Might the Mavs give up a Jet for an AK-47?

[ducks]

Digg it del.icio.us AIM Might the Mavs give up a Jet for an AK-47?
By NEWY SCRUGGS
Special to the Star-Telegram
They say the Jet is truly on the runway.

The Jet is Jason Terry. If you haven't kept up with recent rumors in Mavsland, the guard could be headed out of town, via trade, as the team looks to retool for 2007-08.

All the indicators pin the blame on Terry for the Mavs' early playoff exit. Dirk Nowitzki is getting plenty of well-deserved criticism, but teams don't trade MVPs.

Traditionally, when teams fail early in the playoffs, they make roster changes. Mavs coach Avery Johnson shot down the Terry trade rumor while talking to me Friday

"Nobody heard me say Jason is getting moved," Johnson said. "Jason Terry is going to be a Maverick. We can end that speculation."

Johnson did say that if something came up that could improve his team, he's told all his players the Mavericks would pursue it.

Minnesota superstar Kevin Garnett reportedly turned down a deal that could have sent him to Boston. Three-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant once again has demanded to be traded. Could those players be Mavericks?

Avery went all media savvy on me when I asked if the Mavericks had an interest in trading for either superstar.

"It piques the interest of 29 other teams," he said. "Those guys are tremendous players."

My mind translates that to: Heck, yeah, we're on the phone talking to the Lakers and Timberwolves. We just can't let Phoenix waltz in and trade for those guys without seeing if we can make a move."

Trade winds are always strong before the draft, but Johnson cautioned me with this: "We won 127 games the last two years. We like our roster... we'll try to tweak it.

"We're not trying to move eight players to make a deal."

If the Mavs make a move for Garnett or Bryant, you better believe they will try to make Jet apart of the trade.

Fans might dream of seeing KG or KB in a Mavericks jersey, but the player who might be the best fit for the club without having to give up a Devin Harris or Josh Howard would be Andrei Kirilenko of Utah.

The Salt Lake Tribune ran a story Friday quoting Jazz owner Larry Miller about how Mavs GM Donnie Nelson offered him any player and draft picks for Kirilenko, but was turned down a few years ago. Miller was quoted in the Tribune: "Today, I won't say that."

AK-47 probably has played his last game for Utah. At 6-foot-9, he would be a wonderful fit in Dallas with his ability to block shots, play defense and run the court. The 26-year old is owed $63 million through 2010-11. If he ends up in Dallas, expect Terry to end up in Salt Lake City.

If the Jet is truly on the runway, the Mavericks would be wise to buy some insurance in Thursday's NBA Draft.

The Mavs have worked out almost a dozen point guards as they prepare for the coming draft. Taurean Green of the two-time national champion Florida Gators could be had with one of their three picks in the second round.

With so many parts in motion and so many trade opportunities available, I can't see how the Jet isn't on the runway.

Newy Scruggs is sports director for NBC 5.

[email protected]

http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1007930&format=text

[BUMP]

AK can help with defense. of course, everyone will laugh at us if we get him because of his mental breakdowns and the Mavs mental breakdowns. however, why would the Jazz even want the Jet? shooting guard?

[Dirk Nowitzki]

PASS! Overrated defender. Gets beat by his guy then tries to block from behind. Not a consistent low post player. HUGE contract. No thanks.

[monosylab1k]

AK can help with defense. of course, everyone will laugh at us if we get him because of his mental breakdowns and the Mavs mental breakdowns. however, why would the Jazz even want the Jet? shooting guard?

The Jazz are definitely in need of a SG so Jet could help them out. I guess they aren't too high on Ronnie Brewer or Giricek.

AK47 has some skills we need, but I'd rather not bring another soft Euro into the mix. Especially one who literally cries like a bitch over not getting enough playing time.

[td4mvp21]

I hope they do trade JET for Kirenlenko. Then, in the playoffs, the Spurs can just leave him wide open again. Hell, they can even do that in the regular season.

[mavsfan1000]

Hell no. Kirilenko sucks. Plus Dallas needs to spread the floor.

[ShoogarBear]

I don't get how AK fits on the roster. You bring him off the bench and start Stackhouse? You start Dirk at Center? How does that address a need?

[FromWayDowntown]

Unless they think Kirilenko can create drive and dish offense or that he can provide a consistent post-up threat, I don't get why the Mavs would make that deal.

As such, I hope that they make it.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I don't get how AK fits on the roster. You bring him off the bench and start Stackhouse? You start Dirk at Center? How does that address a need?

