Mavs inching closer to locking up Haywood

 
The re-signing of
center Brendan Haywood is not a done deal yet, but all signs point to a return
of the big man, perhaps by the end of the day.
Haywood’s
agent, Andy Miller, and the Mavericks have been working out details throughout
the morning and barring some last-moment snag, the new deal will be for five
years and more than $10 million per season, on average, several NBA sources
said.
That would mean
that the deal starts around $9 million. With the maximum 10.5-percent increases
per year, it would make the contract worth about $10.9 million per season. It
is not known if all five seasons are fully guaranteed.
The re-signing,
if it is finalized, would mean the Mavericks are hitching their wagon to
Haywood as their starting center. Logic would suggest that Jermaine O’Neal,
Al Jefferson, Tyson Chandler and other potential centers that the Mavericks had
interest in now are off of their radar.
It opens the
door to the next question, which is what the Mavericks will do with Erick
Dampier’s non-guaranteed contract that is worth more than $13 million.
The Mavericks
continue to explore options about trading Dampier’s deal to a team that
wants to save salary-cap or luxury-tax money (or both).
In addition a
bevy of mid-level free agents remain on the board that the Mavericks could pursue.

Comments

[Gary]

Thank heaven!