More Samaki stuff

[DJessen33@aol.com]

Great stuff today. Here's some more:

This is from a last season summary in the Sporting News. 

<Nelson wants Trent to be patient and then in two years the Mavericks will be 
able to compensate Trent for being underpaid. If Trent departs, the Mavericks 
will have a difficult time replacing his low post presence. He gave the 
Mavericks the most potent back-to-the-basket threat they have had since Mark 
Aguirre in the late '80s. . . . 

Almost sure to leave is power forward A.C. Green, also a free agent in July. 
Green extended his league record consecutive games played streak to 1,028 and 
he will break Ron Boone's ABA-NBA record of 1,041 by playing in the first 14 
games of the 1999-2000 season. But the Mavericks will only consider 
re-signing Green if Trent and Samaki Walker both sign elsewhere and they're 
stuck for a power forward. Green will turn 36 in October and he would be a 
much better fit as a ninth or 10th man on a contender than starting for a 
bottom-feeder like the Mavericks. . . . 

Walker presents another dilemma for Nelson. Walker regressed; he did not play 
in 10 games because of frequent defensive lapses and bonehead decisions on 
offense. The guy has talent, but the only time he has consistently shown what 
he can do in his three seasons in Dallas was during a 26-game stretch in 
1997-98 when he averaged 11.0 points per game and 8.4 rebounds. 

Nelson wants Walker back, but he won't pay top dollar until Walker has proved 
himself over a full season. Walker would probably like to get away from 
Nelson, but he will draw only lukewarm interest elsewhere after averaging 5.9 
points per game this season. 

Walker turned down a four-year, $20 million offer from the Mavericks in 
January, asking for $42 million over six years. The counterproposal from 
Walker's agent, Norm Nixon, wasn't taken seriously by Nelson. . . . >

DJessen33