brainsmile

By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

The Dallas Mavericks, while still hoping to convince the Los Angeles Lakers to send them Shaquille O'Neal, have completed a trade on the eve of the NBA draft that could have additional significance, ESPN.com has learned.


The Mavericks, according to league sources, have acquired the No. 5 overall pick in Thursday's draft from Washington as part of a package that features Antawn Jamison, the newly minted Sixth Man of the Year, as the prize catch for the Wizards.


ESPN's David Aldridge reports that the Wizards also will send Christian Laettner and Jerry Stackhouse to the Mavericks in the deal.


Sources say the Mavericks hope to use the No. 5 pick to sweeten the package they can offer the Lakers in exchange for the disgruntled O'Neal. It is also possible, sources say, that the Mavericks will pursue additional trades that include Laettner and/or Stackhouse.


It is not known when the trade will be announced.


ESPN.com reported late Tuesday that, according to Lakers sources, L.A. refuses to deal O'Neal to their Western Conference rival unless Dallas makes Dirk Nowitzki available. Mavericks sources maintain that Nowitzki remains off-limits, but the prospect of adding the No. 5 pick to a package that could include point guard Steve Nash (via sign-and-trade), Antoine Walker (who has just one year left on his contract) and promising rookie Josh Howard should at least get the Lakers' attention.


If the Lakers do eventually consent to trade O'Neal, in the wake of Shaq's demand for a trade last week, their goal would be injecting their roster with quality youth and depth to surround Kobe Bryant.


If the Mavericks can't swing a subsequent deal for the No. 5 pick, they will undoubtedly weigh the merits of drafting Pavel Podkolzine, the 7-foot-5 center from Russia.


Jamison's appeal to the Wizards is obvious. Instead of gambling on more youth at No. 5 with an inexperienced roster already, Washington gets an established frontcourt scorer who should contend for an All-Star spot in the East after accepting a bench role without complaint in Dallas.


Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.

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"Nobody beats Vitus Gerulaitis 18 times in a row." - Vitus Gerulaitis on beating Jimmy Connors after 17 failed attempts.

kei2

Funny, a couple years ago Stackhouse alone could probably bag Jamison. Now it's taking a #5 and Laettner as well. I tend to think Dallas got the best of this trade.

ialsohaveadream

Dallas got the best of it only if they move along those rejects and pick up Shaq in the deal. That way, they'd have Shaq, Dirk, Finley, and Marcus Daniels. Nice little lineup.

slaus

The Wizards have to be pretty happy to clear all that cap space.

ialsohaveadream

Sure....but they're still the Wizards. Who wants to play for them again?

bmw9983

Word has it that the Lakers won't do the deal for Shaq unless they get Dirk.

Regardless, I'd do Dirk + cap filler for Shaq and day of the week.

ialsohaveadream

I think Dallas is just making every possible attempt to pair Shaq with Dirk and Daniels. They can always pick up some complementary pieces elsewhere. If they send Nash and Walker to the Lakers, they can keep Stackhouse as another scoring option.

whitak24

i think any time you complete a trade that involves putting christian laettner on your team, you have to seriously question whether it was a good idea.

i think this was probably a good trade for dallas though. while jamison had a good year, the mavs were basically overloaded at his position. they have other players who can step in and score off the bench. in fact, that might be an ideal role for stackhouse.

now if there were some sure-fire picks in this draft, the #5 plus nash might be enough to land shaq, but i don't see that happening with the paucity of quality talent available this year.

CornMonkey

LA...wants...dirk...now..!!!

slaus

I think acquiring Stackhouse opens the possibility that Dallas is going to try and move Finley.

brainsmile

well stackhouse isn't really the model of health

There's hardly any defense in Dallas as it is. Take away Finley and you might as well call them the allas Mavs

slaus

Wasnt Finley injured for large parts of the past year?

bachviet

Dallas will try everything not to give up Dirk for Shaq. Without Dirk, Dallas will not go very far even with Shaq. One-star team can't beat the West powerhouses. Two-stars team might have a chance. If Shaq is not traded, the Flakers are in trouble because he will refuse to cooperate with Kobe.

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