http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3244102
Jason Kidd has quietly -- and not so quietly -- hoped for a trade to the Dallas Mavericks all season.
And now Kidd has stronger-than-ever hope that the wish will be granted, according to NBA front-office sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that talks between the Mavericks and Nets, which had seemingly stalled, grew serious after the teams played Sunday night in New Jersey and have moved them to the brink of completing the NBA's third blockbuster deal of the month.
Although sources say that the teams are still sorting out final details, this deal was described as "imminent" by one source close to the process after negotiations moved to an advanced stage Tuesday night. The proposed swap -- salvaged from talks of a three-way trade with Portland that developed and fizzled quickly two weeks ago -- would require Dallas to send 24-year-old point guard Devin Harris, veteran swingman Jerry Stackhouse, the expiring contracts of center DeSegana Diop and swingman Devean George and another player such as guard Maurice Ager to New Jersey for Kidd and possibly veteran guard Darrell Armstrong. It's believed that Dallas would also send New Jersey cash and future draft considerations.
Dallas has been widely considered the most likely winner of the Kidd trade sweepstakes, despite the repeated attempts of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to publicly dismiss the idea of parting with multiple regulars for Kidd. Cuban told several New York-based reporters Sunday before New Jersey beat Dallas that a deal for All-Star floor leader would severely weaken his roster.
"For us to make the numbers work in a deal like that, we'd have to trade away half the team," Cuban said. "We're not doing that, so it just doesn't work. And we like our team. We've got a lot of room for improvement and we hope to get better. But right now, I just don't see anything happening.
Yet sources close to the process insist that the talks have heated up in the past 24 hours, with the Mavs still tantalized by the prospect of bringing Kidd back more than a decade after the pre-Cuban regime drafted him out of Cal, watched him share rookie of the year honors with Grant Hill in 1994-95 and then traded him to Phoenix on the day after Christmas in 1996.
The Mavs' biggest reservation, though, isn't sacrificing Harris. Sources maintain that Dallas, while reluctant to part with one of Cuban's favorite players and its point guard of the future after signing Harris to a contract extension over the summer, has been resigned for some time to losing Harris if it meant getting Kidd back.
The greater hesitation, sources said, is that they would also have to part with Stackhouse and Diop, weakening Dallas' depth. Although it's believed that Stackhouse is likely to be bought out and released by the Nets, which would enable Dallas to re-sign him if he sits out for 30 days, there's no guarantee they can convince Stackhouse to resist the interest of other teams to return once he becomes a free agent. Losing Diop, meanwhile, is an even bigger blow, as that would leave the undependable Erick Dampier as the Mavericks' only veteran center at a time when potential playoff foes like the Los Angeles Lakers (Pau Gasol) and Phoenix Suns (Shaquille O'Neal) are getting bigger.
Jason Kidd has quietly -- and not so quietly -- hoped for a trade to the Dallas Mavericks all season.
And now Kidd has stronger-than-ever hope that the wish will be granted, according to NBA front-office sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that talks between the Mavericks and Nets, which had seemingly stalled, grew serious after the teams played Sunday night in New Jersey and have moved them to the brink of completing the NBA's third blockbuster deal of the month.
Although sources say that the teams are still sorting out final details, this deal was described as "imminent" by one source close to the process after negotiations moved to an advanced stage Tuesday night. The proposed swap -- salvaged from talks of a three-way trade with Portland that developed and fizzled quickly two weeks ago -- would require Dallas to send 24-year-old point guard Devin Harris, veteran swingman Jerry Stackhouse, the expiring contracts of center DeSegana Diop and swingman Devean George and another player such as guard Maurice Ager to New Jersey for Kidd and possibly veteran guard Darrell Armstrong. It's believed that Dallas would also send New Jersey cash and future draft considerations.
Dallas has been widely considered the most likely winner of the Kidd trade sweepstakes, despite the repeated attempts of Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to publicly dismiss the idea of parting with multiple regulars for Kidd. Cuban told several New York-based reporters Sunday before New Jersey beat Dallas that a deal for All-Star floor leader would severely weaken his roster.
"For us to make the numbers work in a deal like that, we'd have to trade away half the team," Cuban said. "We're not doing that, so it just doesn't work. And we like our team. We've got a lot of room for improvement and we hope to get better. But right now, I just don't see anything happening.
Yet sources close to the process insist that the talks have heated up in the past 24 hours, with the Mavs still tantalized by the prospect of bringing Kidd back more than a decade after the pre-Cuban regime drafted him out of Cal, watched him share rookie of the year honors with Grant Hill in 1994-95 and then traded him to Phoenix on the day after Christmas in 1996.
The Mavs' biggest reservation, though, isn't sacrificing Harris. Sources maintain that Dallas, while reluctant to part with one of Cuban's favorite players and its point guard of the future after signing Harris to a contract extension over the summer, has been resigned for some time to losing Harris if it meant getting Kidd back.
The greater hesitation, sources said, is that they would also have to part with Stackhouse and Diop, weakening Dallas' depth. Although it's believed that Stackhouse is likely to be bought out and released by the Nets, which would enable Dallas to re-sign him if he sits out for 30 days, there's no guarantee they can convince Stackhouse to resist the interest of other teams to return once he becomes a free agent. Losing Diop, meanwhile, is an even bigger blow, as that would leave the undependable Erick Dampier as the Mavericks' only veteran center at a time when potential playoff foes like the Los Angeles Lakers (Pau Gasol) and Phoenix Suns (Shaquille O'Neal) are getting bigger.
