Full-Court Press

Gambling for the right reasons

You may have heard the NBA's had some problems with gambling lately. Well, you know, gambling on games is different than actual gambling. The only thing the two have in common is, well, gambling.

Good news from the NBA's home away from home -- Las Vegas. On August 11, NBA legends Julius Erving and Spud Webb will compete in a charity poker tournament against current players Jason Kidd and Tracy McGrady at the Mirage "high-limit lounge." That's from the official press release.

Proceeds will be donated to two charities and, hey, you know what makes it even better?

Jose Canseco will be there. Yep, an official part of the event.

And the NBA wonders why, from time to time, people suggest it might have image problems.

-- Jan Hubbard

They love Cuban in Chicago

Well, at least one group of fans makes no secret of their desire for Mark Cuban to buy the Cubs. I'm not sure Major League Baseball will be thrilled with fans playing around with a logo of one of its teams, but you have to admit, using the "C" for Cubs and inserting Cuban's name is creative. Want to own your own Cubs/Cuban shirt? Here's the link.

-- Jan Hubbard

An award for Jason

Some awards that players receive may not be regarded as prestigious, but they are nevertheless meaningful. Jason Terry will receive one of those on Aug. 21 at the West Dallas Community Church in Dallas. Terry will be honored for the work he does with youth through the Jason Terry Foundation. The award will be presented during a five-day program called "Building Leaders for Tomorrow" that is free for kids 11-through-17. It's not an award that will look impressive on Terry's basketball resume, but it is one that he will undoubtedly be proud of.

-- Jan Hubbard

 

 

TGPS

Which, of course, stands for: Thank Goodness Penny Signed. At least now we won't have to read about the possibility of another ancient, gimpy player who may or may not be interested in the Mavericks.

Penny Hardaway signed with the Miami Heat Thursday, but no sooner had that happened than it was rumored that Allan Houston, who hasn't played in the last two years, might be interested in playing for Dallas. Why the Mavericks would sign 35-year-old Eddie Jones and follow it up with a 36-year-old player who has played 70 games in the last four years because of injury and plays the same position is a question that perhaps only the less enlightened can answer.

Now Houston is an important player in Mavericks payroll history. In the last collective bargaining agreement, teams were given a one-time right to waive a player in order to not pay the luxury tax. The rule was called the "Allan Houston rule" because the Knicks owed Houston $40 million and he was the player most likely to be waived because of his injuries that would prevent him from playing.

Oddly, the Knicks used the clause to waive forward Jerome Williams instead but the loophole enabled the Mavericks to waive Michael Finley, who was still on the payroll for $51 million. Finley got his money, but the Mavericks avoided paying the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax.

Houston did the Mavericks a favor, I guess. And now they'll do themselves a favor by not signing him.

-- Jan Hubbard

Dirk's busy September

When some basic insurance issues are completed, Dirk Nowtizki will be given permission by the Mavericks to compete for the German National team in Eurobasket, which is the European Olympic qualifying tournament. It will be held Sept 3-16 at several sites in Spain with the medal round to be played in Madrid.

For those not up to date on Olympic basketball qualifying, here's how it's done.

Two berths have been secured -- China as the host country and Spain because it won the World Championship last year. Here's where the other teams come from in tournaments this year:

The Americas - 2
Europe - 2
Asia - 1
Africa - 1
Oceania - 1

That leaves three berths open in the 12-team Olympic tournament in 2008 and a new tournament will determine those. In July next year, a month before the Olympics, 12 teams will compete for the three berths. Here's where the teams in that competition will come from:

4 - Europe
3 - Americas
2 - Africa
2 - Asia
1 - Oceania

Perhaps the most interesting country to watch this year -- besides the USA, which hasn't won a gold medal in the world championships or Olympics since 2000 -- is Argentina, the defending Olympic champion. None of Argentina's top players -- most notably Manu Ginobili -- will play in the upcoming tournament in Las Vegas. Only the top two teams from this tournament will advance to the Olympics and it it's going to be difficult for Argentina, which finished fourth in the recent Pan-Am Games.

That would mean Argentina's last chance would be in the pre-Olympic tournament next summer. And if that is the last chance, the question is: Would Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto and others play in the last-gasp tournament? We'll see.

-- Jan Hubbard

Devean checks in

So what is Devean George doing on his summer vacation?

