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I welcome Finley to the fold.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/13079997.htm
Finley puts some hurt feelings behind
By ART GARCIA
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
The revelation seemed a product of the moment, soaked in emotion and frustration.
The Mavericks were done, their hearts cut out minutes earlier by Steve Nash, and Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki were alone.
It didn't matter who else was in that locker room May 18. After Phoenix ended the Mavs' season in the Western Conference semifinals, Finley broke down. Body and mind drained, he told Nowitzki the time had come.
"I was so hurt after the last game, not only because we lost, but because I knew that was my last game playing with him," Finley said recently, sitting comfortably in his new locker room, that of the San Antonio Spurs.
At the time, Nowitzki tried to brush off Finley's claim.
"Calm down. You're obviously frustrated," Nowitzki remembers telling Finley. "Let's let the summer come, and we'll see what happens."
Somewhere down deep, long before rumors of amnesty clauses or trades, Finley knew what was next. There was no way of knowing, but he just knew.
"I have a feeling that something is going to happen where I'm gone," Finley told Nowitzki. "Steve's gone. I know they're not going to touch you, so I know I'm gone."
Then came the amnesty talk in June. Finley's name and the $52 million left on his contract were immediately linked to the one-time waiver rule, a surprise mulligan in the new collective bargaining agreement.
The clock started ticking. The prediction was coming true.
But did it have to?
"It could have been carried out a different way," Finley said. "One, it was called the 'Allan Houston Amnesty Clause,' and he doesn't get waived. I didn't have to get waived."
The Mavs thought otherwise. Not only were the financial savings immense -- the team is paying off most of the remaining contract in deferred payments, but saves the luxury tax penalty -- the basketball angle wasn't ignored. Privately, Finley's on-court worth was being questioned. His job as a starter was in jeopardy.
The team worked vigorously to trade Finley, with one deal falling apart right before the midnight Aug. 15 waiver deadline. Finley didn't appreciate how the situation was handled, adding that owner Mark Cuban was determined to send him to the Eastern Conference.
"It could have helped me out if I was waived earlier," Finley said. "The fact they did not want to waive me but trade me to not face me, again, I felt was wrong.
"It's a business, and Mark has his way of doing things, and he wanted to get the best end of the deal. When all is said and done, he didn't want to waive me and be even. He wanted to get the upper hand."
Finley called Cuban to discuss just what was going on. Cuban told Finley and his agent, Henry Thomas, that the Mavs were trying to put together a trade.
"Mark pretty much told me he didn't want me to play in the West," Finley said. "He would prefer that I play in the East. My thing was that no matter where I play, it's not up to you to try to avoid me. It's up to your management group to put together a team out there that's good enough to beat whatever team I decide to go to."
Finley chose the defending champions, spurning Nash in Phoenix, Shaquille O'Neal in Miami and Kevin Garnett in Minnesota. It was a second chance with the Spurs.
San Antonio, Finley said, was the only other team he considered before re-signing with the Mavs in 2001 for seven years and $102 million.
"At the time I thought loyalty meant something, so I went back to Dallas thinking we had a chance to do some great things there," he said. "The situation came again, so I just felt it was meant to be for me to come here."
He called the Mavs' contract, which paid him approximately $50 million over the last four years, a "blessing and a curse."
"My contract called for me to be a superstar, and I wanted that role, but the coaching staff didn't want me in that role," Finley said. "They're paying me this money to be a superstar, but the coaching staff is holding me back, for legitimate reasons. But from the outside looking in as a fan and media, you don't see that.
"You see Finley making all this money and doing nothing. If you look at the big picture, the coaching staff was holding me back so other players could flourish. I just wanted to be a team guy. I could have easily been selfish and talked bad about everybody, but that wasn't me."
Cuban doesn't regret the deal, which wasn't out of line financially in those days.
