Ford article about this.....Hawks get praise?

[Admin]

Monday morning we issued a call for the Mavericks, Knicks and Hawks to get off their butts and do something this offseason, and as of Monday night it appeared all three were on the verge of major trades.

The Mavericks and Hawks are in the process of finalizing a trade that will send forward Antoine Walker to Atlanta for combo guard Jason Terry and forward Alan Henderson. According to multiple reports, the Knicks and Bulls also looked like they were finally on the verge of working out a Jamal Crawford sign-and-trade.

They weren't the only teams working the phones. The Grizzlies were still talking to the Bulls about an Eddy Curry swap on Monday. Here's a quick look at what was going on around the league Monday night.

Can Jason Terry replace Steve Nash?

The Walker-Terry trade makes a lot of sense for the Mavericks and also could potentially give the Hawks a windfall down the road.

The Mavs have been looking for a starting point guard ever since they lost Steve Nash to Suns in early July. Terry, while not a true point guard, could be a good fit. The Mavs also have rookie Devin Harris, who's much closer to a real point, and Marquis Daniels, who's more of a point forward. Throw in Dirk Nowitzki, who's an excellent ball-handler for his size, and it really lessens the need for the Mavs to go out and find a true point.

Still, Terry's no Nash. Nash averaged 8.8 apg, shot 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3 and averaged fewer turnovers per game than Terry did last season.

Terry suffered through his worst season since his rookie year. His 16.8 ppg average came on just 41 percent shooting. His 3-point shooting was down to 34 percent, and his assists were down to 5.4 per game -- barely one better than Walker averaged in Dallas.

Terry was unhappy in Atlanta after the team matched a three-year offer sheet from the Jazz, which may help explain his poor performance. He has two years, $14 million left on his contract. Henderson is a throw-in. He played just six games last season. He's in the last year of a contract that pays him just more than $8.2 million next season.

If the two teams pull the trigger, you can forget about talk of Jason Kidd returning to Big D. Kidd has been dangled to the Mavericks, but owner Mark Cuban has been reluctant to assume the five years, $90 million remaining on his contract unless the Nets take back at least one bad contract in return.

With Terry in the fold, the debate becomes moot. There won't be a need for Kidd anymore. Adding Henderson in the deal also gives the Mavs flexibility to make another big trade. Both Henderson and Christian Laettner come off the books at the end of the season. However, because of trade rules, the two can't be packaged together or with other players in a trade until the end of the year.

Why should the Hawks make the trade? There are several motivations. First, the team saves around $7.6 million in the long run by making the trade now. It gives them added cap flexibility next summer, when Walker comes off the books, and roughly $1 million in cap space this year to pursue a top-flight free agent.

The trade also gives them a versatile big who can play power forward and is still capable of being one of the top passing and shooting big men in the league. Terry's attitude in Atlanta was awful last season, and the Hawks definitely would like to clean the slate there. They already are overloaded at the two and three and know he isn't the point guard of the future anyway.

While this isn't the home run the Hawks are looking for, it's a solid start. Walker, who turns 28 this month, is a former all-star who still has plenty of gas left in the tank. He's in a contract year, meaning he's motivated, and the Hawks desperately need to add some more size to the roster.

The team still would need to add a point guard and center but would have roughly $11.5 million in cap space to get it done. Next summer, when Walker and Chris Crawford come off the books, the team still would have enough cash under the cap to make another run at a max free agent. If a combo of Walker, Al Harrington, Josh Childress and whoever the Hawks can add at the point and center can give the Hawks even a respectable season, free agents will start to consider the Hawks a real destination.

[Sage11]

I like the trade for the simple fact that we rid ourselves of Hendu. He may break out this year but I predict a break down. The trade sounds prudent and potentially helps both teams.

[TnDawg]

Exactly, getting rid of Hendu now is what I was hoping for, I like the idea of getting rid of the players who over the years just seemed to have become accustomed to losing and thinking it was ok. JT included. The fact that Walker is in the last year of his contract give us a chance to upgrade in size and ability and still maintain cap space for next year as we continue to improve our team without sacrificing the long term.