Gregory Smith / AP

Indiana Pacers forward Austin Croshere was entering the final year of his five-year contract that pays him nearly $7 million a year. He spent nine seasons with the Pacers, the longest of any current player, and averaged 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds a game.

updated 6:16 p.m. ET July 6, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS - The Dallas Mavericks, looking for a solid backup to Dirk Nowitzki, plan to trade Marquis Daniels to the Indiana Pacers for Austin Croshere.

Daniels’ agent, Glenn Schwartzman, said Thursday the deal cannot become official until Wednesday, when teams can complete trades and sign free agents.

Croshere was entering the final year of his five-year contract that pays him nearly $7 million a year. He spent nine seasons with the Pacers, the longest of any current player, and averaged 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds a game.

Daniels averaged 9.3 points in three seasons with the Mavericks. He can play both guard spots and small forward but had trouble getting playing time after Avery Johnson became coach.

Daniels signed a six-year, $38 million contract with the Mavericks in the 2004 offseason. He will join a team that drafted Shawne Williams and James White last month. Both Williams and White signed with the Pacers on Thursday.

“That’s a great opportunity to play for a great coach and for a great team,” Schwartzman said. “Marquis feels with the moves they’ve already made and the fact that they’re going younger and more athletic, that they’re going to be a tough team to play against.”

The Associated Press left messages with Croshere’s agent, Dan Fegan, the Pacers and Mavericks.

Daniels averaged a career-best 10.2 points this season in a career-high 29 starts. But he averaged only seven minutes during the Western Conference finals against Phoenix and nine minutes in the NBA finals against Miami.

Earlier this summer, the Pacers lost free agent Peja Stojakovic, who agreed to a five-year, $64 million deal with the New Orleans Hornets.

Williams, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward from Memphis, was the 17th pick in last month’s draft. He averaged 13.2 points per game in his only season with the Tigers.

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White, a second-round pick acquired by the Pacers in a draft-day trade, is a 6-7, 200-pound swingman from Cincinnati who averaged 16 points per game his senior year.

The rookies got their first action Thursday as part of Indiana’s rookie/free agent camp. Their initiation to pro basketball came against players who have years of experience in other leagues and hope to make it in the NBA.

“It’s hard to score,” White said. “Everybody’s hungry. Everybody’s had success in Europe and everything.”

There is no break now between getting a deal done and getting on the floor as they make the transition from college to the pros.

“Everybody thought we was going to get a month, two months off, but it’s like, summer league is right behind this,” Williams said. “Just keep going. After summer league, it’s training camp. It’s year-round for me.”

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Nathan Denette / AP

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