Devean George? Really?

Okay, so I'm still playing a little hurt today. Fortunately for you all, I decided to follow the sage advice of Roger Clemens' mom, and take a B12 shot to keep me going. Can't disappoint my loyal readers, nor can I bring myself to disappoint Carrie later tonight...

As you might imagine, sports radio was hot and heavy with talk regarding yesterday's Congressional hearing with Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee. However, I've already spent enough time on that story for my tastes, so I'm going into a different direction, and will instead hit up the NBA.

There's a week left until the trading deadline, and there's been a flurry of activity by the Western Conference contenders. It all started 2 weeks ago, when the LA Lakers snared forward/center Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizziles. That move was followed last week by the Phoenix Suns sending Shawn Marion to Miami in exchange for center Shaquille O'Neal. And last night, the Dallas Mavaricks thought that they had pulled off their big splash deal, agreeing to send a package of players to New Jersey for All-Star point guard, Jason Kidd. They thought that, until word came last night that Dallas reserve forward Devean George, one of the players being sent to New Jersey, had exercised his right to refuse a trade. George does not have a no trade clause, however, an obscure rule allows him to veto a trade because he is on a one year contract with the same team he ended last season with. Were he traded, he would forfeit his "Larry Bird" rights, which impact the amount of money he can make on his next contract.

I sincerely hope that for Devean George's sake, this is some kind of posturing for some leverage, and that he will ultimately approve the deal. First of all, this really doesn't make a lot of sense, since George had expressed a desire to be traded if his playing time didn't increase. Secondly, I understand the financial considerations, but does he REALLY want to stay in Dallas and be the guy who stands in the way of the Mavericks acquiring Kidd? Rightly or wrongly, the Mavs fans clearly believe that Kidd is the missing piece they need to contend for a championship. By standing in the way of that, he's dooming himself to playing in front of a hostile home crowd for the rest of the season. I would also imagine he'll face some difficulty within his own locker room and the organization at large. I know this much, if he's intent on holding firm on this, he's gonna need to do something a little better than last night's 0 for 11 shooting performance.

I have a sense that this is probably just posturing, and that he'll eventually sign off on the deal. If not, he'd better pray that the Nets and Mavs find a way to get the deal done without him. Even then, I'm not sure that will allieviate the ire he draws from the fans. I'm also guessing that, if he ultimately stays in Dallas, the Mavs won't exactly be eager to lay out the biggest possible contract for him in a sign and trade, so those precious Larry Bird rights might not be as valuable as he thinks.