Clueless Mavericks Could Have Gotten More For Kidd
Around the NBA
The front office making the most questionable moves these days no longer belongs to the Boston Celtics or the Los Angeles Clippers or the New Jersey Nets, but to the Mavericks, the triggermen of the Kidd trade.
Whether the trade with the Phoenix Suns was good or bad for Dallas won’t be debated here, because it’ll take another year or two to determine which team was wise and which was foolish.
But as far as which is clueless, well, the Mavericks win that one hands down.
Exactly who is calling the shots, and why? The Mavericks interviewed Dave Wohl and they have Mark Aguirre hanging around for “expert advice,” but the buck stops with Frank Zaccanelli, a car salesman brought in to run the team by Ross Perot Jr. during the ownership change last summer.
It doesn’t matter if the Mavs received adequate compensation for Kidd in the form of A.C. Green, Sam Cassell and Michael Finley. The problem is they never shopped Kidd to the highest bidder. If they had, their take could’ve been even more attractive.
“I know Jerry West would’ve unloaded the shop to bring Jason Kidd to L.A. and to Shaq,” one GM said. “He would’ve given them Nick Van Exel and Cedric Ceballos, and that’s just for starters.”
And who knows, maybe the New York Knicks would’ve parted with Chris Childs and Dallas native Larry Johnson.
A Penny for his thoughts
By moving from Orlando to Los Angeles, Shaquille O’Neal was willing to swap to get Spago for the Waffle House, Disneyland for Disney World, Del Harris for Brian Hill and most definitely Eddie Jones for Nick Anderson.
But there is one trade-off that has given Shaq some moments of regret: Nick Van Exel for Penny Hardaway.
Very recently, Shaq expressed some apprehension about Van Exel while speaking to a confidant.
“He called me the other day,” the source recalled, “and said, ‘Now I know what everyone was talking about.’ “
The source went on to say Shaq hasn’t exactly been overjoyed with Van Exel’s tendency to assume the Lakers offense. Shaq believes there are times, like the fourth quarter, when the ball should find its way into his hands. He is bent on proving to everyone, mainly the people paying his $121 million contract, that he isn’t a liability in fourth quarters because of poor free-throw shooting.
Around the league
The Seattle SuperSonics waived backup center Antonio Harvey, who signed with with the club on Nov. 15. In six games, Harvey averaged 2.5 points and 1.7 rebounds.
New York Knicks point guard Chris Childs missed Sunday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks because of back spasms.