ESPN NBA Insider - 8/19/04

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Thursday, August 19, 2004

By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider


It appears the Dallas Mavericks and Don Nelson can finally end the Erick Dampier soap opera. Numerous reports claim that the Mavs and Warriors have worked out a complicated trade that will ultimately send Dampier, Evan Eschmeyer and Dan Dickau to the Mavericks for Christian Laettner, Eduardo Najera, two future first-round picks and cash.

The report first surfaced on Tuesday evening. Why isn't it done? The conventional wisdom is that it can't happen until either Aug. 23rd or Sept. 20th because of specific rules in the CBA that prohibit a player who has already been traded from being retraded in a multiplayer deal within 60 days of his last trade.

Both Laettner (June 24th) and Dickau (July 20th) have already been traded this summer, which means they must wait 60 days before they can be packaged in a multiplayer trade. However, the Mavs and Warriors don't have to wait that long if they don't want to. There are loopholes in the CBA that could allow the deal to go down now.

Players can be retraded immediately as long as they are traded straight up for another player. For all of you salary-cap nerds out there who want to know how this trade can get done on Thursday … here's how it can work if the trade is really ready to go.


Laettner

Dampier
Laettner is traded straight up for Dampier. Laettner makes roughly $6.6 million this season. Dampier is being signed and traded from the Warriors. Because salaries have to be within 15 percent and $100,000 of each other in any trade, the Warriors could sign Dampier to a contract starting for as much as $7.7 million. Using that formula, the Warriors could give Dampier a deal worth as much as six years, $60.8 million and then ship him to Dallas. Not too shabby.

In a separate trade, the Mavs could send Najera ($3.8 million) to the Warriors straight up for Eschmeyer ($3.4 million). Again, with the 15 percent, $100,000 rule, their salaries are close enough to make it happen immediately.

Finally, Dickau could be sent separately in a trade to the Mavericks for one of several trade exceptions the team owns. The team has a $1.3 million trade exception it got in the Antoine Walker trade last summer that would be perfect for Dickau's $893,400 deal.

The cash and draft picks can be part of any of the above three trades. They don't affect the process.

Of course, if the trade could go down immediately … you have to ask yourself, why hasn't it? Is the deal really done? Is Dampier holding out for more cash than this scenario would allow? Why would he given the ever-shrinking market for his services?

No one is talking in Dallas or Golden State at the moment other than to say that deal has yet to be finalized (they are still hammering out contract details with Damp) and that the possibility of other teams getting involved (Charlotte is the team that keeps coming up) still exists.

Assuming for a second that the two sides work something out … what does this deal mean for the Mavs and Warriors?

The trade makes perfect sense for Dallas, especially if the Mavs can limit the amount of money and years they have to give Damp. Six years, $60 million is an awful lot of money for a 30-year-old, injury prone center coming off his only really great season in his eight-year career.

Dampier gives the Mavs a physical presence they've needed, seemingly forever. A lot is being made of the Mavericks' six centers. But really … Dampier is the first legit center the Mavs have had in years. Eschmeyer hasn't played in over a year because of injuries. Shawn Bradley is a role player who can help defensively in certain matchups. Booth has been awful over the past three seasons. He can block shots and face the basket, but he doesn't have the strength to guard most of the top centers in the post. Didier Illunga-Mbenga and Pavel Podkolzine are both raw rookies who weren't expected to get many minutes this season anyway.

The only area the team will lack depth in will be the power forward position. They're two deep everywhere else with Jason Terry and Devin Harris at the point, and Michael Finley, Marquis Daniels, Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse all capable of playing at either shooting guard or small forward. However, their only real power forward is Dirk Nowitzki. Booth can play the four in a pinch. Alan Henderson is an OK backup when he's healthy. Of course, that's usually about 10 games per season.

The Mavs could still make more moves. If the deal goes through they'll have a whopping 17 players under contract, not including their second-round pick, Luis Flores. Bradley will be expendable. Henderson has a valuable expiring contract. Stackhouse still doesn't look like a real fit coming off the bench. Dallas has more options.

