Overhaul Ends for Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks cleaned out the rest of their house Monday night, making a staggering nine-player trade that sent Jim Jackson, Chris Gatling and three others to the New Jersey Nets for center Shawn Bradley and three others.

In addition to the 7-foot-6 Bradley, Dallas got point guards Robert Pack and Khalid Reeves and forward Ed O’Bannon. The Nets also received guard Sam Cassell, guard-forward George McCloud and center Eric Montross.

The trade was believed to be the largest between two NBA teams in the last 25 years, league spokesman Chris Brienza said. In 1964, there was an eight-player deal between Detroit and Baltimore involving Bailey Howell, Bob Ferry and Rod Thorn, now an NBA vice president.

The deal was the third major one for the Mavericks this season and second in 10 days for new general manager Don Nelson.

Dallas traded guard Jason Kidd to Phoenix earlier in December and recently shipped Jamal Mashburn to Miami. With this deal, Dallas now has no players remaining from last season’s roster.

Though he didn’t name players, Nelson said several bad attitudes in the Maverick locker room prompted his moves. “There were just so many negative things about this ballclub,” Nelson said. “This locker room shocked me. It’s not acceptable and will not be acceptable from this point on. . . . I observed it, watched it and basically got sick about it.”

The Nets, meanwhile, freed up $14 million under the complex structure of the the NBA’s salary cap the next two years, allowing first-year Coach John Calipari, also the team’s executive vice president, to pursue top free agents.

“This is a trade for the future,” Calipari said. “This was a hard decision based on the fact of what we’re giving up, but Dallas was really active and wanting to make this happen.

Calipari made his comments as the Nets flew home on a team charter from Cleveland after a 108-101 loss. At the time, Bradley and Reeves had not been told of the trade. Pack and O’Bannon are injured and not with the team.

The trade forced the Mavericks to dress only eight players for their 100-95 victory over Vancouver on Monday. Samaki Walker, drafted last June, has the longest tenure of any current Dallas player.

All the players must pass physicals before the deal is finalized.

“We are very excited about this deal, especially considering we are acquiring players in Shawn Bradley and Robert Pack,” Nelson said.

Jackson’s departure dissolves the Mavericks’ heralded trio of J’s--along with Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd.

“Obviously, Nellie thought there were things that had to be done and he came in and made some changes,” Dallas first-year Coach Jim Cleamons said. “Hopefully, this will come to a point in time where we can get settled for the rest of the year. We’re going to sit down and evaluate them and see what we have in terms of talent.”

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Breakup in Big ‘D The three Js are no more in Dallas. Monday’s trade of Jim Jackson to New Jersey came 10 days after the Mavericks dealt Jamal Mashburn to Miami. Jason Kidd, the last of the three lottery picks that were supposed to transform Dallas into one of the NBA’s elite, was traded earlier in the season to Phoenix. A look at Monday’s trade:

NEW JERSEY NETS GET . . .

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Player Pos. Key Statistics (Per Game) George McCloud G-F 13.7 points 3.5 reb. 42.3% FG Chris Gatling F 19.1 points 7.9 reb. 53.3% FG Eric Montross C 3.9 points 5.0 reb. 46.0% FG Sam Cassell G 13.7 points 4.1 assists 41.9% FG Jimmy Jackson G 15.5 points 15.8 shots 44.2% FG

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DALLAS MAVERICKS GET . . .

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Player Pos. Ed O’Bannon F 4.2 points 2.5 reb. 36.7% FG Shawn Bradley C 12.1 points 8.3 reb. 43.4% FG Robert Pack G 15.9 points 9.6 assists 40.7% FG Khalid Reeves G 8.4 points 11.3 shots 39.5% FG

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Statistics through Sunday’s games.

LINEUPS FOR THE NEW JERSEY NETS

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Old Pos. New Kendall Gill F Kendall Gill Jayson Williams F Jayson Williams Shawn Bradley C Chris Gatling Khalid Reeves G Jim Jackson Kerry Kittles G Kerry Kittles

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LINEUPS FOR THE DALLAS MAVERICKS

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Old Pos. New George McCloud F Michael Finley A.C. Green F A.C. Green Eric Montross C Shawn Bradley Jim Jackson G Sasha Danilovic Sam Cassell G Robert Pack

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