It's been a strange week in Mavsland as first there was a trade, then
there wasn't a trade, then lots more trade talk, and finally the trade
occurred. Wednesday afternoon, word came out that Dallas was going to
trade Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, Devean
George, 2 1st round picks, and cash to New Jersey for Jason Kidd and Malik
Allen and a separate trade of 2 2nd round picks to New Jersey for Antoine
Wright. Then word came out that even though Stack was included in the
trade, he wouldn't be leaving Dallas as the Nets would release him and he
would rejoin the Mavs after the required 30-day wait period. There was a
game against Portland in Dallas that night and as of 7 pm no official word
had come out that the deal was done. Then came extra confusion as Diop
and George came out of the tunnel with the team and George was actually
introduced as a starter. Diop also played in the game, while Harris and
Stackhouse were still out with injury (adding to speculation was the fact
that neither joined the bench in street clothes, which they normally do).
[Also, New Jersey sat out their 3 players for Wednesday's game.] So after
the game I finally found out what had happened - George had used his right
to refuse the trade. Since George was on his 2nd 1-year contract with
Dallas, he contractually had the right to decide whether or not he would
be included in a trade as being traded would mean that he would lose his
early-Bird rights (not to go into too much detail, but it would lessen the
amount he could re-sign with Dallas, including potential sign-and-trade
deals). The Mavs were surprised by this refusal as they had thought that
George had wanted out of Dallas as he had a few weeks ago expressed his
displeasure with his reduced and inconsistent minutes. [Also note: if you
read or interpreted reading that George was loudly boo'ed during the
Portland game, that was not the case. George had said that some fans near
courtside had made some comments, but I heard no boo'ing what-so-ever from
my seats at the top of the lower bowl.] So that deal was dead as George
stuck to his guns in his refusal to be involved in the trade. Word came
during All-Star weekend that the Mavs and Nets were again talking and now
retired Keith Van Horn's name was in the mix, with the Mavs still holding
full Bird-rights to Van Horn (ability to re-sign for any amount). Then
came rumors that the league was going to step in and nix the trade or fine
the Mavs or prevent Stackhouse returning to Dallas regarding Stackhouse's
statement that he was going to be released and re-join Dallas after the
trade. Then came word on Sunday night that the trade was back on with a
new configuration and that trade was submitted to the league, delayed for
a day due to league officials having trouble traveling from New Orleans
back to New York, and finally approved on Tuesday. I never heard word as
to whether or not Stackhouse was removed from the trade due to concerns
about the league nixing the deal or if it was due to the Mavs not wanting
to have to play 30 days without a key component in the ultra tight Western
Conference (the 2nd reason seems more likely since David Stern basically
said during his State of the League address that the league had no way of
proving that there was a pre-arranged trade-and-release-and-return deal
between Dallas and New Jersey and Stackhouse).
So anywho, the trade that actually occurred is Dallas traded Devin Harris,
DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, Keith Van Horn, a 2008 1st
round draft pick (lottery protected), a 2010 1st round draft pick (no
protections), and $3 million to New Jersey for Jason Kidd, Malik Allen,
and Antoine Wright. In a sign-and-trade, Van Horn was first signed to a 3
year contract with only the 1st year (worth $4.3 million) guaranteed.
Both teams took more of a financial hit than they would have with the
original deal as Mark Cuban is going to get hit with a higher luxury tax
bill as well as more straight-up salary and New Jersey preferred George's
1
year contract to Hassell's 2 year remaining contract. Also interesting of
note is that both Ager and Wright were drafted the same year and Dallas
had picked up Ager's 4th year option and New Jersey elected not to pick up
Wright's 4th year option.
Also of note is that Dallas released Nick Fazekas. The Mavs needed an
open roster spot for the signing of Van Horn and Fazekas was the odd man
out. I felt sorry for Fazekas as not only did he get cut, but he lost his
spot in the NBADL All-Star game (where he could have showcased himself for
NBA scouts) for nothing, With the pending trade on Wednesday, the Mavs
had recalled the rookie from the NBADL, thinking the team would need the
extra body. Fazekas had been selected to play in the NBADL All-Star game,
but had to be assigned to the NBADL to be eligible to play in the game.
Then he was released 3 days after the game.
