Hassell traded to Dallas for Buckner

First of all, a hat tip to PiPress columnist Charlie Walters, who wrote the other day that Trenton was going to the Mavs, a rumor that, citing Shooter’s “spotty” reputation on such tidbits, I belittled.

Second, I don’t like the deal. Greg Buckner is about two inches shorter and three years older than Hassell, which, given that both are defensive specialists, is not a good sign. Buckner has a little more range on his jumper but is less accurate overall as a shooter. Probably most significantly, Buckner is nearly $2 million cheaper over the next three seasons, and I suppose if the Wolves are going with youth anyway, the vets on the bench can be discounted.

[Update: A smart reader just informed me that because Buckner’s third year is a team option and thus not guaranteed, Wolves could save up to $5.79 million in this deal.]

That said, Buckner was a quality defender in Denver who actually shot a little better (especially from the three point line) and defended a little worse than expected in Dallas. Along with money, I suspect this has its roots in the spat that occurred last spring, when Coach Wittman benched Hassell for a period of time and the relationship between the two was obviously strained.

Another thing: Buckner is not going to be able to get his stuff together and travel to Turkey at the drop of a hat. Thus he will be behind the curve when he does arrive for training camp.

To sum up, from the Wolves standpoint, losing Hassell saves some [make that potentially quite a bit of] money and loses a locker room leader from the bad old days at a time when they are trying to wipe the slate clean.

From my standpoint, Trenton Hassell was always a class act, a guy who would honestly answer questions with general good humor and became a crucial glue guy in the starting lineup almost from the moment he joined the team during the franchise’s best-ever season in 2003-04. Two years ago when he was asked to look for his shot more often, he posted a career best 9.2 ppg, but always said that defense was his priority and his meal ticket. I saw him less than nine hours ago, sought him out as I was leaving the Wolves’ media day, gave him a sympathetic kind-of “keep your chin up” sentence or two because we both knew he was on the outs with current braintrust. Then I wished him luck. And he got it, headed to a team that figures to go deep into the playoffs. Trenton Hassell will help grease that momentum.