Mavs have salary wiggle room...

[V2M]

Although I'm enjoying the wins with our current team, if Kidd comes back healthy, wouldn't mind seeing him here. At least we could prevent him from joining the Wolves or any other leading WC team.

Article taken from Fox Sports (www.foxsports.com).

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Inside Dish: The Mavs have salary wiggle room
Sean Deveney / Sporting News - The Experts' Choice
Posted: 44 minutes ago


The Mavericks got off to a hot start, but this could be a temporary roster. Dallas has a payroll of nearly $90 million, but one thing the Mavs did in the offseason was acquire contracts that can be moved easily for a big-name player on a team looking to clear salary cap space (Nets PG Jason Kidd comes to mind). G Jason Terry has only two years left on his contract, and SG Jerry Stackhouse has three at about $22 million. PF Alan Henderson's $8 million contract expires after this season, and it's believed G/F Tariq Abdul-Wahad, who has three years remaining on his current deal, eventually will accept a buyout. "They have a lot to work with," says one Western Conference general manager. "They have a lot of guys who are not too high-priced but have talent, and if you have someone big sitting on your cap, you have to call them first." . . .

The Kings' offense has hit a sizable speed bump. PF Chris Webber and C Brad Miller have not been providing the consistent passing ex-Kings C Vlade Divac did. Of course, it does not help that the Kings' perimeter shooters have been brutal, hitting just 25.6 percent of their 3-pointers entering the week. Making matters worse is that the team's main offseason signing, C Greg Ostertag, is a notoriously bad passer who has averaged just 0.5 assists in his career. Ostertag was signed to beef up the second-team defense, but he was injured in the preseason and is out of shape. The Kings have barely been able to use him -- he's averaging only 9.8 minutes. . . .


One potential 2005 draft pick who has gotten some attention is PG Marcelo Huertas, who signed with Joventut in Spain this season but has a reasonable buyout price and will be available in June. One of Huertas' teammates, SG Rudy Fernandez, also is expected to be one of the top international products available. Huertas has an uptempo, frenetic style that meshes well with Fernandez's game, and Huertas is improving as a shooter and passer. . . .


It has been a struggle for most rookies so far this season, which makes the Bobcats' decision to trade up to No. 2 to take PF Emeka Okafor look even better. Okafor has shot poorly (34.8 percent), but he was not drafted for his shooting -- he is supposed to rebound and defend as he feels his way along on offense. His strengths have shown through; he averaged 10.6 rebounds and 1.0 block in his first five games. . . .


Controversy surrounded fourth-year Bulls C Eddy Curry this offseason when he pushed for a lucrative long-term contract extension and didn't get one. Now, despite losing around 30 pounds over the summer, Curry seems to have regressed on the court. He is uncertain and slow on defense, he barely rebounds, and he has not been aggressive on offense. But Curry is 6-11, a true center with scoring ability, and has drawn interest from other teams because of that. As much as the Bulls have struggled to get through to Curry, though, they face a problem when it comes to trading him, or even letting him walk as a free agent next summer: Who would play center? PF Tyson Chandler is far too thin for the role, and quality big men don't come around often on the free-agent market.


Sean Deveney is a staff writer for Sporting News. Email him at sdeveney@sportingnews.com.

[ocelot_ark]

Don't fix what ain't broke, dammit.

[orangedays]

Originally posted by: ocelot_ark
Don't fix what ain't broke, dammit.

I agree, the Mavs have got a good thing going right now. Let's see how this flies first before we make any moves.