The addition of Dampier, to play alongside Dirk, Finley and Stack, will pay off if he stays healthy. Damp is capable of giving the Mavs 12 points, 12 boards and two blocks per night. With the Mavs' depth in the middle, they don't have to play him more than 30 minutes per night, which should help preserve his health.

Looking at the West, that should be good enough to propel the Mavs back into the top four in the West along with the Spurs, Timberwolves and Kings. With Shaq out of the conference, Dampier has the chance to dominate. Will he take advantage? Or will he slip back to the dark days of single-digit points and rebounds in about 40 games per season?

Mark Cuban is making a calculated gamble here. But with the dearth of centers in the league, it's probably worth the risk.

For the Warriors, the deal is essentially a wash. They lost the third-best center in the league last season, but it appears they've been resigned to that all summer. They dumped Eschmeyer's horrible contract off their books and replaced him with Najera. Najera's contract is actually for more years and more money than Eschmeyer, but at least he hustles and fits Chris Mullin's vision of a scrappy squad that plays the right way. The two first round picks are the most valuable assets they receive.

There is no real salary-cap relief for the Warriors in this trade. This year, they're actually adding roughly $6 million to the payroll. Once you factor in that they had no plans to re-sign Dampier anyway, that's a pretty big jump. Next season, they add about $500,000 to the bottom line. Still, the Warriors could be as much as $15 million under the cap next season after Dale Davis, Cliff Robinson, Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy come off the books. However, Richardson and Murphy are both restricted free agents and the Warriors may end up using a huge chunk of that cash to re-sign them both.

Around the League

# Knicks settle for Baker: The big loser in the Erick Dampier sign-and-trade? The Knicks. Dampier seriously considered taking the Knicks mid-level exception. However, as Insider first reported two weeks ago, Vin Baker's agent, Aaron Goodwin, claimed that team president Isiah Thomas had already struck a verbal deal with Baker that would've taken most of their mid-level exception. The Knicks made good on that promise on Wednesday, re-signing Baker to a two-year deal with a first-year salary starting at $3.5 million.

Landing Baker isn't nearly the coup that Dampier would've been. Isiah vows that he's still working on improving his team. But without most of his mid-level exception and without any more expiring contracts to trade … he's running out of options. Talk of a Vince Carter trade to the Knicks (it resurfaced in the New York papers today) is silly. The Knicks just don't have the assets to pull off a deal like that. They still have Kurt Thomas, who has some trade value. As does Nazr Mohammed. But Vince Carter? Please.

# Swift, Miles still looking for jobs: With Dampier off the board, the focus now is on two restricted free agents, Stromile Swift and Darius Miles. Swift has drawn interest from a number of teams, however, the Grizzlies have refused to do sign-and-trades and have told teams they'll match any offer for Swift. There are two teams with enough cap space to make an offer to Swift that the Grizzlies might not be willing to match. The Hawks have $7.6 million in cap space available and the Bobcats have $7 million in cap space. Both teams could use him. But will they be willing to pay Swift that much cash to pry him away from Memphis? Now that the Grizzlies have lost out on Dampier and seem to be getting nowhere in their attempts to pry Eddy Curry away from the Bulls, they can't afford to lose Swift. They've been claiming all summer they'll match any offer. Maybe they will.

Miles is in a tougher situation. He hasn't received significant interest from either the Hawks or the Bobcats and he's had no contact with the Blazers over the past few weeks. The Blazers are refusing to talk sign-and-trade and Miles considers the offer on the table to be unacceptable. We've been saying for weeks that Miles may be forced to take the Blazers one year tender and try his luck as an unrestricted free agent next summer. That seems like a worst case scenario for the Blazers too, considering that they won't be able to trade Miles next year if he takes the tender. But this is what it's come to.

Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

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Thursday, August 19 Updated 1:27 PM EST

Rumor Central

Dampier going to Dallas in five-player deal

WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY

Erick Dampier
Warriors
Mavericks
Aug. 19 - Erick Dampier's odyssey will apparently wind up not in the Big Apple but in Big D. The Mavericks have agreed in principle to a trade that would send forwards Eduardo Najera and Christian Laettner, two future first-round picks and cash to the Golden State Warriors, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher on Aug. 17.

