Taken from Benmalller.com If Shaquille O'Neal is going anywhere, it's looking more and more like Dallas. Last night, the Mavs were planning to continue their roster shake-up, solely with the idea of accumulating pieces to send to the Lakers in a blockbuster deal. Before David Stern introduced Howard to the delight of the crowd at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden, the Mavs were holding talks with the Cavs to acquire Zydrunas Ilgauskas. If they can land Cleveland's big man, then some time in the near future, the Mavs hope to take Ilgauskas, Dirk Nowitzki, and several other players - possibly Michael Finley or Christian Laettner, among them - whose salaries would help get up to Shaq's $28 million, and go get the Big Fella. "The Lakers know they have to get a genuine superstar back and that's why they're holding out for Nowitzki," said a person last night who is close to Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak. "Nowitzki has to be part of the deal." Jason Kidd, who won't be happy if the Nets lose Kenyon Martin, is considered to be untouchable along with Richard Jefferson. But Kidd, who led the Nets to two straight NBA Finals upon arriving in 2001, has five years and approximately $88 million remaining on the $103 million deal he signed last summer. He will also have surgery on his left knee but has yet to set a date. When asked if the organization has discussed the possibility of trading the franchise point guard as a last-resort option to keep Martin, Thorn replied: "We talk about a lot of different things that I'm not going to talk about." The trade of Tracy McGrady to the Houston Rockets moved a step closer early Friday morning to becoming reality after Magic general manager John Weisbrod spoke with Rockets guard Steve Francis. Weisbrod and Francis - the Rockets star who will come in the trade for McGrady - spoke by phone after the NBA Draft concluded Thursday night. Jeff Fried, Francis agent, said Friday morning that his client has dropped any objections to coming to Orlando. "Steve was very impressed with the way John has a vision for the team,'' Fried said. "It was a necessary step. I think John really connected with him.'' Isiah Thomas will spend the summer trying to find an athletic power forward as well as an experienced backup shooting guard. Kurt Thomas is the Knicks' most valuable trading commodity and could be included in a deal for either the Mavs' Antoine Walker or the Kings' Chris Webber. Eddy Curry probably will become a better player than whomever the Bulls would receive for him. He needs to be away from hometown pressure. He needs to be on a team with a better scorer than he is, probably two. He needs to be out of here. And the Bulls need him off the court. They're putting in place the elements of the team they want and could be impressive. The picture doesn't include Curry or Jamal Crawford. If the Lakers and Mavs go ahead and change the entire NBA landscape with one monumental conference call. Mark Cuban would do well to keep Phil Jackson's number handy. The Michael Jordan rumors to the Bucks won't go away, and the management assures us that Ford won't, either. Harris said his point guard was given a clean bill of health by doctors on Friday. But if the wrong half of the Bucks' free-agent contingent of Damon Jones, Toni Kukoc, Brian Skinner and Brevin Knight leaves, he could get lonesome out there. While Kerry Kittles and his $10.267 million salary continue to be offered around the league and there are persistent concerns regarding the ability to re-sign free agent Kenyon Martin, some of the latest moves involve the coaching staff. Assistant Larry Drew is all but finalized in New Orleans, where he will be reunited with Byron Scott, the man who hired him in New Jersey last year. Don Newman, another Scott hire who was dropped from the bench to a scouting role when Lawrence Frank was named coach, has left the Nets and joined the staff in San Antonio. Here are some players on the Bulls' wish list: Stephen Jackson, Bobby Sura, Jon Barry, Adonal Foyle, Eric Williams, Dion Glover and Brian Skinner. Jamal Crawford is a restricted free agent who will be able to begin negotiating with teams on July 1. If he receives interest beyond the mid-level exception, expected to be near $5 million, the Bulls will pursue sign-and-trade scenarios to get something in return for the former lottery pick. "I'm open to anything, but my first choice is Chicago," Crawford said. "Ben, Kirk and I can exist together. I like Ben's game. I liked him in college." Coach Scott Skiles said there is still a role for Crawford. Isiah Thomas spoke to Patrick Ewing recently about returning to the franchise where Ewing carved out a Hall of Fame career. Ewing is under contract with the Houston Rockets an as assistant coach on Jeff Van Gundy's staff. In fact, a person close to Ewing said the former Knicks center would consider only a coaching position with the club. Ewing approached the Knicks two years ago about the possibility of returning, but the organization informed him that it didn't have any positions open. The Pistons weren?t able to trade up into the first round of the NBA draft Thursday. Among their targets was point guard Jameer Nelson, who ended up being taken by Denver with the 20th pick and traded to Orlando. ?Nobody wanted to do anything,? Pistons President Joe Dumars said. So the Pistons waited until their 54th pick and selected Highland Park native and Detroit Renaissance High School product Rickey Paulding. Kevin McHale said he would be "shocked" if swingman Latrell Sprewell opts out of the final year of his contract to become a free agent. Sprewell is scheduled to make $14.6 million next season. Sprewell's agent, Robert Gist, said this month he would prefer that Sprewell opt out to seek a longer deal. Sprewell has until June 30 to notify the Wolves. Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said the Rockets' offer for Tracy McGrady is especially strong because of the playoff showings of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley this past season. "It's vital that when you get to the playoffs you have players that can step up," Alexander said. "Our players that we're trading have shown they can step up in the playoffs. The other players (mentioned in trade speculation with the Magic) have not done that." Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said Thursday his contract negotiations have been going along well and he expects it to be completed early this summer. ''We're working on that now. That's going to get done soon,'' he said. ``I don't have a date on it, but it's very much in progress. ``It's been sooner rather than later. It's not going to drag on into September.'' Van Gundy, who went 42-40 and took the Heat to the second round of the playoffs in his first year as an NBA head coach, said his negotiations with owner Micky Arison are going through president Pat Riley, who himself is working on an extension. The Mavericks said they got their point guard of the future Thursday night. How far in the future is the big question. By getting Wisconsin junior Devin Harris with the fifth pick in the NBA draft, the Mavericks believe they have an NBA-ready prospect who could ease the burden on All-Star Steve Nash. Whatever interest the Sixers had in Latvian center Andris Biedrins seemed to fade as the draft unfolded. Toronto's No. 8 selection of Brigham Young big man Rafael Araujo - who had not necessarily been projected to be in the top echelon - guaranteed the Sixers' decision. Earlier in the week, O'Brien had said that Araujo was not remotely ready to play defense in the NBA; last night, there was an indication that they had had interest in a big man who went after No. 9, but they did not confirm that it had been Biedrins. Shaquille O'Neal is only 32 years and is in the prime of his career. He loves Dallas, has a home in Frisco, is a Mark Cuban fan, and would bring some electricity to the Mavs that rivals what Bill Parcells brought to the Cowboys. Too many people were busy waiting to see what pick Dallas would make, further substantiating claims that Shaquille O'Neal would end up in Dallas. The Lakers, quietly, were desperate, having even resorted to contacting the Clippers for Elton Brand and Corey Maggette, just to see if they could get rid of O'Neal before July 1. Jameer Nelson should be furious right now. At Phoenix. At Cleveland. Especially at Portland and most assuredly at Miami. Each of those teams spent weeks whining about its respective need for a point guard, raving about Nelson, moaning about the days of yesteryear when prototypical point guards existed in abundance. Yet each of them inexplicably passed on Nelson. Dallas owner Mark Cuban had some biting words for the Pistons' run to the championship. When asked if the league would now try to adopt the Pistons' team concept, Cuban replied: "The Pistons are a very good basketball team. When you play New Jersey and get into a situation where Jason Kidd is hurt, then you play Indiana and you have a situation where Jermaine O'Neal gets hurt, then you play the Lakers and Karl Malone gets hurt ... that's the scenario I want to copy." Pacers president Larry Bird made it clear Thursday night that if Al Harrington returns for a seventh season, it will be as a reserve. "(Al's) position is Ronnie Artest's and Jermaine O'Neal's," Bird said, "so if he (Harrington) is here, he'll be coming off the bench." But Bird and Pacers coach Rick Carlisle expressed trepidation about parting with a player of Harrington's caliber. "When you talk about trading a high-level, veteran player, a guy like an Al Harrington, you're talking about now trading away one of your hottest assets," Carlisle said. "I thought Larry demonstrated a lot of restraint the last couple of days because we were involved in a lot of things. Dana Barros was at the Celtics draft party last night, as a guest. After joining the team as an assistant coach in February and moving to the active roster at the end of the year, the Mattapan native is stepping back for now. The former Boston College star has a major business investment in the works. Still, however, he hopes his career is not over. His experience as a coach served to rekindle his playing fire. Barros, 37, hopes to hook on with a team in January. The thinking is to move Kerry Kittles' contract and bring back equal money (not talent) that would then serve as the bench. There has been talk with Portland and Seattle (for packages with stars such as Shareef Abdur-Rahim or Ray Allen, both unlikely). Discussions with Cleveland centered around two New Jersey-born products, forward Eric Williams (a free agent who would have to agree to such a deal) and guard Dejuan Wagner. Isiah Thomas will make his mark during the free-agency period that begins July 1, though he's continuing to downplay his chase of the two biggest fish: Kobe Bryant and Rasheed Wallace. "We'll be actively trying to improve our team," Isiah said. "Whether it be through trade or free agency. That's the time we'll be most active. I don't think it will be a lot of