# Dampier's Contract: 7 yrs 63 Million



## DaMavsMan13 (Jun 15, 2003)

*Well-done deal: Dampier trade final and to Mavs' liking * 
In landing center, club say it has come up big

12:20 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 25, 2004

By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

The Mavericks not only got the center of their dreams, they found out he's a year younger than everybody thought.

The sign-and-trade deal for Erick Dampier became official Tuesday as NBA officials OK'd the eight-player swap that also includes draft picks and cash.

"It's one of the best deals of the summer," coach Don Nelson said. "We were able to acquire one of the best free agents available. We're going to be a different team. And a pretty darn good one, too."

An age discrepancy that was clarified last week *allowed Dampier to sign a seven-year, $63 million contract.* That helped bring the 29-year-old to Dallas. And, yes, Dampier is officially 29, a year younger than he is listed in official NBA guides and registers. Dampier's records with the league had his birth date as July 14, 1974. However, he actually was born in 1975, meaning he turned 29 last month.

That was a critical issue because players 30 years or older cannot sign contracts longer than six years. And so, the deal was finalized Tuesday as the Mavericks sent Eduardo Najera, Christian Laettner, the draft rights to Luis Flores and Mladen Sekularac, two future first-round draft choices and cash to the Golden State Warriors for Dampier, Evan Eschmeyer, Dan Dickau and Steve Logan. One of the draft picks is the Mavericks' 2007 first-rounder. The other is Philadelphia's, which was acquired from Atlanta last month in the Antoine Walker trade.

Dampier is coming off the best season of his eight-year career, averaging 12.3 points and 12 rebounds per game. He was one of only nine players to average a double-double last season. The Mavericks believe he is just entering his prime.

"Obviously, center is an area we wanted to address, and Damp is one of the top centers in the NBA," Donnie Nelson, president of basketball operations, said from Greece, where he is assisting Lithuania's national team in the Olympics. "He can hold the fort with his rebounding, his shot-blocking and his low-post presence. Plus, he'll be a real asset in our locker room.

"We feel pretty good about our roster. ... I think this is probably the team we'll put on the floor, subject to some minor tweaks."

If the season began today, the Mavericks' starting lineup would look like this: Dampier, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, Marquis Daniels and Jason Terry.

Off the bench would be Devin Harris, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, Shawn Bradley, Calvin Booth and D.J. Mbenga. The rest of the roster: Evan Eschmeyer, Dan Dickau, Pavel Podkolzin, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Alan Henderson, Jon Stefansson and Avery Johnson, who says he will sign with the club. The Mavericks will have to trim the roster to 15 players by opening day.

It's virtually impossible to make an NBA trade that everybody believes is a steal.

This deal is no different. Critics will point out that Dampier's only breakout seasons have come while he played for his next contract and that he reverted inside his shell after signing his first big deal.

"That's human nature," Donnie Nelson said. "I don't think that should be a concern to anybody. It's certainly not for us. Erick's a guy of high integrity."

Another possible concern is that Don Nelson has never enjoyed much success when coaching true centers. He had Patrick Ewing for four months in New York, but the two never were on the same page.

"To all those skeptics, I'd just tell them to wait and see what happens," Don Nelson said. "The easiest thing for a coach to do is to throw the ball into the middle to a quality center."

And, for the first time in years, the Mavericks finally have one.

E-mail [email protected]

WHAT THE DEAL DOES FOR THE MAVS

1 Gives them the chance to be an excellent rebounding team.

2 Solidifies the center spot, perhaps the toughest in the NBA to fill.

3 Brings the roster to 17 guaranteed contracts, two more than the maximum.

4 Gives them six centers.

5 Frees Dirk Nowitzki to take the next step as a great power forward.

6 Upgrades the defensive potential of a historically soft team.

7 Signifies the end of a steady diet of small ball.

8 Puts the pressure on Alan Henderson to back up Nowitzki.

Eddie Sefko


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## Blue Bear (Dec 4, 2003)

Is this really a good deal Mav's fans? Giving Damp a 7 yr deal, whether he's 29 or 30, is questionable at best. We wanted him in a Griz uni but not at the price you paid for him. Damp is probably, at best, a short term solution for whoever he's playing for. He's got, considering his past, 3 maybe 4 productive years left. It's true that there are not many true centers around but seven years, 2 1st rounders, players, and cash is a mighty high cost to pay for his services. Whoever made this deal better be right or they've handcuffed the team for years to come. 

Is there really anything to celebrate about this deal Mav's fans? A skeptic could say the Warriors took you to the cleaners & they're laughing all the way to the bank about this deal. Did you get snookered? Only time will tell. 

To make this deal work Damp has to take you to the next level. This deal makes no sense if he doesn't. Somebody rolled some mightly big dice on this one. 

In a couple of years, if Damp is sitting on the bench, & you're still paying him a ton of money, and he's destroying your cap space, will you be trying to remember what a "good deal" this was? We'll see. 

At least you got your true center. I hope he works out for you cause you paid a bundle for him.


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## Jacres318 (Jun 8, 2003)

Have you ever seen the Mavs do something for the future? we've had like 1 1st rounder the past 3 or 4 years and we just traded two more.

We've got rid of Raef's, Howard's, Walker's, Jamison's, Eschmeyes's, etc. You getting my point? That's not really an issue.


Not only did we trade them we ripped off the team talent wise.


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## DaMavsMan13 (Jun 15, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Jacres318</b>!
> Have you ever seen the Mavs do something for the future? we've had like 1 1st rounder the past 3 or 4 years and we just traded two more.
> 
> We've got rid of Raef's, Howard's, Walker's, Jamison's, Eschmeyes's, etc. You getting my point? That's not really an issue.
> ...


I think that we are pretty set for the future. Dirk and Jason Terry are still young. Dirk is like 26 and I'm not too sure about Terry. We also have Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels, who both had excellant seasons last year, and don't forget about the 3 rookies we just got. Devin Harris is going to great someday, and DJ Benga and Podkolzine look promising from what I've seen of them. Who knows if Steve Logan or Jon Stefannson will pan out. I'm guessing no.


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Terry is 26. I sure hope this is his contract not 7/73


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