Mavs make sure Kidd stays put

NBA.com Notebook: Mavs make sure Kidd stays put

By NBA.com staff reports
Posted Jul 6 2009 3:34PM

The Mavericks lost a future Hall-of-Fame point guard for nothing in free agency not so long ago. Whether or not Steve Nash's defection set the franchise back is up for debate.

Dallas did reach The Finals two years after the the guy who became a two-time MVP left.

History didn't repeat itself with Jason Kidd, but there were some anxious moments over the holiday weekend. Kidd agreed to come back to the franchise where his NBA career was born (and then revived) for three years and $25 million.

The logic in bringing back a floor general who will be 39 by the time the deal is done deserves inspection. Mavs owner Mark Cuban cited age and injury concerns with Nash, 30 at the time, when not offering a contract anywhere close to what the Suns did in 2004.

All Nash has done for the last five years is average 17.1 points and 10.9 assists, leading the league three times in the latter and never finishing below third. And he hasn't played less than 74 games in a season during that span. Seems like the Canadian can still play.

In that same span, Kidd has averaged 12.1 ppg and 8.9 apg and has played in at least 80 games in four of the last five seasons.

Losing Kidd would have been a tremendous blow on the court and in public opinion. Had he taken a New York offer for about $7 million less, it would have left Dallas with virtually nothing to show in the Devin Harris trade to New Jersey that also included two No. 1 picks.

The fact Kidd considered the Knicks should be reason to pause. Not only is the money less, but New York doesn't figure to contend this season. That of course could change next summer and Kidd would have been a big part of the recruiting process.

But for now it seems he took the safe choice. The Mavs still have a ways to go to get back to the top of the Western Conference, but at least they have their point guard in place.

-- Art Garcia

Freeing up money in Toronto

Hold the phone on the Raptors mortgaging the farm in order to sign Hedo Turkoglu.

It's true that Toronto will have to renounce its rights to Shawn Marion in order to sign Turkoglu. But the Raptors are still exploring options that may allow them to re-sign either guard Anthony Parker or Carlos Delfino, the other players that are expected to be renounced when the Turkoglu deal is finalized. Toronto is scrambling to try and find a buyer that will take one of its other players and give back only a future draft pick or cash. That would create more room than the current $10 million that the team can clear and that would be used to sign Turkoglu.

The Raptors do have a few players with contracts that will expire after the 2009-10 season, which would likely be the only contracts attractive to other teams: backup power forward Nathan Jawai (set to make $736,420 next season) and backup center Patrick O'Bryant ($855,189, only $500,000 of which is guaranteed). They could also renounce their rights to free agent guard Quincy Douby, who was acquired from Sacramento at the trade deadline, and free up another $1.42 million.

The question is, even if they can get more room -- and it looks like the most additional money they could free up would be around $3 million or so -- would Parker or Delfino take it? Parker made $4.5 million last season and has options overseas, where he starred for Maccabi-Tel Aviv before signing with Toronto and was twice named Euroleague Player of the Year.

Delfino wants to return to the NBA after leaving the Raptors to play last season for BC Khimki of the Russian A Superleague, where he'd signed a three-year deal. Toronto retained Delfino's NBA rights (he is a restricted free agent) and made him a qualifying offer last month.

Marion, though, is definitely gone. The reason is a little complicated, but stay with me as we troll through the arcanery of the NBA's salary cap rules.

To get under the salary cap far enough to be able to offer Turkoglu a five-year, $53 million deal, Marion's $17.8 million salary from last season has to come off Toronto's books. Despite his being a free agent, Marion would remain on the Raptors' cap at $20.5 million until he was renounced by the Raptors, re-signed with Toronto at a different figure or signed with another team. And, added to the team's other committed money for next season, that would put the Raptors way too far over the cap to be able to make any offer to Turkoglu.

The $20.5 million figure on Marion represents 35 percent of the league salary cap; the formula for determining a free agent's "cap charge" against his current team is the greater of 35 percent of the cap or the player's maximum salary allowed under cap rules. In Marion's case, being a 10-year veteran, the maximum he could count against any team's cap is $14 million. Thus, because $20.5 million is greater than $14 million, that figure is what counts against Toronto's cap. Confused yet? I sure am.

