|
|
|
Thursday, August 23, 2001
Mavs add Hardaway to talented mix
Associated Press
|
| |  | |
| Hardaway |
DALLAS -- Here's proof the Dallas Mavericks are becoming
legitimate playoff contenders: They've acquired five-time All-Star
Tim Hardaway to be a backup.
Hardaway was sent to Dallas Wednesday in a sign-and-trade deal
from Miami. The Heat gets the Mavericks' $3.2 million salary-cap
exception and a second-round draft pick within three years.
Hardaway gets a three-year contract worth about $10 million.
"We feel good about getting Tim Hardaway," said Dallas
coach-general manager Don Nelson, who drafted Hardaway for Golden
State in 1989 and coached him there for five seasons.
"He is the quality of player we want to help us not just in the
regular season, but in the playoffs."
The Mavs have a young nucleus with Michael Finley,
Dirk Nowitzki
and Steve Nash. Last season, they carried Dallas into the second
round of the playoffs for the first time since 1988.
To continue the climb, Nelson has sought veteran help. He signed
Danny Manning a few weeks ago and has been targeting Hardaway all
offseason. Dallas finally got room to acquire him by recently
trading Howard Eisley to New York in a three-way deal that also
sent Glen Rice to Houston.
Hardaway, who will be 35 Sept. 1, no longer averages more than
20 points and 10 assists per game as he did early in his career.
Foot and knee injuries also have been problems.
But Hardaway averaged 14.9 points and 6.3 assists last season
and played in 77 games, more than either of the previous two
seasons. His 52 games of playoff experience are more than anyone
else on the roster.
The Mavericks hope to get more out of Hardaway by using him
less. He'll back up Nash at point guard, with the pair occasionally
sharing the backcourt.
Eisley had the same role last season, but wasn't consistent and
failed to recover from a late-season shooting slump.
When Hardaway and Nash play together, Finley will move to small
forward and Nowitzki to power forward.
"He knows his role coming in is to back up Nash and at times
give us a shot with him and Nash on the court at the same time,"
Mavs owner Mark Cuban said. "That means about 20 minutes per game,
which should hopefully lead to Tim extending his career with the
Mavs and the NBA. He can still play."
The Finley-Nowitzki-Nash trio is Dallas' backbone much like
Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin were for Nelson-coached
Golden State in the early 1990s. The Warriors marketed their
threesome as Run TMC.
Nelson wanted to reunite them with the Mavericks this season,
but Richmond signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Mullin, whom
Nelson wanted as an assistant, decided to play another season.
This deal probably concludes a typically busy off-season for
Nelson, who re-signed Finley and Shawn Bradley and signed free
agents Evan Eschmeyer and Manning.
The Mavs also lost starting center Calvin Booth to Seattle
through free agency and saw player personnel director Kiki
Vandeweghe become general manager in Denver.
|
|
| More from ESPN... |
AUDIO/VIDEO
Tim Hardaway is introduced as the newest member of the Mavericks.
RealVideo: | 28.8
|
| |
|
|
