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Wednesday, February 19, 1997

Is it Nellie the Fox or Crazy Nellie?

By DENNE H. FREEMAN Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) - In New Jersey, basketball fans think Don Nelson is an alias for Santa Claus.

In Dallas, fans are toasting him for dumping a bunch of under-achievers.

Is he "Nellie the Fox" or just plain "Crazy Nellie?"

Unfazed by the buzz he created by sending the Dallas Mavericks' top four scorers to the New Jersey Nets for four players, "Trader" Don was working the phones again Tuesday.

But why? Who's left?

"There's no law that says you can't sell what you just bought," Nelson said, laughing. "I do what I think is right. If I find good reason, I do it."

In just 11 days on the job, fresh from unemployment in Hawaii, general manager Nelson has flushed away what he called the Mavericks' "bad attitude" of players sleep-walking through their jobs.

"Some people think I'm a risk taker," he said. "But I feel comfortable with what I've done so far. It will take awhile to see. Half the people think it was a good deal. Half of the people think it was a bad deal. And to quote Yogi Berra 'the other half of the people don't care.' "

He added: "Things were in bad shape with the Mavericks. I had to make a change. I was shocked by some of the things I found. It made me sick."

A change? An asteroid hitting Reunion Arena couldn't have made a bigger impact than Nelson's scorched earth policy.

Nelson fired uncaring center Oliver Miller, traded unhappy Jamal Mashburn to Miami for three players, and completed the overhaul Monday night with a nine-player trade that sent Jim Jackson to the New Jersey Nets along with All-Star Chris Gatling and three others.

The Mavericks got 7-foot-6 center Shawn Bradley, forward Ed O'Bannon and point guards Robert Pack and Khalid Reeves. The Nets also received guards Sam Cassell and George McCloud and center Eric Montross.

The trade is believed to be the largest between two NBA teams in the last 25 years.

The blockbuster swap followed Friday's trade of Mashburn to the Heat for three players and the December deal that sent Jason Kidd to Phoenix for Cassell, A.C. Green and Michael Finley.

The ballyhooed three J's - Jackson, Mashburn and Kidd - were on the cover of the media guide last year. They're all gone now.

"This team needs leaders and none of them was willing to accept that responsibility," Harper said. "All they saw was losing, losing, losing. That was frustrating for them."

The players with the longest tenures on the Dallas team are rookie Samaki Walker, who was signed in August, and Harper, who signed as a free agent in July. Harper has been rumored in trade talks with Houston.

"Houston hasn't called so maybe I should call them," Nelson said. "But Derek will be on the team if he wants to be on the team. He and I have a great relationship. A trade will only happen if he wants it to happen."

"I would welcome a trade to a team like Houston," Harper said. "But, if not, I'd rather stay put."

Nelson was chuckling over the stir his trades started.

"One of the NBA executives going over the contracts wanted to call back to see if I was sane," Nelson said.

However, there was a different spin in Dallas. Nelson was on a Dallas radio station Tuesday and didn't get a single negative call.

"We'll let the results of the trades be the judge," Nelson said. "Hopefully, we'll starting getting some immediate results."

Rookie coach Jim Cleamons, whose team is 16-31, wasn't sure what to expect next.

"Hopefully, this will come to a point in time where we can get settled for the rest of the year," he said. "When you look at what has to be done, what needed to be done, and then it happens all at once, it kind of takes your breath away."

On Monday night, Dallas beat Vancouver 100-95 with only eight players. The Mavericks played the Clippers in Los Angeles on Tuesday night with what they're calling "The Great Eight" - starters Sasha Danilovic, Greg Dreiling, A.C. Green, Michael Finley, and Derek Harper and reserves Walker, Martin Muursepp and Erick Strickland.

The new Mavericks will join the team for Thursday night's home against Milwaukee. That's also the night of the NBA trading deadline.

And Nelson will be close to his phone. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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