Kidd To The Mavs?
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
So I wrote yesterday briefly about the Jason Kidd trade to the Mavs, which at the time seemed imminent. However, after a couple of interesting developments, maybe not so much.
The first is that role player Devean George exercised his option to veto the trade. He does not have a no-trade option, but rather a little-known and little-used option because of his second one-year contract with the Mavs. They are called early-bird rights, and basically it gives the Mavs the option of signing George to a contract exceeding the salary cap (thus more money) at the end of his current contract. If George is traded, he loses that right. Which is why he has the ability to veto any potential trade, in order to make the most possible money.
No one actually expected George to exercise that option, given that he is basically terrible (especially against the Suns, where he is notorious for putting dropping deuces in the middle of the court and being booed off the court when he played with the Lakers), and the Mavs were unlikely to sign him to much money, if at all. But, he had the right and chose to use it.
All of which I find hilarious. Like, really, really hilarious. The Mavs and Nets were ready to do this deal, with everyone involved already accepting the fact they were getting traded. The Nets held Kidd out of there game yesterday because of it. Jerry Stackhouse spoke to the media about being traded to the Nets, and what was going to happen when he got there (Much, much more on that in a paragraph or two). Dumb move Stack, dumb move).
After George exercised his option and it appeared the trade hit a snag, Dallas decided to play the players involved in the trade rumor (George, Diop, Stack and Harris). Well, sort of. Stack didn’t play, Harris is hurt, Diop dropped in a whopping 4 points, and Devean George went a spectacular 0-11 with 0 points. Oh, and he got booed. Again. Ha ha ha!
As if this whole Devean George saga isn’t funny enough (it is), there’s the small little detail about Jerry Stackhouse. You see, apparently the Nets were going to buy out Stack once he got there. Why I’m not sure, because Stack is a good player and good actually help a Nets team that is currently sitting in the 7 spot for the playoffs. Regardless, the Nets told Stack of their plan, and apparently the Mavs are interested in re-signing Stack after the Nets buy him out.
Two things: First, after a person is traded and bought out, they must wait 30 days to re-sign with their former team (the Mavs). Second, you can’t, you know, TELL PEOPLE THAT AGREEMENT IS ALREADY IN PLACE. Apparently Stack did not get the second memo. The NBA has this thing called the collective bargaining agreement, and the Mavs having an agreement in place to re-sign Stack would be a clear violation of that.
If that is the case, the trade could run into more problems, mainly those of David Stern and the NBA offices. If it is found they had an agreement in place, their will (should) be punishment from the NBA. What that punishment could be is up for speculation, but some things I have heard range from a veto of the trade altogether to not allowing the Mavs to re-sign Stack at any point this season.
Whatever happens, it should be an interesting couple of days. I still feel the trade will happen, given that both teams want to do it, it has already been agreed to in principle, and George does not seem completely against the trade, just that he wanted to evaluate it further. That said, it may have to be altered some in the form of who’s going where.
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Posted by Todd
Todd writes and admins for the Dennis Green Postgame Press Conference, a new blog about sports in the Valley, as well as around the country.
http://valleysports.blogspot.com/
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