Dampier to Dallas...?

[FanOfAll]

Good deal for the Warriors. Najera is an upgrade over the useless, fat contract Eschmeyer. Najera himself does have a bad contract, but at least he can play ball and good defense. Lattner is another expiring contract for the W's...and the other DD, Dan Dickau wasn't exactly needed. I hear one of the picks will be from the 76ers...better than both from Dallas, or so it appears on paper.

Good move by Dallas as well. Cuban wants more salary, but at least this puts his team in serious contention. I've never been high on Dampier, but he's better than Lattner, Booth, Pavel, Bradley, whoever that new guy with a two piece last name is, Henderson or whoever else Nelson decides to throw at center (now imagine if he had Boris Diaw.......). I didn't see Najera playing much and ditto to Eschmeyer. I don't think picks are really necessary anymore...with two youngsters on the wing plus Finley locked up for the next several years. Harris and Terry at the point, Dirk and projects for big men, Dallas doesn't need picks.

[hmm]

....................................

[Riot]

and who called it? Who was the first one to post BEFORE ESPN EVEN POSTED IT. WOW im on the ball!

[FanOfAll]

and who called it? Who was the first one to post BEFORE ESPN EVEN POSTED IT. WOW im on the ball!

Props. Although being before ESPN is nothing. They are slow as a tortoise...well I admit this off-season they've been pretty quick. Usually they're at least 12 hours behind.

[air gordon]

good job, riot... it's the latter part of the offseason so there isn't too much going on. most of the threads now are speculation/fantasy trade scenarios/etc, so some people should just chill out

not sure if dampier will hamper their running game since controlling the boards is one of the keys to starting the fastbreak

wow what a big surprise if/when this trade becomes official. i never thought dallas would be a serious contender for dampier

[Riot]

only time I thought they would get dampier is earlier in the off-season to try and get the Lakers to send Shaq to dallas.

Other than that, they have really been out of the Dampier news from what I've read. This is big!

[twolvezfanfoever]

I don't care, the team is on the decline anyways. Hopefully, Damp won't be a 1 year wonder, even though he wasn't even great.

[Jackal]

Apologies for bumping this way up but...

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.

Hehe, they got back Eschmeyer, wasn't he shipped off to the Warriors with Van Exel?

Dallas fans must be rejoicing, finally the long awaited big-man.

Source. (Sign-up)

[Riot]

yup, good trade for Dallas. I was thinking maybe 7th seed or 6th seed for them but after this trade they have a solid lineup. Hopefully they can put it together. Although, I don't think Don Nelson is the coach for them.

[matmat8]

Oops, didn't see before i posted.
Let's keep it all here.

[.]

Dallas finally got what they have been looking for, for many years....a true center and a rebounding dominator. This deal is huge for them.

[Sauru]

nice pick up for the mavs but definetly over paid for him. he is not worth 73 mil but then again this season everyone got over paid. not to mention that cuban dont care what he pays them. i wonder though, if the mavs finally do get the ring will he still be willing to pay so much for a team?

[alexboom]

eerrr ... I'd now say that Dallas are Title contenders now with the signing of Dampier

[Andre]

I guess Shaq will get so many christmas present this year....

[Owen]

when its going to be official ?

[Owen]

never mind, found the link for the official annoucement

http://www.nba.com/mavericks/news/mavs_complete_trade_with_golden_state.html

[Jackal]

Just a few details on the trade. Plus a nice little un-known fact to me & I'm sure un-known to a few around here.

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.

Source. (Sign-Up)

I still think the contract is a bit too big. They could've kept Nash at the same price. 6 year deal worth 63 million for a 29 year old Center with a good year, hmm...I'd still go with Nash.

[Sauru]

dampier is lucky to be in this years free agent list. everyone was overpaid this year. he definetly aint worth 73 mil but they needed someone in the middle and money dont mean anything to mr cuban.

[magius]

as long as dampier doesnt revert to the dipshit he was, dallas is slightly better off with him than nash in my opinion. Its not because he's a better player, far from, but because he provides something dallas doesn't have and sorely lacks while nash provides a kind of talent they somewhat have plenty of; I don't see dallas suddenly becoming retarted on offense without stevey. That said, its still a tough choice, because i think nash was the heart and soul of that mav team and i love him as a player. Then again great points are not prerequisites to a championship, but average-good-great defensive big men most certainly are

[magius]

probably not, but they werent going to win the champioinship this season staying status quo either. And I wouldnt exactly call it "thriving" considering they never once made it to the finals. But, to tell you the truth, personally i do prefer nash, because i liked the nash-nowitzki duo, but I see the advantages of dampier, and I guess they are crossing their fingers that whatshisface they drafted is gonna be good. It's a risk, but it has potential for a pretty good pay off, but on the other hand, it could suck ass because nash was the guy that got things done come crunch time (or at least tried). also, if whatshisname isnt ready, ball distribution may be somewhat chaotic. thank god they got rid of walker

but like i said, consider this: whens the last time a team won a championship without an all star point guard. Now, whens the last time a team won a championship without a decent defensive big man. dallas couldnt afford the big man AND nash, so they got the big man and put mucho hope in the fact that maybe their rookie can fill some big time shoes. To me, that seems a better scenario than having a guaranteed number one point, but zero hope of said big man.

edit: i forgot they got terry. I think i prefer terry + dampier over nash by himself.

my starting dallas lineup

C bradley
PF dampier
SF nowitzki
SG finley
PG terry

C podkolzin/booth
PF henderson/williams
SF josh howard/abdul wahad
SG stackhouse/daniels
PG best/harris

I like dampier handling the best post player one on one with bradley and sometimes dirk (if he can learn how to defend) providing help. Most nba teams dont have a post player that needs that kind of effort though, so on most nights id probably go dampier, dirk, finley, stack, terry. If podkolzin develops dallas can be VERY dangerous in the near future and VERY VERY oversized .

In a way i kind of like the way dallas is heading, they cut back on star players that are so good at everything they cant concentrate on one thing, and bring in rookies they can develop into their system and some alright role players.

[Riot]

they paid Daniels too much money to be a 3rd string.

[J@3]

He's also going to be on the coaching staff

[Andrew]

I don't think losing Nash and gaining Dampier is a fair exchange, but the Warriors are certainly better at centre for having acquired him. As magius noted though, that hinges on him not losing motivation now that he's had a good season in his contract year and received a big payday.

[Jackal]

the Warriors are certainly better at centre for having acquired him.

Mavericks, he went to the Mavs. Hehe, this is what happens when you become old.

[Matt]

I wonder if Dampier will become what Fortson was in Dallas.....useless