In exchange, the Mavs would acquire Dampier, center Evan Eschmeyer and guard Dan Dickau from Golden State.

NBA rules stipulate that no player can be dealt twice within a two-month period (both Laettner and Dickau were traded earlier this summer), but there are loopholes in the CBA that could allow the deal to go down now.

WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY

Vince Carter
Raptors
Knicks?
Hornets? Aug. 19 - Vince Carter reportedly wants to be traded, but talk of a Carter trade to the Knicks (it resurfaced in the New York papers today) is silly, says Insider's Chad Ford. The Knicks just don't have the assets to pull off a deal like that. They still have Kurt Thomas, who has some trade value. As does Nazr Mohammed. But Vince Carter? Please.

WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY

Stromile Swift
Grizzlies
Grizzlies
Hawks
Bobcats Aug. 19 - Swift has drawn interest from a number of teams, but the Grizzlies have refused to do sign-and-trades and have told teams they'll match any offer for Swift. There are two teams with enough cap space to make an offer to Swift that the Grizzlies might not be willing to match. The Hawks have $7.6 million in cap space available and the Bobcats have $7 million in cap space. Both teams could use him. But will they be willing to pay Swift that much cash to pry him away from Memphis? Now that the Grizzlies have lost out on Erick Dampier and seem to be getting nowhere in their attempts to pry Eddy Curry away from the Bulls, they can't afford to lose Swift. They've been claiming all summer they'll match any offer. Maybe they will.

WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY

Darius Miles
Blazers
Blazers
Hawks?
Bobcats? Aug. 19 - Miles hasn't received significant interest from either the Hawks or the Bobcats and he's had no contact with the Blazers over the past few weeks. The Blazers are refusing to talk sign-and-trade and Miles considers the offer on the table to be unacceptable. We've been saying for weeks that Miles may be forced to take the Blazers' one-year tender and try his luck as an unrestricted free agent next summer. That seems like a worst-case scenario for the Blazers too, considering that they won't be able to trade Miles next year if he takes the tender. But this is what it's come to.

WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY

Karl Malone
Lakers
Lakers
Spurs
Heat Aug. 19 - Rudy Tomjanovich says he's confident that Karl Malone will stay with his new team. Tomjanovich says he met with Malone recently and believes the power forward, who went down with a knee injury in December, won't leave.

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Thursday, August 19, 2004

By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider


Finally.

After three weeks of watching Team USA sleepwalk through the prelims and the opening games of the Olympics, the team caught fire in the second half versus Australia on Thursday, dominating with physical, aggressive defense on the perimeter and the inside play of Tim Duncan.

The keys to Team USA's success start with getting the ball to Duncan in the middle. Against a very porous Australian front line, Duncan dominated. He scored 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting and was essentially unstoppable when he caught the ball in the paint. Other international teams will provide stiffer defense against Duncan in the middle, but there's no reason that anyone on Team USA should take more shots than Duncan. He's the best player in the world.

After getting burned by the Australian shooters in the first half, Team USA got aggressive in the second half, crowding the perimeter and harassing shooters into taking off balance, wild 3s. Led by Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Shawn Marion and Lamar Odom, this was the first time we've seen Team USA really crowd the perimeter they way they need to.

The top players on Team USA are also beginning to separate themselves from the pack. Duncan and Iverson have been great. James should be getting 25 to 30 minutes a night alongside Duncan and Iverson. He's the best passer on the team and has been a force defensively. Most importantly, good things seem to happen when LeBron is on the floor.

Odom and Marion have also been good over the past couple of games, doing all the little things Brown has asked them to do. That should be Larry's starting five and he should stick with them all for 25 to 30 minutes a night.

On the flip side, Richard Jefferson and Stephon Marbury in particular, have been awful. Brown's insistence on starting them is ridiculous. Like many other NBA players, their games, as good as they are, don't translate at the international level. They don't have the shooting ability or team mindset you need to play at this level.

While many European stars would be awful in NBA, the reverse is also true. There are some NBA stars who wouldn't see the light of day on a good Euroleague team. Jefferson and Marbury are prime examples.

