FanHouse Jerry Stackhouse

As I try to mention every once in a while, Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is one of the best beat writers in the biz. I haven't been within 3,000 miles of Georgia in a while, yet reading Smith always leaves me feeling like I've been in the Hawks practice facility. Like the great sportswriters, he puts you there, in the games, in the practices.

Right now he's writing about pre-camp practices, and the showstopper is ... Jerry Stackhouse, a free agent cut loose in the Hedo Turkoglu-Shawn Marion swap. Stack turns 35 during the first week of the season, and he effectively sat out last season in Dallas (not by choice). He's just working out with the Hawks -- there have been no rumors of his addition to the roster.

Smith and the Hawks players he's talked to hope that stance changes, because they think Stackhouse can help Atlanta this season.

If you're looking for the next step in NBA evolution, look no further than John Wall. The 19 year-old, 6-4 Kentucky commit has been the talk of hoops for quite a while, and we found a nifty video of him providing us a preview of what to expect when he inevitably jumps to the NBA after this season. You know, rare as it is for a Callipari point guard to leave after Year 1.

What makes this highlight stand out above other prospect dunk vids? The poster-victim in this instance? Jerry Stackhouse. Sorry about this, Stack. Let's go to the tape, Roger!

The rumored sign-and-trade sending Shawn Marion to Dallas will become official today, reports ESPN.com and the Dallas Morning News.

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.

The Mavericks have quietly been the most active NBA team this month, not only locking up incumbent point guard Jason Kidd to a multi-year deal but also snaring Marcin Gortat from the Magic and now apparently working hard to land Shawn Marion in a sign-and-trade with Toronto. The Raptors need to clear cap space for incoming Hedo Turkoglu, and Dallas apparently wants another wing to platoon with or play alongside Josh Howard.

Why, if Toronto needs to clear cap space, are the Raptors playing ball on a sign-and-trade?

Unless you cheer when your boss gets a raise, growl "box out!" every time N.C. State's Derrick Whittenburg's slow arcing shot in N.C. State's mammoth 1983 upset lands in the hands of history, or still get angry wondering why Goliath's coaching staff didn't think to defend against the slingshot, then the last two years have been a rotten time for fans of the upset in college hoops.

Sure, there were a few dandies, like Virginia Commonwealth knocking off a Duke team so delicate you'd think it was made by Swarovski in 2007, Western Kentucky running to the Sweet 16 in 2008, and Davidson one-upping the Hilltoppers that same year. But for the most part, the last two tournaments have been like a comic book without the pictures.

Something has clearly been missing.

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The Dallas Mavericks seem to have found a winning formula: bench Jerry Stackhouse. The Mavs had a 3-7 record the day Stackhouse requested a trade. He hasn't played a single minute since, and the Mavs have won eight of nine games in his absence.

Knowing this, it's not a huge surprise the team has granted him permission to seek a trade elsewhere. At 34, he's not the player he once was, but he can still provide some scoring punch and has a palatable contract that expires in time for the summer of 2010. Hmm, who might be interested in a player like that?

Alan Hahn of Newsday connects the dots and suggests a match with the Knicks, who could send back Malik Rose's expiring deal in return. With a heart condition putting Cuttino Mobley's career in jeopardy and a nagging groin injury bothering Nate Robinson, the Knicks have been playing shorthanded.

Donnie Walsh certainly won't pull the trigger on a multiyear deal to fill a short-term need, but Stackhouse seems like the kind of player who could thrive in Mike D'Antoni's offense not to mention bring some veteran leadership and swagger to the court. The Knicks will be over the cap next year anyway, so losing whatever space Rose's expiring deal brings isn't that big of a deal. The real prize is the summer of 2010, and bringing Stackhouse on board wouldn't change that at all.

The Mavericks are said to be the latest team interested in acquiring Ron Artest, but so far, their offer to trade for the mercurial (I love that word) star is a little light. Dallas is said to be offering up Jerry Stackhouse (decent player, veteran grit, solid scorer) and Brandon Bass (young, inexpensive, and possibly a Jason Maxiell-light) for Artest, but the Kings are holding out for more: like Josh Howard, perhaps.

The Bee's Sam Amick doesn't see the Kings making the deal as is, and he also doesn't see the Mavericks going so far as to include Howard:

I can't even come close to seeing Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie doing this deal, not unless Josh Howard is involved. And from what I'm told, that's not going to happen. As the Mavs see it, the perceived risk of taking Artest is acceptable so long as the price of getting him is Bass and Stackhouse. Lose Howard to get Artest, though, and the gamble is too great.

That makes sense, because after all, you never know what you're going to get from Ron-Ron. But that was also largely the case with Josh Howard last season. J-Ho (really, kid needs a better nickname) was inconsistent all year, brought up his previously admitted marijuana use for absolutely no reason, and threw a birthday party during the playoffs that went specifically against the wishes of his head coach.

If I'm Dallas, I don't hesitate to trade Howard for Artest. I would not, however, include Brandon Bass in any deal. He just has too much upside being so young at the power forward spot -- a position where Dallas has been historically weak. Howard for Artest seems about right to me; a change of scenery might do both of them a lot of good.

Dallas looks to hang on to that seventh spot in the Western Conference, as they clash in what should be the game of the night in Los Angeles. No offense to the Jazz or the Spurs, who also go head up tonight; it's just that the Jazz play out of their minds in their home building, yet no one would argue that they're better than San Antonio. It'll be a surprise if Utah doesn't win, and whether they do or don't, it will have little effect on the two teams' playoff positioning.

The Mavericks, on the other hand, need as many wins as possible to ensure a run in the post-season. They lead Denver and Golden State now, sure, but their win over the Warriors was their first against a good team since acquiring Kidd. If they can make it two in a row, over a Laker team that now has Gasol back in the mix, that would go a long way to solidify their spot, as well as their confidence as the regular season winds down.

The last time these two teams went at it, Kobe was phenomenal, pouring in 52, while Jason Kidd was not, choking away the game at the free throw line. Dirk is still not a hundred percent, and unlike the Warriors, the Lakers actually play defense (occasionally). With Stackhouse likely still out with that groin injury, I expect the Lakers to win a close one over what might be a surging Mavericks team. (Teams can be surging even though they lose, can't they?)

The reality is, I could do one of these previews every day until the regular season ends (and I just might) because contests like the one tonight between the Warriors and Mavericks are effectively playoff games. Although the seedings are likely to change daily until the season ends, at the moment Golden State is a half-game out of the playoffs in the ninth spot, while Dallas is a full game ahead of them in the seventh spot.

The Warriors are coming off of a dismal performance last night in San Antonio, where the Spurs blew them out by 24 points. As Don Nelson said after the game, it's tough to win when two of your best players have their worst games of the year, and that pretty much sums up the play of Stephen Jackson and Monta Ellis. The two combined for just 20 points on 7-28 shooting. On the bright side, maybe they'll be rested for tonight.

For the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki ruled himself out after going through the morning shoot around. He said he's still too hobbled to give it a go, but also mentioned that if he waited until he was back to a hundred percent, the season would be over. That's true in more ways than one, as Dallas is likely to miss the playoffs if Dirk can't come back to help his team for at least a few of the remaining games in the regular season.

In addition to missing Nowitzki, the Mavs will also be without Jerry Stackhouse, who's expected to be out for at least a week with a groin injury (ouch). The stars seem to be aligning for the Warriors to get this one, and leave the Mavs winless against teams with winning records since the (now disastrous) trade for Jason Kidd. We can all see if the Dubs can take care of business against a seemingly weakened Mavs team, as the game is nationally televised on ESPN.