Posted - 05/22/2008 : 18:56:18 Given the gift of hindsight and the Stars' inspired 18-game playoff run, it's easy to call the Brad Richards trade a big winner.
Using that same hindsight and studying that five-game playoff cameo appearance made by your Mavericks, we can say the Jason Kidd trade ... wait, it's still going to work. I think. Back to that in a minute.
First, Richards. If Brenden Morrow and Marty Turco were the key guys that made the Stars one of the last three NHL teams still standing Monday night, then Richards is right there in the next group.
I applauded the Stars for making the deal but was apprehensive about the long-term effects based on Richards' salary ($7.8 million) in a league with a legitimate salary cap, not that thing the NBA uses.
But given Richards' work on the power play, on the penalty kill, 5-on-5 with linemates Loui Eriksson and Joel Lundqvist and occasionally playing with Mike Modano on his wing, you can easily see how the Stars will benefit from his diverse skills for years to come.
He was pretty pumped about it, too, even in the aftermath of a Game 6 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
"For a guy that just got here, being able to see all the different things we were able to do to find ways to win playoff games, it's pretty exciting for next year," Richards said. "It's all a process. Detroit didn't just now get good. It takes time to grow."
Growing into a winning team around Richards and Mike Ribeiro will be easy. When you've got Mike Modano tagged as your No. 3 center, still able to contribute on the power play (five goals, three game-winners) and penalty kill, that's depth up the middle.
Richards just turned 28. He won a Conn Smythe Trophy at 24.
Moving from a failing Tampa Bay squad to a surging team energized his game. Now he can help lead the Stars into the next decade.
OK, back to that team and that trade some of you have so many doubts about.
For why the Kidd deal will work better next season, I give you Reggie Miller.
"Rick Carlisle is one of the top three offensive coaches in this league," said Miller, who played for him at Indiana. "He's right there with Larry Brown and Pat Riley in his ability to come up with a play to win a game.
"The key for Dallas is for Rick and Jason to get on the same page. And Rick loves to meet with players, go to their houses, go to dinner with them and just talk basketball. So I know he can make it happen."
Carlisle went to dinner with Kidd in Dallas last week shortly after being introduced as coach. He knows he has a point guard far different from Indiana's Jamaal Tinsley and that he has to create an offense that emphasizes Kidd's strengths.
"We're not going to try to reinvent basketball," Carlisle said Wednesday. "We've got to play to people's strengths as much as we can. When it comes to devising a style of play, Jason Kidd is a very good defensive guard and a very good rebounding guard.
"A lot of the fast break stuff he does comes off when he rebounds. We've got to make sure we've got the rest of the players running with him."
As he did in his news conference, Carlisle emphasized that the Mavericks will have to be in the best shape of their lives.
That's mostly the players' job. Then it's Carlisle's job to put them in shape to win playoff games. There's still a two-year window for that to happen with Kidd.
"Jason's one of the most creative guards in the league," Miller said. "He can't be looking over to the bench to see what Rick wants to run. He has to know Rick's offense inside and out so it's second nature for him.
"If he can do that, then with the players they still have, they can be an offensive force in this league and get right back to where they were."
That seems like a long way off after watching two first-round exits. But it doesn't have to be.
