The Mavericks Report from Hoopsworld

[Bayliss]

<< The Mavericks Report
by &quot;Maven&quot; Dawn Santoianni
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jun 30, 2002, 1:58pm

Despite rampant rumors speculating bold maneuvering, the Mavericks only move on draft Wednesday was to select with the 55th pick. They were pleasantly surprised to
6'8 swingman from
FMP Zeleznik
find Mladen Sekularac, a 6-8 swingman from FMP Zeleznik and a member of the Yugoslavian national team, still available. Sekularac was originally projected to be a late first rounder, but fell between the cracks on draft night and was a steal at #55. Sekularac is still under contract to FMP Zeleznik for another year, which gives him another season to polish his skills before trying to break into the Mavericks’ already crowded roster.

Dallas was busy prior to the draft exploring ways to move up to a higher pick. Despite vehement denials to the contrary, the Mavs-Knick trade talks probably did happen given the Nelsons’ high view of Nene Hilario (Donnie said if he had the #1 pick, he would choose Hilario), the Knicks search for an explosive point guard, and Nellie’s desire to attain a “Kurt Thomas-like player.” In the end though, New York, who are weak at several positions, chose to bolster their frontcourt before addressing the point guard needs (after all, they have a plethora of point guards) by trading for McDyess.

But does that mean all deals with New York are dead? And why would the Mavericks deny talks if they did occur? The Knicks have been linked to trade talks with the Sonics and Bucks, and its been rumored that the Knicks would trade Thomas and Charlie Ward, and
Milos Vujanic, 6'3 with
a scorers mentality
possibly Milos Vujanic for Van Exel (Ward is needed to make it work cap-wise). I’m sure they would. Question is whether such a deal is worthwhile to Dallas. Kurt Thomas is a good banger-type player, not afraid to get rough and physical in the post – exactly the type of player the Mavericks need on their frontline. But while Vujanic, a 6-2 point guard out of – you guessed it, Yugoslavia – could maybe help the Mavs, Ward probably can’t. Van Exel seems like too much talent to give up for that. Contract-wise, Van Exel holds a player option for the final two seasons of his contract, which runs until 2006 if he doesn’t opt out, while Ward has an opt out for the final year in summer 2003, and Thomas holds a player option for the ’04-’05 season. Overall, the Mavericks would be trading away more talent for less for the sake of slightly shorter contracts.

The Knicks are also rumored to be shopping Latrell Sprewell (what else is new?), and of course that brings up speculation aimed at the Mavs.
Don would love him.
While Don Nelson likes Spree, a deal involving him means the Mavericks need to add more from their end, with a contract in the Shawn Bradley range. There are several reasons why this is unlikely, though. Antonio McDyess, the Knicks’ newest acquisition, becomes a free agent in 2004. He has publicly said he’d be willing to resign with the Knicks, but also said they should keep Spreewell. If New York has any desire to resign Dyess, then keeping Spree is the political choice. Secondly, Bradley’s stock plummeted last year, and despite the Knicks being desperately undersized, its unlikely Van Exel and Bradley are worth Spreewell, not to mention Thomas and Ward too.

Unless the Mavericks are willing to trade Van Exel to their Midwest rival Minnesota (unlikely), there are very few options remaining to ship Van Exel. A number of teams out east are looking for a starting point guard, including the Cavs if they trade Andre Miller, Orlando, Detroit and Washington. The problem is, creating a deal that makes sense. Both Cleveland and Orlando have little to offer in the way of big men, while a deal sending Van Exel to Washington is ridiculously impossible to work cap-wise, not to mention the Wizards have done a nice job of ridding themselves of enormous contracts and would not reverse that trend. Detroit could offer Cliff Robinson and last year’s draft pick Rodney White to Dallas for Van Exel (contract-wise it works in Dallas’ favor). Can you imagine both Nick and Stackhouse on the same team? Explosive.

With the draft now over, and a trade for Van Exel looking less and less likely, the Mavericks will turn their attention to free agents. July 1 is the date that players can opt out, and Dallas will be looking to free agency to address their frontcourt and possibly point guard issues. The Clippers nearly had a deal with the Cavaliers for Andre Miller (and it still may be on the table). If that is dead, the Clips may be willing to talk with Dallas about a sign-and-trade involving Olowokandi. With Van Exel’s salary to match, Kandi could end up with a nice contract. And after all, Olowokandi is the main target for the Mavericks this summer.

But back to a burning question: what would be the Mavericks motivation for denying trade talks with the Knicks? Two reasons. First, there’s always the possibility Scott Layden makes another poor decision and actually decides to bite on the Spreewell deal (we can argue the logic from the Mavs' end another time). But more importantly, as sure as the Mavericks are exploring trades those talks include Van Exel. And Dallas does not want to create an unhappy player should they not find a suitable deal for Tricky Nick. In essence, Nelson and Cuban tout the party line that they always did and still want Van Exel, in the event he remains a Maverick, which looks even more likely now. >>

[Drbio]

Keeping tricky Nick happy is a fulltime job. I also agree it's why the Mavs are denying shopping him.

[Base Line Guy]

Spree, KT and ward for SB and NVE? No chance Layden does that.

BLG

[kg_veteran]

I'd settle for Spree and Thomas. Throw out Ward, because Spree could play backup PG for you if you need him to...

I liked this quote out of the article:

Question is whether such a deal is worthwhile to Dallas...Van Exel seems like too much talent to give up for that...Overall, the Mavericks would be trading away more talent for less for the sake of slightly shorter contracts.