When does Cuban ever make a move that addresses a need?

I have a family member who hasn't shut up about this trade for a week now (Dallas fan), and I keep laughing at him and pointing out how it does absolutely nothing for them.

I'm not complaining, but it's great how anyone (from fans to ownership) in Big D is completely clueless as to what they need to do to get better.

[BUMP]

Aggie Hoopsfan it's great how anyone (from fans to ownership) in Big D is completely clueless as to what they need to do to get better.
a 67 win team losing to an 8th seed. your right. i am clueless as to how we get better

[Xylus]

Seems like a bad deal to me, especially for the Mavs.

[td4mvp21]

a 67 win team losing to an 8th seed. your right. i am clueless as to how we get better

Good point, I think a lot has to do with their mentality. One thing the Mavs sorely lack is a post presence. Dampier is too inconsistent and gets most of his points off of assists/offensive rebounds, no? Dirk rarely posts up near or in the paint. He's a jumpshooter. Diop can't do too much offensively either. But, what post presence is affordable/available? The Mavs are in a tough dilemma, if they want a lost post presence they are going to have to give up some key players.

[monosylab1k]

Unless it's for Kobe or KG, I have no interest in trading away pieces of this team. Amazingly enough, it seems like those are the only two guys Mavericks management have no interest in.

The only option thus far that has intrigued me is the Gerald Wallace for Jason Terry sign/trade, which i'm thinking will never happen anyways.

Just get Desmond Mason, cut the most useless player in the NBA (Greg Buckner) and possibly Mavs history (yes, I do remember Loren Meyer and I still say Buckner was more useless), hope that Diop takes some more steps in the right direction (because more Diop means less Dampier, and less Dampier always a good thing), and hope that this team isn't completely ruined mentally.

[StylisticS]

I will throw up if we trade Jet for AK-47. Surely we can do better than, right?

[mFFL03]

what are you all stupid? we need more hard-nosed defense on the permiter....this is the only guy who has come close to having a quadruple double twice in the last 4 years.

all around great player....if he goes soft on O he picks it up on D.....a hustler....a hot wife....and best of all he's white...err...i meant....no wait.......I like it that he's white

[RiverwalkParade]

A trade for AK-47 is by far the best the Mavs can do right now. Terry is a big contract that they need to unload right away before he becomes a cancer on the team. Soon he will be a player without a position with Devin Harris assuming the point and Terry being ineffective at the 2. He is deemed the emotional leader of the Mavs and even though Dirk choked in the playoffs, Terry failed to play up to standard and did not motivate his guys like he has in the past. Get rid of him now and get a true defender on the team. Howard and AK defending the 3 and 4 with Harris flopping in the lane. I would have to consider this a big improvement for the Mavs.

[Supergirl]

Trades for the Mavericks avoids the real problem.

Dirk, Terry, Stackhouse, Howard, Harris, Diop, Dampier...that team won 67 games and made it to the NBA Finals two years ago. They should be able to beat anyone, and NO ONE THEY COULD TRADE FOR will really make much of a difference. Yes, they could blow up their whole team for Kobe or KG, but that's just starting over, which is a huge gamble anyway you cut it.

The real question is not talent, but mental. Can Dirk and the other Mavs recover from the two demoralizing realities: blowing the Finals when they were up 2-0 and then losing in the first round the next year. That's a question only Dirk can answer, and will be the determining factor no matter who takes the court with him next season.

[Findog]

The real question is not talent, but mental. .

Baron Davis: 6'3, 215 lbs
Jason Richardson: 6'6, 225 lbs

Jason Terry: 6'2, 180 lbs.
Devin Harris: 6'3, 185 lbs.


That and Dampier's torn rotator cuff, which severely impacted our interior d. Dirk's not a guy who can anchor a frontline defensively, that's why we got Damp. Diop is a promising young player but he hasn't yet learned how to stay out of foul trouble. Anytime Dirk starts at the 5 for us, we're in trouble. Going into the series it was obvious that Terry and Harris would have trouble keeping those two guys in front of them. Without Dampier to protect the rim, it just made the problem worse.

I'm tired of people playing Dr. Phil and psychoanalyzing Dirk. Wade stepped his game up in the Finals, Riley made the decision to give a huge chunk of Shaq's minutes to Zo (a better matchup against us) and that was that. Did Dirk guard Wade? I think starting two midgets in the backcourt is what has hampered us in the last two playoff series.