OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 16 -- The Golden State Warriors acquired forwards Danny Fortson and Adam Keefe Wednesday in a nine-player deal involving the Utah Jazz, Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks that also saw guards Howard Eisley, Dana Barros and Robert Pack change uniforms.
The complicated deal, the product of the NBA's salary cap rules, was completed Wednesday after Fortson, Eisley and Warriors forward Bill Curley, all free agents, re-signed with their former teams, allowing them to be traded.
In the deal, the Wariors received Fortson from Boston and Keefe from Utah; the Jazz got forward Donyell Marshall from the Warriors and center Bruno Sundov from the Mavericks; Dallas received Eisley from Utah, Barros from Boston and Curley from Goldon State; and the Celtics acquired John "Hot Rod" Williams and Pack from the Mavericks and a first-round draft pick from the Jazz.
Fortson, 24, was considered one of the best power forwards to become a free agent this summer, after San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Portland's Brian Grant and the Los Angeles Clippers' Maurice Taylor.
He averaged 7.6 points and 6.7 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game in 1999-2000, but in 13 games when he was on the court for at least 20 minutes he scored 13.7 and grabbed 11.8 rebounds.
Fortson reportedly signed a seven-year, $40 million deal with the Celtics before the trade could be completed. He had been courted by the New York Knicks, but would not agree to sign for New York's $2.25 million exception and the Knicks and Celtics could not work out a sign-and-trade deal.
Eisley gives Dallas a solid guard. Playing behind John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek in the Jazz backcourt, he averaged career-highs of 8.6 points, 4.2 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 0.72 steals last season.
In Barros, the Mavericks get a 3-point specialist who averaged just 7.2 points per game last season, but hit at a 41 percent (59-of-144) clip from behind the arc.
Marshall had one of the best seasons of his six-year career in 1999-2000, averaging 14.2 points and a career-high 10.0 rebounds. He was one of only eight NBA players who appeared in at least 30 games to average a double-double.
Pack played just 29 games for the Mavericks, averaging 8.9 points and 5.8 assists, while Williams, a 15-year veteran, sat out the entire 1999-2000 season with lower back problems after playing just 25 games in 1998-99.NEWLN:
