Saras to Dallas?

[roxupheremavsdownthere]

Is Sarunas Jasikevicius headed to the Mavs? He wants his asking price and to play for a contender.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...TS04/507170425

Cleveland, Portland, Houston, Dallas and Seattle are among the teams believed to have interest in the 29-year-old, who has gained rock-star fame in Europe after starring in the Olympics and leading his Tel Aviv, Israel, team to the past two Euroleague titles.

Jasikevicius' agent, Doug Neustadt, is seeking a three-year, $10 million contract.

According to this article http://www.nypost.com/sports/nets/50126.htm

Dontyell Marshall, agreed to terms with Cleveland.

Since it was reported that Marshall was seeking the full MLE and Cavs only had 6 million left to spend they don't have the cap to sign Saras?

Portland, not a contender.

Houston just announced their agreement with Stromile Swift for their entire MLE.

Seattle still has to resign their free agents which won't be easy but they're still in the hunt for Saras? The dark horse?

Dallas have got their MLE intact? They're looking for another piece to help get them advance further in the playoffs not just making the cut unlike the Cavs. So is Saras headed to Dallas?

[Lebanese_Fan]

If Marshall was signed for 3 mil a year, they still have 3 mil to get Saras.

If not, we can give hunter 2 a year, and Saras 3 a year and then trade terry in whatever way necessary to improve the team.

Saras starts until Devin is ready to.

This is an ideal scenario; I think it is what the mavs will do.

[Mavs414]

that would be nice to add him to our team and i think we might will

[MavKikiNYC]

No mo' Rigadeaux.

[Arne]

If you Compare him to Mr. "Rigadeaux (...)", then you don't know shit about Saras.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

No way, we should keep Terry. If we got this guy to play point, Terry can be 6th man off the bench at the off-guard where he is more comfortable. This move could make a lot of sense.

Saras/Harris/Terry
Stack/Terry/Quis
Howard/Quis/Stack
Dirk/KVH
Damp/DJ

I know Terry played poorly as point guard coming off of the bench, but maybe the 2 he would excel like the small Ben Gordon. Terry was super effecient in his abilities though when he did come off of the bench.

[Arne]

Yeah, it could really, really make sense. We would need Terry as a SG, if we release Finley. So if we wanted Terry at the 2 spot, we would have to get a decent starting Point Guard, from which - in my opinion - Harris is still far away from. So signing Saras makes a lot of sense, even though we shouldn'tplay him more than 20-28 minutes per game considering his lack of defense.

I say do it! Do it, dude, do it...

[EricaLubarsky]

we're building a power, defensive team, and we move Terry to the 2? Might work okay if we had a nash or a kidd, but Terry at the 2 is a HUGE liability in most situations

[The Miles]

This would be a typical Mavericks move. I wouldn't be shocked if they did something like this. The Suns add Kurt Thomas, the Rockets add Stromile Swift, the Lakers add Kwame Brown, and the Mavs add a 29 year old former average NCAA player at the PG.

I wouldn't be shocked.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

I'm sorry but his stock is low for having a great euro record. 10 Mil for 3 years is a bargain for a pg that could potentially start for us next year.

[StrikerV]

Why not? I think it is worth the risk to bring saras to Dallas. I mean right now who else can we really get? Let DJ be the backup center and that solves that problem.

If we are just going to bring in Pachulia or Dale Davis it doesnt seem to effect our future that much...

[echo]

Honestly I don't know much about this guy, but at 29 years old is he a better prospect than Marco Jaric, a younger guy who has played in the NBA for three seasons? A guy who is 6'7 and can play three positions? A guy who can defend? A guy who has one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios and steal-to-turnover ratios in the league?

[rakesh.s]

Originally posted by: echo
Honestly I don't know much about this guy, but at 29 years old is he a better prospect than Marco Jaric, a younger guy who has played in the NBA for three seasons? A guy who is 6'7 and can play three positions? A guy who can defend? A guy who has one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios and steal-to-turnover ratios in the league?

marko jaric can be a pretty special player due to his ability to play the point at his size and defend very well, but he is hurt ALL the time.

[echo]

Originally posted by: rakesh.s

marko jaric can be a pretty special player due to his ability to play the point at his size and defend very well, but he is hurt ALL the time.

