And The Winner Is...

"This is an opportunity for people to get to know me, not just as a basketball player but as an individual," says Aguirre. "For whatever reason, I've been looked at as a bad person, which is the exact reversal of what people used to think of me. If I work hard here, I can turn that around."

Dantley's dilemma is similar. Though only three active players (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone and Alex English) have scored more points than he, the fact remains that he has been traded five times in his 12½ seasons. He's more respected than Aguirre, but that is to damn him with faint praise. Somehow, some way, Dantley, who has scored 21,870 points for a career average of 25.1 per game, eventually wears out his welcome.

AD wants it to be different in Big D. He wants a ring before he retires, and he wants to show the Pistons that they made a mistake. There is challenge in those dark, soulful eyes.

Dantley will need help, of course, and the return of power forward Roy Tarpley from drug rehabilitation, which may or may not happen in time for the playoffs, is an absolute necessity if the Mavs are to get better. But maybe, just maybe, the Teacher will supply that extra little bit of learning, that dose of experience and maturity that will get Dallas moving in the postseason and into its first NBA Finals.

And, meanwhile, maybe Aguirre will be giving the Pistons the extra boost that they need to put those hungry young teams, like the Knicks and the Cavaliers, back in their place.

A Detroit-Dallas championship final is a long shot, but ponder it for a moment. Wouldn't it be some showcase for the protagonists in this controversial trade? And wouldn't it give Virginia Dantley and Mary Thomas an awful lot to talk about?