It's almost too bad that Thursday's marquee NBA matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns couldn't take place right after the All-Star break.
This battle of Western Conference favorites is the final NBA game before the break, but neither basketball team will have the future Hall of Famer it recently acquired (or nearly so) via trade.
For Dallas, the Jason Kidd trade reportedly is on hold - although almost assuredly will get done in some form. Amazingly, little-used Mavericks reserve forward Devean George is holding up this deal by refusing to waive his no-trade clause. Why a guy who averages 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game has a no-trade clause is beyond me, but it is what it is. George doesn't want to be dealt because he loses his "Larry Bird" rights, which in a nutshell means he probably can't sign a bigger contract in the offseason if he is traded.
Even George expects the deal to be finalized at some point.
"I don't think the trade is going anywhere," he said after going 0-for-11 in Dallas' 96-76 win over Portland on Wednesday night. "I think it's right there, but it's kind of messed up how all the fingers are pointing at me."
"We're not trying to hold things up or be difficult, but just like teams make tough decisions all the time -- about cutting players or making trades -- they do what's best for their team, and it's my obligation to do what's best for Devean," his agent, Mark Bartelstein, said Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, the Suns won't yet have Shaquille O'Neal in their lineup.
After working out for a third straight day with his new team before Phoenix's 120-118 loss Wednesday night against Golden State, O'Neal said he wanted to make sure his injured hip was completely healed and that he knew enough of the offense before playing his first game with the Suns. (NBA Injury Report)
He said we wouldn't play tonight against Dallas but hoped to play soon after this weekend's All-Star break. The Suns open play after the break next Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers, one of O'Neal's former teams."The hip feels pretty good," O'Neal said. "I have to get the wind up a little bit more and get in tune with what's going on. You want to fit in. You want to be a piece of the puzzle that fits in. You don't want to be a piece of the puzzle that's too small or too big. You want to just slide right in like I've been here for a while."
As for who will be there, expect both teams to be a bit winded after playing Wednesday night. In addition, the Mavericks likely will be shorthanded with Devin Harris still out and several of those players likely to be involved in the trade being held out. In addition, Josh Howard's availability is in question with a lower back problem.
Phoenix had won two games in a row and Dallas had dropped two straight before Wednesday night's results. The Mavericks beat the Suns 108-105 on Dec. 19 for their fifth win in the last seven games between the teams - including two postseason victories. Dallas has won four of the last six regular-season games in Phoenix.
This also will be the first time that Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 37 points and had 12 rebounds in Wednesday's win, won't have to deal with Shawn Marion, who was Phoenix's best defender. So Dirk could have a huge night.
So could Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire, who is averaging 32 points in the two games since the Shaq trade.
The Mavs are 5-6 in the second night of back-to-back games, but the Suns aren't much better, going just 5-5 in such situations. Still, you have to like the home Suns here, especially as this is the Mavericks' fourth game in five days.
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