Buck agrees to deal with Sixers. - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Dooby · 07-18-2002, 08:45 AM

Dwain Price should rename his column to "Tomorrow's Valade Article Today". He is consistantly a day ahead.
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MAVERICKS NOTES
Mavs seek deal for departing Buckner
By DWAIN PRICE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS - Mavericks guard Greg Buckner has agreed to sign a six-year, $18 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

However, the Mavericks and Sixers are trying to work out a deal that could sweeten the pot for both teams.

The Sixers would have to take a slice out of their $4.5 million mid-level salary cap exception in order to pay Buckner, not an idea they're relishing. Meanwhile, the Mavericks are not relishing the thought of Buckner - an unrestricted free agent - leaving their nest without receiving compensation.

Thus, the Mavericks and Sixers are trying to involve Buckner in a sign-and-trade deal. That way the Sixers wouldn't have to dip into their mid-level exception and the Mavericks would receive a player and/or draft choices in return.

"If [the Sixers] were to sign him, they would have to eat into their $4.5 million exception," said Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks' president of basketball operations. "They want to maintain flexibility, and in order to do that they have to come to us and we have to agree to a sign-and-trade."

Buckner, 26, has played his entire career with the Mavericks, who chose him in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft. The rugged 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard is one of the team's top defenders and averaged 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 52.5 percent from the field in 44 games last season.

Wednesday, Buckner said he was "shocked" that he never received a contract offer from the Mavericks, which is why he agreed to sign with the Sixers.

"The Mavericks told me one thing, and nothing [happened]," Buckner said. "That's the way it is. But I'm happy with my situation in Philly."

Buckner said he is looking forward to playing in Philadelphia with controversial guard Allen Iverson, the 2000-01 league MVP.

"You can never replace a core group like you've got in Dallas," Buckner said. "But A.I. gets so much attention [from defenders] that it's going to open up things for guys, especially for guys like myself, to go to the boards."

The Sixers lost to the Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals, and Buckner believes a rash of injuries prevented them from repeating as Eastern Conference champions this past season.

"I wanted to go to a contender, and my wish came true," he said. "I've just got to go out there and play hard for them.

"I had a lot of fun in Dallas. I will never trade that for anything in the world."

Tough negotiator

The Mavericks are bracing for some tough negotiations with one of the NBA's hard-line agents, Dan Fegan.

Fegan represents Mavericks restricted free-agent forward Eduardo Najera, a key figure in the team's advance to the second round of the playoffs last season. Fegan is expected to ask for a deal similar to the six-year, $34 million contract ex-Mavericks center Calvin Booth signed with Seattle last summer.

But since the NBA's economic climatic has taken a drastic change over the past year, owners and management teams are less inclined to offer top dollar to second-tier free agents like Najera. Especially since the salary cap has decreased - for the first time in league history - from $42.5 million to $40.271 million and the dollar-for-dollar luxury-tax threshold has been reduced from the expected $54 million to approximately $50 million.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said more than half of the 29 NBA teams will be over the luxury-tax threshold next season.

"That could mean players not getting signed," Cuban said, "and hopefully something interesting being available."

That also could mean a player like Najera not receiving what he believes he's worth.

"I do think it'll be a shame if it didn't work out, because Eddie's a perfect fit in the locker room and on the court," Donnie Nelson said. "He's a great guy, the guys really love him, and I think that he knows exactly what he has here as far as the expectations on the floor, the quality of teammates in the locker room, the situation with Mark and everything being first-class and the style of play here."

Harris leaving?

Mavericks assistant coach Del Harris is one of five finalists for the Nuggets' coaching job.

Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke will soon meet separately with Harris, Nets assistant Eddie Jordan and Jazz assistant Phil Johnson. Kroenke is also expected to meet with Nuggets assistant Clyde Drexler and Kentucky coach Tubby Smith.

The Nuggets hope to announce their new coach next week.

Briefly

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame during the seventh-inning stretch of Friday afternoon's game between the Cubs and Astros at Chicago's Wrigley Field.

