"Ask anybody in the Mavericks' organization what their first thought was when they heard DeShawn Stevenson was going to be part of the trade that also netted Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood, and the analysis would likely have been something like this: Free spirit, full of himself, flaky. On the court, opinions may have been even worse. Eight months later, the shooting guard has proved every one of those observations dead wrong. Stevenson's iffy reputation may have been justified earlier in his career. In fact, he realizes now that it probably was well-deserved. But those tough times have served him well later in a career that is entering its 11th season. He knows now that some of the harsh things that happened when he was a first-round pick as a teenager for Utah worked out for the best. 'Playing with Jerry Sloan -- Jerry's a strict coach and we had our ups and downs, but I think he made me stronger as a player,' Stevenson said. 'I try not to get mad about certain situations now. He [Sloan] was tough, but he made me who I am now. If I didn't go through that kind of system and that caliber of coach, I wouldn't be in the NBA right now.' "