INDIANAPOLIS -- Larry Bird's housecleaning project has claimed another casualty.
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The Indiana Pacers traded forward Shawne Williams to the Dallas Mavericks for 14-year veteran Eddie Jones, future draft picks and cash, the Pacers said Friday.
Bird, the Pacers' president, has made it clear he plans to repair the team's image after several negative off-the-court issues in recent years. Williams, Indiana's first-round draft pick in 2006, was dogged by three incidents involving police in the past 13 months.
"He's got a lot of potential," Bird told the Associated Press. "You hate to give up on those type of players, but with what we're trying to do here, we felt it was best to move Shawne. This trade wasn't made because he wasn't talented enough, it was because of the other things."
The Pacers already have traded Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson in the past three years for damaging the team's reputation, and the Pacers have told Jamaal Tinsley not to show up to training camp after several scrapes with the law.
Williams will be reunited with new Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, who coached the Pacers when Indiana drafted him out of Memphis in the first round in 2006.
"There's no question Rick wanted him," Bird said. "He was there when we drafted him. He knew the talent, he knew the kid."
Williams' agent, Happy Walters, said it's a good move for Williams.
"He's excited to get to a team and get a new shot and kind of get reinvigorated," Walters said. "He loves Larry (Bird), so he's sad to leave Larry and the Pacers because he has friends there, but he's excited with a new start."
The Pacers said they will get two second-round draft picks as part of the trade.
Williams was not immediately available for comment and will fly to Dallas on Saturday, Walters said.
Williams started only six games in two seasons with Indiana, averaging 5.6 points and 2.3 rebounds.
He was arrested in September 2007 after a traffic stop when an officer found marijuana in the SUV he was driving. He pleaded guilty to driving without ever having received a license, and a drug charge was filed against a passenger. The Pacers suspended Williams for three games.