"If it weren't for the amnesty provision, he would still be a Mav," Cuban said. "Mike earned every penny we ever paid him, and I would do the same deal in a heartbeat. The only unfortunate thing about the contract is that the media hung it over his head every day."
Finley still believes he's good enough to start, even in San Antonio, but that's no longer his focus. It's finding a niche on an established team with championship aspirations.
"It's a chance to start over with a clean slate," he said.
And a full plate. The Spurs have three les in the last seven years, and are built around Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.
"A lot of teams that I was looking at, there were a lot of unknowns," Finley said. "Is the team going to mesh? Is the coaching staff going to be stable? Is the management going to be stable?
"But here there are no unknowns. The coaching staff is established. The core group is established. I was just coming in to help a team that's already had success."
Finley, 32, is just part of the supporting cast, joining Robert Horry and Nick Van Exel on perhaps the league's deepest bench. After playing in pain last season, he's completely healthy after off-season ankle surgery.
He's also at ease.
Finley didn't always speak his mind last season. When former coach Don Nelson resigned with 18 games left in the season and was replaced by Avery Johnson, Finley didn't speak publicly for several days.
"It was nothing personal toward Nellie, nothing personal toward Avery," Finley said. "At the time I was just playing bad basketball and we suddenly had a new coach. There were a lot of things I wanted to say, as far as the ankle and how I was feeling.
"I would have had my surgery earlier. I would have spoke up on the Nellie thing when it happened. But that's in the past."
Finley hasn't talked to Johnson since signing with San Antonio.
"We were friends and teammates before he become management," Finley said. "It's disappointing not hearing from him. Just to say, 'Good luck, we're still going to beat you, but good luck anyway.' That was a difficult situation, but, oh well."
Johnson, who attended Finley's charity golf tournament in June, didn't intend there to be any slight.
"I was saddened to see him go, too," Johnson said.
Finley didn't need long to make a contribution in silver and black, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday as the Spurs beat Denver in their opener. The jumper was there, but it was his work defensively that has caught coach Gregg Popovich's attention.
Don't tell Nelson.
"We expected him to be a hard worker, a jump shooter, and somebody who would exhibit a great work ethic and leadership," said Popovich, San Antonio's one-man contingent in Finley's recruitment. "But his effort on defense has been quite obvious."
Finley's effort was never questioned over his 626 games with the Mavs, dating to the 1996-97 season. He was an All-Star before Nowitzki and Nash, and neither has forgotten that.
"He taught me so much about the game of basketball and how to be a professional in this league, on and off the floor," Nowitzki said. "I owe a lot to him. On the other hand, there isn't a better situation to be in than San Antonio. I'm happy for him."
Added Nash: "He was a cornerstone. The way he carries himself, the way he prepares and competes, any team would be lucky to have that guy."
Finley returns to American Airlines Center on Saturday night, and though no special fanfare is planned, there could be a day in the future when Finley's contributions to the franchise are honored.
"If anyone deserves consideration, it's Fin," Cuban said.
Finley expects his first game against the team that put him on the map to be "unusual."
Nash went through it last season, and his advice for his old teammate is: "Just try to enjoy it."
Finley plans to.
"In a perfect world, we both could have walked away happy," Finley said. "But for me, I'm happy. I have no bitter or ill feelings toward the Dallas organization or the team. It was good to me for eight years, so I've walked away happy. I'm in a situation now where I'm happy.
"Life goes on."
I welcome Finley to the fold.
Nice story.
"It's disappointing not hearing from him. Just to say, 'Good luck, we're still going to beat you, but good luck anyway.' That was a difficult situation, but, oh well."
that is awesome!!! I love the confidence.
Finley and every other star pro athlete can wipe their tears on hundred dollar bills.
Please ... it's a business decision. Don't cry just because your owner is doing what he feels is best for his team. Go buy a bentley. Maybe that will make you feel better.
Dirk is going to have to pick up he defense significantly if he wants the Spurs to pick him up in the future for another championship run.
