Friday, September 28, 2007

Mavs pick up Hassell for Buckner

The Mavericks added to their stable of swingmen by trading Greg Buckner to Minnesota for Trenton Hassell late Friday night.

The guard swap gives the Mavs another option at shooting guard opposite point guard Devin Harris. Hassell (6-5, 233) started 68 games last season for the Timberwolves, averaging 6.7 points on 49-percent shooting. The Austin Peay product scored a career-high 9.2 points per game the previous season.

Hassell, 28, is expected to fit in nicely in Avery Johnson’s system. He’s considered a knockdown shooter inside the arc and a capable perimeter defender. His solid reputation also extends to the locker room where Kevin Garnett often referred to Hassell as his favorite teammate.

“We look forward to bringing Trenton on board,” president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. “He’s an exciting young piece who we feel is a good fit for our system.

“We want to thank Buck for his years of dedication and service, and wish him nothing but the best.”

Hassell joins Jason Terry, Eddie Jones and Devean George as the likely candidates to start alongside Harris in the backcourt as training camp opens next week. Jerry Stackhouse will likely reprise his sixth-man duties, while Josh Howard is entrenched at starting small forward.

Buckner, 31, rejoined Dallas last season by signing a three-year contract. He played in 76 games, starting 11, and averaged 4.0 points on 41-percent shooting. The Mavs envisioned Buckner (6-4, 210) as the kind of rugged defender capable of slowing down the league’s premier swingmen, but that role never materialized.

Buckner broke into the NBA with the Mavs during the 1999-2000 season and spent three years in Dallas before signing with Philadelphia. He played for Denver from 2004-06.

Waiting on C-Webb?

The Mavs head into camp next week with 15 guaranteed contracts, meaning the roster is essentially set for the start of the season. Say the team wanted to sign Chris Webber or PJ Brown, and interest remains in both, the Mavs would have to cut one of the 15 and eat that contract. The same goes for the non-roster invitees to camp, though the chances of the Mavs cutting a guaranteed contract for Jamal Sampson, Jared Newson or Darvin Ham are slim.

Sampson, a journeyman center, would have the best of that slim chance to stick if the Mavs feel the need to keep another big man as insurance. DeSagana Diop is the only center currently healthy. Erick Dampier, coming off shoulder surgery, won’t see action until after the season starts. DJ Mbenga is coming off knee surgery.

The Mavs would welcome Webber or Brown, but both are weighing very different options. Talk around the league is that C-Webb is considering an extremely lucrative deal to play in Greece, while family life is pulling at Brown.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Stayin' alive

Mark Cuban made it through Round 1 of Dancing with the Stars. Check out his thoughts in a little Q&A we did last night and on blog maverick.

Welcome to Courtside View

I'm up and blogging. Let me introduce myself quickly, I'm Art Garcia and I'll be covering all that Mavericks do (at least I'll try) for our website at mavs.com. I'm no stranger to this team having covered these guys for most of this century at one of DFW's two major papers. Anyway, check back with us often for the latest on the Mavs, the Association and whatever else catches my fancy. Training camp is only a few days...