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Done Deal
by Dave D.
Monday February 18, 2008, 9:34 PM
This time, they're not kidding.
One hour after Rod Thorn groused over the way everybody had jumped to conclusions about the deal died a dozen deaths, he sent word to a team VP last night that the trade "appears to be a go."
The final hurdle was cleared at roughly 9 PM, when Keith Van Horn consented to sign a $4 million contract that makes the trade work financially and report to New Jersey for what is estimated to be 30 days of work.
The Nets will send Jason Kidd and Malik Allen to the Mavericks for Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, Trenton Hassell and Van Horn.
In a separate deal, the Nets will dispatch Antoine Wright to Dallas for a $1.6 million trade exception to create the necessary roster spot for Van Horn.
Until late last night, the teams were considering giving Van Horn a deadline, and both were still concerned that the league was going to create some difficulties about the semi-retired player's obligations.
"If you talk to either side, they'll give you a lecture on the new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement)," said one agent, who has a player in the deal but could not be identified out of fear he could affect it.
"The league was looking at loopholes. Dallas felt that because Rod has so much respect with the NBA, he'll get the lowdown of how to make the bare-minimum necessities work without this being on hold.
"It's a daunting task to get a deal like this done, there's so many other things going on. It's a lot to rewrite the cons ution in five minutes, but that's what they're really doing."
The league's foremost legal expert, Joel Litvin, put it this way Saturday night: "We have some black and white rules, and we love those rules, but there are a lot of areas involving cir vention where (you examine whether) they are engaged in a transaction that is meant to cir vent the intent of the parties."
The Nets could sympathize. Thorn himself sounded fed up with with the whole convoluted process yesterday, barely leaving the door open to some closure.
"Anything's possible," he said, when asked whether the deal could be passed along to the league office today. "But from where I'm sitting right now, I don't see it.
"We are nowhere right now. We have no deal, so we are nowhere."
Now, apparently, they're somewhere.
Shortly before Thorn climbed aboard his flight from Atlanta, Van Horn signed off -- or so he was told -- on what was believed to be a laundry list of league requirements - when he must report, how long he must stay with the team, and perhaps how often he must participate in practices.
