he, like Tim Duncan, could still be competing at 37?

Uh, yes. Dirk at 20 mil, Tyson at 13 is 33 million. Cap last year was 58 mil.

Sure, it would have helped if they’d ever drafted anybody, besides Dirk (and I guess Kidd, sort of) worth a damn. But if Duncan, with plantar fasciitis, at 36, can still put up 28 in a playoff game then Dirk, turning 34, could put up 35---there’s a good reason or two to choose Duncan over Dirk in the all-time rankings, but scoring definitely isn’t one of them—and there’s a way in which the pressure management seems to feel to ease Dirk out to pasture may be very much misplaced. If we regret anything from this era it may very well be that we did not choose to trust the best player, of any sport, that Dallas has ever had (okay, Emmitt Smith obviously deserves some props), to keep on producing for us.

So the one thing Cuban is going to be right about, or not, is whether we’ve entered the era of the super teams. Whether we need a super team to compete.

I cannot blame Cuban for thinking so two years ago, or even a year ago, when everybody thought Carmelo, Amar’e and Chris Paul were destined to rule the Big Apple, when Dwight was supposed to end up with the Lakers. Now, with the failure of the Knicks, and the continued success of the Spurs and Lakers and Thunder, there’s some room for doubt.

This is, by the way, not license to revise Mavericks history to suit us. The problem with the Mavericks has always been their inability to get somebody to play with Dirk. Jason Terry, an extremely one-dimensional player, although one of the best maybe all-time, was never that person. Caron Butler was supposed to be, was obviously a little short for the job, but still could have been, perhaps.

The fact that management has failed to draft anybody besides Dirk, has failed to trade for anybody besides Terry is, probably, just bad luck. All of us want to believe that a good GM MAKES good things happen, but without a lot of luck, all you can do is what Donnie and Mark do---make smart short-term moves. It’s amazing how bad a GM Brian Cashman and Theo Epstein have been these last couple of years, eh?

The Mavs never got Manu with the 57^th pick, and don’t forget that the Spurs tried to trade Parker for years before he turned into what he’s turned into. The Mavs also, by the way, never had one of the best players in the NBA get injured for a whole season so they could get the first overall pick the same year a PF named Tim Duncan was graduating from Wake Forest. In a scrapper’s league, the Mavs have had a lot of scrap, a lot of pluck, and Dirk.

But as we watch the Spurs, the only team in the NBA to have a longer streak of excellence than the Mavericks and with, sadly, a lot more to show for it, let’s remember that a big free agent splash isn’t the only way to build a team---and that 34 isn’t quite as old as Charles Barkley, and maybe Mark Cuban, think it is.

Headcoach Rick Carlisle signs Contract Extension for 4 more Years with the Dallas Mavericks

2012-05-15T19:09:15Z

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed Head Coach Rick Carlisle for four more Years. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed just yet. Technically, it's a contract extension, because his current deal was set to expire by July, 1st.

(Cue Cuban, Mark) "We are excited that Rick will be back with the Mavericks for at least the next four years. He is a proven winner, a great teacher and a coach that will help the Mavericks improve as a team and as an organization."

After two 1st Round blanks and a 2nd Roundcall gone Wright, Carlisle last season finally got the Mavericks over the ~~Trading of~~ Hump and became the 11th Man to win an NBA Championship both as a Player and a Coach.

Rick Carlisle is scheduled to talk about his new Contract, the Mavs, French Fries and, among other things, how to shanghai NBA Players from 4:30 - 5:00 pm on GAC at 103.3 FM Espn.

His former Contract was 4 Years, $ 17.5 Million.

In Order to disguise the Timing Factor in the Race for Deron and not to question if the Contract was done already before, just not announced publically and what Cuban's hard stance on "not doing extensions during running contracts for People not named Dirk" tripped on, here's a poll.

Poll

How much would you pay Rick Carlisle for these next four years?

Rick Carlisle's Contract Is Extended

2012-05-15T18:53:25Z

Rick Carlisle's Contract Is Extended

Hopefully, this is the first of many great off-season moves.

Tanking, Flopping, and Other Things I've Done in Bed

2012-05-13T22:53:44Z

The Mavericks and the Bobcats both tanked this year. That’s by nearly any definition. Each could have been better, possibly significantly better and chose not to be for the same reasons—long-term improvement. For the Bobcats, that entailed trading Stephen Jackson for the 7^th pick and nothing, then trading Gerald Wallace for nothing and two draft picks.

