OAKLAND -- Let's get right to it. There are a lot of people out there who say Devean George is done. Two years ago as a Mav, he was not a factor as the Warriors dismantled Dallas in the first round of the playoffs.
Last year, he missed half the season with injury and averaged 3.4 points per game. Didn't knock down the 3, either: 28.9 percent. He used to be able to defend opposing wingmen, but can he do that anymore, really?
What had been a tricky deal between Dallas, who is apparently in BUY! BUY! BUY! mode, and Toronto, who is attempting to maximize its Hedo Turkoglu cushion, turned into a four-way ballroom dance. Orlando reportedly jumped in to get a trade exception for the loss of Hedo and Memphis will provide its usual role as facilitator.
Every time I sit down to watch a Grizzlies game, I know I'll be getting one of two teams.
The Good Grizzlies are young, athletic, and hungry. They play defense with focus and intensity, they rebound, they rely on terrific plays from Rudy Gay slashing and OJ Mayo nailing jumpers, and Marc Gasol beasting around the interior. Their role players don't turn the ball over, and Hakim Warrick provides the spark off the bench while Marc Iavaroni manages good rotations and timely, effective timeouts.
The Bad Grizzlies make immature decisions, foolish passes, execute poorly, get freaked out on defense when a team comes right at them, fail to crash the boards and let Kyle Lowry shoot a lot.
Today was a Good Grizzlies day.
There's a lot to be said about the Grizzlies' 102-82 win over the Mavericks, which snapped a 13 game losing streak to the division "rivals." And a lot of it has to do with things like Jason Kidd, Erick Dampier, and Devean George, three of the starting five, combining for a whopping five points and six assists. There's surely a lot of negativity on the Mavs' plane tonight, but they should save some respect for the Grizzlies, who put out their most complete performance in several weeks.
And as has become the norm, O.J. Mayo was at the front of the charge.
In February, Devean George blocked the Mavericks' first attempt to save themselves from acquire Jason Kidd. He knew the decision would be unpopular -- fans in Dallas booed him during his first appearance after the trade fell through -- but he was content "being the bad guy" while exercising his contractual rights as a soon-to-be restricted free agent who'd be losing his Bird rights.
Considering the whole debacle (and that the re-worked trade for Kidd not involving George cost Mark Cuban an extra $11 million), it seemed a foregone conclusion that George would be given the boot this summer. Instead, it's the exact opposite. From Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News:
George and the Mavericks reached an agreement Wednesday on a new, two-year contract worth about $4 million, according to George's agent, Mark Bartelstein. Bartelstein said the deal includes an option for George to return to free agency after next season.
"He's excited about returning to the Mavericks," Bartelstein said. "He's excited about playing for [new coach] Rick Carlisle. Rick made a great impression on him and came to visit him a couple of times."
I admit, I'm more than a little surprised that the Mavs wanted George back, and not only because of any lingering feelings of resentment about the botched trade. The fact is, George is woefully unproductive. He averaged just 3.7 points and 2.6 boards in 15.5 minutes per game. Looking at his stats independent of playing time, he posted a paltry 7.06 PER, far below the league average PER of 15.0 and ranking 312th in the entire league. And yet, for some reason, the Mavs not only kept him but also gave him the option to decide how long he wants to stay. Brilliant.
The Mavericks signed Gerald Green to what is believed to be a one-year deal, thus continuing the tradition of filing their roster with players of questionable talent (like Devean George and Tyronne Lue, for example). Green played for the Timberwolves and (briefly) the Rockets last season, and ultimately finished the year out of the NBA. I'm sure that's just the answer to get Dallas out of the first round of the playoffs.
But let's talk about something important: if Green can stay on the roster until the All-Star break, it means we'll get to see him in the dunk contest! Green took home the trophy in Vegas in 2007, and despite Dwight Howard's Superman winning it last year, Green's Birfday Birthday Cake dunk was by far the talk of the event. Plus, it lead to comments on our event chat like, "Wait, is it even anyone's birthday?" followed by an email of a list of the NBA's birthdays for the day. You just can't buy entertainment like that. Anyway, let's hope the kid makes it to All-Star weekend, so we can see more dunks like this one.
There's a slew of "new" versus "old" changing of the guard notions buried within the New Orleans Hornets -- Dallas Mavericks series that just ended. The one time perennial contender Maverick team is on the verge of being blown up and something -- something about a change in the league's best point guard.
But I don't know that I have the brain power to wax poetic about it right now, simply because I am in absolute awe of how freaking good Chris Paul is. Say whatever you want about this Dallas team quitting on Avery Johnson -- and they did, no doubt about it -- but this series wasn't about redemption for Dirk or Avery. That's because it was CP3's coming out party.
The best part about having a blog is that you get to tell everyone your opinion. The worst part about being a celebrity is that everyone watches what you do. When you're a celebrity blogger, well, you have that juxtaposed blend of power sitting squarely in your lap. Mark Cuban, of course, is a fan of wielding said power. So when Peter Vesceyclaimed that the Mavs have been trying to trade Dirk Nowitzki, and when Devean George's agent squashed a trade Cubes was trying to pull off, he made sure (after the deal had been consummated) to let them know how he felt.
