Nets, Mavs agree to revised Kidd deal

The New Jersey Nets have reached agreement on their long-discussed trade of Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks, SI.com has confirmed from league sources.

The Mavericks will send New Jersey the semi-retired Keith Van Horn in addition to Trenton Hassell, as well as Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, two first-round picks and cash. In the exchange, Dallas will get Kidd and Malik Allen.

A similar trade almost collapsed last week when Devean George exercised his right to veto the trade to Dallas, and Jerry Stackhouse revealed plans for him to be waived by New Jersey in order to return to the Mavericks. In its latest form, George and Stackhouse have been replaced by Hassell and Van Horn.

The reconfigured proposal is expected to be offered for league approval Monday. If all goes as planned, Kidd could make his return to the team that drafted him when the Mavericks play in New Orleans on Wednesday night.

Word of the deal broke Sunday night while Kidd was playing for the Eastern Conference in the All-Star game. A spokesman for the Nets declined comment at the game in New Orleans.

Kidd spent the first two-plus seasons of his career in Dallas. The Mavs drafted him third overall in 1994 and he was the NBA's co-rookie of the year in '94-95. He was traded to Phoenix in December 1996, then went from the Suns to New Jersey prior to the 2001-02 season. He helped the Nets reach the NBA finals his first two seasons, but they haven't made a long playoff run since.

The Mavericks have been among the NBA's top teams the last few years, but have fallen short of a title. They're trading Harris' promising future in hopes that Kidd, who turns 35 next month, has enough tenacity and leadership to push them over the top.

Dallas has been eyeing Kidd for a while. Team owner Mark Cuban may have sped up the process after seeing other top Western Conference teams make pivotal additions.

This deal seemed done earlier last week until George whacked it. Stackhouse's talk of being bought out and re-signing with the Mavs also didn't sit well with league officials.

The big winner in this is Van Horn, who has been out of the league the last 11/2 seasons.

Dallas still owned his rights, so his involvement is essentially to make the numbers work. He'll be signed then traded -- and, like Kidd, he'll be heading back to his original team. It's unclear whether he'll actually play for the Nets, but it seems unlikely.

Kidd appeared to regard the All-Star Game Sunday as his farewell to the East. He led the East with 10 assists and 4 steals in its 134-128 win over the West. "There's been a lot of talk that the deal is close to being done,'' said Kidd. "I've heard that before. [When[ I get a call from Rod [Thorn, the Nets' president] or Cuban, then it will be official.''

But Kidd was assuming that the trade was likely to be consummated Monday. When asked about flying home to New Jersey Monday before possibly joining Dallas for its game Wednesday in New Orleans, he said: "I'll be doing a lot of traveling the next three days.''