Last July the Dallas Mavericks traded shooting guard Marquis Daniels to the Indiana Pacers for Austin Croshere. Daniels had his moments as a Maverick and put up nice numbers in reserve minutes, but injuries kept hitting him, and it was simply time to move on. InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner met with Daniels a few days ago for an exclusive interview.

InsideHoops.com: Your time in Dallas. Talk about what you got out of being there, the best aspect of the experience.

Marquis Daniels: That we got to go to the finals. Playing in the finals, was a really good achievement for me, a good start. So now I'm moving on to something that will hopefully be bigger and better.

InsideHoops.com: Talk about the growth of your game, from the time you first stepped into the league through now. You're still evolving.

Marquis Daniels: Just maturity level. Understanding the game a lot more, and being able to play with anybody, is going to help out a lot.

InsideHoops.com: The trade that sent you to Indiana, were you expecting it? Expecting to be traded in general?

Marquis Daniels: Uh huh. I'd been [anticipating] it, yeah.

InsideHoops.com: Were you pushing for a trade to happen?

Marquis Daniels: Yeah.

InsideHoops.com: In search of more minutes, a bigger role, elsewhere?

Marquis Daniels: Yeah.

InsideHoops.com: How long were you pushing for a trade to happen? Was it going on for a while?

Marquis Daniels: Naw, I just new it was going to happen.

InsideHoops.com: Did you know or expect to be headed to Indiana?

Marquis Daniels: I had an idea but I didn't know the full effect.

InsideHoops.com: So now you're here. New home, new existence. Next step in your career.

Marquis Daniels: It's a great team... just trying to get back to the way things were around here.

InsideHoops.com: What's up with the new ball? How's it feel to you?

Marquis Daniels: [Sarcastically] New ball? We got a new ball?

InsideHoops.com: That's the hot rumor. That's the word on the street.

Marquis Daniels: I mean, you gotta play with it. I don't like it, but you gotta play with it.

InsideHoops.com: And do you confirm that the grip is fine when dry but that it's slippery when wet?

Marquis Daniels: I'm not a big fan of it.

InsideHoops.com: Your game. Your skills. What do you specifically want to improve?

Marquis Daniels: I'm just working to get better all around. Whether it's shooting, passing, dribbling, playing defense, whatever, I'm just looking to get better.

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