Devean George has been portrayed as a poor, misguided soul who made a rash decision.

Doubts will weaken his resolve. In time, he will succumb to public pressure and the Mavericks' lobbying efforts.

Once George understands what he's done by saying no to New Jersey, he will back down and clear the way for Jason Kidd to come to Dallas.

Well, George wants you to know he does understand. He offers a firm, declarative statement when asked if he still feels good about staying with a Mavericks team that wants to move him.

"Yes," he said.

Does that sound like a man blowing in the trade winds?

George has exercised his contractual right to stay put and has given the basketball public a crash course on early Larry Bird rights. This stand has thrust the quiet, eight-year veteran into a spotlight he's never sought.

"I never thought I would be in this position to throw the league into a frenzy," George said. "I didn't know I'd be able to have that power. Everyone is, like, going crazy and wants to ask me questions and stuff."

The biggest question is will he change his mind? George doesn't rule it out, but don't take that to mean he's wavering.

The Mavericks have not turned the screws on George. There is no hard sell or threat of reduced playing time if he doesn't acquiesce to the proposed seven-player deal.

When the team's game against Phoenix was over Thursday night and almost everyone had filed out of the locker room, coach Avery Johnson made it a point to walk over to George, shake his hand and wish him a good weekend.

Mavericks officials have engaged George in conversation — something they should have done before they threw him into the deal — rather than coercion. He has spoken to New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank and special assistant Kiki Vandeweghe in the last 48 hours.

But his most detailed discussions have been with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

"My conversation is based really on understanding that there is no bad blood," George said. "This is a business move. It's part of the business."

George is within his rights to say no to the deal. But why did he? He went to management earlier this month, expressed frustration over his limited role and asked to go somewhere where he could get more minutes.

"There were two parts to it," George said of his meetings with Johnson and Cuban. "The whole trade talk a couple of weeks ago was basically, `I just want to play.' I'm feeling the best I've felt in my career. I'm finally healthy. I just want to get minutes.

"The second question was, would you want to leave if you could get minutes here? I said absolutely not. If I get minutes here, it's a no-brainer. I don't want to go anywhere."

George played a season-high 33 minutes Wednesday after his refusal imploded the deal with the Nets. He followed that with 43 minutes against the Suns.

The more the Mavericks play George, the more it strengthens his resolve to stay.

George isn't alone in this unsettled All-Star weekend for the Mavericks. Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop and Maurice Ager were part of the deal that wasn't. Stackhouse's proclamation that he expected New Jersey to buy him out so he could return to Dallas in 30 days — a stance that has not set well with league executives — is the latest obstacle to the deal.

And Diop?

"No one has said anything about the trade to me," Diop said.

Not Johnson? Not Cuban?

"Nobody yet," Diop said.

George wants to stay. Diop does, too, but concedes he's conflicted.

"I'm not going to lie," Diop said. "If I stay, I'm still going to have it in the back of my mind that, `Damn, they wanted to trade me.' At the same time, you've got to go out there and be strong for the team and yourself.

"If it's going to happen, it's going to happen. We'll see after the break, I guess."

Guess so. But for the next few days, Diop and George hope to escape the chaos and clear their minds.