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Posted by Ben Golliver. 

The NBA's king of smack talk is headed to the Jersey Shore.

ESPNNY.com reports that free agent guard DeShawn Stevenson has agreed to a 1-year contract with the New Jersey Nets for a reported $2.5 million.

He plugs into a Nets roster that is fairly talentless on the wings. Anthony Morrow and rookie MarSon Brooks got the bulk of the minutes alongside All-Star point guard Deron Williams during the preseason.

Stevenson, 30, spent the 2010-2011 season with the NBA title-winning Dallas Mavericks. A physical, aggressive defender, Stevenson played mental games with Miami Heat All-Star forward LeBron James throughout the Finals, saying that James "checked out" at times during the series. Following the Finals, Stevenson wore a t-shirt that read "LeBron, how's my Dirk taste?" and was arrested for public intoxication. 

An 11-year NBA veteran, Stevenson has career averages of 7.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Prior to landing in Dallas, Stevenson played for the Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards.

Stevenson becomes the fourth prominent member of the 2011 Mavericks to find a new home this offseason. Center Tyson Chandler signed with the New York Knicks, guard J.J. Barea signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves and forward Caron Butler signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Posted by Ben Golliver. 

It took a grand total of eight days for a well-known NBA player to call out names in publicly trashing the NBPA's strategy of disclaiming interest and launching an antitrust lawsuit against the league.

Dallas Mavericks forward DeShawn Stevenson -- who else? -- stepped into the limelight to bash Billy Hunter, the NBPA's executive director, in his harsh critique of the union's legal strategy.

Yahoo Sports has the details.

“For me, personally, I don’t think there will be a season,” Mavericks guard DeShawn Stevenson said recently at Drew Gooden’s Make-A-Wish charity game. “Right now there is just a lot of bad blood and [the owners] keep putting offers out that we’re rejecting. So we’re not going anywhere.”

“I felt like we should have decertified in July,” Stevenson said. “I feel like Billy Hunter is doing a horrible job because basically now [the owners] know our hand. The media knows our hand. The owners know our hand.”

These shots at Hunter come at the end of a circus year for Stevenson, who won his first title in June and became a household name during the title run thanks to his repeated attacks on Miami Heat forward LeBron James.

Stevenson said that James "checked out" during the Finals by spending too much time "deferring" to Dwyane Wade. He reportedly posted a message on Facebook saying that said James was "overrated." He later denied writing it: "If you look at me and look at all these tattoos, do you think I’d be sitting on the Internet and typing? C’mon, man." 

After the title celebration, Stevenson wore a t-shirt that read, "Hey LeBron! How's my Dirk taste?" Shortly thereafter, he was arrested for public intoxication but claimed that the police targeted him for "no reason."

Because it's Stevenson, it would be tempting for the union leadership to ignore his comments. Last Friday, though, Hunter's NBPA predecessor, Charles Grantham, publicly questioned Hunter's legal strategy and raised concerns about the players' current predicament. When Stevenson and Grantham, a distinguished professor and experienced negotiator, see eye-to-eye, you know there's a serious problem.

Assuming that it clings to its current strategy, union leadership is left to hope that those players who share Stevenson's beliefs don't get fed up with remaining quiet while the legal process drags on. After all, player discontent is the single most powerful variable that could help save the 2011-2012 NBA season in the short term. Unless a group of players stands up, publicly or privately, to apply pressure to the union leadership in an effort to shift course away from litigation and back to negotiation, there doesn't seem to be any other forces working towards a quick resolution. The league and its owners appear perfectly content to dig in for the long haul, and the players' new lawyers don't seem to be in any huge rush either. The legal trainwreck is headed smoothly down the tracks unless disgruntled players throw themselves in front to stop it.

I hate to say it -- and it's probably never been said before -- but the NBA needs more DeShawn Stevensons, at least if the league is to have any hope of conducting a 2011-2012 season.

Dallas Mavericks guard DeShawn Stevenson comments on his arrest for public intoxication. Posted by Ben Golliver. 

This morning, we noted that guard DeShawn Stevenson was arrested for public intoxication just two days after he won the 2011 NBA title as part of the Dallas Mavericks. Police reported that he looked drunk and didn't know where he was.

Stevenson disputes that story, telling Dallas television station KDFW (via ESPNDallas.com) that he was arrested for "no reason" and that he should have been treated better because he is a "champion."

"A couple cops came up to me, asked me was I drunk," Stevenson said. "I said no but I had a couple drinks. I guess he talked to somebody else and then he just put me in handcuffs for no reason.

"I always knew where I was at. ... I slept in a one-room cell for almost five hours, until my wife came and picked me up, and to me it hurts because that's not a way a champion should celebrate on his way home in Dallas, sleeping in a cell over a $400 fine," Stevenson told KDFW.

