Cuban On Harrington-To-Mavs Talk: 'Zero. None. Nada.'

DB.com Exclusive: Mavs 'Aren't Very Interested' In Unhappy Warrior

Mike Fisher -- DB.com

  It’s not that the Mavs are unaware of Al Harrington, his talents and his desire to put his glorious years in Golden State behind him. (OK, actually, for the Warriors, it was more like a glorious couple of weeks, but anyway. …) It’s that the Mavs simply “aren’t very interested in him,’’ a source tells DallasBasketball.com, denying reported suggestions that Dallas is a bidder and adding that there have been no serious conversations between the two teams.

  Adds Mavs owner Mark Cuban in an email to us: “There are no trade conversations going on.’’

  Is that answer specific to Harrington only?

  No, Cuban informs DallasBasketball.com. “No trade conversations going on with anyone about anybody. Zero. None Nada.’’

  Dallas is “willing to go with what we’ve got for now, certainly in the short term,’’ one team exec tells us, also suggesting that the scouting department “doesn’t really like’’ the disgruntled Harrington.

  Now, “not liking’’ can always be relative. Our understanding is that the Mavs at this point certainly don’t think highly enough of Harrington to forfeit Jason Terry in an exchange. While they are absolutely willing to give up Stackhouse, they view Bass as a commodity. So if the Warriors are going to garage-sale the guy. …

  But as San Jose writer Tim Kawakami points out, the 6-9 Harrington, “as a combo-forward with 3-point range and an OK contract is a guy a lot of teams like.

  Adds Tim: “I’ve been told for a long time that as soon as Harrington officially is shopped there will be teams lining up to talk to the Warriors.’’

  Possibly.

  But consider the first reported (maybe) trade offer, at ESPN.com: The Knicks “may’’ have offered Eddy Curry. Blecch. Really?

   Let us suggest that if Harrington’s value is more comparable to what the Knicks think (Harrington = Curry) than to what the respected Kawakami thinks (“Harrington = “A guy a lot of teams like’’) … then maybe the Mavs are right in not being one of those teams.

  ESPN.com suggests that “two Western Conference teams’’ are in the bidding, and Kawakami speculates that those two teams are the Clippers and the Mavs.

  We’re told Tim is guessing wrong on one of those. We’re told that by one source we will not ID here, and we’re told it quite firmly by Mark Cuban himself.

  There are a number of other factors at play here – and NONE of them have anything to do with rivals Cuban and Don Nelson being among the point men for their respective teams. We’ve tried to illustrate this before, and we’re happy to do it again: There are some executives, coaches and staffers in every organization who dislike some other executives, coaches and staffers in other organizations. If there is a conflict between, say a Cuban and a Nellie – but it make sense for the two teams to talk – they still TALK.

  Maybe Cuban and Nellie don’t. But the TEAMS STILL DO.

  You think Nellie wouldn’t call Keith Grant? You think Paul Westphal can’t call Nellie? You think Dallas assistants like Mario Elle can’t talk with Warriors assistants like Larry Riley and Sidney Moncrief (both ex-Mavs assistants?) And oh yeah. … you think Donnie can’t call Dad?  Ridiculous, as it the notion that Cuban and Nellie “wouldn’t want to help each other.’’ Um. … exactly which team in the West WOULD Cuban want to help? This isn’t charity, kids; this is trade talk, in theory the discussion about a fair swap.

   Also. … why is Dallas always mentioned in any trade-related gossip? Peter Vecsey’s Sunday effort is typical: His headline and story screams out mentions of Jason Kidd and Mark Cuban. … but the actual red meat of the column includes nothing of Mavs-related substance.

   The factors that are at play in making a Harrington-to-Dallas deal unlikely:

   *The Mavs don’t see themselves as being in desperate need for a wing (again, as the source hints, at least not at this early stage). There is a commitment to letting Josh Howard take his rightful spot on the pecking order, and there is a commitment to the development of the LIBBs, Antoine Wright, Gerald Green and Shawne Williams. What Green did in particular in Game 2 in Minny feeds that’s commitment. (Don’t misinterpret this; nobody is saying a Shawne is superior to an Al. The Mavs are simply saying they believe their answers on the wing will come from a gaggle of players headed by Josh and Bass, and supported by at least one of the other kids.)

   *The Mavs believe Brandon Bass is a commodity with untapped potential. Would they have traded him for a difference-making All-Star? Yes, which is why he was pitched to Sacto in the summer during the Artest talks. Would they make him a throw-in for a player in Harrington (career averages around 14 points and six rebounds per) who is as much a knucklehead as he is a talent?

   They say no.

   *This Harrington trade talk has been going on for quite some time. Nellie says he discussed it with the player over the summer. It’s out there in the open now that Harrington has demanded one. …

   Or has he?

   One day after going public with his demand, he said this:

   “I love the Warriors. Since I got here I love this team.’’

   Now, we’ll ignore syntax and verb conjugation and the like and just get to the point: In the trade-demand interview, Al talked almost wistfully about wanting to be “one of Nellie’s dudes.’’

    “If you're not one of his dudes,’’ Harrington said, “you ain't never going to be one of his dudes.’’

     We would suggest that much more than needing a trade, this 27-year-old kid needs a hug.

   *Our Mavs source on this recited off the top of his head Harrington’s stat line in the Warriors’ opener: “What, 13 points, seven rebounds and 42 minutes, right?’’ (By the way, in Golden State’s second game, Al was much better and went off for 26/11.) We took the recitation to mean a couple of things: One, Dallas obviously has kept an eye on the guy. But two, and more importantly, what the source was trying to say is that Don Nelson likes Harrington and needs Harrington, no matter how much the player wants out, no matter how the player feels unwanted.

   And indeed, here’s Nellie’s quote on the subject:

   “I thought he had a pretty good year (last season). I had no complaints about his play. … “Sure, yeah, (the Warriors will look at a deal) if there's a player that makes sense. (But) you could say that about anybody on the team, really. We look at trades. That's part of our business -- trades. … Al's a good player. If we trade Al, we need a good player.’’

   Nellie, do you want Harrington on the team? “Yeah,’’ he said. “I like Al.’’

   And that’s not something the Mavs can really say.

122pm nov 2 2008