Pacers, Mavs trade Shawne Williams, Eddie Jones, picks, cash

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they acquired forward Shawne Williams from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for guard Eddie Jones and two future second-round draft picks.

Williams (6-9, 225) was selected by Indiana with the 17th overall pick in the 2006 draft. The third-year forward averaged 6.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 65 games (3 starts) last season with the Pacers improving on his rookie numbers of 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in 2006-07.

A native of Memphis, Tenn., Williams played one year of college basketball at the University of Memphis before declaring himself eligible for the 2006 NBA Draft. As a Tiger, Williams helped lead Memphis to a 33-4 record while averaging 13.2 points and 6.2 rebounds and being named Conference USA Freshman of the Year. In his lone collegiate postseason, Williams was named Most Valuable Player of the Conference USA Tournament after averaging 18.0 points and 6.7 rebounds.

“On behalf of the Mavericks organization, we would like to thank Eddie Jones for the valuable contributions he has brought to our team,” President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Donnie Nelson said. “We appreciated his professionalism both on and off the court as a Maverick. Shawne Williams is an exciting young prospect with a bright future. We look forward to developing him into the player he aspires to be.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: The Mavs must see some talent in Williams. The Pacers just see that he occasionally gets in legal trouble, and they aren’t particularly in love with his basketball ability or brains. Eddie Jones is all washed up at this point and doesn’t really count. Second rounders don’t have much value these days. And then there’s the cash. It’s basically Williams for second rounders and cash. Which sounds like a somewhat even deal, assuming Williams avoids getting arrested and turns out to be good enough to help the Dallas bench sometime in the near future.

Bucks waive TJ Cummings

The Milwaukee Bucks have requested waivers on forward T.J. Cummings, General Manager John Hammond announced today.

In one preseason game with the Bucks, Cummings scored four points while adding one rebound, one assist and one steal.  Cummings, 27, signed a free agent contract with Milwaukee on October 2.

The Bucks preseason roster currently stands at 18.

Melo may not play tonight

The Rocky Mountain News (Chris Tomasson) reports: Carmelo Anthony is listed as questionable for the Nuggets’ preseason opener at the Pepsi Center on Friday night because of a hand injury, and even coach George Karl isn’t sure of his star’s status. The fifth-year forward suffered a contusion on the fourth finger on his left hand in practice Thursday when a teammate slapped the ball out of his hand.

InsideHoops.com editor says: In preseason most star players are on the court for very limited minutes, so even if he was healthy Melo may have only played 10 or 15 minutes. All that really matters here is that the injury is very minor and will soon heal up.

Shawne Williams to Mavs

The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports via blog: The Indiana Pacers have traded swingman Shawne Williams to Dallas, two people with knowledge of the situation said today. The Pacers will receive guard Eddie Jones, two second-round picks and approximately $1.8 million in cash. Williams averaged 6.7 points in two seasons with the Pacers, but several off-court incidents put the franchise in a bad light and made him expendable.

UPDATE: The trade has happened and is official. Read this.

Tony Battie breaks finger

The Orlando Sentinel (Brian Schmitz) reports: Orlando Magic center-forward Tony Battie sustained a fractured ring finger on his left hand in Friday’s shootaround and will miss tonight’s exhibition against CSKA Moscow… He is expected to return to practice Sunday and play with it wrapped.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I once played with two broken arms and two broken legs. It’s all about toughness, folks.

Martell Webster out 8-10 weeks

The Portland Trail Blazers announced that guard Martell Webster underwent surgery today to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. He is expected to be sidelined for 8-10 weeks.

Dr. Jay Crary performed the surgery at Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center in Vancouver, Wash. As part of the procedure, Webster had a screw inserted into his fifth metatarsal bone.

The injury occurred during Tuesday night’s preseason game against the Sacramento Kings.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The Blazers are pretty crowded at the swingman spots, so this opens a door for some other guys to get minutes they weren’t going to get while Webster heals up. Watch Travis Outlaw, Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum and see who rises the most (chances are it’ll be Travis and Rudy). And on a hugely important side note, when Martell Webster lies down, he’s about as tall as TV’s Webster when he stands up.

Glancing at Dan Dickau

The San Francisco Chronicle (Steve Kroner) reports: Dan Dickau’s basketball life has changed pretty dramatically in the past two months. He spent last season with the Clippers, signed with Avellino, an Italian team, in August, stayed in Italy for most of September, and after his deal with Avellino went south, signed with the Warriors on Oct. 1. In Golden State’s 110-95 win at Portland on Wednesday night, Dickau made his first appearance of the preseason, scoring eight points, collecting five rebounds and making four steals in 21 minutes. “I thought I played well,” Dickau said. “There are some things I could have done better but for my first game here, coming into camp late, it was a good building block.” “He’s a very good point guard,” head coach Don Nelson said. “Physically, he’s not gifted but he does the right thing most all the time and when he does get beat, it’s because of a physical problem, not a mental one.”

Wizards used to suffering injuries

The Washington Times (Mike Jones) reports: While the loss of starting center Brendan Haywood, who needs wrist surgery and will miss four to six months, is a blow to the Washington Wizards, the team is rather well-prepared for this type of situation. Last year, the Wizards lost center Etan Thomas to a heart operation that sidelined him for the entire season. Only eight games into the season, franchise player Gilbert Arenas had a second surgery on his left knee and missed 66 consecutive games. And fellow All-Star Caron Butler missed 24 games of his own with injuries. But Washington found a way to overcome the absences and reach the playoffs for a fourth straight year. The year before that, All-Star forward Antawn Jamison missed 12 games with injury, and Butler and Arenas both went down in April with hand and knee injuries, respectively. Again, the Wizards held on down the stretch to make the playoffs.

Matt Harpring is a mess

The Salt Lake Tribune (Ross Siler) reports: Although he continues to make slow progress in recovering from an ankle infection this summer, Harpring couldn’t even offer a best-case scenario for his return. “I have no idea what I’m going to feel like,” Harpring said. “I just know that these last 3 1/2 months have been terrible. I’m just waiting for something to change. “I’m going to keep working, keep working hard, and hopefully it’ll just change and one day I’ll be like, ‘Ooh, it’s starting to feel better. I’m right around the corner.'”

InsideHoops.com editor says: Harpring is one of those guys you never want to guard or have guard you, because he’s insanely intense to the point where you assume an elbow is about to nail you each second you’re within 10 feet of him. Every team can use a healthy Harpring.