NBA
Trade of Kidd to Mavericks is called off at last minute
E-Mail Article
Printer-Friendly
3-Column Format
Translate
Share Article
Text Size
A blockbuster trade that would have sent Jason Kidd to Dallas, further escalating a virtual arms race in the NBA's Western Conference, has fallen apart, leaving confusion all around.
Kidd, who plays for the New Jersey Nets, and the Mavericks had agreed in principle on a multiplayer deal, with the Nets receiving a package built around guard Devin Harris. But one of the players the Nets would have received, forward Devean George, exercised his right not to be traded, scuttling the deal late Wednesday.
It left Dallas still looking for reinforcements to contend in the West, and the Nets still looking for a way to unload Kidd, who has become openly disillusioned with his situation in New Jersey.
"We're not trying to block anything," said Mark Bartelstein, George's agent. "Devean has the right to say yes or no because he has to give up a valuable right."
The right Bartelstein referred to was George's so-called "Larry Bird rights," which would allow the Mavericks to give George a lucrative new contract, up to the league maximum, after the season.
Today in Sports
Because George signed a one-year deal last summer, league rules stipulate that he must forfeit the Bird rights if he is traded this season. That could potentially cost George millions of dollars, because most teams (including the Nets) would be able to offer him only the midlevel exception, which starts around $5.4 million.
"The last thing we want to do is cause any grief for the Mavericks or the Nets," Bartelstein said. "Right now, Devean doesn't feel it's best to do this."
Bartelstein said that George "feels pretty strongly" and is unlikely to change his mind. That means the Mavericks and the Nets must find another way to construct the trade - always challenging under the NBA's complex rules - or abandon it.
As late as Wednesday afternoon, most of the parties seemed to be preparing for an announcement, and the subsequent shuffling of bodies from East to West.
"It is a done deal," a representative for one of the players involved said.
Kidd did not play Wednesday night in the Nets' 109-91 loss at Toronto.
The trade would have resolved the tension between Kidd - who was upset with the Nets' direction - and the team's front office. He declared publicly in late January that he wanted to be dealt.
The move would have put the Nets on a possible rebuilding path and strengthened the Mavericks for what is shaping up to be an epic battle in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers set off the arms race Feb. 1 by acquiring Pau Gasol, an All-Star power forward, from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Phoenix Suns responded five days later by obtaining Shaquille O'Neal, one of the dominant big men in the league's history, from the Miami Heat. Along the way, the Golden State Warriors signed Chris Webber and the San Antonio Spurs signed Damon Stoudamire. Then the Mavericks tried to enter the fray, by bringing Kidd (who turns 35 next month) back to the team that drafted him in 1994. The key to the deal was Harris, a four-year veteran who is about to turn 25 and is averaging 14.4 points and 5.3 assists. The Nets would have also received George, the swingmen Jerry Stackhouse and Maurice Ager and center DeSagana Diop, plus first-round picks in 2008 and 2010, according to the player representative, who was granted anonymity because the deal was not yet official. A Western Conference executive who spoke with two agents involved in the deal also confirmed the details of the trade, first reported by ESPN.com. Stackhouse, a key fixture on the Mavericks team that went to the 2006 finals, was then expected to be waived by the Nets so he could re-sign with Dallas. Under league rules, Stackhouse would have to wait 30 days before rejoining the Mavericks. "I get 30 days to rest, then I'll be right back," Stackhouse told The Associated Press. "I ain't going nowhere." The Western Conference executive speculated that the Stackhouse twist might have doomed the trade anyway. According to the executive, it is a violation of NBA trade rules to agree in advance to waive a player. Stackhouse's public admission of a prearranged deal could have prompted the commissioner's office to intervene. In Kidd, a triple-double artist and one of the best point guards of his generation, the Mavericks would have added a steely leader renowned for defense and mental toughness, qualities that seemed to be lacking when Dallas lost in the first round of last year's playoffs.Kidd was acquired by the Nets in 2001 and immediately turned them from perennial doormats into two-time Eastern Conference champions. The deal would have carried considerable risks for Dallas. Kidd is nearing the twilight of his career and has further taxed his body as a member of the U.S. national team that won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas tournament last August. Kidd will lead the team into the Olympics this summer in Beijing. Trading Diop also would have left Dallas weakened in the frontcourt at a time when their rivals all got stronger. The Lakers boast a tandem of Gasol and (once he gets healthy) Andrew Bynum. The Suns have O'Neal and Amare Stoudemire. San Antonio has Tim Duncan. The Mavericks are left with the foul-prone Erick Dampier and Dirk Nowitzki, who would have trouble guarding O'Neal and Bynum.The New York Times
Latest News