-- David Aldridge

Bass seeing plenty of offers

The agent for Brandon Bass told NBA.com that at least a dozen teams have expressed interest in the unrestricted power forward. News also surfaced this weekend that one of those teams has offered Bass a five-year contract for $25 million.

Bass has been Dirk Nowitzki's primary backup the last two years in Dallas, averaging 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds during the span. Bruising and athletic, Bass is only 24 and could be poised for a major breakout in the right situation.

-- Art Garcia

Colangelo gambles future with Turkoglu signing

Bryan Colangelo is not averse to taking risks.

The Raptors' president and GM drafted Andrea Bargnani with the No. 1 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. Two days later, he traded Charlie Villanueva, the Rookie of the Year runner up, for T.J. Ford, a diminutive point guard with a serious injury history. A year ago, Colangelo traded Ford for Jermaine O'Neal, who was clearly damaged goods, having played just 42 games with the Pacers the season before.

Colangelo took risks as the Suns' GM, too, trading Stephon Marbury to New York in 2004 for expiring contracts with the hopes of landing a free agent in 2005. When Steve Nash signed with the Suns and won the next two MVP awards, you can say that deal paid off.

Colangelo's latest risk is Hedo Turkoglu. The so-called "Michael Jordan of Turkey" will clearly be an upgrade at small forward for the Raptors. But in order to bring him to Toronto, Colangelo is giving up the opportunity to bring back Shawn Marion and Anthony Parker. That leaves Toronto with a serious lack of depth on the wings.

Raptors Depth Chart:
PG: Jose Calderon, Roko Ukic, Marcus Banks
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Quincy Douby
SF: Hedo Turkoglu
PF: Chris Bosh, Reggie Evans, Kris Humphries, Nathan Jawai
C: Andrea Bargnani, Patrick O'Bryant

Colangelo might be able to re-sign Carlos Delfino, who played in Moscow last season. He could start at the other wing, as rookie DeMar DeRozan is thought to be a year or two away from contributing. Even with Delfino, the Raptors are still thin at the wings.

Not only does the Turkoglu deal hurt their depth, there's no guarantee he will fit in well. The Magic, with Dwight Howard down low and Rashard Lewis at the other forward spot, were seemingly the perfect fit for Turkoglu. And the last two seasons may have been his peak as a basketball player.

Turkoglu is also at his best when he's running the offense, but Calderon likes to control the ball. So the incumbent point guard will need to adjust to playing without it more than he has in the past.

In general, having an extra ball-handler is an advantage. Teams are better able to get a good shot after the defense takes away the offense's first option. And the Turkoglu-Bosh screen-and-roll or pick-and-pop will be tough to stop.

Like the LeBron James situation in Cleveland, Colangelo has a year to convince Chris Bosh to stay in Toronto. And like Danny Ferry with the Cavs, he's willing to take a risk or two in his attempt to keep his star happy.

The difference is that Colangelo is more likely to see the writing on the wall earlier. And he might be willing to deal Bosh mid-season if the All-Star indicates that he's not staying long-term. Meaning the Turkoglu signing not only has to work out, but must work out quickly.

-- John Schuhmann

A stronger form of Kryptonite

The Boston Celtics were obviously undermanned when they lost to the Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but it can't hurt to pick up an extra line of defense against Dwight Howard.

The Celtics were already at an advantage when it comes to defending Howard. Boston coach Doc Rivers doesn't like to double-team in the low post, and he didn't have to thanks to Kendrick Perkins (one of the best low-post defenders in the league). Perkins kept Howard in check in their seven-game series in May.

By agreeing to a deal with Rasheed Wallace, the Celtics bring in another guy defends Howard well. Howard and the Magic were just 5-22 against Wallace's Pistons over the last five seasons.

Howard's stats against the Celtics and Pistons aren't bad. The key is when he's single covered, teams can better defend his supporting cast of shooters. Now the Celtics have two guys (make that three -- Kevin Garnett isn't too bad of a defender either) who can guard Howard one-on-one.

And of course, in Garnett, Perkins and Wallace, the Celtics easily have the best defensive frontline in the league.

-- John Schuhmann

NBA.com's John Schuhmann, Art Garcia and TNT analyst David Aldridge contributed to this report.