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Tweaks likely if Dallas Mavericks get deal done for Kidd
The Mavericks and New Jersey Nets are working to resuscitate the trade of Jason Kidd. And it probably will require a transplant or two.
Most likely, it won't happen in the original form. That deal – already up against a major roadblock in Devean George's continued resistance to giving up a small piece of leverage in his contract – may face another problem because of Jerry Stackhouse's comments Wednesday.
When the deal became public knowledge, Stackhouse said he wasn't going anywhere and that he would return to the Mavericks after a 30-day sitting period. That's because the Nets would buy out his contract, freeing Stackhouse to rejoin the Mavericks after 30 days.
League spokesman Tim Frank said the league may look into the situation, but added there is no truth to reports that the NBA has decided to block Stackhouse's return to the Mavericks in such a trade.
Late Friday, Nets president Rod Thorn also denied the reports, saying he would never agree to any sort of prearranged stipulation.
The league typically frowns on players flaunting loopholes in the collective bargaining agreement. Most likely, this is another situation gumming up things, making it less likely that the original deal will ever come to fruition.
That doesn't mean the teams aren't working to salvage it.
Neither owner Mark Cuban nor general manager Donnie Nelson responded to interview requests Friday. However, Thorn said he envisioned many scenarios that might be feasible to retool the deal and make it happen.
The league is likely to wait until Monday to review any trades to which teams agree, so as not to overshadow All-Star weekend.
Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki said Friday they expect a quick resolution to the deal one way or another. Both players were in an NBA community initiative at a Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood.
Nets president Rod Thorn said the window remains open for trading Jason Kidd, here working to refurbish a home in New Orleans, to the Mavericks.
Kidd was scraping paint off a window, on the outside looking in at Dirk Nowitzki, who was painting a ceiling in one of the houses the NBA is helping rebuild in this still-recovering city.
"I'm outside, he's inside," Kidd said. "They're keeping us separated – literally."
Nowitzki added that he didn't think the original deal would work. But he and Kidd expressed confidence in something getting done.
"My gut said it was done," Kidd said. "And it's been put on hold. I'm a big believer that things happen for a reason. Whatever happens is meant to happen. I'm a Net right now. But I would love to be a Mav if it works out.
"It's just awkward. There's a lot of people in limbo, not just myself. It'll work itself out, hopefully sooner and not later."
Like everybody else, Nowitzki has been waiting and wondering if something will happen to allow the trade to go through. He's tantalized by the thought of a threesome of himself, Kidd and Josh Howard, along with Jason Terry, who would probably get better looks as a spot-up shooter.
But nothing is going to happen until after the All-Star break, if it happens at all.
"Mark and Donnie have been doing a good job of making the best decisions for this organization, and I'm sure they'll make the right one in this one, too," Nowitzki said.
"We'll see what happens after the break. I've been around for 10 years, and this is about the weirdest time for the Mavericks, because the players came to the game thinking they might get traded, but they still had to dress and play. It was a strange time."
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DALLAS MAVERICKS
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Tweaks likely if Dallas Mavericks get deal done for Kidd
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