Since NBA salaries and benefits from the 2001-02 season did not comprise more than 61.1 percent of basketball-related income, approximately $77 million of the $153 million that was automatically deducted from all players' paychecks and placed in an escrow account must now be given back to the players. That means, for example, the Mavericks must return $531,250 of the $1.0625 million that was deducted from guard Michael Finley's contract last season.

MavKikiNYC · 07-18-2002, 08:49 AM

Or we could just start calling Valade "Echo"...

Dooby · 07-18-2002, 08:50 AM

<< Wednesday, Buckner said he was "shocked" that he never received a contract offer from the Mavericks, which is why he agreed to sign with the Sixers. >>

[Insert generic Savovic joke here.]

mpb319 · 07-18-2002, 09:14 AM

Who do you think we would get in a sign and trade with Philly?
Does anybody think it could be a multi-player deal?
The only person on Philly's roster that I like is Alvin Jones Jr.
I saw him when he was in high school and followed him thru his college career at Ga.Tech. He is a big kid who only plays D and rebounds. If we could get him included in the deal we would be a whole lot better off.

MavKikiNYC · 07-18-2002, 09:20 AM

Harpring.

aexchange · 07-18-2002, 09:22 AM

matt harpring off the top of my head.
eric snow would be a good fit also if we decide to dump van exel.

the skinny kid thats a pf that they drafted last year who is a shot blocker. forgot his name.
or aaron mckie would fit nicely also. but we probably couldnt get him for buckner.

Nellie · 07-18-2002, 09:27 AM

Definitely Harpring.

Big Boy Laroux · 07-18-2002, 09:31 AM

the skinny kid... are you thinking of dalembert?

seelenjaeger · 07-18-2002, 09:39 AM

if we plan to trade Nick vanE it could be Raja Bell and a 2nd rounder ...

mpb319 · 07-18-2002, 09:41 AM

Harpring is a free agent....that wouldn't help Philly at all. I went to realgm.com and looked at their roster...boy does it suck. The only person making any money who we could possibly use is Snow...but then they have NO PG.
Alvin Jones and Damone Brown aren't making any money although they would help us by being young and athletic in Brown's case and big in Jones' case.

Big Boy Laroux · 07-18-2002, 09:43 AM

well, if it's a sign and trade, harpring and buck can swap teams. if harpring has no plans to sign with the sixers, this actually works out well for them. they give up a player that wanted to leave anyway, rather than lose someone else in the S&T.

MavKikiNYC · 07-18-2002, 09:48 AM

<< Harpring is a free agent....that wouldn't help Philly at all. I went to realgm.com and looked at their roster...boy does it suck. The only person making any money who we could possibly use is Snow...but then they have NO PG.
Alvin Jones and Damone Brown aren't making any money although they would help us by being young and athletic in Brown's case and big in Jones' case. >>

Is RealGM worthless for everyone else now? When I take a look at it, it looks like it's in mid-renovation--lots of parsing error messages, and incomplete info. I wouldn't go on anything based on RealGM for now. Something weird has been happening with that site for sometime now.

I think that Harpring is a restricted FA like Buck. But I think he might make considerably more money.

mpb319 · 07-18-2002, 10:13 AM

Bell is a free agent too.
Here is Philly's roster...McKie is basically untradeable because of Base Year Compensation...Bryant can't be traded again for a few months.

Player ....... Salary Ratio...Yrs Remaining
Dikembe Mutombo ...58.9 ..... 2
Allen Iverson .....45.2 ..... 2
Derrick Coleman....34.3 ..... 0
Aaron McKie ......16.4 ..... 5 BYC1
Eric Snow .....15.1 ..... 3
Mark Bryant ..... 4.0 ..... 0 TRT
Efthimis Rentzias...3.3 ..... 4 TRS
Samuel Dalembert ...3.0 ..... 3
Damone Brown .....1.9 ..... 0
Alvin Jones .....1.9 ..... 0

Big Boy Laroux · 07-18-2002, 10:32 AM

free agents can be traded in a sign and trade! argh...

