Kidd Trade on Hold

Thanks to the contract of Dallas Mavs' player Devean George, the Jason Kidd trade has been put on hold. George blocked the trade by saying he did not want to give up his "early Bird rights", which is a provision he earned by being in his second year and on a second contract with the Mavs.

According to the Associated Press:

Under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, a player who has "early Bird rights" at the end of a contract - like George has this year - has veto power over a trade because he'd lose those rights if dealt. By keeping them, Dallas could exceed the salary cap to re-sign him.

"We're not trying to hold things up or be difficult, but just like teams make tough decisions all the time - about cutting players or making trades - they do what's best for their team, and it's my obligation to do what's best for Devean," his agent, Mark Bartelstein, said Wednesday night.

"You don't want to stop teams from doing their business, but we don't feel like it makes sense at this time. He's starting right now and things are going pretty good."

It was not immediately clear whether this was just a snag or a deal-breaker. (SOURCE: AP)

Have no fear Mavs fans... J-Kidd can still move from NJ to Dallas within the next week, prior to the February 21st trade deadline.