Anyone else see something wrong with this article or am I reading too much into it?
Trade weight finally off Finley's shoulders
Constant speculation made life 'difficult' for veteran guard
02/25/2002
By MARC STEIN / The Dallas Morning News
The phone has stopped ringing, for Mark Cuban and Michael Finley. The Mavericks beat Thursday's deadline with their annual blockbuster trade, and Finley, to his relief, wasn't in it.
On Sunday, Finley insisted he wasn't as close to leaving Dallas as leaguewide trade tattle suggested. But the senior Maverick also acknowledged it was "difficult" hearing constant speculation – and that he knows he's playing for an owner who will "keep shuffling the deck until we get the perfect hand."
"I was strong enough to get past it," Finley said. "It was difficult more so for all my family and friends, reading and hearing it on the news. Every phone call wasn't about the team, it was about me getting traded. So when I tried to avoid the situation, I couldn't get away from it.
"But I feel as if it really came down to it, if they were seriously thinking about getting rid of me, I think Mark and [Don Nelson] are man enough to confront me. The fact they didn't mention anything to me, and continued to treat me the same, I don't think anything was close to going down."
The speculation started when the Mavericks responded to the first extended injury absence of Finley's career with a 12-1 record, albeit mostly against lesser opposition. Dallas is 7-5 since Finley's return, with the two-time All-Star admittedly playing "just OK" in that stretch, averaging 16.6 points on 41.8-percent shooting.
Finley's coach offered a quick "no" when asked if Finley is improving. "But he will," Nelson said. "He's been a little indecisive. He's not playing where he needs to be, but he'll get better."
Nelson added that he has no plans to sit down with Finley to dispel any of the speculation, saying "everyone's name gets tossed around in the papers eventually." Nelson's focus is restoring Finley to full capacity while blending in newcomers Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel.
Finley, meanwhile, just seems pleased to be talking about something else, even if it is shooting struggles.
"I guess it's good for me not to be peaking right now," he said. "When I first came back it was kind of a mental thing, because I didn't want to get hurt any more. I was thinking more about missing the shot than making the shot. Now I'm just going out there and playing."
Without the threat of being dealt.
"Until summer," Finley said with a grin.
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