Jazz Press Conference Today - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

MavsFanFinley · 08-15-2002, 01:04 PM

Jazz to sign player

The Utah Jazz called a press conference for 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon, and rumor has it they planned to announce the signing of a player.

A team spokesman declined to divulge the reason for the press conference, but a source said it would not involve the re-signing of a player from last season's roster.

That disclosure might be an indication that the signee is Matt Harpring. A free-agent forward who played last season with Philadelphia, Harpring reportedly was seen at a Salt Lake restaurant Wednesday night.

Jazz personnel chief Kevin O'Connor met with Harpring and the player's agent in Atlanta recently.

If Harpring—or another player — is signed, it could be an indication from the Jazz that they've given up any hope of re-signing forward Donyell Marshall.

djb · 08-15-2002, 01:06 PM

Damn. I'll take Marshall though.

TheKid · 08-15-2002, 01:42 PM

I agree, as far as I'm concerned he's just as good as Keon Clark.

LonestarROB · 08-15-2002, 01:44 PM

Doh, I wanted Harp in big-D. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img]

Charlie Brown · 08-15-2002, 01:48 PM

Jazz will acquire forward Harpring
By Rich Evans
Deseret News sports writer

The Utah Jazz called a press conference for 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon, amid reports they planned to announce the signing of forward Matt Harpring.
A team spokesman declined to divulge the reason for the press conference, but all indications are that Harpring will be the featured guest.
A free agent who played last season in Philadelphia, Harpring reportedly was seen at a Salt Lake restaurant Wednesday night and was still registered at a Salt Lake hotel Thursday morning.
The Jazz confirmed their interest in Harpring after team personnel chief Kevin O'Connor met with the player and his agent, Richard Howell, in Atlanta recently.
It is believed Harpring will get some but not all of the mid-level exception, which means the Jazz will have money left to sign a backup point guard and possibly sign or re-sign another player. Free-agent forward Scott Padgett, for instance, might fit into such a slot.
The signing of Harpring means the team will not bring free-agent Donyell Marshall back — an outcome that Marshall's agent, Dwight Manley, says comes as no surprise.
"Honestly, I don't think there ever was a chance — in hindsight," Manley said Thursday morning.
Manley said his client is choosing to look on the positive side of his stay with the Jazz, rather than dwell on this disappointing offseason. He said Marshall feels that playing with Karl Malone and John Stockton and for coach Jerry Sloan was a "great experience" and "really helped him grow as a basketball player."
Manley said there are several teams interested in Marshall, who according to reports out of Chicago may receive an offer from the Bulls later this week.
"He wants to go to a team where he'll fit in, he can contribute, and it's a team that's going forward—not rebuilding," Manley said.
Of Marshall and his other ex-Jazz client, Bryon Russell — who he claims is being courted by several teams — Manley said, "Both players are going to land on their feet and their careers are going to go forward."

Charlie Brown · 08-15-2002, 01:50 PM

I think the most important quote was this from his agent.

"He wants to go to a team where he'll fit in, he can contribute, and it's a team that's going forward—not rebuilding," Manley said.

Since Chicago's in a rebuilding mode, wouldn't Dallas be the better fit?

I know Marshall played for Nelson in GS. Does anyone remember if they had a good relationship?

Red White and Blue · 08-15-2002, 02:05 PM

Will we go after Marshall or dream about Lewis accepting the low contract we can offer?

Nellie · 08-15-2002, 02:16 PM

This has been an on-going debate in other threads. Do we a) give up on Rashard and grab the sure thing in Marshal or b)gamble on Rashard and lose Marshal and possibly all options in the process? Is Rashard a worthwhile gamble based on the Mavs needs? Why wait for a player who wants more money than he has proven if we don't need to?

djb · 08-15-2002, 02:22 PM

I'd be happy with Marshall as our primary offseason acquisition. The Mavs will probably make another midseason move anyway.