The Mavs had a press conference later on Tuesday and introduced the 3 new
players before having their first practice. Everyone echoed the comments
that it was a bizarre week with all the trade-on, trade-off talk and
uncertainty, but happy that the deal got done. Allen and Wright were
asked to make opening statements and, as expected, were completely ignored
during the press Q&A. Cuban did point out that Dirk Nowitzki and Josh
Howard were kept informed as to the situation regarding the trade. A
lighter moment occurred when a (probably Puerto Rican) reporter asked Kidd
about J.J. Barea and Avery Johnson took the microphone, with a grin on his
face, and said don't answer that and that there is no quarterback
controversy and Kidd is the starter. Another lighter moment was when Kidd
was explaining why he picked #2 (and probably the longest answer of the
media session), he said that he didn't even consider asking for #5 as that
was Josh's number, but did briefly consider #32 (3+2=5 and he wore that
number in Phoenix) but decided not to as "Brandon Bass is much bigger than
me".
As for my opinion on the trade: I don't like it. I absolutely hated the
original trade, so the delay and re-worked deal did lessen my dislike.
With Kidd's age and Devin's youth, the Mavs' window just shrunk from about
5 years to about 1 1/2 years. Plus Dallas gave up their backup center
without getting a center back. 6-8 Brandon Bass is now Dallas' backup
center - he's fine for spot minutes as center, but I don't like him as the
full-time backup. The Mavs do have 2 open roster spots now and will
likely use one of them to pick up a center, but likely will not be able to
replace the athletism that they lost with Diop. [There are not many
pickings out there for centers, but here's hoping that P.J. Brown
re-considers his retirement and joins Dallas.] The Mavs do still have
their mid-level exemption to offer, but with the money hit Cuban took with
the trade, they might only be willing to offer minimum. Losing Hassell
and Ager doesn't mean much/anything (they still have George and I've never
been impressed with Ager and was shocked when the Mavs picked up his
option). Getting Allen and Wright doesn't mean much either as Allen has
been around a few seasons without much of an impact and New Jersey wasn't
impressed enough with Wright to pick up his option. The picks don't mean
anything either - they should be late in the draft and it's a complete
crapshot there (can find a player there, but mostly likely will not). I
hate losing Devin Harris. I freely admit that I'm a Devin fan (though not
as unabashedly as my dad) and was quite thrilled when the Mavs were able
to reach an extension agreement last summer. I hate giving up his youth
and potential and shooting for Kidd's age and lack of shooting. I'm not a
Kidd fan - he's a great, great player, but never has been able to shoot,
his off-the-court problems bother me, and, yes, there is still some
bitterness from the 3 Js breakup. It's funny that I don't like the trade
for getting Kidd back as I absolutely despised the trade when Dallas got
rid of Kidd - I found out during halftime during that Golden State game
that the Mavs had traded Kidd and was so upset that I nearly left the game
(something I've never done, no matter how bad the game was). But that was
at the start of what was obviously going to be a great career and now he's
at the end of that career. As much as I don't like this trade, I can
easily be proven wrong - but the only way to do so is for Dallas to win a
championship in the next 2 years. Rating the trade is a simple as that -
Dallas wins a championship and it's a great trade; Dallas doesn't win a
championship and it's a terrible trade. It will be interesting to see if
the Mavs' total assist numbers change with the trade - I don't expect them
to. Most expect them to, but the reality is that Dallas hasn't been a
high assist team in ages - even when Steve Nash was still here, the Mavs
still had low assist numbers. And with Kidd joining the team with only 29
games left in the season, I don't expect Dallas' offensive system to
change much.
Quotes
Donn Nelson on the trade not being a reaction to other teams making
trades: "Plain and simple, this gives us the best chance to win a
championship. That's really what it comes down to. It wasn't based on
anything else or what other people were doing. It was the right time to
make a move based on the internal needs of our team."
Nelson on the players traded away: "We owe an incredible debt to all
players that we're losing. They were a huge part of our success. Devin
is going to be a star in the future. There is no question about it.
We're going to miss Gana too. This is the toughest part of our business.
Those are two young guys with extremely bright futures. We wish them
nothing but the best. Mavs fans and family owe them a huge debt of
gratitude."
Mark Cuban on the struggles to make this trade happen: "It's been the most
amazing, interesting trade we've ever done - and we've done some doozies
here. [The re-worked trade is] a little better basketball-wise. It's
just a little bit more painful checkbook-wise."
Cuban on why the trade happened: "I don't think there was a moment when we
thought we had to change it up. I think it was just being opportunistic.
We've always said all along if the right deal comes along, we'll take a
look at it. That was it more than anything. Coach and I were talking.
We were both like 'we really, really like our team. If it's the right
move, do it. If it's not the right move, don't do it.' We've always had
the attitude that we have a team that could win a championship this year
coming in."
Avery Johnson: "This is a great day for me to have an outstanding
quarterback join our team. Somebody that when you're in the red zone can
help you get touchdowns, and that's what we want. Malik Allen and
Antoine, we're also glad to have them. I was sharing with them a story.