The annoyance. One agent who made a truism of the saying that "no good deed goes unpunished". That said, I have nothing but respect and admiration for Devean George. He told me that he would trust his agent as he had done for the last 10 years and take whatever may with that decision. He had the balls to stick to it. Even with people yelling and screaming at him. That said, as I write this, I really have no clue why the agent made the decision he did.
The dirt. Peter Vescey's ridiculous assertion that Avery asked me to trade Dirk. Even in the Nellie years where we discussed trading every other player on the roster, Dirk was never mentioned. There has never been a discussion of trading Dirk during my tenure, EVER. Vescey's source is an out and out liar.
The war of words that is heating up in Big D is getting pretty exciting just as the Western Conference Arms Race begins to heat up and the playoff battle gets more and more down-to-the-end-bitter. I agree with Cuban on the Devean George-agent issue to an extent, although in fairness, the guy is just doing what he thinks is best for his client. And as for Vescey's allegations that the Mavericks wanted to trade Dirk, well, it's kind of presumptuous for Cuban to want us to think he's never actually thought about it. Maybe it wasn't going to happen, but pretending like it was "never mentioned" seems a bit of a stretch.
The eight-player deal, in the making since before the All-Star break, sends Kidd, forward Malik Allen and guard Antoine Wright to Dallas for point guard Devin Harris, center DeSagana Diop and swingman Maurice Ager, plus retired forward Keith Van Horn and Trenton Hassell. New Jersey also gets two first-round draft picks and $3 million.
Now that Stack is definitely staying, the only real trouble for the Mavs in making this "win-now" deal is depth at the center position. Which, considering the Lakers, Suns, and Spurs all have complete monsters at that position, should be a huge concern.
You know, in simpler times, before players had these "rights", owners would just ship them to and fro, doing whatever they wanted. Now, things are different, as evidenced by Devean George's behavior and the inability of the Mavericks and Nets to close this Jason Kidd deal (which we thought was locked down). And in theory, it will still go through. But as Dave D'Alessandropoints out via his conversation with David Falk, Keith Van Horn is no lock to fall in line with the business of getting paid to take a physical.
And suddenly, that seems to be the important factor in this trade: Keith either has cold feet, or feels that a $2M payday for taking a physical is shameless and needs time to think it through, or he just doesn't want any part of it.
Falk won't say which is closest to the truth.
"I really can't say," the agent said. "He wants some quiet time to reflect on it. And that's what he should be doing.
"He'll make a decision, but it's not going to be 'maybe,' or 70-30. Either he'll do it or he won't do it. And we'll all know in the next 48 to 72 hours."
Ouch, for Mavs fans and the slew of players involved who are awkwardly returning to their original teams following this ridiculously over-dramatized deal (and yes, guilty). Falk essentially insinuates (via D'Alessandro's article) in the conversation that Van Horn thinks his involvement in the trade is either a pain or just flat out shameless, although he has deep seeded respect for both Rod Thorn and Mark Cuban in possibly wanting to get this deal done. Will it happen? My personal gut would say yes, but then again, I never thought George would demand to use his Bird Rights either.
Since we have a quick moment to breathe between All-Star weekend and the rest of the season, let's take a look back at the winners and losers of the first half.
Winners:
Lakers: LandedPau Gasol for Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton, also known together as "basically nothing." Started a chain reaction of trades in the West, and even after those are considered by many to be the favorite to reach the Finals.
Suns: Traded for Shaq, as an obvious response to the Lakers' deal. They're winners because a motivated Shaq for a season-and-a-half is definitely worth something, and the guy still has a little left I think. Remember, Shaq returned from injury earlier this season to put up a strong effort of 24 and 10 against the Bulls ... but his team lost the game by 30. He'll definitely contribute something positive to his new team.
Heat: Anytime you get $40 million in contracts off the books when you're the worst team in the league, you win. Plus, the Heat have played with more energy since Shawn Marion has arrived, and now they have some cap space to rebuild for next year.
Pistons: Very quietly, the Pistons have racked up the league's second best record at the break, and are currently riding a 10-game winning streak. No one's paying attention to them right now, and that's just the way they like it. This team will be extremely dangerous come playoff time.
OAKLAND -- Let's get right to it. There are a lot of people out there who say Devean George is done. Two years ago as a Mav, he was not a factor as the Warriors dismantled Dallas in the first round of the playoffs.
The rumored sign-and-trade sending 
Every time I sit down to watch a Grizzlies game, I know I'll be getting one of two teams. 
In February, 
The best part about having a blog is that you get to tell everyone your opinion. The worst part about being a celebrity is that everyone watches what you do. When you're 
You know, in simpler times, before players had these "rights", owners would just ship them to and fro, doing whatever they wanted. Now, things are different, as evidenced by 
Since we have a quick moment to breathe between 
