Maybe we can trade Banks back to MN if they make this trade!
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Sources say Timberwolves, Pistons talking trade
By Steve Aschburner
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
DETROIT - Whether Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Marko Jaric recently asked owner Glen Taylor to be traded or not - a matter of some dispute within the team's ranks Sunday - the underachieving point guard-turned-pricey backup might be packing after all.
The Wolves have been talking with the Detroit Pistons about a deal that could send Jaric to Motown, with one of several big men - Nazr Mohammed, Antonio McDyess or Dale Davis - heading to Minnesota.
Sources familiar with the negotiations told the Minneapolis Star Tribune late Sunday night that the trade talks could yield a deal within days. The Pistons, whom the Wolves face on Monday in a Martin Luther King holiday matinee at the Palace of Auburn Hills and again at Target Center on Friday, are eager to open a spot in their rotation for former Philadelphia power forward Chris Webber.
Each of the Pistons' frontcourt players would appeal to the Wolves for different reasons: The 6-10 Mohammed, 29, is in his ninth NBA season but still is considered to have untapped potential; Detroit, his fifth team, signed him to a five-year, $30.2 million free-agent contract last summer but allegedly has soured on his performance at both ends of the floor. He is averaging 7.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 blocked shots and 18.9 minutes this season.
McDyess is in his 11th season, long considered one of the game's great gentleman and a friend of Wolves forward Kevin Garnett. He sat out the 2002-03 after knee surgery and has adapted his game to age (32) and physical limitations. He is averaging 4.9 points, 5.5 boards and 20.4 minutes for Detroit and is signed through 2007-08.
Davis, who will turn 38 in March, is averaging 2.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 12.1 minutes. The 16-year veteran, who got 12 points and 10 rebounds Friday at Atlanta, is being paid $3.5 million on a contract that expires this spring.
Mohammed ($5.215 million this season) and McDyess ($5.88 million) have salaries that fit best with Jaric ($5.525) this season for NBA salary-matching rules regarding trades.
Jaric, 28, has been a disappointment since signing a six-year, $38 million contract prior to the 2005-06 season, a sign-and-trade that cost the Wolves veteran guard Sam Cassell and a future first-round draft pick. He has logged his minutes off the bench this season (21.5 per game) as a wing player defending shooting guards and small forwards.
That Jaric hasn't been happy in that role is common knowledge within the team. But Trenton Hassell, Ricky Davis and Randy Foye have been steadier contributors this season, and point guard Mike James, while inconsistent, represents a four-year, $24 million commitment by the team.
According to one published report, Jaric asked Taylor for a trade when the two met last week at Target Center. But Wolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale disputed the characterization of that meeting.
"I wasn't in the meeting," McHale said after the Wolves' practice Sunday. "I'm sure if something happened, Glen would have shared it with me, if it had been something along those lines."
Head coach Dwane Casey said the issue wasn't important, given the way his 19-16 team has been playing (6-1 since Jan. 1, 9-3 in the past three weeks) and Jaric's injured status. He has missed four of the past seven games with a sprained right thumb.
As for Jaric, he sounded uncomfortable with the topic, period, or at least the fact that it had been put in the spotlight. "What we discussed should stay between me and (Taylor)," he said in a phone interview. "We're winning, and the last thing we need is something like that circling over the team. Even if I'm happy or I'm unhappy, I would never be that type of player."
Taylor, in the original report, denied that Jaric and he talked about trading him. Jaric's agent, Bill Duffy, also downplayed the level of Jaric's request. The claim was attributed to an anonymous source.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/16462861.htm
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Sources say Timberwolves, Pistons talking trade
By Steve Aschburner
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
DETROIT - Whether Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Marko Jaric recently asked owner Glen Taylor to be traded or not - a matter of some dispute within the team's ranks Sunday - the underachieving point guard-turned-pricey backup might be packing after all.
The Wolves have been talking with the Detroit Pistons about a deal that could send Jaric to Motown, with one of several big men - Nazr Mohammed, Antonio McDyess or Dale Davis - heading to Minnesota.
Sources familiar with the negotiations told the Minneapolis Star Tribune late Sunday night that the trade talks could yield a deal within days. The Pistons, whom the Wolves face on Monday in a Martin Luther King holiday matinee at the Palace of Auburn Hills and again at Target Center on Friday, are eager to open a spot in their rotation for former Philadelphia power forward Chris Webber.
Each of the Pistons' frontcourt players would appeal to the Wolves for different reasons: The 6-10 Mohammed, 29, is in his ninth NBA season but still is considered to have untapped potential; Detroit, his fifth team, signed him to a five-year, $30.2 million free-agent contract last summer but allegedly has soured on his performance at both ends of the floor. He is averaging 7.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 blocked shots and 18.9 minutes this season.
McDyess is in his 11th season, long considered one of the game's great gentleman and a friend of Wolves forward Kevin Garnett. He sat out the 2002-03 after knee surgery and has adapted his game to age (32) and physical limitations. He is averaging 4.9 points, 5.5 boards and 20.4 minutes for Detroit and is signed through 2007-08.
Davis, who will turn 38 in March, is averaging 2.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 12.1 minutes. The 16-year veteran, who got 12 points and 10 rebounds Friday at Atlanta, is being paid $3.5 million on a contract that expires this spring.
Mohammed ($5.215 million this season) and McDyess ($5.88 million) have salaries that fit best with Jaric ($5.525) this season for NBA salary-matching rules regarding trades.
Jaric, 28, has been a disappointment since signing a six-year, $38 million contract prior to the 2005-06 season, a sign-and-trade that cost the Wolves veteran guard Sam Cassell and a future first-round draft pick. He has logged his minutes off the bench this season (21.5 per game) as a wing player defending shooting guards and small forwards.
That Jaric hasn't been happy in that role is common knowledge within the team. But Trenton Hassell, Ricky Davis and Randy Foye have been steadier contributors this season, and point guard Mike James, while inconsistent, represents a four-year, $24 million commitment by the team.
According to one published report, Jaric asked Taylor for a trade when the two met last week at Target Center. But Wolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale disputed the characterization of that meeting.
"I wasn't in the meeting," McHale said after the Wolves' practice Sunday. "I'm sure if something happened, Glen would have shared it with me, if it had been something along those lines."
Head coach Dwane Casey said the issue wasn't important, given the way his 19-16 team has been playing (6-1 since Jan. 1, 9-3 in the past three weeks) and Jaric's injured status. He has missed four of the past seven games with a sprained right thumb.
As for Jaric, he sounded uncomfortable with the topic, period, or at least the fact that it had been put in the spotlight. "What we discussed should stay between me and (Taylor)," he said in a phone interview. "We're winning, and the last thing we need is something like that circling over the team. Even if I'm happy or I'm unhappy, I would never be that type of player."
Taylor, in the original report, denied that Jaric and he talked about trading him. Jaric's agent, Bill Duffy, also downplayed the level of Jaric's request. The claim was attributed to an anonymous source.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/16462861.htm
