I wanted to wait until after Media Day to send out a report as to what has been going on with the team. I'm glad I did as there was new Leon Smith news. Training camp has begun! The team will have two-a-days Oct. 5-9 from 10 am-noon and from 5-7 pm. It will go down to one-a-days Oct 10-13 and Oct 15 from 10 am- 1 pm. All practices will be held at the Landry Center and are _not_ open to the public. The Mavs will be hosting an open practice Thursday, Oct 14 from 6-8 pm at Reunion that the public is invited to attend (see below). The first pre-season game is Saturday, Oct 16 vs Charlotte at Reunion. After deciding about a month ago that he was going to report to the Mavs' training camp, Leon Smith has agreed to play this season in the CBA (Continental Basketball Association) or the new IBL (International Basketball League). The NBA has agreed to extend the Mavs' qualifying offer to Smith through the end of the regular season. [The Mavs had to make a qualifying offer of 80% of the scale for a rookie drafted at #29 (about $1.45 million for 3 years) to retain their rights to Smith.] Thus, it is expected that Smith will play for a CBA or IBL team and then join the Mavs in the last month of the NBA regular season. Leon Smith on playing in the CBA or IBL instead of with the Mavs: "Yeah, it's probably the right thing to do, to go and get some maturity and some playing time. I'm just glad this is all over." Smith's new agent Matt Muehlebach: "Leon's a lot smarter kid than people realize, especially for being 18 years old. He has a lot of confidence, and I think he thinks he can play [in the NBA] right away. He was always aware that a year of playing and experience in a lesser league would help his development. Now, our job is to find the right situation in whatever league that might be." Muehlebach: "Even though he's a young kid [who] wants to play in the NBA and has a lot of confidence and some big dreams, I think Leon is in agreement that the best step is to spend a year in the CBA or IBL." Don Nelson: "I'm very pleased that he finally saw the light. It's the best thing that can happen to the team and to Leon, which is the most important thing." Nelson: "He needs to play a lot of games and he's not going to play a lot here. Now he can basically have his cake and eat it too." Donnie Nelson said: "This is the best thing that could happen to Leon. He gets to play and he gets to develop his game, so we're really happy for Leon." 9/29 The Mavs traded Chris Anstey to Chicago for a 2000 2nd round draft pick. Anstey had some conflicts with Donnie Nelson during the summer leagues and spent a good portion of last season in Don Nelson's doghouse. But the public statements for the trade were that the team had no playing time for Anstey with Nowtizki, Ceballos, Trent, Rooks, and Bradley under contract and he probably wouldn't have seen any time. Because the Mavs did not take on any salary in return, the Mavs have a $1.1 million (Anstey's 99-00 salary) trade exception where they can take on $1.1 million more in salary than they trade away. [Note: the exception can only be used in a trade (can't be used to sign) and expires 9/29/2000.] Nelson: "This is a great opportunity for Chris to get some much needed consistent playing time. We like Chris very much and think he can be in this league for a long time. However, at the present time we have no playing time for him. With the acquisition of Sean Rooks and having Hot Rod Williams as backup centers, we don't anticipate any time available for him." Chris Anstey: "It's a great opportunity for me to come and be part of a team that's rebuilding. I spoke to Luc [Longley], and just from talking with people involved with the program, it's really a professional organization. I'm looking forward to developing my game in Chicago." Chicago GM Jerry Krause: "We see Chris as a young player with size and speed. He's a good shooter, and someone who likes to compete. Those qualities will put him in the mix to earn a roster spot." The Mavs will be hosting an open house Thursday, October 14 from 5 to 9 pm at Reunion. The evening will include an intrasquad scrimmage, autographs, interactive games, Mavs Man, the Mavericks Dancers, the Funslingers, and other things and the first 1,500 will receive a free t-shirt. Between 5 and 7, people can register to win free Mavs tickets and prizes by playing interactive games. The scrimmage is scheduled to begin around 7 pm. The event is free, but [for some silly reason] they are requiring tickets to gain entrance. Advance general admission tickets are available at Minyards stores and the Reunion box office "while supplies last". They are calling it the second annual Dallas Mavericks Free-For-All [and forgetting that last season's mad house where about 10,000 people attended was due in a large part to the _ton_ of free tickets that were made available due to the lockout and that the open houses in previous seasons only have had a couple of thousand (if that) attendees]. 10/4 Greg Buckner underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove loose cartilage in his knee and will be out 6 weeks [and, thus, unlikely to make the team (unless they do a make-good contract, but I doubt that since the injury did not occur during training camp)]. 10/1 Dallas signed Kevin Ollie, Ben Davis, Jason Sasser, Anthony (Pig) Miller and Zendon Hamilton to 1 year, non-guaranteed contracts (training camp invitees). Both Ollie and Sasser played for the Mavs before (briefly). Congratulations to Hubert Davis who got married this summer! You can now purchase tickets (regular season or preseason games) for the 99-00 season. Tickets can be purchased at the Mavs' box office at Reunion, Ticketmaster outlets, or by calling 214-373-8000 or 972-647-5700. 9/15 The Mavs reached a settlement with Bruno Sundov's former team, Split Croatia. Split had contended that Sundov was still under contract with them and the NBA rules would not allow the Mavs and Sundov to have contact until the dispute was settled. Thus, Sundov, who the Mavs have under contract for one more season, was not allowed to participate in the Mavs' summer games. Sundov is in training camp. From the "You've got to be kidding" department: The Mavs hired Kiki Vandeweghe as a part-time assistant to help supervise conditioning and to work with the Mavs' big men during training camp. Vandeweghe was the Mavs' first ever draft pick (#11 in 1980) and refused to play for the Mavs and was, thus, boo'ed every time he came to Reunion. Vandeweghe will also visit with Leon Smith at various times during the season. patricia