Saturday, July 11, 2009

Dallas gets Marion, Hedo goes to Raptors


The Dallas Mavericks acquired four-time All-Star forward Shawn Marion from the Toronto Raptors in a multi-player, four-team trade, they said on Thursday.

Marion, forward Kris Humphries and center Nathan Jawai will join the Mavericks from the Raptors in exchange for guard Antoine Wright and forward Devean George, plus two-way cash considerations.

In related moves, the Orlando Magic sent prized free agent Hedo Turkoglu to Toronto for cash considerations from the Mavericks and Raptors while Dallas traded Jerry Stackhouse to the Memphis Grizzlies for fellow guard Greg Buckner.

Marion, a 10-year NBA veteran who has averaged 17.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game in his career, spent only half a season in Toronto after being traded from the Miami Heat.

The versatile 31-year-old averaged 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 27 games for the Raptors before being traded to clear salary cap space for Turkoglu.

Last season, Turkish forward Turkoglu helped lead the Magic to the NBA Finals where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.

The 30-year-old was a significant factor for Orlando in post-season play, averaging 15.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.

''We are very pleased to have landed one of the top free agents available this summer,'' Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said in a statement.

''Hedo Turkoglu is an ideal fit basketball wise, and his diverse skill set and size will make him a tremendous addition to our already offensively potent team.''

Meantime, versatile free agent forward Anderson Varejao of Brazil has agreed to a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team said on Thursday.

The 26-year-old enjoyed a breakout campaign with Cleveland last season, posting career-highs with 42 starts, 8.6 points per game and a field-goal percentage of .536.

“From the start of free agency, Anderson made it clear he wanted to be a part of our future and that he loved being in Cleveland,” Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said in a statement.

“For us, we have been one of the better teams in the NBA the past four years. Andy has played an important role with our team during that time and continuity is important to us.

''He is an elite defender and we want to continue building our strong defensive identity.''

Although the Cavaliers did not disclose financial details, local media estimate Varejao's deal to be worth $50 million over six years.

Led by the NBA's Most Valuable Player LeBron James, Cleveland won a league-best 66 games in the 2008-09 regular season before being eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals. In Michigan, the Detroit Pistons confirmed Cleveland Cavaliers assistant John Kuester as their sixth coach in 10 years on Thursday. Joe Dumars, the team's president of basketball operations, hasn't been known for showing patience with head coaches, but he insisted that will change with the hiring of Kuester.

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