The Kidd deal is stalled but very alive...

[Xenopathic Investigator]

DALLAS -- If the Mavericks are going to bring Jason Kidd back to where his NBA career started, Devean George will have to change his mind.

As strange as it might seem, the reserve swingman holds the key to the Mavs and New Jersey Nets completing the blockbuster deal.

Before Wednesday's game against Portland, just as it seemed the deal was set to be completed, George exercised his right to block the mega-deal that would have sent Mavs starting point guard Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, George, plus cash and draft picks to New Jersey.

George, who replaced the injured Josh Howard in coach Avery Johnson's starting lineup Wednesday and went 0-for-11 in the 96-76 victory, has a clause in his one-year, $2.4 million deal that stipulates he must agree to any trade.

George forfeits his early Bird rights in a trade which, theoretically, could cost him a larger salary when he seeks his next deal after he becomes a free agent July. 1.

"This thing might not even go through," an NBA source said. "It comes down to him."

Johnson said the odds of completing the deal are, "Right now, zero." However, George, who said he planned to speak to his agent, Mark Bartelstein, when the team arrived in Phoenix early this morning to be briefed on the full ramifications of a trade, did not rule it out before the Feb. 21 deadline.

If the deal doesn't happen today, it likely won't be completed until Monday after the All-Star break.

"I don't think the trade is going anywhere, it's right there," George said. "But it's kind of messed up how all fingers are pointing at me. I'm the bad guy now holding things up, but I'll be that."

George dismissed speculation that he refused the deal because he doesn't want to play for the struggling Nets.

"You never know what is going to happen, but he likes Dallas," Bartelstein said. "He's on a championship contender. To leave that and give up his Bird rights is a big deal."

By all accounts, the deal was in the late stages of completion Wednesday evening. Kidd, dressed in street clothes as the Nets played at Toronto, spoke to reporters about the Nets in the past tense, but he acknowledged the deal, at least temporarily, had frayed.

"Hopefully I'll be a piece of the puzzle to help [the Mavs] win," Kidd said. "That's all I can do. Until it's official, until I hear from [Mavs owner Mark] Cuban or an official from the Mavericks, I'm a Net until otherwise told."

Cuban seemed agitated just before the start of the Mavs' game when asked if the deal was going through. He quickly said, "I don't think so," before heading into his courtside suite.

"In reality both sides try to do what's best for them," George said. "I try to do what's best for me. My agent looks out for me and the Mavericks obviously want to look out for their organization."

Two weeks ago, George complained about his lack of playing time and said he'd prefer to be traded if he was not going to be a part of Johnson's rotation.

Since then, George has logged about 20 minutes a game and produced while Stackhouse has been out with a hamstring injury. He played 33 minutes against Portland and was praised by Johnson as being a true professional.

"Two weeks ago, he was open to it [a trade]," the league source said. "Now, for whatever reason, he's not. The chance to showcase himself is all there for him in New Jersey. I think he just needs time to digest everything.

"The unfortunate part," the source said, "is it's holding everything up. Hopefully, cooler heads prevail."

Until Wednesday, Cuban, Mavs president Donnie Nelson and Johnson had denied interest in trading for Kidd, namely because Kidd's salary would require the Mavs to include four or more players in the deal.

Johnson, who told his team before the game to fight through the trade talk, afterward reiterated that "we like our team and when we're healthy, we can be a very good team."

After the Los Angeles Lakers made the first blockbuster deal of the trade season for 7-footer Pau Gasol, Cuban said the Mavs felt no urgency to counter and that the club did not expect to be involved in a major trade.

Perhaps all that changed after Shaquille O'Neal joined the Suns in the second blockbuster deal and the Mavs hit a recent rough patch without Harris in the lineup.

Harris, sidelined with a bone bruise on his left ankle, wandered through the Mavs' locker room before the game. He said team officials had not told him anything regarding his status with the team.

A potential deal for Kidd involving three teams that supposedly would have sent Harris to Portland had cooled a few weeks ago and talks seemed to be stagnant.

But Tuesday night and early Wednesday things heated up. Stackhouse said in an Associated Press report that his agent said the trade would go through. The Nets reportedly plan to buy out the remainder of his three-year, $21 million contract, allowing him to re-sign with the Mavs after 30 days, which he said he planned to do.

Stackhouse backpedaled on the finality of the deal before the game with Portland.

"That's all it is right now is talk," he said. "I haven't really heard anything officially from anybody that the deal was done, but obviously the news and reports on the wire and stuff pretty much said what's about to happen."

In the proposed deal, Mavs second-year guard Maurice Ager also would go to the Nets and New Jersey forward Malik Allen would join the Mavs. In a separate deal, the Mavs reportedly would acquire Nets reserve forward Antoine Wright, a former Texas A&M star, for a second-round draft pick.

Allen and Wright also did not play Wednesday, suggesting the Nets believed a deal was imminent.

The Mavs not only started George, but backup center Diop also dressed and played.

