The July Moratorium ended and the remored trade became official.  Dallas
traded Marquis Daniels to Indiana for Austin Croshere.  Croshere is a 6-9
forward with an outside touch that will back up Dirk Nowitzki - and may
see some court time with Nowitzki.  He will fill in the roll that Keith
Van Horn had (Van Horn is a free agent an highly likely won't be
re-signed).  Croshere is a good locker room presence and should provide
some veteran leadership.  Daniels flourished under Don Nelson as a rookie,
but couldn't find a role in Avery Johnson's system - I've felt that Nelson
over-valued Daniels and Johnson under-valued him.  With Johnson at the
helm, Daniels really didn't have a role with this team and it was not a
surprise that he was traded this summer.  The reason why Dallas didn't
get much value for Daniels is that he has 3 more years left on his
contract (with a 4th at the team's option) and many teams would be
reluctant to take on such a long contract for a player that has had
injury problems over the last 2 seasons.  Croshere has also had injury
problems in his past, but he is in the last year of his contract.  I look
at it as a oh-hum move by the Mavs - not a bad move as it does fill a
need (backup for Nowitzki), but nothing exciting.  Croshere had spent his
entire 9 year NBA career in Indiana.

Croshere on leaving Indiana: "It's hard imagining not driving down Fall
Creek and 465.  For 9 years, you get into a routine.  There are all 
those personalities, the people you meet on a daily basis, and now 
you're not going to interact with them in the same way.  It's definitely 
a difficult thing to swallow.  The first 48 hours were real emotional. 
But it's something we've come to terms with and we're embracing."

Croshere: "The first 48 hours were real emotional.  But after that 
initial wave of emotions died down, it was replaced real quickly by 
excitement [about] the opportunity.  The more I thought about it I was 
like, 'If I was a free agent right now, if it wasn't going to be the 
Pacers, I don't know if I could've picked a better place.'  From a
basketball standpoint, there's a lot of excitement in going down there 
and the opportunity a fresh perspective can bring.  Change can be a good
thing sometimes." 

Croshere: "The more I thought about it, if I was a free agent right now, I
don't know if I could have found a better situation than Dallas.  I think
it's something that I'm going to fit into very well.  You look at this 
team - it appears to have great team chemistry, it appears to have a great
relationship with the coach, and [it's] a team that went as far as they 
did in the NBA Finals.  You're truly lucky to be in that situation, and 
now it's in my hands to make the most of what I consider to be a great 
opportunity."

Donn Nelson on Croshere: "We were trying to find a player who has a 
combination of NBA playoff experience, good shooting abilities, and 
leadership qualities we value in the locker room.  Austin brings all 
those things to the table."

Avery Johnson: "We are excited to get Austin.  His game fits well into 
our system.  We like his professionalism and experience.  He will 
complement our team well."

Indiana president Donnie Walsh: "The trade for Marquis Daniels and our 
draft are steps toward changing the makeup of our team and the style 
available to us.  It also puts Austin in a very good position at this 
point in his career."

Walsh: "Austin has been a really good player for us for a long time.  He 
has also been a good teammate and a good representative of the franchise.
Obviously, we wish him well and hope this works out for all of us."

Indiana GM Larry Bird: "We hate to see Austin go.  He has been nothing but
class in the 9 years he has been here and he has been an important part of
our success.  He is someone I'm personally going to miss."

Marquis Daniels: "I'm just happy to be in a new situation."

Daniels: "It's a new opportunity.  I'm just looking forward to making 
the best of a situation.  I'm looking forward to working hard and
contributing right away."

Daniels on the changes from Nelson to Johnson: "A lot of things were
different.  Coach Nelson used me in 3 different positions, but coach 
Johnson didn't want to utilize me that way.  It was a tough situation."

Daniels: "I got to do a lot of different things on the floor under Nellie.
When Avery came in, things changed.  I didn't get a chance to do as much 
out on the floor.  Obviously, Nellie helped me get to the situation I'm at
now.  There are no hard feelings on my part.  I'm just looking forward to 
moving on."

Daniels: "It's behind me.  It's been behind me.  I'm very excited about 
going up to Indiana.  Everything works out for a reason.  I wouldn't 
change anything.  I had a great time in Dallas." 



The Mavs were 1 of 3 teams that were negotiating with free agent Mike
James.  James is an undersized shooting guard (6-2) (so he plays a lot of
point) that had a great season in Toronto.  Dallas and Houston offered 
James a 3 year contract, but Minnesota offered 4 years guaranteed and 
James went with the extra year.  I actually thought this would have been 
a bad addition for Dallas so I wasn't disappointed that James went to 
Minnesota.  He would have split time here with Jason Terry and Devin 
Harris and I don't know how well he would have adjusted to less court 
time.  Plus Dallas probably would have had 2 of those 3 on the court at 
the same time, and that's a really small backcourt.


The Mavs didn't waste any time sulking about not getting James and are
expected to finalize an agreement with Denver free agent (and former Mav)
Greg Buckner.  The Denver paper is reporting the deal as a 5 year, $19
million contract ($3.2 million for 06-07) with a Dallas buy-out option
after the 3rd year.  The Nuggets were hoping to re-sign Buckner and
disappointed to lose him.  It's a good addition for Dallas in bringing
back a solid citizen who has a strong defensive work ethic and has
improved his offensive game since he left Dallas.  Buckner is a 6-4
guard.

Buckner: "I'm happy.  It was my first choice to go to Dallas.  It's crazy
it worked out."

Buckner: "Dallas came up with an offer I thought was good for me and my
family to go back to Dallas and enjoy our life and retire from the NBA in
Dallas.  [Denver] kind of got behind the 8-ball.  They spent a lot of 
money early in the summer.  I kind of had the feeling I wasn't going to 
be back."

Donn Nelson: "As you know, Buck is a winner in every sense of the word.
He is a glue guy that makes everybody around him better.  If you look on 
the board and you look at all the free agents - guys that can defend like
he defends and bring that kind of passion and energy and make his 
teammates better - he just does so many things.  We're fortunate."

Mark Cuban on bring back Buckner: "Buck is a warrior who has expanded his
offensive game considerably.  We are excited to add the pride of 
Hopkinsville to the Mavs."

Cuban: "Buck has always been a hard-nosed defender.  He has added a good 
3-point shot and is a good finisher.  Plus, Buck is a great locker room 
guy." 


Donn Nelson also had positive things to say about Mavs free agent Adrian 
Griffin and the team is looking to re-sign him.


Congrats to former Mavs PR man (1980-1998) Kevin Sullivan on being named
as communications director for President Bush! 


patricia