Just to clear things up in case there is some confusion among NBA players: Winning a title doesn't make you a diplomat with immunity. Laws still apply, and a ring doesn't equal a "get out of jail" free card.

Before his arrest, Stevenson had been on the ride of his life: trashtalking LeBron James, calling the Miami Heat actors, denying that he has a Facebook, winning the title, partying on South Beach and wearing a shirt that said "How's My Dirk Taste?"

A cold cell can be such a buzzkill.

Posted by Royce Young

It's been an eventful 72 hours for DeShawn Stevenson. He won a title, dissed LeBron with a t-shirt, dissed LeBron by saying he was "classless" and partied hard.

And then he capped it off by getting arrested.

Via ESPN Dallas:

Dallas Mavericks shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson was arrested for public intoxication in Irving, Texas, on Tuesday night, two days after the franchise won its first NBA championship.

Irving police were called to the Grand Venetian apartment complex at about 10:30 p.m. CT after receiving a call to report an intoxicated person walking in the area. Officers reported that Stevenson, who does not live at the complex, appeared intoxicated and did not know where he was.

He was arrested without incident on the Class C misdemeanor charge based on the results of a sobriety test, officer's observations and his statements.

"They felt he was a danger to himself and others," Irving public information officer John Argumaniz said. "Basically, he was intoxicated to a point where he didn't feel comfortable letting him walk away or leave. They didn't have any other options at that point."

The Mavs said they weren't aware of the incident and declined comment.

Stevenson was just walking around an apartment complex wasted and didn't know where he was? I wonder if when he sobered up, he was like, "What, why is Abraham Lincoln tattooed on my neck?!?"

Stevenson will be an unrestricted free agent July 1. He played a role extremely well in Dallas as a tough defender, 3-pointer shooter and player willing to play any role. One being, "Guy that parties very hard after a championship" included.

Posted by Matt Moore

See, when people question their will to win? This is what they're talking about.

Reports surfaced Monday on 790 The Ticket in Miami that some Heat players joined the Mavericks on Sunday night while the new NBA champs partied on South Beach (photos!) after their Game 6 win. One trusted member of Mavs media confirmed that Erick Dampier was one of the Miami members in attendance, along with unnamed others. 

Just so we're clear on this. The Mavs trash-talked you all series long, dashed your title hopes, put even more criticism on your squad, celebrated on your floor and then in your city, and you go party with them? Nice chemistry guys. A few assorted thoughts:

• The Big Three reportedly were not part of the celebration, but would it surprise you in the slightest if they were? Would that shock you in any way? If LeBron James had gone down there to party with JET, it would have been just more delight for the millions of people that took abject glee in the fall of the Heat and James in particular. It's a good thing they didn't head down there as far as we knew.

• On the flip side of this, I tried explaining to people how much of this entire process is theatrics. Do the Mavs and Heat organizations like each other? No. Do Dirk and Wade get along? Probably not. But it's not personal, and all of these players consider themselves part of a brotherhood of players. Once the buzzer sounds, most of them are friends with one another. We like to think of these as blood rivalries like the one that existed with the Celtics and Lakers of the 80's but things aren't like that. Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant are buds, though they try and keep that one quiet for PR purposes. That said, KG would never celebrate with the team that defeated him.

• How does one make that decision? "Well, I just lost the NBA Finals. What can I do? I guess I'll go out, since I live in Miami. Hmm. Maybe I should go drink and dance with the guys that just made me look like a group of slugs offensively and shut us down on our own floor. That sounds fun! Surely no one will see me!"

• There likely won't be repercussions from this for Maimi, but there should be. Players that partake in that kind of behavior shouldn't be allowed to return to the team. Dampier is old enough to where he probably doesn't care, and after so many years in Dallas, you can understand him wanting to see his guys celebrate. But at the same time, one of the Heat's biggest issues this year was chemistry, and having guys who aren't fully committed to the organization is part of that. 

• It's an insult to Chris Bosh, who was emotionally wrecked after the loss. Say what you want about Bosh, he played his face off in the postseason and wanted to win badly. He cared. 

(HT: BDL via PBT)

Posted by Matt Moore

MIAMI -- The word "believe" is one that pretty much passes through me these days. I mean, it couldn't get more cliche, could it? It's said so often in sports, it has the same impact as "points" or "effort." It's nothing more than an overused phrase that players and coaches use to deflect the conversation into the most bland terms. It doesn't actually mean anything. 

Right?

All series long, all  playoffs long, all season long,  Carlisle has preached the word "believe." When asked about their resiliency in coming back from fourth-quarter deficits time and time again, Carlisle would talk about how the team believed. When facing a 2-1 deficit going into Game 4 against the Heat, Carlisle said they needed to believe in themselves. And each time I rolled my eyes. They don't actually think this. It's about strategic adjustments, and about focus.