FilthyFinMavs · 08-15-2002, 02:59 PM

<< This has been an on-going debate in other threads. Do we a) give up on Rashard and grab the sure thing in Marshal or b)gamble on Rashard and lose Marshal and possibly all options in the process? Is Rashard a worthwhile gamble based on the Mavs needs? Why wait for a player who wants more money than he has proven if we don't need to? >>

IVe seen u say this in abotu 10 threads already but do u actually know that Mavs want Marshall? Do u know if Marshall even wants to play for Mavs? Assumptions.

Nellie · 08-15-2002, 03:10 PM

<< IVe seen u say this in abotu 10 threads already but do u actually know that Mavs want Marshall? Do u know if Marshall even wants to play for Mavs? Assumptions. >>

No and no and it is not even assumptions. I am basicly saying that going for Marshal would be the smart thing to do at this point and I would be willing to put money on him being interested if we contacted him. Maybe they have and we don't know it. It's just my opinion.

TheKid · 08-15-2002, 03:35 PM

Right now, I wouldn't care if the Mavs signed freakin Dennis Rodman, they need to do something. Like I said, I agree with Cuban when he said this team has to learn to play together. Fine if he wants to keep the players we have BUT we've now lost Buck, Manning and Newman (more than likely) and we've added NOTHING! We need to do something. Before we're just another team...

Nellie · 08-15-2002, 03:47 PM

I wish Cuban would give the ultimatum so we can put an end to this silliness.

Red White and Blue · 08-15-2002, 05:57 PM

I agree Kid, not to mention we may even lose Wang AND Najera too. The Mavs do need to make a move, I would be more than happy with signing Marshall. If the Mavs are smart they should go after this guy, and who wouldn't want to play for the Mavs? Marhsall has family here in Dallas, so that may help our chances.

Drbio · 08-15-2002, 07:53 PM

there is no way in hell that Wang or Eddie play elsewhere. Cubes has already said he would match any offer to either of them and noone is going to offer more than the Mavs can match.

kg_veteran · 08-15-2002, 08:45 PM

I'm in favor of acquiring Marshall. Let Lewis play his games with someone else.

Stop being a pawn, Cubes.

Evilmav2 · 08-15-2002, 11:25 PM

Donyell Marshall was one of the biggest draft busts of the last decade and he plays like a poor man's Chris Mills. In his heydey Mills was overrated and used to score 10-14 ppg for terrible teams just like Marshall does- but Mills wasn't drafted #4... I'll take the risk of waiting for a talent like Lewis over throwing away good money on a bum like Marshall any day... And I'm not even going to talk about the cocaine rumors from his Uconn days...

Bad Cocaine Investment

Just211 · 08-15-2002, 11:29 PM

I'm with Cubes on this. Wait on Lewis. All or nothing is better than changing just to change. Lewis is the only player available that would help the Mavs.
I'd even let Wang go (if he gets offered a lot.) He might have up-side, but we don't have to dedicate money on another soft 7 footer( and a political headache) I say keep him only if he's cheap. We might get something in return since he's restricted.

But, I would defentily keep Najera

Red White and Blue · 08-16-2002, 12:17 AM

If the Mavs do not sign Lewis then what guys? Are the both of you content with the line-up we have currently when all the teams ahead of us are making moves?

Nellie · 08-16-2002, 09:12 AM

<< If the Mavs do not sign Lewis then what guys? Are the both of you content with the line-up we have currently when all the teams ahead of us are making moves? >>

Exactly. And I don't hear a lot of people mentioning the fact that we are already down three spots (Buckner,Newman and Manning) with 2 more pending that may or may not work out. Assuming that Mladen is activated (which is already a down grade), I would be interested in knowing how Rashard's upside is more important than replacing a possibility of 4 spots on the roster?

