A real Maverick, indeed. Now Seattle making calls!

Cuban is not joking and he is certainly shaking things up. That the kind of thing endless money allows. It seems Seattle did call about a sign and trade. Rockets should be next. I wonder if Cuban will get into the verbal stuff with the rockets too. At least we have won two championship and all his players are afraid of the rockets.

http://www.tribnet.com/sports/basketball/sonics/story/1588627p-1705149c.html

No sign-and-trade deal with Mavs

Frank Hughes; The News Tribune

Seattle SuperSonics general manager Rick Sund called the Dallas Mavericks on Monday to discuss a sign-and-trade proposal for free-agent Rashard Lewis, but was unsuccessful in what was certainly predetermined futility.

Sund would not discuss specifics of the conversation, but sources said he was rebuffed when he told Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson that he wanted a combination of two of the Mavericks' top three players - Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash - in exchange for Lewis.


Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had said repeatedly that he was willing to work out a sign-and-trade for Lewis, but Cuban was adamant that none of his core players would be included in any discussions.


And so it is becoming increasingly clear that Lewis is going to have to make a decision between the Sonics' seven-year, $60 million offer with incentives that can bring the total to $75 million; or a three-year deal for $15 million with the hope - and risk - of a larger contract in 2005.


Any sign-and-trade deal deal would be difficult because the Sonics and Mavericks either would have to get a third team involved or would have to include so many players that it would make it virtually impossible.


Lewis tried another ploy to get the Sonics to budge Monday when he met with officials from the Houston Rockets in Lewis' hometown of Houston.


However, the meeting, which took place at the Westside Tennis Center, where many NBA players go for summer workouts, was described as superficial introductions of Lewis and Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson.


"I wouldn't even call it a meeting," said Carl Poston, Lewis' Houston-based agent. "All it was was, 'We have to get together. We'll be here (in Houston). We should meet with Rashard.' "


Poston also said that "things hadn't changed" with Seattle, meaning the Sonics remained firm on their financial offer.


"We're still at the same point," Poston said.


http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/82406_sonx13.shtml

Rhetoric on Lewis heats up

Tuesday, August 13, 2002

By DANNY O'NEIL
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

In Houston, Rashard Lewis visited with the Rockets, his hometown NBA team.

In Dallas, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban lobbed a verbal volley in response to statements from Sonics owner Howard Schultz.

It was a Texas two-step that traveled to Seattle, where it felt more like a combination punch.

A Rockets spokesman confirmed that Houston general manager Carroll Dawson met with Carl Poston, Lewis' agent. It's believed Lewis was at the meeting. The Rockets -- like the Mavericks -- can only sign Lewis for a starting salary of $4.5 million, barring a sign-and-trade deal, but the Sonics have not heard an offer.

While the salary cap keeps the Mavericks from outbidding the Sonics, it says nothing about bickering, and Cuban sent an e-mail yesterday after learning of Schultz's comments in Monday's Post-Intelligencer.

"They have chosen to build their organization through minimizing costs at the expense of what they can pay players," Cuban wrote of the Sonics. "The Mavs have chosen to maximize revenues so that we have a better opportunity to reward our players.

"Each team has to make their own choices, and it will be entertaining and interesting to see how Howard goes through the same process with Gary (Payton) and Bones (Brent Barry), then Desmond (Mason), then Vlade (Radmanovic).

"Calling other teams the bad guys might work once."

Cuban's statements served the dual purpose of presenting Dallas as a financial Shangri-La while shading the Sonics as a team with a bare-bones budget.

The truth is not nearly that easy because Dallas' contracts come with the possibility of being traded by an owner who's as freewheeling as he is free-spending. Also, the Sonics have indicated they are willing to pay the luxury tax for one season to re-sign Lewis at a time when most teams are running scared from the mere threat of the taxman.

While the Sonics' payroll won't measure up to the money Cuban has thrown around, that doesn't mean Seattle isn't interested in maximizing revenue.

Cuban's response gave the tug-of-war over Lewis a tennis-match flavor until Schultz failed to return serve yesterday, declining to comment when told what Cuban had written.

On Sunday, Schultz said, "I'm not going to play the game that Cuban plays and create false expectations. What I've tried to communicate to Rashard is a sense of loyalty and ethical standard he can rely on with me."

He also said Lewis would have a hard time becoming an All-Star in Dallas with Steve Nash, Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki as the first-tier options, with Nick Van Exel and Raef Lafrentz also playing prominent parts.

The roster is packed, but Cuban points out that produces more exposure, citing that 22 of the Mavericks' 82 games will be televised nationally next season.

"If Rashard does come to the Mavs, then Howard can watch him on TV 22 times," Cuban wrote, "along with everyone else who votes for the all star teams (sic)."

The Sonics have offered Lewis a seven-year contract worth $60 million guaranteed, with an additional $15 million in incentives. Dallas can counter with $15 million for the next three years, and then Lewis would be eligible for a bigger contract.

On Sunday, Schultz said he had talked to Lewis about what happened to Christian Laettner and Tim Hardaway in Dallas, two touted acquisitions the Mavericks traded away in their first season with the team.

Cuban mentioned three other players yesterday: Finley, Nowitzki and Lafrentz who all signed long-term deals to come back to the Mavericks without ever visiting another team.

"We have kept the same nucleus of players to build upon," Cuban said. "And as each of those players has come up on free agency, we have shown our commitment to each of those players."

Cuban didn't talk about Greg Buckner, a free-agent guard who played three years in Dallas but wasn't offered a contract this off-season and left for Philadelphia. Or Gary Trent, who left the team in 2001 after a similar situation.

Cuban has made multi-player deals at the trading deadline each of the past two seasons, and last year's deal angered Hardaway.

"My goal is to improve any way, any time, no questions asked," Cuban told the Denver Post before the trade involving Hardaway. "The goal is not to win more games every season. The goal is the (championship) ring. Whatever I think helps me support that strategy, I'm on top ... even if it's not popular."

Cuban's style certainly isn't making friends in the Sonics front office, and the statements put pressure on Seattle to increase its offer. Cuban's tactics might net him Lewis, who has indicated he will sign with the Mavericks unless the Sonics increase their offer. Cuban said the Mavericks won't set any deadlines and will work on Lewis' timetable.