Riot wrote:and who called it? Who was the first one to post BEFORE ESPN EVEN POSTED IT. WOW im on the ball!
Today, the Mavericks can officially call Erick Dampier one of their own.
In a sign-and-trade deal that involves seven players and a pair of draft picks, the Mavericks have agreed to ship popular forward Eduardo Najera, forward Christian Laettner, rookie guard Luis Flores, forward Mladen Sekularac and two first-round picks to the Golden State Warriors for Dampier, center Evan Eschmeyer and guard Dan Dickau. Donnie Nelson, Mavericks president of basketball operations, said the deal will be finalized today.
The key to the trade is Dampier, a 30-year-old, 6-foot-11, 265-pound center who should provide immediate help for the Mavericks. Last year, he averaged 12.3 points, was fourth in the NBA in rebounds (12 per game), third in field-goal shooting (.535 percent), first in offensive rebounds (4.6) and 15th in blocks (1.85).
"He's one of the top centers in the West," said Nelson, who is in Athens for the Olympic Games. "He's a guy that can block shots and hold down the middle defensively."
The deal, in principle, was announced last week. But since the Mavs acquired Laettner on June 24 from the Washington Wizards, he couldn't be traded for 60 days under terms of the collective-bargaining agreement.
Dickau's availability also came into question since the Warriors obtained him July 20 in a trade from Portland. But Nelson said the Mavs won't have to wait 60 days before they can acquire Dickau since they plan on using their trade exception -- Dickau will make $893,000 next season.
Also, Sekularac and Flores have been added to the trade.
The Mavs drafted Sekularac in the second round (55th overall) of the 2002 NBA Draft, and the 6-8 forward played on their summer league team that year. He chose to continue his basketball career in his native Yugoslavia.
Flores wasn't a member of the Mavericks very long. The 6-2 guard from Manhattan was drafted June 24 by the Houston Rockets, and his draft rights were traded to the Mavs later that day.
Laettner, 35, is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $6.187 million next season.
After a summer that linked the Mavericks to trades involving Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, Nelson is glad the team was able to land a center of Dampier's caliber.
"He's a terrific kid," Nelson said. "He's gotten better every year that he's been in the league."
How the Mavericks spent their summer:
June 24: Trade F Antawn Jamison and cash to Washington for G Jerry Stackhouse, F Christian Laettner and draft rights to G Devin Harris.
July 1: G Steve Nash accepts six-year, $66 million free-agent offer from Phoenix.
July 14: Sign restricted free agent G Marquis Daniels to five-year, $29.4 million contract.
July 14: Sign free agent C Didier Ilunga-Mbenga.
July 26: Trade F Danny Fortson to Seattle for C Calvin Booth.
July 29: Sign rookie C Pavel Podkolzin.
Aug. 4: Trade F Antoine Walker and G Tony Delk to Atlanta for G Jason Terry, F Alan Henderson and a first-round draft pick.
Today: Trade F Eduardo Najera, F Christian Laettner, G Luis Flores, F Mladen Sekularac and two first-round draft picks to Golden State for C Erick Dampier, C Evan Eschmeyer and G Dan Dickau.
The Mavericks not only got the center of their dreams, they found out he's a year younger than everybody thought.
The sign-and-trade deal for Erick Dampier became official Tuesday as NBA officials OK'd the eight-player swap that also includes draft picks and cash.
"It's one of the best deals of the summer," coach Don Nelson said. "We were able to acquire one of the best free agents available. We're going to be a different team. And a pretty darn good one, too."
An age discrepancy that was clarified last week allowed Dampier to sign a seven-year, $63 million contract. That helped bring the 29-year-old to Dallas. And, yes, Dampier is officially 29, a year younger than he is listed in official NBA guides and registers. Dampier's records with the league had his birth date as July 14, 1974. However, he actually was born in 1975, meaning he turned 29 last month.
That was a critical issue because players 30 years or older cannot sign contracts longer than six years. And so, the deal was finalized Tuesday as the Mavericks sent Eduardo Najera, Christian Laettner, the draft rights to Luis Flores and Mladen Sekularac, two future first-round draft choices and cash to the Golden State Warriors for Dampier, Evan Eschmeyer, Dan Dickau and Steve Logan. One of the draft picks is the Mavericks' 2007 first-rounder. The other is Philadelphia's, which was acquired from Atlanta last month in the Antoine Walker trade.
Dampier is coming off the best season of his eight-year career, averaging 12.3 points and 12 rebounds per game. He was one of only nine players to average a double-double last season. The Mavericks believe he is just entering his prime.
"Obviously, center is an area we wanted to address, and Damp is one of the top centers in the NBA," Donnie Nelson, president of basketball operations, said from Greece, where he is assisting Lithuania's national team in the Olympics. "He can hold the fort with his rebounding, his shot-blocking and his low-post presence. Plus, he'll be a real asset in our locker room.
"We feel pretty good about our roster. ... I think this is probably the team we'll put on the floor, subject to some minor tweaks."
If the season began today, the Mavericks' starting lineup would look like this: Dampier, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, Marquis Daniels and Jason Terry.
Off the bench would be Devin Harris, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, Shawn Bradley, Calvin Booth and D.J. Mbenga. The rest of the roster: Evan Eschmeyer, Dan Dickau, Pavel Podkolzin, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Alan Henderson, Jon Stefansson and Avery Johnson, who says he will sign with the club. The Mavericks will have to trim the roster to 15 players by opening day.
It's virtually impossible to make an NBA trade that everybody believes is a steal.
This deal is no different. Critics will point out that Dampier's only breakout seasons have come while he played for his next contract and that he reverted inside his shell after signing his first big deal.
"That's human nature," Donnie Nelson said. "I don't think that should be a concern to anybody. It's certainly not for us. Erick's a guy of high integrity."
Another possible concern is that Don Nelson has never enjoyed much success when coaching true centers. He had Patrick Ewing for four months in New York, but the two never were on the same page.
"To all those skeptics, I'd just tell them to wait and see what happens," Don Nelson said. "The easiest thing for a coach to do is to throw the ball into the middle to a quality center."
And, for the first time in years, the Mavericks finally have one.
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