"I'm still a Maverick, so far," Diop said. "It's tough as a human being not knowing if you're going to be here tomorrow, but you have to be a pro about it."

http://myespn.go.com/nba/truehoop

[mavsfan05]

i dont know what george is thinking.... If he doesn't let this trade go through, does he honestly think he is going to continue to get minutes? when harris and howard are both healthy? ANd not to mention about 80% of mavs fans hate the man now, he will get no love from the fans(except you harris lovers, which annoy the heck out of me)

Go Away George WE DONT WANT YOU HERE!!!! WE WANT KIDD!!!

[Xenopathic Investigator]

he is going to go anyway. If he stays we bench him and he leaves as a free agent while the mavs replace him in the trade with trenton hassell.

[Deus]

that quote from Avery about him being a professional sounds like total b.s. to me. What AJ is really saying is "Please Devon, agree to the trade so we can ship your awful ace out of here."

[aDamas]

George destroy my dreams..

[Xenopathic Investigator]

He will stall and get benched for the rest of the season.

or

Not stall and get to play in NJ.

[peteyjones13]

Devean George: Wave your no trade clause so that the trade can go through, and Jason Kidd can go to the West, and Jose Calderon can take his place as starting point guard for the all star team!!!

[Basketballmania]

how blind could some people be?

question a: what kind of players LA and phoenix traded for?

question b: what kind of player do the mavs trade?

you got the right answer! BIG MEN!!

it simply doesn't make any sense to trade away diop, with LA and phoenix acquiring gasol and shaq.
diop is a great defender especially for duncan. and harris is just great defending tony parker and steve nash. harris is starting to grew into this pg role as his assist numbers were increasing every year.

the only way i would just consider it what doesn't mean i would do it would be a trade like this

harris + stack + KVH + the picks <-> kidd and another player.

if diop is involved we should get back sean williams or boone + magloire


why dont the mvs try to get maggette again?
terry+hassell+ager+picks for cassell and maggette

or terry + hassell for artest and kenny thomas

or even terry+stack for jermaine oneal


we need

1. a shootng guard
2. a point guard backup for harris such as andre miller or sam cassell
3. an upgrade at center

in this order

[catalyst]

Does he think that his stellar play this year is going to get him above the MLE? I do not know how he can speculate that. My hope is to sub Hasell for George and Diop and call it a day. The other option is Jones and Faz or Jones and Howard.

[Profound23]

I agree that trading Diop hurts on the big man issue.

But there are a lot of teams with big men as good as Diop. Gadzuric on the Bucks, Ben Wallace, J Oneal are just a few of some on the trading block. As much as Cuban doesn't want to pay a luxury tax, if he S&T KVH plus filler to get one of those guys you are sitting a top the West IMO.

[magnav0x]

I didn't like the trade in the first place, but George is being a little B#$@^ about it. First he cries about his play time and now this.

[hph6203]

I, like most of you, cannot even understand what George is thinking. I think he changes his mind and the deal goes through as it originally was planned.

There's no way he thinks he'll continue to start on this team with Howard, Stackhouse, and Harris all coming back healthy. There's no way that happens. If he gets any minutes after that I'll be surprised.

There's no way he'll get above the MLE next off season. No way. He's hit free agency twice since leaving the Lakers, the Mavs signed him to a 2 mil a year contract with the second year as a player option, and then signed a one year deal again after opting out. Neither time did he even approach the MLE at 5.5 mil.

I can't say I'm disappointed in him blocking the trade, but I was warming to the idea of Kidd being on the team.

[daoneandonly]

Does he think that his stellar play this year is going to get him above the MLE? I do not know how he can speculate that. My hope is to sub Hasell for George and Diop and call it a day. The other option is Jones and Faz or Jones and Howard.

I hate the initial trade, it makes me sick, if dallas can do this instead though id be much much happier, we cna keep diop and unload hassell. I dont know why everyone ithinkins a JET kidd backcourt will eb great, us till ahve terry's horrid D regardless of kidd's size, id trade terry and juwan to cleveland for boobie gibson and fillers (marhsall and newble) and then give george the thank you party he so desperatley deserves.

[dirkforpres]

This was a pretty lousy move on Deveans part... If he knows whats best for him, he needs to agree to the trade. Why does he even want to be in Dallas if they dont want him? Take your 0-11 shooting with you, Dev.

[Rand10]

Thank god for Devean George.

[DDansby123]

Thank god for Devean George.

Thank God, indeed. I'm so glad George was here to delay the inevitable, cause even more drama with this team, and in the process take away at least a few games these guys would have to gel together for the playoffs. Yes, he's a regular miracle worker...just not for the Mavs.

I will say this, though: I'd much rather keep George here if possible. I still think he's a solid contributor for us.

[Rand10]

Thank God, indeed. I'm so glad George was here to delay the inevitable, cause even more drama with this team, and in the process take away at least a few games these guys would have to gel together for the playoffs. Yes, he's a regular miracle worker...just not for the Mavs.

I will say this, though: I'd much rather keep George here if possible. I still think he's a solid contributor for us.

I don't want the trade to go through so screw having time to gel.

[oldeagle]

Couldn't get out of the first round as a number one seed and now can't make a trade. LOL we have the three stooges running the show.