With the recent dealing of two Dallas fan-favorites: scrappy point guard Steve Nash and hard-nosed hustler Eduardo Najera, Dallas may need to start worrying about their regular-season sellout streak (112).

"The hardest part of this thing all along was Eddie," Nelson said. "He was the heart and soul in a lot of ways for this team. We tried everything we could to keep him out of the deal, but it was a deal-breaker from Golden State's viewpoint."

Will the Mavericks maintain their immense fan support?  Fans are resilient, and only time will tell.

Last season, Brian "The Custodian" Cardinal contributed heavily for the Warriors as a hard nosed hustler.  With Cardinal signing a lucrative contract with Memphis this summer, there was an apparent void on the Warriors roster of such a player.  With the trade of Erick Dampier, the Warriors acquired a player very similar to Cardinal in Eduardo Najera.

Najera has become known in the NBA as a man who plays the game with great enthusiasum and is constantly doing the little things to make his team better.  The Warriors have a crowded frontcourt, but Najera expects to have an increased role with Golden State, where there are no obvious superstars.

Avery Johnson has yet to sign a contract as a player-coach, becoming an official part of the Maverick organization, but during this entire summer, he has been a strong influence on player movement decisions.  He was especially vital to the Dallas decision to bring over Erick Dampier in the sign and trade deal.  There have been an abundance of suspicions whether the Dampier that played so impressively last season was merely a man playing for a contract in his walk year.  

Johnson and Dampier played together last year with Golden State and the elder point guard became the center's biggest advocate.  Johnson expects similar production with a rearranged Dallas club.  

The burden of whether or not Johnson vouched for the right guy will ultimately fall on him, as he has been publicly ear marked to become Don Nelson's successor, whenever the former Celtic great decides it is time to go permanently to Maui.

In a sign-and-trade deal that involves seven players and a pair of draft picks, the Mavericks have agreed to ship forward Eduardo Najera, forward Christian Laettner, rookie guard Luis Flores, forward Mladen Sekularac and two first-round picks to the Golden State Warriors for Dampier, center Evan Eschmeyer and guard Dan Dickau. Donnie Nelson, Mavericks president of basketball operations, said the deal will be finalized today.

The trade was momentarily postponed because of the 60 day wait required when trading a player recently traded for, in this scenario Christian Laettner.

This trade marks the second consecutive summer when the Mavericks and Warriors complete a multi-player deal.  Last year Antawan Jamison, Danny Fortson and others were exchanged for Nick Van Exel and others.  

The Mavericks have undergone significant change this offseason, as they have traded away Jamison, Antoine Walker, Najera and loss Steve Nash to free agency and they have acquired Jerry Stackhouse, Jason Terry and Dampier.  The Nelson's expect this to be a more balanced team than the run and gun teams they have fielded in past years, centered around the Big 3 of Nash, Finley and Nowitzki.

Today marks 60 days since Christian Laettner and Jerry Stackhouse were acquired from the Washington Wizards, so their trade restrictions are removed and they can be aggregated for trade purposes.

Laettner, Eduardo Najera, cash and two future first-round draft picks will go to the Warriors for Erick Dampier, Evan Eschmeyer and Dan Dickau.

The deal may be made official today.

Dampier's contract is expected to start at about $7 million per season.

"It was like watching your two sons compete against each other," Donn Nelson of the Mavericks said yesterday. "It was a double-edge sword. I never like to see the USA lose at anything."

But Nelson has connections to this Lithuania team.

Jasikevicius led his country to its biggest basketball triumph when the point guard scored 28 points.

"I had mixed feelings," said Nelson.  "On one side, I'm proud that a country of 3.5 million people can pull off that kind of incredible upset. On the other hand, I'm upset with what happened."

Nelson does not believe that the U.S. men's coaches or players deserve blame.

"Here are the people who don't deserve the blame on this thing: Larry (Brown), his coaching staff and players," Nelson said. "In some respects, this could be the best thing that can happen to us. It allows you to come to grips with who you are."

Dallas will have six centers under contract by the time pre-season arrives.  

The one everyone's talking about is Erick Dampier.  He was acquired on the cheap from Golden State but perhaps the excitement is a bit premature.  

Dampier was number 1 in the league in rebounds per 48 minutes last season but he had never been so good.  

12.3 points, 12 rebounds per game, Dampier's statistics last season, will give the Mavericks an enormous boost to their championship aspirations.  

But if he reverts back, all of the sudden this big steal looks like just another big pull of NBA deadweight.  

Only once in seven seasons did Dampier average at least eight rebounds per game, until last season's jump up.

The trade was a no-brainer from the Mavericks' point of view.  But will it produce the desired results?

Dallas may very well still be without the major pieces it needs to compete for the title.

According to ESPN, the Warriors and the Mavericks have agreed in principle to a deal sending Erick Dampier to Dallas.  

Eduardo Najera, Christian Laettner, two future first-round picks and cash would go to Golden State.  In return, the Mavericks would acquire Dampier, center Evan Eschmeyer and guard Dan Dickau.

The deal cannot become official until trade restrictions on Laettner and Dickau expire later this summer.  Both have recently been acquired so the deal can only be agreed upon in principle now.

Dampier is passing up the Hawks' $50 million offer over six years.  The Knicks and Pacers also pursued the big man.

Dampier averaged 12.3 points and 12.0 rebounds last season and finished third in the league in field-goal percentage at 53.5 percent.

The Atlanta Hawks officially acquired former All-Star Antoine Walker and Tony Delk from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for guard Jason Terry, forward Alan Henderson and a first round pick according to the Hawks' official website.

?We have acquired two outstanding talents in Antoine and Tony and both will address important needs on our basketball club,? said Knight. ?They bring a tremendous amount of big-game experience, a winning attitude and playoff expertise to our revamped roster. Antoine is a proven All-Star who has the ability to play many positions for us, and he will fit in nicely in our system. Tony will give us steady play on a nightly basis at the point and he has the chance to really produce in Atlanta.?

Even though Jason Terry cannont be traded for 60 days, many NBA reporters, including Fred Kerber of the New York Post, are reporting that this is a move that will help the Mavericks reacquire Jason Kidd.  Many feel that this 60 day waiting period will be an asset to Dallas, as they will be able to gauge how Kidd's knee has recovered.