TheKid · 08-16-2002, 09:40 AM

Exactly Nellie, also I'm not listening to what Cuban says about he's willing to match because Cuban has shown (with this insurance stuff) that he is a business man first. He's NOT going to over pay for Najera.. He said the SAME THING with Booth... He said he would not let someone take Booth because he was willing to match any offer. Well Seattle offered Cuban more than he wanted to pay and he didn't match it. So teams know that Cuban can and will pay high so if they want Najera or Wang, they're going to come in almost to a ridiculous point and Cuban is NOT going to do that. He's NOT going to pay the luxury tax for Najera or Wang who only on a few nights gets more than 20 minutes a game that would be stupid. The one thing Cuban is not is stupid. NOW he'll pay the luxury tax for someone like Lewis because he feels Lewis makes us that much better.

My point is, he needs to check and see what we can get, this standing and waiting is ridiculous. Lewis is going to resign with the Sonics, in the long run, he'll make more money there than he will with any other team. He's probably not as concerned about winning a championship now because he's what 22 or something like that now...

Cuban needs to recognize that. If Lewis hasn't taken our offer we made to him, then he's not signing with us. That's why I'm sick of people continually saying we have a chance. He's only going to sign with us if Seattle decides NOT to negotiate with him but they are so we're screwed. The know the max other teams can offer, Seattle is the ONLY team who can go higher but the question is are they willing to do it. So we're out of the Lewis sweepstakes in my eyes. If we lose Najera or Wang or both, that means the Mavs would have managed to take a step backwards while other teams have taken a step forward.

Nellie · 08-16-2002, 09:54 AM

<< Cuban needs to recognize that. If Lewis hasn't taken our offer we made to him, then he's not signing with us. That's why I'm sick of people continually saying we have a chance. He's only going to sign with us if Seattle decides NOT to negotiate with him but they are so we're screwed. The know the max other teams can offer, Seattle is the ONLY team who can go higher but the question is are they willing to do it. So we're out of the Lewis sweepstakes in my eyes. If we lose Najera or Wang or both, that means the Mavs would have managed to take a step backwards while other teams have taken a step forward. >>

Amen brother. This paragraph sums it up exactly. The risk of going backwards vs. a 0-1% chance that Rashard's overpriced upside (not even an all-star yet mind you) will come here and hope that he will be happy to play 4th-5th fiddle is not good business. People continue to think we have a chance because it is "romantic" (again, a great description by UL) to think he might come here. What he actualy brings to the table in terms of needs is more important than the "romantic" thought that we are getting another good player. I don't know how many times I can say it, WE DON'T NEED RASHARD LEWIS TO GET BETTER!!! So why are we taking the risk? Because it is "romantic" and it gives us something to talk about. But it is not good business and we could pay for it.

TheKid · 08-16-2002, 10:02 AM

And because everyone thinks we'll have this beautiful starting lineup, which we would BUT Rashard doesn't answer EVERY problem we have AND if Dallas is spending all of it's time and money trying to sign him then it's not worth it, IN MY EYES!!!!!!

Nellie · 08-16-2002, 10:05 AM

And he only fills one roster spot with the entire exemption gone leaving us no cushion.

madape · 08-16-2002, 10:14 AM

Nellie, if we don't need Lewis to get better, we sure as hell don't need Keon Clark, Donyell Marhsall, Harpring and the rest of the crap-ass crew either. The Mavs have a damn good team that doesn't need to tie up long term contract money in players that won't contribute. If Lewis is the only big money free agent out there that looks like he can contribute, he should be the only guy the Mavericks pursue. That the only reason people even bring up guys like Marshall and Clark is because they're bored and impatient. I'm so sick of people demanding that the Mavericks make some worhtless trade or worthless aquisition. I don't think Cuban, Nellie or anyone involved with the Mavs wants to have some dope pulling in $5 mil next year to ride the pine. If the Mavs make it to the championship next year, it won't be because of the third string power forward.