Drbio · 07-18-2002, 10:42 AM

Wednesday, Buckner said he was "shocked" that he never received a contract offer from the Mavericks, which is why he agreed to sign with the Sixers.

I think Savovic had something to do with this. I'm shocked too.

Rhylan · 07-18-2002, 10:46 AM

<< I think that Harpring is a restricted FA like Buck. But I think he might make considerably more money. >>

Buck is unrestricted. We have Buck's Bird rights.
Buck is unrestricted. We have Buck's Bird rights.
Buck is unrestricted. We have Buck's Bird rights.
Buck is unrestricted. We have Buck's Bird rights.

Last time I'm saying this [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Edit:

Harpring made $1.9 mil in 01-02.
Buck made $1.2 mil.

A double S&T is a very good fit here, if Philly is willing to part with Harpring.

Too bad the Spurs already swooped in and got Speedy Claxton. Boy, then NVE could be shopped like a mo'fo'.

I'd take a double S&T with Derrick McKey (the old Pacer) if he wasn't 100 years old. He used to be a solid defender. Tall, too.

Aaron McKie's BYC designation would make him a good fit, too, actually! But Philly isn't letting him go. Too bad.

I'm gonna read up on S&T's. See what's out there. If three-ways can happen, etc.

MavKikiNYC · 07-18-2002, 10:51 AM

Thanks, Ag.

Now give the nuance.

Careful now...we might learn somethin'.

mpb319 · 07-18-2002, 10:59 AM

Buck has already signed a deal....6 years $18 million.
The article says Philly is trying to retain flexibility and not eat up their mid level exception. Maybe Harpring will sign for that much but I doubt it...I believe he was making more than that last season.
I would take Jones and or Brown and a draft pick....whatever it would take to equal Buck's new contract.

mpb319 · 07-18-2002, 11:04 AM

If Harpring made 1.9 last season then an average of 3 million might get his signature. Then Harpring could be traded for Buck and it wouldn't hit their mid level exception.

Would Harpring help us at all?

Rhylan · 07-18-2002, 11:13 AM

Harpring is a hard-nosed SF that likes to board. So I'm sayin' yes.

He'd probably start most games here. Though I don't know if we'd sign him to a 6 year deal. Minimum on a sign and trde deal is 3 years.

I don't know if when doing a double S&T if multiple players can be included. Haven't been able to find that anywhere. If not, Harpring for Buck is about the only deal, and that would require Harpring being willing to take 115% + $100k of what Buck is getting on the first year of his deal.

I'd do it if I was Harpring. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] But I'm not.

aexchange · 07-18-2002, 11:13 AM

harpring would be the 3rd player id want from the sixers in a trade for buck.

the first being snow and the second being mckie. harpring would be a good fit, but we'd be severly overloaded with griff, TAW, harpring, SM, russell (if he signs)

take snow and trade van exel somewhere.

Rhylan · 07-18-2002, 11:22 AM

Well, TAW ain't no Harpring, and if we get a Harpring, we won't have no Russell (saving the exception). [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] So we'd be set.

Who is SM? Mladen? He won't make the team this year. And if he did, he ain't no Harpring either. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Snow is just another damn 6'3" combo guard that can't shoot the three. He'd be a downgrade from Buck. Snow only looks like more of a scorer because SOMEONE on that putrid team has to get 15 points every now and then.

I'd like McKie, too, but they're not letting him go.

Harpring. Or some combo of picks and young athletic dudes. Or I'll be really pissed [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Actually, I say, just let Buck walk if you can't get Harpring out of it. Force them to use their exception.. then see what happens.

Nellie · 07-18-2002, 11:33 AM

<< Wednesday, Buckner said he was "shocked" that he never received a contract offer from the Mavericks, which is why he agreed to sign with the Sixers.

