Adrian Dantley has been given until Wednesday to report to the Dallas Mavericks and complete a trade that sent Dallas' moody Mark Aguirre to the Detroit Pistons for Dantley and a first-round draft choice.
Mavericks general manager Norm Sonju Monday set a Wednesday deadline for Dantley to show. Sonju issued a statement after talking to David Falk, Dantley's agent."We're still optimistic that Dantley will report. However, if he has not reported by Wednesday morning, we will make a formal statement regarding our position," Sonju said. "Consistent with our announcement of last Friday, he will not be paid for any games he misses."
This means that Dantley has apparently lost pay for two games, a figure that comes to about $15,000 per game.
So far, Dantley missed games against the Midwest Division-leading Houston Rockets last Saturday and Monday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs.
While Sonju was giving Dantley a mandatory reporting date, Mavericks players were hoping that the Dantley trade, like the Aguirre problems that preceded it, will soon be behind them.
"The main thing is just to play as hard as we can," said Rolando Blackman. "We just hope it's not going to become a holdout situation. The important thing is for him to know we want him."