MAVS BRING BACK NAJERA, MOVE HUMPHRIES & WILLIAMS
The Dallas Mavericks acquired forward Eduardo Najera from the New Jersey Nets for forwards Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams.
What does it give the Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs are a contender this season, so adding the gritty veteran presence Najera brings off their bench is a nice depth move (especially considering the injury histories of key big-men Drew Gooden and Erick Dampier). Despite Humphries' age he is still somewhat a prospect player and Williams didn't pan out with the team. Najera started his career with the Mavs and will probably still be a fan fave in Big D. Even better, the Mavs save almost $5 Million with this move (in salary this season, plus in luxury tax they won't have to pay). The only potential downside is Najera has two more years on his contract after this one, while the deals for Humphries and Williams are both expiring.
What does it give the New Jersey Nets
Jersey is in full-on rebuilding mode, and Humphries is a potentially nice addition for that approach. Still not 25 years old, he has proven to be a dependable rebounder and good locker-room guy and he still has some untapped potential. The Nets had to use a $2.4 Million trade exception to add the contract of the mercurial and disappointing Shawne Williams in this deal, but that's the price they pay to unload the last two years of Najera's contract. They have the option of dumping both the salaries of Humphries and Williams after this season, and the team has already waived big-man Sean Williams to make room both roster-wise and salary-wise. All in all, these moves give the Nets a chance to evaluate two young newcomers while potentially freeing up cap space for a run at the highly-anticipated free agent class of 2010.
Fantasy impact