For the Mavericks that meant not picking up the tab on a franchise center who, while an injury risk, may after two healthy seasons be no more so than the next guy, and who could have made the Dallas D respectable for the next half decade.

The results, of course, were markedly different. The Mavericks still had two hall-of-famers, though one has aged to the point that even your old college roommate might think twice about whether it passed the sniff test. The Bobcats had a relatively thin college team and lost more games than you lost beer pong games to your old college roommate.

Ah, memories.

But you know what the thing about tanking is? You have to decide what you want. If you, like a lot of people I know and LeBron James, think there is no point in even playing basketball unless you are definitely guaranteed a championship forever, you have no right to complain about tanking. Because there’s no other way to win a championship. You need the best players, and you don’t get them by being over cap, or, like the Houston Rockets, being just good enough to keep missing the playoffs.

If, like me, you’re pretty happy to get the chance to watch a good basketball team win most of its games and a playoff series or two (now, of course, that the Mavericks finally HAVE one, not really before), then I think you do have a right to expect that not just your ticket money but your passion is rewarded with a good faith effort to win basketball games.

But: superstars do get old, players do get hurt, cap space and draft picks are both valuable things and overall—overall—it can be pretty hard to separate tanking from good strategy, winning strategy, even in the immediate. Hell, if Lamar Odom had turned out, or Roddy Beaubois had developed, the Mavs might even have won a playoff series or two. And if Bismack Biyombo who, like all project centers always, will never amount to anything despite what Chad Ford and some over-geeky bloggers will tell you, were—oh, I don’t know, let’s say Kawhi Leonard or Iman Shumpert—odds are pretty decent that the Cats wouldn’t have been so bad either. Or, if they’d just been luckier last year and gotten Kyrie, say.

The other thing, of course, is that tanking, like all basketball strategies, is very risky. It's pretty hard to see the Bobcats plethora of draft picks turning into a championship caliber team, but it's worth noting that that's exactly how the Thunder ended up with their three-headed monster, and how the Wolves got Rubio and Love (with a really bad trade thrown in there, too). And the Mavericks, of course, didn't refuse Chandler entirely to get Deron and Dwight, but at least partially because there's no point in anchoring a defense for five years that doesn't have any productive players on it, and with the state of the rest of the team it seemed like that was a losing strategy.

I, of course, don't know. I do know that an under-reported problem with the Mavs' three-headed monster hopes is that Dirk, at this stage of his career, makes more money than LeBron and Bosh at this stage in their careers. So, James' "taking a little bit less" resulted in him making 16 mil, while Dirk's resulted him making 19 mil, and it's pretty hard to get three guys with that number looming.

So, but. I don’t really have a problem with tanking. I have a problem with flopping. Flopping is the worst.

And it completely astounds me that more isn’t done about it. Because there are some super simple rules that would make all the difference. In fact, I am going to suggest just two right now that are totally going to blow your mind-hole AND change the game forever. Ready?

1) A player cannot draw a charge if he is more than 4 inches taller than the offending player. As much as we all love the charges that LeBron James draws on, say, Jason Terry, my guess is The King could have stayed on his feet if he really wanted to. The same for all those diving centers out there.

2) A player can only draw a charge if he is in a defensive position that makes any kind of sense for the play that is going on.

I mean why the hell is it even a foul for a guy to get his feet down in time to be touched by another person on a basketball court? Why should Chris Paul be able to draw a foul by dribbling in front of you and stopping? Surely—surely—the only reason a charge is a foul is to keep people from just going through other people on the way to the basket. So why call it in literally any situation where that hasn’t happened?

I have all kinds of complaints, obviously—and obviously, the prominence of officiating is the worst part of being a basketball fan. I hate Kevin Durant’s rip move which, despite the league’s protestations, is still 100% in force. I hate how James Harden and LeBron James go down like someone shot them, and Dwyane Wade right behind them. But for me, flopping to draw charges is the silliest thing in the league, and the easiest to fix.

But hit me ‘up below! Tanking, Flopping. The "Velvet Sombrero". Let me know what you’re thinking about.