Now the issue is, would that please Mouse and draw him back into the Spurs fold, would that give him more "you needed another Mav to get your "x"th championship", or would he hang them up and live in the hill country like a hermit when the Mavs finally lose the last of their "Big Three/Four"?
Very nice story.
Yeah, because it's never hard to leave teammates and coaches you've built strong bonds with, right?
Being rich doesn't negate any human emotion. When you're with people in an organization for 8 years, you're going to get attached emotionally. Bonds are especially strong in sports where you "go to war" together as a team.
Sure it's a business but until people become robots, there's always going to be some emotion involved.
"Mark pretty much told me he didn't want me to play in the West," Finley said. "He would prefer that I play in the East. My thing was that no matter where I play, it's not up to you to try to avoid me. It's up to your management group to put together a team out there that's good enough to beat whatever team I decide to go to."
Cuban is a male . That's what I gleaned from this article.
It doesn't bother me that Cuban, like any functional owner, made a decision based on the best interests of his team. What bugs me is that everything is always about him, and he always has to justify himself as being the good guy. :vomit
The ultimate Hobson's choice for MB: Cuban or Holt as owner of the Spurs?
I've actually thought about that. Ideally you would take Cuban's pockets and willingness to spend and combine that with Holt's general willingness to not hang around on the bench and in the lockerroom so he can sneak peaks of his boys in the showers, as well as to not think he knows jack about basketball and let the basketball people handle things, luxury tax paranoia notwithstanding.
Good Story. Nice to know the other side of the story after Cuban's blog "it's not just business, it's personal". I think Cuban did well to defend himself in the blog (like sending Fin to East etc.). But Finley's comment was the best.
"He would prefer that I play in the East. My thing was that no matter where I play, it's not up to you to try to avoid me. It's up to your management group to put together a team out there that's good enough to beat whatever team I decide to go to."
Alright...alright...here I go....
fdmf<-----former dallas mavericks fan (from the start) but now...mini-me has switched sides...
The MANY screwups that have happened...I always stuck with them...but jobbing my favorite player was the final straw...Finley has been nothing but professional and a team player for the Mavs...and he gets the shaft.
One thing that everyone will notice is that Fin CAN play defense...it's hard to recognize because in Dallas everyone sucks at it so he was always rotating to help out and that led to his man, and the open man, and the freakin mascot...scoring. He is a good man-to-man defender and won't have to rotate outside the normal scheme with the Spurs. (his defense on Melo was ignored by the media...notice how Carmello was hot but when Fin got on him he quickly disappeared...)
So...Fin will have his nights...when he will score in spurts, hit the shots at the buzzer and get a key board...but there will also be nights where he misses, disappears on the boards, and quite frankly...don't let him bring up the ball...handles are NOT his thing! But...as a piece...not bad...he won't make waves with the champs.
Welcome, mouse alias #1233 . . .
Welcome aboard.
It's real simple in San Antonio. If you will play defense, you will get minutes. There are a ton of minutes in the swingman rotation to be had for Finley. If he's on his offensive game and he's playing strong D then he's going to see 25 minutes+ a night and be a serious candidate for 6th Man of the Year honors. Barry's his only real compe ion for those minutes.
Finley is definitely a class act and I'd be very happy to see him earn a much-deserved championship this season...well, it'll be "much-deserved" assuming he hits a few big playoff shots!
So the whole "Finley is going to join San Antonio in spite of Cuab waiving him" theory did have some truth to it
Not that I'm complaining
Great read!
so what other veteran FA's will we be able to lure to SA after this years championship?
If the Spurs win the le again it would be great to play Dallas on ring night.
Hmmm... If you're such a big Finley fan, you must have harbored some intense hate for Bruce Bowen the last couple years.
I think you'll need to pass some Loyalty Challenges before we accept you as a part of the Spurs Tribe....
had a great time readin it!
welcome to the spurs fin
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