Right?

But then there's Shawn Marion, screaming his face off in a tiny visitor's locker room that reeks of sweat and stale champagne, running his mouth constantly but pausing to talk about Carlisle.

"Coach just told us to keep believing in ourselves," Marion said, "and that's what we did. We believed in this team." 

Then there's Ian Mahinmi, basking in the glow of finally contributing in a meaningful way on his way to a championship, just two years after he left the NBA D-League. I asked him what it was that gave Carlisle the ability to get all these role players, to get every single player to be ready to go full bore and make the right plays at a moment's notice. 

"He just kept telling us to believe in ourselves. Going into a game like this, there's so much pressure, you don't want to be the one to make a mistake, and he just kept telling me how much he believed in what I could do."

The tenth guy on the roster, and he's ready to go because Carlisle had him believing it. Carlisle was asked by a bombastic reporter to talk himself up after Game 4 and simply laughed the question off. He refused to take any credit, even after it was his strategic decisions that helped the Mavericks shut down the best talent in the league, even after it was his motivational work that got a team of players who are quite honestly old to be the first to the ball every time. Carlisle still wouldn't take his bow. 

Carlisle in his post-game comments credited "the collective toughness" of his team, Dirk Nowitkzi, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Ian Mahinmi, Brian Cardinal, ownership, everyone but himself.  The man had just finished off one of the best postseasons of any coach since the turn of the century, and done it with an aging roster and using players like a 5-10 (if that) former D-League player and a throwaway from the Caron Butler trade (oh, yeah, and Butler was injured). And he still wouldn't take credit. 

Don't be mistaken, Carlisle's tactical adjustments were the key to this series. Starting J.J. Barea and providing that initial burst of speed allowing Stevenson to guard James late as a backup to Marion and putting together a pick and roll defense strategy against one of the best combinations of talent this league has ever seen, those are the strategic elements that brought the Mavs the title. They were always going to get an amazing performance from Dirk Nowitzki. 

There was a possession in the second quarter of Game 6. After Tyson Chandler beat his man once again to the offensive rebound and the possession reset, Jason Kidd went around a wing pick, and when the double came, immediately slung the ball to J.J. Barea. For the Heat, or most teams, really, this is either a contested three from Barea, a dribble probe, or some other individual effort with the clock winding down. Barea instantly slung a sidearm pass to a cutting Shawn Marion who went right to the basket, his defender back screened by Chandler. It was cohesive, it was flawless, it was the type of play you need veterans for. But more importantly, that play requires a coach to drill consistency and an understanding of teammates in. There was no improvisation, it was a practiced set that worked to perfection, performed by players that understand the sacrifice and devotion to the team concept that can lead to real success.

After the play, Carlisle merely nodded his head, acknowledging the good work, then turned his attention to the defensive end.

After so many years of good work in Indiana and Detroit, it finally came home for Carlisle Sunday night. He adds his second ring, his first as a coach, and even in the presser, he didn't bask in the warm glow of his greatness like so many coaches at the top of the Western Conference outside of Texas would. He just credited his players and sat back amazed at what this incredible group of players had accomplished, in his mind, for him. Hopefully somewhere he knows just how much of a hand he had in it. There's talk today of the Mavericks' future with aging players and what tomorrow brings. But with Carlisle at the helm, the Mavericks will always know what they're getting, what they got this year that rewarded them with a championship: a winning coach that understands the way the game should be played.  

And a guy who made believers out of everyone.

John Kasich, Governor of Ohio, declared the Dallas Mavericks "Honorary Ohioans" after their 2011 NBA title. Posted by Ben Golliver. 

Revenge for "The Decision" now bears an executive seal.

John Kasich, Governor of the state of Ohio, took the unusual step of honoring a team with no geographical ties to his jurisdiction. On Monday, one day after the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals, Kasich's office released a press release noting that the governor had issued a resolution that declared that the Mavericks, their friends, family and fans are now officially "Honorary Ohioans."

Why would he do this? Retribution, of course.

The Heat were led by Ohio native former Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, who opted to take his talents to South Beach last summer rather than return to play for the Cavaliers. In return, fans in Ohio booed him mercilessly during his two return visits to Cleveland and openly rooted for the Heat to get bounced from the playoffs.

The resolution specifically praises Dallas' "loyalty, integrity and teamwork" and specifically praises Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki for choosing to re-sign with the Mavericks last summer. Kasich's resolution bears the official seal of Ohio, bestows upon the Mavericks "all privileges and honors" that goes with the title "Honorary Ohioans" and is signed at the bottom.

You know who definitely finds this hilarious and awesome? Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who issued his own decree on Sunday night. 

Below is a small version of the official resolution. Click here to read the whole thing.

Hat tip: IAmAGM.com.