Yep Jaric has been injury prone or I don't think he could be had for the MLE or less. But it takes most players (even the better EURO transplants) time to adjust to the NBA. Only a handful of rookies make much of an impact the first year and I'm admittedly a bit leary on developing a 29 year old guy. I could be totally wrong about this guy, but I have no doubt that Jaric could help the Mavs. Would you rather take a risk on an injury prone guy who has proven he can play in the NBA (and may still get better) or a 29 year old Euro league star who has not proved a thing in the NBA? Jaric would also enable you to shop Terry for a big guy. I like Terry a lot, but if Harris is indeed our future PG (and I hope he develops) then Jaric could be a stopgap starter at PG and be a great backup (1/2/3) once Harris takes the job.

[DallasMavaricks+Cowboys]

Yall are getting a little too excited about some guy I'm guessing you've probably never seen play in a game.

[SeriousSummer]

I've seen him (on TV) in the last two Olympics. He's a dead on winner. Think Reggie Miller or Steve Kerr or Robert Horry. He won't blow you away athletically, but the more crucial the situation, the better he plays.

[Arne]

Originally posted by: DallasMavaricks+Cowboys
Yall are getting a little too excited about some guy I'm guessing you've probably never seen play in a game.

I'm from Europe, so if a guy wins the Euroleague two times, or wins the European-tournament, if he gets named the MVP of the Euroleague 2005, the best point guard in 2003 and 2004, plus the best player overall 2004, then I should probably know him...

And, by the way, he killed the American team during the Olympics, hitting seven 3pt-attempts including one four-point play in a crucial situation.

[alby]

owned.

[Lonely PSU Mavs Fan]

It might be too late. This from the Hoopshype.com front page (the link is not working yet so i have not read the article)

Antonio Daniels has agreed to a five-year, $30 million deal with the Washington Wizards, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise ... Lakers interested in Gary Payton ... Sarunas Jasikevicius will sign with the Cavs ... Bonzi Wells a Clipper? ... Knicks to offer Larry Brown a five-year contract worth between $50 million and $60 million ... • Read more

[Arne]

Here's the article:

Point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius is expected to become the latest free agent to agree to a deal with the Cavaliers, according to several league sources.

News of a verbal agreement between the sides could be announced in a few days. Friday is the earliest free agents can sign with teams.

Jasikevicius will join fellow free agents, forward Donyell Marshall, guard Larry Hughes and center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to bolster a Cavs team that has made significant strides during the off-season.

Jasikevicius, the best man at Ilgauskas' wedding, has been a Euroleague star the past four years. At 6-4, he is an outstanding 3-point shooter who was the Euroleague MVP two years ago. He led his Maccabi Tel Aviv team to the last two Euroleague championships, and last summer lifted the Lithuanian national team over the U.S. in the Athens Games.

More than likely, the signing of Jasikevicius and the addition of Marshall will eat up the rest of the $28 million the Cavs had available under the salary cap, which is projected at about $49 million. But under league rules, the Cavs can go over the salary cap by signing players to minimum contracts.

The NBA minimum is about $400,000 and the Cavs will probably fill out their roster by signing players from the summer league roster. The Cavs are not in danger of paying a luxury tax. Teams will have to pay a luxury tax if their salaries are above $60 million.

Marshall, meanwhile, agreed Tuesday to a four-year deal worth between $20 million and $25 million, a deal he is expected to make official Friday. Marshall, 32, is an 11-year veteran who played last season with the Toronto Raptors. He has averaged 12.4 points and 7.3 rebounds for his career.

"Coming to Cleveland is the right place at the right time because they're a team on an upward swing with other free agents and the re-signing of Ilgauskas," said Marshall's agent, Andy Miller. "Donyell's never had an opportunity to win before and he can be a contributing piece."

Miller said that several teams were interested in Marshall but LeBron James proved the best bargaining chip.

"The chance to play with LeBron was pivotal in Donyell's decision," Miller said. "LeBron was proactive in this process and that helped Donyell in [with] the decision."

[Don_Didi]

Makes sense for him, playing alongside a fellow countryman, being pretty much assured open looks thanks to the team he is on, and if I were him, Cleveland would be a better spot just because I would not be the focal point. As much as the Cavs need a point guard, I think that there will be less hooplah around him starting in the NBA as the point of the Cavs instead of immediately taking over on a star-studded Mavs team. This way he can just play. Either way, I'll keep a sympathetic eye out for him. I've been watching this guy for the past few years, and he has consistently impressed me (and his English proficiency will impress you, I believe).

[Lebanese_Fan]

The cavs are gonna be fun next year, especially if saras is as good of a passer as he looked in the vids.