There were the denials of a trade. Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, said it wasn’t happening:

“…”For us to make the numbers work in a deal like that, we’d have to trade away half the team,” Cuban added, before settling into his first-row chair, three seats down from Mavs coach Avery Johnson. “We’re not doing that, so it just doesn’t work. And, we like our team. We’ve got a lot of room for improvement and we hope to get better. But right now, I just don’t see anything happening.”"

link: Mavericks owner Mark Cuban quashes Jason Kidd trade talk

It wasn’t half the team but it was a fair number of players trading uniforms. Jason Kidd has been traded to the Dallas Mavericks:

“…Kidd, who turns 35 next month, goes to Dallas with an unmistakable mandate: Bring a title for a team and career that are desperately seeking it. As part of the trade, the Mavericks would also send Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George, DeSagna Diop, Maurice Ager and $3 million to New Jersey. Along with Kidd, the Nets send reserve forward Malik Allen to the Mavs.”

link: Kidd traded to Dallas in latest blockbuster deal

Included in the trade is Devin Harris and first round picks. It seems that in the Western Conference of the NBA, there is an urgency to win it all. There have been the obvious threats from Kobe Bryant that he was willing to leave the L.A Lakers to play for a winning team. Those threats may be mitigated somewhat now that the Lakers have Pau Gasol. However, two other Western Conference teams are willing to gamble on aging superstars. The Phoenix Suns now have Shaquille O’Neal. And the Dallas Mavericks gave up their point guard of the future for Jason Kidd.

Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs are typically quiet and waiting for all the injuries to resolve themselves. Then they will defend their championship.

Catherine Forsythe

[tag]nba, trades, jason kidd, dallas mavericks, new jersey nets, san antonio spurs, championship[/tag]