Coaches describe Brian Cardinal as 'Eduardo Najera with a jump shot'

It's safe to say that Brian Cardinal has been one of the pleasant surprises at Mavericks training camp.
But it should come as no great revelation. Cardinal has been doing this for the better part of a 10-year NBA career.

That he has been doing it for mostly poor teams is the reason it may have gone largely unnoticed.

The 6-8 forward has ingratiated himself with teammates and the coaching staff by doing the things that teammates and coaching staffs love. As several Mavericks described it, he's sort of like Eduardo Najera with a jump shot.

"I just try to play the right way – play hard, play good defense and try to make up for the fact I'm not the tallest guy out there or quickest or most athletic," Cardinal said Sunday after the Mavericks' final training-camp practice at SMU.

"I think that's what has kept me around the league for the last 10 years – trying to be a good guy and a good teammate and somebody that will take a charge, dive for loose balls, set a back screen and do things that some guys might not like to do."