That leads me to a modest proposal for the powers that be at USA basketball.

Let's forget filling up our international teams with NBA stars and start tapping a pristine reserve of American basketball players that no one talks about. Let's have the role players on Team USA come from a pool of Americans overseas who happen to be international stars.

I've read the proposals that we send over the NBA champs each season, or that we fill the team with role players from the NBDL or the CBA so that we can create a year-round team.

The NBA champ thing is a great idea that, unfortunately, is completely unworkable. There is so much offseason turnover and such an influx of international players on rosters … how could we really field a team that way? What if the Spurs won the title last year? Duncan was the only American in their starting five!

The Lakers? They traded Shaq and almost lost Kobe in free agency. Even when Kobe signed, his legal problems would've prevented him from playing. Devean George wouldn't have been able to get it done on his own.

Even Detroit would've struggled to field the same team. Remember, Rasheed Wallace was an unrestricted free agent, and Mehmet Okur would've been ineligible to fill his role. A key injury or two or a holdout by a key player and that team would be finished.

The NBDL or CBA route is just silly. There's a reason those players aren't in the NBA. I don't care if they practiced 365 days a year. Teamwork and chemistry are important … but you've got to have talent.

That brings me to a solution that a few people are beginning to talk about. A number of American players are having very successful careers playing in the Euroleague right now. Former college stars like Tyus Edney, Scoonie Penn and Trajan Langdon are dominating. Given our lack of shooting and understanding of the international game … why can't these guys get a spot on our roster?

"People totally forget about guys like that," Pistons international scout Tony Ronzone told Insider. "They'd be perfect for what we're trying to do. European teams value them and respect them. They play against the top international talent every night and dominate. Why wouldn't they do the same thing in international tournaments. They're proven competitors against the top players in the world."

Before the executives at NBC hyperventilate (I think they are as responsible as Stu Jackson or Larry Brown for some of the team selections) let's put this in perspective.

I'm not suggesting that we scrap using NBA players for the Olympics. If Duncan, LeBron, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Jermaine O'Neal or Tracy McGrady want to play … by all means, we let them. Ditto for some NBA players who would excel in the international game. That includes guys like Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Michael Redd. Even young players like Chris Bosh would be a nice addition because of the style of basketball he plays.

But after that, I'd draw the line. Why have NBA players just for the sake of having them? Especially when you can have experienced players who not only know the game, but have been dominating in it for years.


Scoonie Penn thinks a different group of American players could lead Team USA to gold.
Penn, a former Ohio State star and Big 10 player of the year, was one of the top players in the Euroleague last year playing for Cibona in Zagreb, Croatia. I got him on the phone on Tuesday. He too has been watching the Olympics. Unlike most Americans, however, he isn't surprised.

"The European game is very different," Penn told Insider. "It takes a while to get used to. The zone. The lane. The refs. It took me several months to really get into the groove there. There's no way a team is going to play together for a few weeks and pick up all the nuances. That takes years."

Penn, like a growing chorus of NBA scouts and executives, believes that a few players like himself would make a big difference.

"We know the players, know the coaches and what they like to do," he said. "We know the refs and understand the team game. You can't be an individual over here. They beat that out of you. We've learned how to play the team game. We've really got the best of both worlds. We've played the American game at the college and NBA level and we know the international game inside and out. "

Ronzone agrees. "The only reason some of these guys aren't in the NBA is because of size or defensive issues. They're perfect for the international game, however. Most of the top Americans can shoot it, know how to run the offenses and know how to defend the best players. If nothing else, they'd provide great leadership for our team."

Penn still believes that Team USA can win the gold, but he thinks the current players need to respect the international game more first.

"I've played in both leagues and I can tell you that these guys know how to play," Penn said. "It's intense. The practices are two times as intense as what you go through in the NBA. We spend a lot more time on fundamentals over here. When you underestimate guys that are hungry, you get surprised. Team USA has looked out of synch out there. Like they're surprised at what they're seeing. Nothing would take us by surprise."

The biggest challenge for USA basketball will be finding a dominant American big man overseas. There are a number of guards who excel there, but few big men. Still, if we could get six dominant players from the NBA, with an emphasis on big men, here are six Americans playing overseas who would be perfect to round out Team USA's roster.

THE INTERNATIONAL SIX


Tyus Edney is known for his strong play in big games.
Tyus Edney, PG, Benetton (Italy)

2003-04 Stats 15.2 ppg, 4.5 apg
The former UCLA star led his NCAA team to a national championship. He was drafted by the Kings in the second round of the 1995 draft and played several seasons in Sacramento and a year with the Celtics before heading to Europe. He's won at every level in Europe. He was named to the 2001-02 and 2002-03 All Euroleague first team and most recently was the 2003 Italian Cup Finals MVP. Edney is passing machine who comes up big in the biggest games. The fact that he shot 52 percent from 3 during the 2002-03 Euroleague season and is a career 44 percent shooter from 3 makes him a great fit for Team USA.

Scoonie Penn, PG, Cibona (Croatia)

2003-04 Stats 13.8 ppg, 3.3 apg
Penn, a former standout at Ohio State, was drafted by the Hawks in 2000 and spent a year playing for the Chicago Bulls before heading to Europe. He won the Week 5 MVP honors for the Euroleague this season and has gained a reputation as one of the best 3-point shooters and perimeter defenders in the Euroleague. He shot 42.4 percent from 3 last season as well as averaged 2.3 spg for Cibona (Croatia) last season.

Marcus Brown, SG, CSKA (Russia)

2003-04 Stats 18.7 ppg, 4.2 apg
Brown played his college ball at Murray State and was a second-round draft pick of the Blazers in 1996. He's one of the top scorers in Europe, dominating for one of the strictest coaches and most conservative offenses in Europe. He was named to the 2003-04 All-Euroleague first team He was huge for CSKA in the Euroleague Final 4 this year, averaging 25 ppg and shooting 60 percent from 3.

Anthony Parker, SG/SF, Maccabi (Israel)

2003-04 Stats 16 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.5 apg
Parker was this year's Euroleague Final Four MVP, averaging 24 ppg and shooting 75 percent from 3 on the way to Maccabi's stunning Euroleague title. For the season he shot 49 percent from beyond the arc and is considered one of the most athletic players in Europe. The former Bradley star was originally drafted by the 76ers in 1997 and also played a year for the Magic in 1999. Given his clutch play in the international game's biggest event, he'd be a must for the squad.


Langdon was a bust in the NBA, but is a star in Europe
Trajan Langdon, SG/SF, Efes Pilsen (Turkey)

2003-04 Stats 14.2 ppg, 3 rpg
He was a bust for the Cavs -- the former No. 11 pick in the 2000 NBA draft -- but he's been a big hit in Italy and Turkey the past two seasons. He had a great rep at Duke for being one of the best shooters in the country, but his lack of defense, size and opportunity killed his stock in the NBA. Langdon may never be a great NBA player, but his style is perfectly suited for the European game. He's a 45 percent career shooter from 3-point range in Europe. Given our miserable 13 percent 3-point shooting in the Olympics, you think we could use him?

Joseph Blair, PF/C

2003-04 Stats 12.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg
The former Arizona big man was drafted by the Sonics in the second round of the 1996 NBA draft and has had a great career in Europe. He was the MVP of the Euroleague in 2003 when he averaged 15.4 ppg and 10.7 rpg for the Turkish team Ulker. He's big, physical and is used to going up against the top European bigs every night.

Put those six on the floor with Duncan, Iverson, James, Odom, Marion and either Amare Stoudemire or Carlos Boozer and Penn is confident that we would bring home the gold.

"We'd bring it home," Penn said. "It's nothing against the guys that play it right now. But I just think with a little more experience and some better shooting, we'd be running away from this thing."

So, if invited next time around, would Penn heed the call?

"In a heartbeat," Penn said. "It's an honor to represent your country. People forget about what we do here. I think we'd make everyone proud."

Now that's a refreshing idea.

Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

[TheSHOT]

While many European stars would be awful in NBA, the reverse is also true. There are some NBA stars who wouldn't see the light of day on a good Euroleague team. Jefferson and Marbury are prime examples.->의미심장