Kidd traded to dallas

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
February 13, 2008

Jason Kidd was so determined to make his way back to the Dallas Mavericks, he has contemplated wearing No. 2 on his jersey to honor a return to where his career started in 1994.

Despite Kidd’s doubts that the Nets and Mavericks would ever come to an agreement, two league sources close to the negotiations said an agreement in principle has been reached on Wednesday. After wavering for weeks, Dallas owner Mark Cuban has sacrificed some of his franchise’s future to chase a championship in the short term. The agreement would send five players, including point guard Devin Harris, and first round picks in 2008 and 2010, for the future Hall of Fame guard.

The two teams are still exchanging insurance information and going through the normal procedures with the league office to finalize the deal.

Kidd, who turns 35 next month, goes to Dallas with an unmistakable mandate: Bring a title for a team and career that are desperately seeking it. As part of the trade, the Mavericks would also send Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George, DeSagna Diop, Maurice Ager and $3 million to New Jersey. Along with Kidd, the Nets send reserve forward Malik Allen to the Mavs.

In a separate deal, the Nets are sending guard Antoine Wright to Dallas for a future second-round pick and possibly other considerations, one source said.

For New Jersey, president Rod Thorn brought back the three elements he most wanted for Kidd: a good young player (Harris), expiring contracts (Diop and George) and draft picks. What’s more, the Nets plan to buyout the rest of Stackhouse’s contract. Stackhouse can become an immediate free agent, but must wait 30 days to re-sign with Dallas.

One league source expected Stackhouse to return to the Mavericks.

For the Nets, this clears cap space next season. It will allow them to re-sign forward Nenad Krstic and start rebuilding the franchise after seven straight playoff appearances with Kidd. The Nets are still discussing a Vince Carter-Jermaine O’Neal trade with the Indiana Pacers, but two sources close to those discussions placed odds below 50 percent. According to one source, the Nets have gone so far as talking to O’Neal’s doctors in Indiana about the state of his troubled knee.

Despite Cuban’s public dismissals, the talks between the two teams were restarted on Sunday when the Mavericks lost to the Nets in New Jersey. After watching the Lakers and Suns make moves for Pau Gasol and Shaquille O’Neal, the Mavericks could no longer sit on the sidelines. There was an element of toughness and leadership that had been missing in Dallas, and team officials believe Kidd transforms them. Immediately, this trade solidifies the Mavericks, who are 34-17 and holding the third spot in the Western Conference playoff, as a serious championship contender.

When motivated, Kidd can still play the point-guard position at the highest level. He desperately wanted this trade and Nets officials knew that they could no longer function as a franchise until they honored his wishes.


Adrian Wojnarowski is the NBA columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Send Adrian a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.