T-Wolves And Mavs Swap Guards

The Timberwolves traded guard Trenton Hassell to the Mavericks for guard Greg Buckner on Friday night.

Hassell, who spent the last four seasons with the Wolves, averaged 6.7 points per game and three rebounds in 476 games. In 2006-07, he played in 76 games and averaged 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds.

Buckner is an eight-year NBA veteran with career averages of 5.5 points and 2.9 rebounds, including two stints with Dallas along with stops in Philadelphia and Denver. Last season, Buckner averaged four points while grabbing 2.1 rebounds.

Via AP

Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas Mavericks

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Mavericks Name Elie Assistant Coach

The Dallas Mavericks hired Mario Elie as an assistant coach on Friday. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

An 11-year NBA veteran, Elie averaged 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 732 regular season games with Golden State, Philadelphia, Portland, Houston, San Antonio and Phoenix. He also played in 116 playoff games and won three NBA Championships with Houston (1994, 1995) and San Antonio (1999).

Elie joins the Mavericks after serving as an assistant coach with Golden State for two seasons (2004-05 and 2005-06). He also served in the same capacity with the Spurs for the 2003-04 season.

"I am very excited to come to this great organization," Elie said. "I look forward to working with Mark Cuban and Avery Johnson, who's one of the best coaches in the NBA."

Via Miami Herald

Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors

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Webber Pondering Greek Team's Multi-Million Offer

Chris Webber has a multi-million dollar contract offer on the table from Olympiacos of Greece, ESPN's Chris Sheridan is reporting, and he plans to decide by this weekend whether to accept it or wait on the sidelines for another chance at playing in the NBA.

Two sources familiar with the offer told ESPN.com that Olympiacos was offering a two-year deal that would net Webber between $10 million and $12 million, which would make him the highest-paid American player in Europe.

Webber has said he is leaning toward returning to the Detroit Pistons, although signing Webber prior to training camp, even for the veterans' minimum, would have cap ramifications that the Pistons want to avoid. Webber is said to be comfortable with the idea of waiting at least a month or two for the Pistons' roster issues to work themselves out, which would allow him to join them in midseason as he did in 2005-06.

Webber also spoke over the summer with the Dallas Mavericks, who believed he would be a good fit for their system. But the Mavs failed to hear anything resembling a commitment from Webber (or from P.J. Brown), and they've let Webber drop off their radar -- at least for the time being.

Via ESPN

Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks

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