For one thing, going to school.

"And it's intense," George said in a telephone interview from Stanford a few minutes ago. "We start at 7 a.m. and go to 9 p.m. every night. We get two two-hour breaks and that's it."

George has joined several NBA players -- including Bruce Bowen, Malik Rose, Brevin Knight and Mike James -- in a one-week program sponsored by the National Basketball Players Association at Stanford. It is designed to assist players in how to invest their money and they get expert advice on everything from real estate to restaurants.

"On those two-hour breaks, we can get in the gym and do some shooting," George said, "but guys haven't been in a school mode for so long. We may shoot for 45 minutes, but then you go back and lay down."

The 6-8, 235-pound George has watched as the Mavericks have added several players his size in the offseason -- 6-8 Brandon Bass, 6-11 rookie Nick Fazekas, 6-8 rookie Reyshawn Terry -- but he says he's not concerned about losing minutes.

"There's always going to be competition," he said. "It's going to be a battle for playing time in training camp, but that's good. It will bring out the best in all of us."


-- Jan Hubbard

Pre-season schedule

The moment everyone's been waiting for...(drum roll, please), it's the Mavs' pre-season schedule. Ah, yes, nothing more exciting than pre-season hoops.

Anyway, things get started on Oct. 9 at the AAC against the champion Spurs. The Mavs have two games on college campuses, against Washington at George Mason and against Sacramento at New Mexico State in Las Cruces.

Here's the schedule:

DATE            OPPONENT                                                        TIME (CT)

Oct. 9          vs. San Antonio                                                 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 12         at Chicago                                                      7:30 p.m.

Oct. 13        at Washington (George Mason University)            6:00 p.m.

Oct. 16         at Sacramento (New Mexico State University)    8:00 p.m.

Oct. 18         at Houston                                                      7:30 p.m.

Oct. 19         vs. Detroit                                                     7:30 p.m.

Oct. 21         vs. New Orleans                                             7:30 p.m.

Oct. 23         vs. Chicago                                                   7:30 p.m.

*all games will be broadcast on ESPN 103.3 FM and KFLC 1270 AM

-- Jeff         

Mavs in Las Cruces, N.M.?

A report from the home of New Mexico State says a pre-season matchup could pit the Mavs and the Sacramento Kings at NMSU's Pan American Center. The Kings, of course, are led by first-year coach Reggie Theus, the former two-year coach of the Aggies.

The game would be held in mid-October, according to NMSU media relations director Tyler Dunkel in today's article in the Las Cruces Sun-News.

The last time the NBA ventured to Las Cruces, just a stone's throw from El Paso, was in 1993 when the Nuggets and Kings played.

Pre-season schedules are set to be released at any time.

-- Jeff

Webber back to Motown?

It's been known for some time now that Chris Webber is interested in playing for either the Detroit Pistons (the team his dad said he would like to see Chris end his career with) or the Mavs, a team that seemingly could benefit from adding the crafty veteran power forward, at least on the offensive end to help free up Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, etc.

While rumors swirled on the Web (stemming from an unfounded radio report out of L.A.) on Sunday about Webber's imminent signing with the Mavs, that just doesn't appear to be the case. In fact, one plugged-in NBA source dialed up on Tuesday said that his "gut" tells him that Webber will return to the Pistons. That's not to say the Mavs are out of the running, just that it appears more likely, at this moment, that Webber will re-sign with his hometown team.

That would put the Mavs squarely in the running for veteran power forward-center P.J. Brown, who's also being pursued by the Suns, Celtics, Magic, perhaps the Heat and others. Brown, who's mulling retirement, is less versatile than Webber, but nonetheless would add some interior defense and rebounding.

The Mavs are also still in the sign-and-trade hunt for restricted free agents Mickael Pietrus (Golden State) and Sasha Pavlovic (Cleveland).

-- Jeff

Avery's seat warming?

That's the opinion of one writer, Martin Johnson (apparently no relation to Avery Johnson) of The Sun in New York. His column today lauds Johnson for the Mavs' regular-season success, but he questions Avery's ability to react strategically during the playoff exits the last two seasons. He suggests that the club is set with its current roster for some years to come, so Avery either puts it together in the playoffs or he's soon sitting alongside Marv Albert.

-- Jeff