New Mav Terry gets his wish

[Admin]

Thought that you guys might want to read this article I found pretty interesting.

Quote:

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Jason Terry is superstitious and didn't want to do anything to jinx his dream of one day playing for the Mavericks. But he couldn't help himself. Every time the point guard sat down for a game on PlayStation 2 this summer, he put himself in a Dallas uniform.

"When I told my dad about the trade, he said, 'Well, you've been playing with those guys all summer ... now you get to do it for real,' " Terry said Wednesday.

A deal that was agreed to Monday evening became official. The Mavericks sent Antoine Walker and Tony Delk to Atlanta for Terry and forward Alan Henderson.

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Player profiles (from nba.com)

• Jason Terry

• Alan Henderson

• Antoine Walker

• Tony Delk

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The Mavericks got more than that. Dallas received a first-round pick – previously owned by Philadelphia – that probably will come in 2007. The Hawks must pay the Mavericks $1 million on the slim chance that pick isn't available. The Mavericks also received a $2.7 million trade exception that can be used at any time in the next year.

Above all, the Mavericks received Terry. He's the reason they made the trade. Now, Dallas has a veteran presence to replace free-agent departure Steve Nash and doesn't have to turn to rookie Devin Harris before he's ready.

"Terry gives us a scoring point guard," president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. "Those type of players have done very well in our system in the past, from Tim Hardaway to Steve Nash. And this will afford us an opportunity to gradually break Devin in. I think that's important for what we want to do this year."

What the Mavericks want to do is make the playoffs, a problematic proposition in the tough Western Conference if they had been forced to start a rookie point guard. Terry wants to make the playoffs as well. It's something the Hawks didn't do in his five years with the team.

"I'm hungry," said Terry, who is working out in Las Vegas with about 60 other players. "If I had to stick it out and rebuild in Atlanta, I would have. My heart is in the game. I love it. At the same time, I'm a young guard in the league and I see all of the opportunities that come to a Mike Bibby in Sacramento or a Steve Francis. I feel I'm in that class, an elite class."

Billy Knight, Atlanta's director of basketball operations, calls Terry one of the quickest players in the league with the ball in his hands. He believes the Mavericks' up-tempo style is an ideal fit for the young point guard and believes he'll get even better. Terry agrees.

It's hard to know what Walker thinks about playing in Atlanta. Knight left several messages on the forward's cellphone but hadn't heard back from him as of Wed- nesday afternoon. But it is known that Walker wanted out of Dallas.

"We asked Walk to play about five different roles last year, and he played his heart out and did everything asked," owner Mark Cuban said. "We just couldn't find a role that was win-win for him and the team, so he asked to be moved."

Terry's desire to play for the Mavericks began two years ago. While driving from Georgia to Arizona to conduct his basketball camp, Terry stopped off at American Airlines Center to watch his friend Bibby play against the Mavericks in the second round of the playoffs. He was so impressed with the crowd and the team's style of play that he had fantasized about playing for Dallas ever since.

And how did Dallas perform with him at point guard in Play- Station 2? "We didn't lose many games," he said. "I'll tell you that."

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[TheDude]

funny, on NBA Jam on Xbox, Jason Terry got punked play after play. I had to put in Dion Glover cuz Terry couldnt stand up for more than 3 seconds.

[Blunt91]

What is this 2.7million trade execption that the Mavs got in the deal?

[cyman3]

maybe we should play a season w/ Yao Ming, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Tracy McGrady, etc as members of the hawks.

[deester11]

When there was a chance that he could be playing in Utah after signing the offer sheet, he "dreamed" of being on that team too. I would imagine if he got traded to the Cincinati Bengals, he'd have dreamed of playing with them too (oops, wrong sport).

[Diesel]

The truth is that you can barely trust anything that Jet Terry has to say. Like you pointed out, he dream about Utah. He also said that he liked the fact that Lenny was taking his time to teach him the PG position and that he wanted to be like his idol Isiah Thomas... Then when Lenny was fired he said, Lenny never worked with me.

JetTerry, the John Kerry of Basketball.