TheKid · 08-16-2002, 10:22 AM

Madape I think people were talking about Marshall because he would be easy and Cheap. I was NEVER a fan of the Clark thing so I won't even comment on that. However I think Nellie is saying we're STILL waiting to see what Lewis does before we make any other moves.. That is the problem. Now it would be great to get Lewis, I don't think anyone is going to dispute he's a talent and will make this team better HOWEVER if you're not making ANY OTHER MOVES and you're ONLY trying to acquire him and it's looking bleek on him coming here, then is it worth it? I don't think so.

Nellie · 08-16-2002, 10:28 AM

<< the only reason people even bring up guys like Marshall and Clark is because they're bored and impatient >>

Or because we need to fill 4-5 roster spots.

Madape, since your so smart and I am so dumb, you tell me how we fill 4 roster spots without signing some of the "crap-ass crew" you refered to?

Nellie · 08-16-2002, 11:11 AM

It's so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

madape · 08-16-2002, 11:42 AM

4-5 Spots? How do you get that number?

Nash, Nick, AJ, Fin, TAW, Dirk, Najera, Griff, Wang, Raef, Bradley, Esch make 12. The Mavs can only have 12 active players at a time, so the spots you say the Mavs need to fill are the three spots on the injured reserve. I'm thinking Mladen gets one of those, and the other two are up for grabs. If we sign someone else, they will either go to the IR or bump one of the active players down. And thats not even mentioning that anything more than a 9 man rotation is very rare. There is NOT a player available right now, with the exception of Lewis, that is realistically capable of making our 9 man rotation... much less the 12 man active roster.

I've heard a lot of people on this board say that Esch's contract is too high. Well, his contract is atually less than the kind of money we'd be giving to some of these free agents. And it is probably not too crazy to think that most of the guys would play just about as much as Eschmeyer did last year.

I have no problem with the Mavs filling the last two roster spots. But they need to do it responsibly. Long term contracts do not go away. Cuban and the Mavs are learning that. 13th, 14th, and 15th men on the roster should be paid like the 13th, 14th and 15th men on the roster. A seven foot prospect would be a great guy to store on the IR. A veteran on the last year of his contract would be OK too. A veteran scheduled to make $5-$10 million per year for the next six years is not.

Nellie · 08-16-2002, 12:05 PM

<< 4-5 Spots? How do you get that number? >>

I explained all of this already. Let's talk official here, not assumptions. It is an assumption that Najera and Wang will be back on the roster next year. They are officialy pending so that is 2. The other 3 spots are Newman, Buckner, and Manning which makes 5. Like I said before, assuming Mladen is activated, that leaves 4 spots.

<< There is NOT a player available right now, with the exception of Lewis, that is realistically capable of making our 9 man rotation... much less the 12 man active roster >>

LOL..this is simply not true. Rashard is the BEST but not the ONLY and not LIKELY. What I want to know is what your contingency plan is, if Lewis says no, without signing free agents that you think are not worth it?

<< I have no problem with the Mavs filling the last two roster spots. But they need to do it responsibly >>

I am not suggesting that they don't do it responsibly but they have to sign somebody to fill the spots. If Rashard signs, the exemption is gone. You can use the 1mil vet exemption on somebody to fill one spot. Where is the money going to come from to sign somebody else if the negotiations with Najera and Wang go bad? No contingency plan.

madape · 08-16-2002, 12:14 PM

If I'm not mistaken, Najera and Wang are both restricted free agents, which means that the Mavs can match any offer up to the point of the mid level exception. I am 100% confident that nether will receive an offer higher than that. If the Mavs want to keep either, they will. I'm sure they'll keep Najera. I'm not too sure about Wang. If the Mavs do choose to give up on Wang, they can still force Golden State into doing a sign and trade.

In any case, I don't think the Mavs are losing out on anyone they were interested in because of the Lewis situation. They weren't interested in Clark or Marshall before Lewis visited here, so why should they care now? They probably have a deal waiting for Russell or some other veteran, who could sign here for the minimum whether or not Lewis gets the full exception. We still have over two months before training camp starts. There's no rush at all, and no reason to freak out and waste money on some spare.

