Jason Terry: Mavs Need to Re-Sign DeShawn Stevenson

Jason Terry has already made it clear that he intends to stick around Dallas for a long time, and he wants DeShawn Stevenson playing alongside him. Nearly demands it. Per ESPN: “Jason Terry said the draft-night trade for shooting guard Rudy Fernandez was not surprising news. However, if the acquisition means the loss of DeShawn Stevenson, Terry said that would be very unsettling news. Terry, who fought along with Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki for Stevenson to start early in the season and then again prior to the playoffs, made a strong pitch for the team to re-sign Stevenson, an unrestricted free agent who no doubt increased his value with an impressively gritty postseason. Of course, with the lockout Terry hasn’t been able to make his voice heard to management. It’s not stopping him from campaigning. ‘Oh, we got to get DeShawn back. Unless you can find another guy like DeShawn,’ Terry said. ‘DeShawn just has ‘it.’ Whatever that is, it’s special and I’m a guy that’s fighting for him to be back with the Mavericks.’ … ‘What he did in this organization for us, you can’t put a price on it. Because me, watching the playoff series, not only the championship, but the first, second, third rounds, he defended his butt off and he set the tempo for us,’ Terry said. ‘That kind of toughness you can’t buy. It has to be in you. He’s one of the few guys in this league that has that and it’s special, it’s unique and I believe it’s at premium. And, I think it’s something that we have to have on our team going forward. Is Rudy Fernandez that type of player? Not that I know. He’s more offensive-minded. Is he tough? Yeah, he’s tough, but to guard Kobe [Bryant] and [Kevin] Durant and LeBron [James] and Dwyane Wade, you have to have a certain nastiness about you, and DeShawn Stevenson has that.'”