It appears as if the Mavs are going to go for the middle rather than to rebuild.
Not sure this is going to change a whole lot, but according to the four-lettered the Dallas Mavericks are set to sign veteran free agent center Chris Kaman to a one-year contract.
No way Dirk Nowitzki leaves the Mavericks now. Kaman and Dirk are buddies from their days on the German national team (BTW - Kaman's grandparents are German, which allowed him to be eligible for the German national team).
Kaman is 30, and a veteran of nine NBA seasons, including last year with the Hornets. He averages 11.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Kaman is no Tyson Chandler, but he has a nice offensive game. More important, adding Kaman means the Mavs are likely going to use their amnesty clause to dump center Brendan Haywood.
Haywood came to the Mavs in February of 2010 in the Caron Butler deal, and eventually was exposed as an overpaid backup who was starting because there was no one else.
@MacEngelProf tengel@star-telegram.com Facebook Mac Engel
DALLAS - Both Dallas Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson and head coach Rick Carlisle all but tripped over their own words when praising both former Mavericks Jason Kidd and Jason Terry on Tuesday afternoon. Neither expressed any frustration in the least with the respective decisions made by Kidd to sign with the Knicks and Terry with the Celtics.
"JET came in with tough shoes to fill after we lost Steve Nash. It was, 'Who was this guy?'" Nelson said. "He did it his own way and put his own stamp on it. He's one of the best players to ever put on a uniform with the Dallas Mavericks. What he's done for this community is second to none in the history of the Mavericks and it's a void that is a tough one to fill."
And for Kidd, Carlisle said: "With Kidd not being back and Terry not being back those are two guys whose numbers are going to be hanging in the rafters here. Jason Kidd is a once in a generation type of player."
Putting Jason Terry's number next to Dirk Nowitzki is something that has been written about in this space before. It should happen. No player meant as much over the past decade or so to the Mavericks than Jason Terry.
The idea of hanging Jason Kidd's No. 2, or No. 5, had never really occurred to me but it has merit. Drafted with the No. 2 overall pick out of Cal in the '94 draft, Kidd was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year that season. He made the All-Star team with the Mavs in 1996.
Kidd was traded to the Suns in December of 1996 in the Michael Finley trade. Kidd was dealt back to the Mavs in 2008, and eventually was the starting point guard for the Mavs' first NBA title team.
His numbers, especially in his second stay with the team, are not overwhelming. But there is not a person with the team who says the team wins the title without Kidd as the starting point guard.
@MacEngelProf tengel@star-telegram.com Facebook Mac Engel
Not that this will make any Dallas Mavericks fan feel better, but in an interview with Chris Berman of the New York Post, Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams said he was very close to signing with his hometown team.
Williams is currently training with the U.S. Olympic team in Las Vegas as they prepare for the London Summer games.
D-Will did say that had the Nets not traded for Joe Johnson of the Hawks that both he and Jason Kidd planned to sign with the Mavericks.
In this interview, D-Will said the lure of going back to Texas to play was very strong. Strong enough to offset the $25 extra million the Nets could offer. Or at least that's what he said.
But it was Nets' GM Billy King dealing to add the All-Star Johnson that told him to stay in Brooklyn.
He said, "It came down to where I felt I had a better chance to win for a long period of time.
And this, "It was a hard decision. It was my hometown team I grew up watching that I would have loved to play for. My family would have loved for me to play. I kind of felt I let the city down because they wanted me there so bad."
@MacEngelProf tengel@star-telegram.com Facebook Mac Engel
Say this for Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson, when they wanted to go for cap space they really wanted to go for cap space. The way this summer is shaping up for the Dallas Mavericks, they may have $34 trillion dollars in cap room in the summer of 2013 to sign a collection of free agents to play next to Brendan Haywood and Yi Jianlian.
Not that keeping veteran point guard Jason Kidd was going to solve the many problems this team faces, but watching Kidd sign with the New York Knicks for a three-year, $9 million deal is almost depressing.
What are we going to watch when the season starts - Dirk vs. the Thunder?
It was this time one year ago when the Mavs were coming off their first NBA title with this roster. Here is that roster, and where they are now.
G JJ Barea - signed with Minn last offseason G Roddy Beaubois - Mavs F Corey Brewer - signed with Nuggets last offseason F Caron Butler - signed with Clippers last offseason F Brian Cardinal - Mavs C Tyson Chandler - signed with Knicks last offseason C Brendan Haywood - Mavs G Dominique Jones - Mavs G Jason Kidd - close to signing with Knicks C Ian Mahinmi - Mavs F Shawn Marion - Mavs F Dirk Nowitzki - Mavs G DeShawn Stevenson - signed with Nets last offseason G Peja Stojakovic - retired last offseason G Jason Terry - close to signing with the Celtics
This is what the Mavs have right now ... G Roddy Beaubois F Brian Cardinal G Vince Carter F Jae Crowder F Jared Cunningham F Tadija Dragicevic C Brendan Haywood C Bernard James F Yi Jianlian G Dominique Jones C Ian Mahimni F Shawn Marion G Delonte West * F Dirk Nowitzki F Brendan Wright
* A free agent but expected to return, although at this point take nothing for granted.
