The Mavericks have acquired 33-year old forward Eduardo Najera from the Nets for 24-year old forward Kris Humphries and 23-year old small forward Shawne Williams. Najera played in 13 games (2 starts) for the Nets this season and he averaged 15.7 minutes, 3.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He has now played in 533 games (82 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 18.9 minutes, 5.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Najera is back to where he started his NBA career as he played for the Mavericks from 2000-2004. Kris Humphries played in 25 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 12.6 minutes, 5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Mavericks’ coaches were upset with Humphries who sometimes runs the wrong plays. Shawne Williams has not played in any games this season for the Mavericks. Last year he played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks in which he averaged 11.3 minutes, 2.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game on only 28.6% shooting from the floor. The Mavericks are really happy with this trade as it gets rid of a couple of problems while bringing in a player they have always liked.

The Dallas Mavericks have released veteran center Jake Voskuhl. I’ll admit I was a tad surprised when Voskuhl accepted a training camp invite from a team that was so loaded in the frontcourt. He had to know that he wasn’t going to make the team unless the Mavericks suffered some injuries. Voskuhl will likely hook on with another team this season but the Mavericks won’t miss him due to the depth they already have at the positions that he plays.

The Mavericks have traded 23-year old center Nathan Jawai to the Timberwolves for a future 2nd round pick in the NBA Draft. Jawai was going to play in the D-League for the Mavericks this season as he was buried on the depth chart. This was a good move for everyone involved as a 2nd round pick might be more valuable than Jawai. It gives Jawai a chance to play in the NBA and show what he can do as the T-Wovles have a lot of injuries in the frontcourt.

The Mavericks have added 31-year old center Jake Voskuhl to their training camp roster. Voskuhl played in 38 games (1 start) with the Raptors last season and he averaged 6.3 minutes, 0.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He has now played in 450 games (93 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 14.3 minutes, 4.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Even if Voskuhl makes the Mavericks’ roster he will be buried on the depth chart.

The Mavericks re-signed 36-year old point guard Jason Kidd over the off-season and it was a smart move for them. No one plays harder at both ends of the court than Kidd does. He’s a good shooter, rebounder, defender and passer. Kidd played in 81 games for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 35.6 minutes, 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Look for the Mavericks to possibly cut his minutes down a little bit this season. That’s because Jose Juan Barea has stepped up behind Kidd. Barea played in 79 games for the Mavericks last season and he averaged 20.3 minutes, 7.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Jason Terry could also get some minutes at the point but he’s more of a shooting guard.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POINT GUARDS IN 2009-2010: A-