I think Savovic had something to do with this. I'm shocked too. >>

What makes it even more interesting is Cuban's quote regarding "him wanting to stay" when asked what it would take to re-sign him. Cuban talks as if he knew Buck would not stay here so he didn't entertain him with an offer which makes it even more strange that Buckner would say he was shocked about not receiving one. Somebody is blowing smoke here.

mpb319 · 07-18-2002, 11:39 AM

Unfortunately for Buckner....there is his injury history and the fact that Dallas has 2 guys already under contract whose skills mirror his. I believe that if he had not received an offer elsewhere that the Mavs would have offered him a deal to stay...but with some interest the team decided to let him go to pursue other players that may help us get to the next level. I hope we can get someone from Philly that is worthwhile and I wish Buck the best of luck...except for twice a year.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Dooby · 07-18-2002, 04:29 PM

1. Don't get excited.

2. Some guy named Mando posted a rumor that Chicago is going to be involved in a Buckner 3-way trade that would send Marcus Fizer to Dallas. I have never heard of Mando, so it could be BS.

3. Don't get excited.

Looking at it, it works. In fact, it really works cap-wise. There would be small BYC issues for trading Buck at $3M per year. Fizer makes less so that is overcome. Obviously, Chicago would have to get something, probably a player from Phily and a pick, probably their first. Then we ship Buck (and maybe we send our first to Philly) and we get Fizer. It would probably have to work that way. Just speculating though. Solves our small-forward problem for at least 2 years.

mpb319 · 07-18-2002, 04:38 PM

Yeah except for the fact that Fizer isn't a SF. He is at best a short PF...not unlike Corliss Williamson, Danny Fortson, and Rodney Rogers.
That said....he could work for us....he is definitely thick and won't get pushed around in the paint. I think I could live with that....yeah....it could be worse.

Big Boy Laroux · 07-18-2002, 04:39 PM

ok, not getting excited...

but wasn't the problem with fizer that he couldn't play SF? now, he can come in and be a PF, with dirk at SF, but i definitely remember hearing things about him being too slow for SF, but too small for PF... classic tweener that really doesn't do much to make up for it.

but he is a solid player. i wouldn't be opposed to this, especially if we are going to lose buck anyway. it's not like he's a scrub. just a tweener.

Big Boy Laroux · 07-18-2002, 04:40 PM

ah, mpb beat me to it.

harping or fizer. let's get it done. i like that either way.

aexchange · 07-18-2002, 04:52 PM

works for me.

fizer has put up solid numbers for the bulls when they dont play him out of position at SF and play him instead at PF. for buck, i do it.

Just211 · 07-18-2002, 04:59 PM

THis 3 way could be legit , cause I've seen that Krause was hot for Harpring. It would make sense for all three.
Maybe we can baboozle the bulls to give us a 7 ft highschooler or one of their future high draft picks ( you never know, they might be that stupid)

It would be nice to get something for a player Cube had no plans to bring back

Rhylan · 07-18-2002, 05:23 PM

Fizer being a tweener isn't SO bad when Nellie's your coach.. not like he's big on playing traditionally anyway. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I'd rather have Harpring but getting Fizer in return for Buck would be just fine.

Dooby · 07-18-2002, 05:23 PM

Interesting idea, really. Would I trade Buckner for Fizer? Yeah. Would I trade Buck and a 1st for Fizer? maybe. Would I trade a player I was going to lose anyway and a 1st for Fizer? Probably. Would I take Harpring? Yes.

Big Boy Laroux · 07-18-2002, 05:41 PM

way to convince yourself, dooby. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Murphy3 · 07-18-2002, 06:50 PM

would i trade dooby for fizer? hell no

Dooby · 07-19-2002, 07:47 AM

Thanks Murph. Now I regret trying to trade you to Mavstalk for a Najera bobblehead doll. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Hoopsmeister · 07-19-2002, 10:18 AM

that trade's unbalanced. We should at least be able to get a Dirk bobble-head and an AAC mix tape for Murph.

Murphy3 · 07-19-2002, 10:31 AM

i'm still not sure the salaries would match

Murphy3 · 07-19-2002, 10:32 AM

plus, i have a no trade clause

seelenjaeger · 07-19-2002, 10:38 AM

fire the gm that gave murph a no trade clause [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

TheKid · 07-19-2002, 10:53 AM

Well if you offer to trade him somewhere nice, he may waive his no trade clause..