the bigger names in the market, but there are pieces floating around that we can acquire; they will make our team better." Make no mistake: Ben Gordon and Luol Deng will make the Bulls better?though not necessarily next season. Yes, there does appear to be a plan in place. It's in the image of general manager John Paxson and Skiles. And it's a pretty good one. It's just going to take more time now that the Bulls couldn't extract a veteran from someone, like Indiana's Al Harrington, with the draft pick they got through the Phoenix Suns. Harrington certainly was the plan, and he would have made the team more competitive next season, if not a sure playoff threat. The Bucks will look for a backup to point guard T.J. Ford, who sat out much of the second half of the season due to a neck injury. The Bucks expect Ford to resume core strengthening and treadmill exercise on July 15. "He met again with the doctors in L.A. and got a clean bill of health," Harris said. "His progress is excellent, and the doctor reiterated to our medical staff and to me that he's expected to be there the opening day of training camp." The Celts used their fourth pick on Justin Reed, an athlete they hope can turn into a wing complement for Paul Pierce. The 6-foot-8, four-year product of Mississippi fits a more open position with the way the C's currently are constructed. ``He's a power 3, and he's all-SEC three years in a row,'' Danny Ainge said. ``And he's a great defender.'' After the Hawks took Josh Smith at No. 17, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said, "Out of this draft, he is the most likely to be a bust." Smith said he'll use the comment for motivation. "I just want to prove critics wrong, that I can play in this league," Smith said. Said Knight, "We think he has huge potential, and that's what this pick is for -- potential. We know that's going to require us to work with him. We think he's a willing pupil." Knight said Smith being from Atlanta didn't play a role in the decision to draft him. NBA teams received notice from the league office that they no longer should refer to their operational setups as ``war rooms.'' With the conflict still raging in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Celtics clearly understand the change to ``draft central.'' As proven last year when he took Kendrick Perkins in the first round and again last night with the selection of Al Jefferson, Ainge is not afraid of taking high school players, but he'd rather not have the option. ``I would prefer that there are no high school players in the draft,'' he said. ``I would prefer that I was giving Doc (Rivers) three college All-Americans. I'm OK (with taking a high school player) because we have to be OK. That's the world that we live in. You can't just tune it out.'' GM Ernie Grunfeld moved quickly to rid the Wizards of Christian Laettner and Jerry Stackhouse, two players who management considered derisive influences in the locker room last season, according to two sources on the club. Ben's Take: This is from the GM's handbook... when you trade a player who's popular say he's bad in the locker room. The addition of Antawn Jamison should make the Wizards a much more athletic and versatile team next season as they begin play in the new Southeast Division with Orlando, Miami, Atlanta and expansion Charlotte. If Washington doesn't make any more moves, expect Gilbert Arenas and Larry Hughes to start in the backcourt; Jamison and Kwame Brown at forward and Brendan Haywood at center. Mehmet Okur has been chosen by Turkey's national Olympic committee to carry the torch on July 6 through Istanbul. Okur is the first player from his country to win an NBA title. The restricted free agent will be the last person to carry the torch before it reaches Greece. UConn point guard Ben Gordon and hot NBA prospects Sebastian Telfair and Shaun Livingston got all blinged up for yesterday afternoon's draft at Madison Square Garden. We hear they dropped more than $100,000 on diamond-encrusted watches at Avianne & Co. on W. 47th St. in anticipation of hefty contracts. Pacers rookie David Harrison -- who will receive a three-year guaranteed contract starting at $696,300 -- will have to work hard to achieve his goals. He said he wants to start next season and make the All-Star team before his contract expires. When asked to make a comparison to a current NBA player, he mentioned Shaquille O'Neal. "I'm going to show them I'm one of the hardest workers they've ever drafted," Harrison said. Bird also wanted St. Joseph's guard Delonte West, but he went to Boston with the 24th pick. Bird said he would have taken Harrison anyway if both were available. The Green will not become the Black. New NBA outfitter Reebok was pushing the Celts to add a black alternate uniform, which by league rules must be worn a minimum of six times each season. The Celts, however, declined. The new jersey should be available in the FleetCenter pro shop this year.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">the Mavs were holding talks with the Cavs to acquire Zydrunas Ilgauskas. If they can land Cleveland's big man, then some time in the near future, the Mavs hope to take Ilgauskas, Dirk Nowitzki, and several other players -</div> What were they offering Cavs for the big guy?
ESPN's David Aldridge reported Thursday that the Mavs have offered their No. 5 pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in part of a package deal for Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Not sure what the rest of the package would be.