Nellie · 08-16-2002, 12:25 PM

So Rusell is not a member of the "crap-ass crew" but Clark, Marshal, and Harpring are?? That makes a lot of sense [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

Let's revisit this again later madape when Rashard says no.

madape · 08-16-2002, 12:29 PM

No, Russel sucks too. He won't contribute much either. If the Mavs don't sign him, I'll spend the same amount of time whining and crying as I did about Clark and the rest, which is zero. But at least it won't require a big time contract to get him.

MFFL · 08-16-2002, 12:58 PM

<< Exactly Nellie, also I'm not listening to what Cuban says about he's willing to match because Cuban has shown (with this insurance stuff) that he is a business man first. He's NOT going to over pay for Najera.. He said the SAME THING with Booth... He said he would not let someone take Booth because he was willing to match any offer. Well Seattle offered Cuban more than he wanted to pay and he didn't match it. >>

That is incorrect - Seattle offered more than the Mavs COULD match (they were under the cap and offered a salary OVER the mid-exception). We have yet to lose a player that is important.

TheKid · 08-16-2002, 01:42 PM

Booth was a restricted free agent correct? What I'm saying is Dallas had the rights of Booth and CUBAN even said he could have gone above the exception however the Mavs would have had to pay the luxury tax or pay something to Seattle, I don't remember exactly what it is BUT Cuban wasn't willing to pay that. NOW, I wasn't upset by the decision PERSONALLY I thought that was the right decision. However Cuban wanted to USE the exception for Booth but Booth wanted more than the exception which meant he would have had to go OVER the cap last year and as I stated earlier BOOTH is not the type of player you do that with. So I agree that he shouldn't have done that and Seattle had the ability to give him more than the exception because they were so far under the cap.

Now we're in the same boat with Najera and Wang. If a team offers them a salary for instance like the Bulls who are under the cap and offers Najera and Wang MORE than what Cuban is willing to spend, we'll lose them too.

Evilmav2 · 08-16-2002, 02:13 PM

I'll take the risk of losing Lewis over throwing $4.5 million down the toilet for any member of...

The Crap Ass Crew

Drbio · 08-16-2002, 02:19 PM

hahahaha....

In regards to Booth...we could not have matched Seattles offer. He signed for just above the exception and we could only match up to the exception. Period. Thank goodness he did. We would be bitching about his contract here if not.

Nellie · 08-16-2002, 02:22 PM

<< I'll take the risk of losing Lewis over throwing $4.5 million down the toilet for any member >>

Nice graphics, well done.

But...

It's not just about Lewis. It's about 4-5 roster spots that we do not have secure.

MFFL · 08-16-2002, 02:34 PM

<< Booth was a restricted free agent correct? What I'm saying is Dallas had the rights of Booth and CUBAN even said he could have gone above the exception however the Mavs would have had to pay the luxury tax or pay something to Seattle, I don't remember exactly what it is BUT Cuban wasn't willing to pay that. NOW, I wasn't upset by the decision PERSONALLY I thought that was the right decision. However Cuban wanted to USE the exception for Booth but Booth wanted more than the exception which meant he would have had to go OVER the cap last year and as I stated earlier BOOTH is not the type of player you do that with. So I agree that he shouldn't have done that and Seattle had the ability to give him more than the exception because they were so far under the cap.

Now we're in the same boat with Najera and Wang. If a team offers them a salary for instance like the Bulls who are under the cap and offers Najera and Wang MORE than what Cuban is willing to spend, we'll lose them too. >>

Cuban couldn't offer more than the mid-level exception since the Mavs were over the cap. Since the Sonics offered more than the Mavs could match, we lost Booth despite the Mavs wanting to keep him.

But it turns out that we were lucky to lose him.

Nellie · 08-16-2002, 02:47 PM

Well, we can write off Marshal as a possibility now.

It will be real interesting to see how many people on this board will complain about this offseason after Rashard says no and we are left with the scraps.