Eduardo Najera 'Sad' to Leave Dallas, but Feels Wanted by Charlotte

Eduardo Najera's mood had changes Tuesday as fast as the late George Steinbrenner used to replace managers.

First, the forward got a call from Dallas general manager Donnie Nelson, telling him he had been traded to Charlotte. Najera, in his second stint with the Mavericks, wouldn't have minded finishing his career with them.

"I was sad,'' Najera, 34, said in an interview with FanHouse about hearing from Nelson. "I really love Dallas, and I love the team. (Nelson) said, 'I don't have good news. I have bad news.' But I understand. It's a business.''

But soon the phone rang again, and it was Charlotte general manager Rod Higgins. Najera said Higgins told him he will have a role with the Bobcats.

"He said they want me there,'' said Najera, who wasn't sure whether he was a coveted player or just a piece that fit in for salary purposes. "They told me they made the deal so I can help them win ball games. That cheered me up after I had been sad.''

But it doesn't stop there. Najera started feeling even better when he talked to guard Matt Carroll, who was dealt along with Najera and center Erick Dampier to Charlotte for centers Tyson Chandler and Alexis Ajinca. Carroll played for the Bobcats from 2004-09.

"Eddie is like a son to me. He really is the kind of guy you want to marry your daughter."
-- Donnie Nelson
Dallas General Manager "Matt has been in Charlotte,'' Najera said. "He was telling me how much he really liked it there.''

Another guy with mixed emotions Tuesday was Nelson. He felt good about getting Chandler to form one of the NBA's best one-two punches at center. But he hated to trade Najera for the second time.

"Eddie is like a son to me,'' Nelson said. "He really is the kind of guy you want to marry your daughter. He's represented the franchise very well. It's the worst part of the business (trading a player such as Najera). It was very difficult. ... Eddie was always helping out in the community. And he laid it out every night. He's just a very, very, very unique human being.''

Najera played his first four seasons with the Mavericks, from 2000-04, before being traded to Golden State in a deal that landed Dampier. But Najera returned to the Mavericks last January, a trade that rescued him from the lowly New Jersey Nets.



Share "The New Jersey team was a team that was really young, and I don't think I fit in with those type of teams,'' Najera said. "But I think I'll fit in well with Charlotte.''

In other words, the Bobcats will be trying to win games. That wasn't the case in New Jersey, which stripped down its team last season for salary-cap room and finished 12-70.

"We want to see him come in and compete for minutes and see what he has left in the tank,'' Higgins said. "It wasn't one of those things that we just did the deal for other things, although that was important (namely getting Dampier's $13 million non-guaranteed contract, which could save the Bobcats a lot of money).''

After signing a four-year deal with the Nets in 2008, Najera had numerous injury problems. Najera, though, finally got healthy shortly after arriving in Dallas. While his averages of 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 33 Mavericks games weren't impressive, he provided grit for a team that often has been accused of not being tough enough.

Najera will make $2.8 million next season and $2.6 million in 2011-12. Although Mavericks officials can't talk about it due to tampering rules, there's a sentiment they might not mind having Najera one day return to Dallas for a third stint.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter@christomasson