It seemed clear enough to all just yesterday that the New Jersey Nets had successfully sent star point guard Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks in a multi-player, blockbuster trade. Yet, forward Devean George, who was part of the deal, evoked a little-known rule which temporarily puts the deal on hold.
"There's been mention of a snag," said Kidd, "but everything works itself out at the end of the day. I had a great time here in New Jersey. ... We've done a lot to turn this franchise around. So it's been a good time." [Source: ESPN.com]
It seems the trade may still happen, but George didn't want it to go through until he discussed it with his agent first. Ironically, George has recently asked to be traded if his minutes didn't improve.
On Wednesday, the Mavericks and Nets had made a verbal agreement to swap point guard Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager and Devean George of the Mavericks, along with $3 million in cash and two future first-round picks for the Nets' Kidd and Malik Allen.
But George was able to evoke an obscure rule that enabled him to put the trade on hold. The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant is the only player in the league with a specific no-trade clause in his contract, but according to league rules, players on a one-year contract who spent the previous season with the same team are eligible for "Early Bird" (named after Boston Celtics former star Larry Bird) free agent rights at the end of the contract, which means they can't be traded without agreeing to it.
In all likelihood, this deal will happen. George isn't expected to put it on hold forever as doing so could put him in bad blood with his Mavericks teammates. Moreover, even if George wasn't involved in the deal, the Mavericks could make adjustments to make it work.
The biggest downside of this trade for the Mavericks is losing DeSagana Diop. The Nets are expected to buy-out Jerry Stackhouse's contract, which would give him the opportunity to re-sign with Dallas 30 days later. However, losing Diop would mean the Mavs would have to rely soley on the inconsistent Erick Dampier at center without much to back him up. With the Western Conference as big as it is (the Lakers have Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol; the Suns have Shaquille O'Neal and Amare Stoudemire; the Spurs have Tim Duncan; the Jazz have Carlos Boozer; etc.), losing a top-notch post defender like Diop could make things difficult. However, in order to get a star like Jason Kidd, the Mavericks are willing to take that gamble.
This trade would be the third blockbuster deal in less than a month, with the Los Angeles Lakers recently acquiring Pau Gasol and the Phoenix Suns adding Shaquille O'Neal.
