Cuban wants Finley back with Mavs

[Lurker]

Cuban gives Finley invite to return, but why would he?
By JEFF CAPLAN
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
SAN ANTONIO -- The highest-paid player on the Mavericks' payroll still has a shot at winning the NBA championship.

Michael Finley, making a cool $17.3 million from his former employer, and $2.9 million from the San Antonio Spurs, has outlasted Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash in their quests for a first title.

Once one of the Mavs' Big Three, Finley now complements another Big Three named Duncan, Parker and Ginobili.

A reserve for most of the season, but a starter in the playoffs and averaging 14.5 points, Finley is now a full-fledged member of the tight-knit Spurs family in his second season since the awkward departure from the Mavs.

"Last year I was part of the team, but I was just an add-on, so-to-speak," Finley said after scoring 14 points in Sunday's 108-100 victory over Utah in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Game 2 is tonight.

"Last year, with us having the disappointment and losing to Dallas, we all suffered together as a team and that brought us closer together and even brought me closer to the team."

It all comes back to the Mavs. But, would Finley?

After all that's transpired -- the Mavs releasing him after nine seasons to avoid paying a massive, self-induced salary-cap penalty, to Jason Terry's infamous punch to Finley's groin and owner Mark Cuban's reactionary endorsement to boo Finley -- Cuban said he'd like Finley to consider a fresh start up north.

"I would hope that after his contract is over in San Antone, he would consider the Mavs as an option," Cuban said Monday. "I don't know that he would, but our entire organization has that much respect for him."

Cuban continued: "I'm absolutely rooting for Fin. No question about it. I told him the first time I saw him after he joined the Spurs that if we didn't win, I hoped he did. I even sent him a text after he beat the Suns saying the same thing."

Finley has one season left on his deal, a player option, which calls for $18.6 million in Mavs money and $3.1 million from the Spurs.

"We're the beneficiary of that because he's still a great leader, a great professional; he shoots the ball well for us and tries to do what we want to do defensively," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "And he's been a great teammate for everybody."

In August 2005, the Mavs waived Finley, taking advantage of a one-time amnesty provision included in the new collective bargaining agreement. It allowed the Mavs to avoid a dollar-for-dollar luxury tax on the $51.8 million owed Finley over the next three seasons.

Finley became an unrestricted free agent, due the remainder of his Mavs salary plus whatever another team would pay him. San Antonio, Detroit, Phoenix and Miami made his short list.

"It's a strange situation that I had nothing to do with. I'm just a result of it," Finley said. "I just have to play and participate with the team that values me as a player."

At the time, Finley's departure was depicted as a sad loss, but not necessarily a significant one.

After the Suns had ousted the Mavs in the second round, the perception was that Finley's game had diminished and that he was no longer worth the exorbitant salary and the accompanying tax.

Finley averaged 15.7 points and 4.1 rebounds that season and still played 36.8 minutes. But he was viewed as a slowing, one-dimensional jump shooter who wouldn't, or couldn't, get to the basket.

Even if the Mavs had flirted with reducing Finley's minutes or turning him into a sixth man -- a position Jerry Stackhouse had assumed -- the financial savings would have probably won out anyway.

"As far as his skills, I never thought his skills were diminished," Cuban said. "He has established himself as one of the clutch 3-point shooters in the NBA."

Which makes Finley, 34, a perfect fit alongside the Spurs' Big Three. Finley came off the bench for all but 16 games of the regular season and averaged 9.0 points and 22.2 minutes a game.

But he's started all 12 playoff games and is logging 30.8 minutes. He's shooting 46.8 percent from behind the arc (36-of-77) and 90.9 percent (30-of-33) at the free-throw line.

"He's playing with a lot more confidence," Tony Parker said. "He's shooting the ball very well, especially in the playoffs. He doesn't think anymore, he goes out there and shoots when the shots are there and just plays more free."

And he's moving closer to becoming the first of the former Big Three to wear a ring.

Jeff Caplan, 817-390-7760
jcaplan@star-telegram.com