When Mark traded for Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel years ago, I was
actually just called the 'throw in'. But I told them I think this is a
great opportunity."
Johnson on Kidd: "He's an experienced quarterback. He's been through a
lot of big games, he's been through a lot of playoff games. He's strong,
he's durable, he's big, and he has a high basketball IQ."
Johnson on losing Diop: "We can't allow as much penetration, especially
with our 2nd unit because we're going to be a little smaller with Malik
and Bass and Juwan in there. We're going to have to play it a little bit
differently, scramble a little bit more. But we're going to have to do a
better job with dribble penetration because Diop is not going to be back
there to alter a lot of those shots."
Jason Kidd: "There's no bigger reward than to have that championship
trophy in your hand. That's why I'm here. Because Dallas has its eye on
that prize."
Kidd: "That's all I want - to win a championship. It's not guaranteed,
but you want to play for it. When you take the floor with the Mavericks,
you're on that path to win a championship."
Kidd on the difference from his first time with Dallas: "I was excited to
have this opportunity - this 2nd opportunity - to come back, just because
I thought the 1st time around it wasn't a fair shot. The average age [of
that team] might have been 22, 23 years old. We were a lot of fun to
watch, but we just didn't understand how to win. And now understanding
the 4th quarter and 6 minutes left in the game, how to win, gives me a
better opportunity and wisdom to help the Mavericks win."
Kidd on his 1st practice: "It's kind of like your 1st day of school or 1st
day of training camp, just trying to catch on. We have 29 games left, so
most of the guys were great in helping us new guys with the plays. Coach
explained it extremely well, so we'll do some studying tonight and see how
our first test goes tomorrow."
Dirk Nowitzki: "I think it's going to be great to know when somebody's
open he's going to get the ball. With me playing with Nash for so many
years, some of the passes you just took for granted. Over the last couple
of years, those looks just weren't there."
Nowitzki: "I'm excited the whole deal is finally done. We got so far and
deep into [the trade talk], there was really no way back. It's definitely
a great day, but it's a sad day to see those teammates go. I'll always
consider Gana as one of the greatest teammates I've ever had in my career.
I love Devin. So it's tough to see those guys go."
Josh Howard: "I'm going to miss Devin. He's one of my best teammates, as
well as Gana and Moe. It's sad to see them go, but it's a business. We
picked up a hell of a player in Jason. It's exciting. I'm looking
forward to getting out on the court with him tomorrow."
Malik Allen: "This is a great opportunity for myself and Antoine and
Jason. Opportunities like this don't come along too often where you get a
chance to play for a contender. So I'm obviously very excited for the
opportunity to be around a great organization, great teammates. I'm just
hoping to make the best of it. Like I said, I have a great opportunity to
play in Dallas."
Antoine Wright, Texas A&M alumn: "Obviously, I'm happy to be back in
Texas. Excited to be playing on a good team. Excited to still be with
Jason. I'm just excited to be part of a winning team. I'm going to try
to do my best to make an impact on the court."
Rod Thorn on trading Kidd: "Over the course of time it became very evident
that his heart wasn't in it. The kind of player he is, if his heart's not
in it then he's not the same player, and it became evident to me that his
heart wasn't in it anymore. It just wasn't going to work."
Thorn: "At the end of the day, we made a trade that we feel for the future
will be good for us. And Dallas made one that they feel for the present
will be a good trade for them."
Lawrence Frank on Kidd: "He's a once in a lifetime type of guy to play
with and coach. He's had an unbelievable impact on everyone in this
organization and we wish him nothing but the best."
Devin Harris: "I know what kind of player I am. We've been to the Finals
with me starting before. [Dallas was] in a situation where they had to
respond with what's going on with the West right now. So you just have to
look at it and take it for what it is."
Harris: "I have a new future to look forward to. I'm looking forward to
having a little bit more control, a little bit more freedom over there. I
love my teammates here, so it's mixed emotions, but I'm excited about the
new challenge."
Harris: "It's not like I was traded for guys who are role players. I
mean, Jason is a Hall of Famer and it's just going to be hard [in New
Jersey] to fill those shoes that he left. But I'm just trying to be my
own person and I'm looking forward to the freedom I'm going to get here to
do what I look to do, like score and do the things that I'm capable of
doing."
Harris: "I've worked hard the last 4 years, just trying to get better
every year in the system I was in. It was a controlled system, but
hopefully with the freedom now I can expand on that and really do the
things that I can do well."
patricia
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Patricia Bender pbender@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html
For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html
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