I guess Cuban won't be done after the Dampier trade

[ChumpDumper]

Mavs' deal for Dampier to be official Tuesday

By Dwain Price

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Erick Dampier will officially become a member of the Mavericks on Tuesday.

In a sign-and-trade deal that involves seven players and a pair of draft picks, the Mavericks have agreed to ship 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 au.

Donnie Nelson, the Mavs' president of basketball operations, said the deal will be finalized Tuesday.

The key to the trade is the 30-year old Dampier, a 6-11, 265-pound wide-body center who should provide immediate help inside the paint for the Mavericks. Last year Dampier 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.

"As far as big men goes, they really start getting into their prime in their late 20s. And that's exactly where he is."

The deal, in principle, was announced two weeks ago. But the Mavs acquired Laettner on June 24 from the Washington Wizards, and under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, he couldn't be traded again until 60 days later at the earliest.

au's position also came into question, since the Warriors obtained him in a trade from Portland on July 20. But Nelson said the Mavs won't have to wait 60 days before they can acquire au, since they plan on using their trade exception -- au will make $893,000 next season -- to obtain his services.

Meanwhile, Sekularac has been added to the original deal, because the Warriors want to give the 6-8 forward a strong look. The Mavs drafted Sekularac in the second round (55th overall) of the 2002 NBA Draft, and he played on their summer league team that year.

However, Sekularac chose to return to his native Yugoslavia and continue his basketball career.

There's also talk that the Warriors plan on buying out Laettner's contract. Laettner, 35, is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $6.187 million next season.

Link.

And....

The Morning News' Eddie Sefko reports that Warriors guard Avery Johnson will likely sign with the Mavericks in the next few weeks

So correct me if I'm wrong, but the Mavs would look like this after the trade:

Tariq Abdul-Wahad
Calvin Booth
Shawn Bradley
Marquis Daniels
Michael Finley
Devin Harris
Alan Henderson
Josh Howard
DJ Mbenga
Dirk Nowitzki
Pavel Podkolzin
Jerry Stackhouse
Jon Stefansson
Jason Terry
Erick Dampier
Evan Eschmeyer
Dan au
Avery Johnson

That's 18. I guess he could just let Steffanson go and waive/buyout two of au/Hendu/Esch. Could be paying $18 million for guys not to play.

Looks like it boils down to Najera/Flores/Sekularac and two first rounders for Mullin. Not bad, except for the Laettner buyout. It's ridiculous that Damp is ending up with about the same salary as Laettner, to say nothing of Foyle.

[Ruby Ridge]

Mullin is on crack.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

They had an article in the DMN comparing Dampier and Shawn Bradley. Almost identical career numbers.

[50 Cent]

What are the Warriors trying to accomplish?

I know they want cap space, but damn, they could have just let Dampier walk. I guess they got rid of Evan's contract, but this was a re ed trade for them. Good for the Mavs though - as long as Nelson doesn't have him shooting 40'ers 2 weeks into the season.