from ESPN: Well, it seems that Jason Kidd will finally re-join the Dallas Mavericks after several snags in last week’s proposed trade with the New Jersey Nets.  According to Marc Stein’s report, the version of the deal that actually went through will end up costing the Mavs $11 million more than the original proposal.  Oops. Let’s hope it’s worth it. Now that this whole thing is over, I wonder what jersey number J-Kidd will wear, as his favorite “5″ has been used by Josh Howard since he came into the league.  Juwan Howard, another long-time number 5, was forced to change to “55″ when he came back to the Mavs this year.  Any one wanna venture any guesses what will happen here?

[Trade] details: Kidd, forward Malik Allen and swingman Antoine Wright sent to Dallas for 24-year-old point guard Devin Harris, center DeSagana Diop, swingman Trenton Hassell, guard Maurice Ager, Van Horn via sign-and-trade, first-round draft picks this June and in 2010 and $3 million in cash. The teams originally planned to move Wright to Dallas in a separate transaction but were able to make the salary-cap math work in a single trade after the deal was reconfigured over the weekend.

***EDIT*** The deal is done.

***EDIT EDIT*** Devean George blocks the deal.

Marc Stein reports for ESPN.

Although sources say that the teams are still sorting out final details, this deal was described as “imminent” by one source close to the process after negotiations moved to an advanced stage Tuesday night. The proposed swap — salvaged from talks of a three-way trade with Portland that developed and fizzled quickly two weeks ago — would require Dallas to send 24-year-old point guard Devin Harris, veteran swingman Jerry Stackhouse, the expiring contracts of center DeSegana Diop and swingman Devean George and another player such as guard Maurice Ager to New Jersey for Kidd and possibly forward Malik Allen or veteran guard Darrell Armstrong.

It’s believed that Dallas would also send New Jersey cash ($3 million is the league maximum) and one or two future first-round draft choices. One source told ESPN.com that the Mavericks and Nets were also discussing a separate trade that would send Antoine Wright to Dallas for a future second-round pick.

I guess we may have the Nets to thank for trouncing us on Sunday, surely that had some role in changing Mark Cuban’s mind on a trade he previously said was about as sensible as firing up the ol’ crack pipe. (see third paragraph, last line)

Do you know how hard it is to find pics of Jon Koncak where he is not merely a background participant or getting completely schooled? Here he is able to save some kind of face by standing next to Luc Longley.

Six years and $13 million dollars. Those were the terms that the Atlanta Hawks agreed to in 1989 when they signed 7’0″ center Jon Koncak to a backup role. The figure may not sound like much by today’s terms, but Koncak contract is largely responsible for that fact as it threw the NBA salary scale completely out of whack. Consider this: Koncak’s signing meant that the Hawks were paying him a salary on par at the time with guys named Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or Magic Johnson. For a straight scrub. Imagine how the Kevin Willises of the world lit up with joy when they learned that NBA GMs could be swayed by the precedent that had been set. Pro basketball has never been the same.

The legacy of “Jon Contract” lives on to this day — sports broadcasters still use his surname to refer to terrible “Koncaks” that bonehead franchises unwittingly offer to non-star talent.

With that history lesson out of the way, it’s time to get to some news. I don’t know how I missed this, but Koncak’s (and my) alma mater, Southern Methodist University, announced on Friday that they will be enshrining his number later this month. I can think of very few things that signal how much that the athletics department at SMU is struggling than the fact that we are actually planning to honor this schmo.  I just wrote this story and I still can’t believe it. We’re counting more and more on June Jones to rescue this sinking ship.

It was an unfortunate return to Texas for last year’s NCAA National Player of the Year as rookie extraordinaire Kevin Durant really stunk it up in front of the Dallas Mavericks crowd on Saturday night. He went a dismal 3-12 from the field to tie his season low of 6 points in 25 minutes of play. Honestly, Durant looked lost out there and failed to even produce a single memorable moment at either end of the floor. I guess we’ll have to wait til next year to see any excitement from this young player in person. Hopefully one day someone will find this post in the blogosphere and use it as a measuring stick for how far this talented young man has come.

***UPDATE*** video now available

Here we see the footage from last night’s Sportscenter.

… and here is raw footage from the Raptors telecast.  At about the 5:00 mark you’ll see LeBron pretend as if he is going to give the ball to his hecklers, but then flips the ball to the ref.  This draws quite the reaction from the young ladies, who can be seen jawing and waving their arms, to which King James responds, quite audibly and repeatedly, “it’s your fault” as he points out the offending parties.  As James takes his spot for the ensuing free throw, the look on Bosh’s face is just priceless!