@MacEngelProf tengel@star-telegram.com Facebook Mac Engel
According to various reports, the Celtics are offering Terry three years, and the Mavs could match but this is probably done.
Terry knew he was gone all season long.
Whenever Terry's career is over, he should have his number retired next to Dirk Nowitzki's 41. If the Mavs are going to retire Brad Davis' number, Jet's should be up there, too. No other player meant as much to the Mavs' over the past decade than Terry, even though he was a Mav for eight years.
He arrived in 2004-'05 from Atlanta, and the Mavs tried desperately to make him a point guard when at heart he was a scorer. He actually was the starting point guard for the Mavs team that reached the NBA Finals in 2006.
Terry was eventually moved to his shooting guard role, and then became one of the league's top players off the bench. In 2008-'09, Terry was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year.
Terry was at his best in the 2011 NBA Finals when he called out LeBron James, and then backed it up by out-playing Bron Bron in Games 3, 4, 5 and 6. In those playoffs, Terry averaged 17.5 points per game. He scored 27 points in the Game 6 title-clinching win.
This photo of Dirk and Terry in the final moments of Game 6 says so much. They had done it.
He was a wonderful face for the Mavs, and a Godsend for the media that covered the team. There are friends of the media, and people who have no problem handling their responsibility suffering fools like us. Then there is Jason Terry.
The Dallas Mavericks' media room needs to be named after The Jet.
@MacEngelProf tengel@star-telegram.com Facebook Mac Engel
The Deron Williams Charade continues, but it does appear that an end will come no later than July 4.
Who knows? Maybe D-Will will surprise us all and accept a four-year, $75 million deal from the Dallas Cubans rather than the five-year, $100 million contract he can get from the Fightin Jay-Zs.
Dwight Howard is not going to be traded to the Mavs. The Mavs don't have enough to offer the Orlando Magic. The only way D12 lands with the Mavs is as a free agent, which is another 82 games and change away.
He wants about $10 mil per year, and he wants to start.
After being inserted as a starter last season, he averaged 16.3 points and 7.3 assists after the All-Star break last season. Overall, he averaged 11.7 points and 5.3 assists.
He is only 26, and last season he demonstrated there is a far greater upside than his track record originally suggested.
No, Goran Dragic is not D-Will. And $10 mil per year is a lot, but the Mavs can't expect to ask Jason Kidd to start any more.
@MacEngelProf tengel@star-telegram.com Facebook Mac Engel
All sports leagues are copy cat leagues, and imitation is the highest form of flattery, so the Dallas Mavericks should be honored that the worst team in the NBA is stealing their uniform design.
The Bobcats finished 7-59 last season for a sterling .106 winning percentage (generally speaking, those aren't considered good numbers); in an effort to really infuse some enthusiasm and excitement for Bobcats basketball, Michael Jordan's Turrible Team is going with a new look.
As you can clearly see, their new unis look exactly like your Dallas Mavericks.
The problem the Bobcats have is not the uniform but the people wearing them.
@MacEngelProf tengel@star-telegram.com Facebook Mac Engel
Not that tampering with potential free agents happens in the NBA (cough-cough ... Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh), but social media and the power of the people have exploited a loophole in the pursuit of basketball's biggest names.
I say official because this pursuit unofficially began back in December when they gutted their title-winning roster.
This very nice, and official looking, site has no direct affiliation with the Mavericks.
The site's mission is: "Darin’ for Deron was created by Dallas Mavericks fans to convince free agent Deron Williams to come back home to Texas and sign with the Mavericks."
My gut tells me a giant truck load of cash is going to trump a very well-intentioned website by passionate fans, but ... who knows? Can't hurt.
Follow them on Twitter @DarinForDeron
@MacEngelProf tengel@star-telegram.com Facebook Mac Engel
Watching the Thunder methodically destroy the Mavericks, Lakers and Spurs in this playoff run it seems that Oklahoma City could have the league's nexty dynasty.
David Stern must be thrilled with this development. His New York Knicks can't win a game yet the flea-market Thunder are rolling.
Even if your Dallas Mavericks can sign Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams this offseason and put him next to Dirk Nowitzki, we should all be scared to death of the Thunder for the next few years.
Here is why:
Kevin Durant, age 23, signed through '15-'16 (unrestricted fa in 2016) James Harden, age 22, signed through '12-'13 (restricted fa in 2013) Serge Ibaka, age 22, signed through '12-'13 (restriced fa in 2013) Kendrick Perkins, age 27 signed through '14-'15 (unrestricted fa in 2016) Thabo Sefolosha, age 28, signed through '13-'14 (unrestricted fa in 2015) Russell Westbrook age 23, signed through '16-'17 (unrestricted fa in 2017)
Can the Thunder afford to keep this nucleaus together? Having Durant and Westbrook locked in are the keys, now the trick will be able to convince James Harden to stick around. It does appear, however, this team is loaded for an extended run at the top of the Western Conference.
@MacEngelProf tengel@star-telegram.com Facebook Mac Engel
Recent Comments