Donnie Nelson On: O’Neal, Blatche, Sanders

Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson joined Dallas’ 1310 The Ticket today and discussed a number of topics regarding the team. The Dallas Morning News transcribed a number of the highlights from Nelson’s interview:

When asked if the team would still like to add another big man, Nelson responded by saying:

“We’re not opposed to the right addition. But, again, it’s gotta be changed for the right reason. We do like what we have and for it to settle down. I think one of our big needs was answered with Amar’e [Stoudemire]. If we do add a player he would be an end of the bench type, specialist piece; it’s a possibility, but I wouldn’t wait for something like that to happen because it probably won’t at the end of the day.”

On if he thinks the window to sign Jermaine O’Neal is closed:

“That’s really a question for him. The door is always open. We’ve always been fans and he’s our kind of guy. It’s really where he is at with his family, with his health situation. Whether it’s during the season or summer, he’s a Dallas resident and we’d love to have the conversation if and when it’s right for him.”

On if the team has any interest in Larry Sanders, who has hinted that he may not return to the NBA, Nelson said:

“For the here and now, we’re long enough and tall enough on our front line with Tyson Chandler and our backup situation. If there is any potential or possibility there it’d be a summer conversation.”

When discussing Dallas’ interest in free agent Andray Blatche, who is currently considering a lucrative contract offer to return to China, Nelson said:

“Yeah, and a lot of these depend on minutes. Some of the guys, as they’re looking over the NBA landscape, let’s face it. If you take a player of that caliber and put him on our team, how much is he going to play? That certainly resonates with him and his agent. Those are possibilities, whether it’s a shooter or a little more support in the front court. But, again, it’d have to be the right piece. I wouldn’t be optimistic that anything would happen at this point.”

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