Full-Court Press

Carter will be back with the Mavs

FRISCO -- Vince Carter will be back with the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs exercised their rights and picked up a team option on a contract that will pay Carter $3.12 million next season.

"They know that I want to be back,'' Carter said Saturday night. "I love it here.''

In 61 games for the Mavs this past season, Carter averaged 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 25.3 minutes per game. He also shot 41.1 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from three-point range and started 40 games for Dallas.

Carter played in Dirk Nowitzki's Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game at Dr Pepper Ballpark on Saturday night. He said his support for Nowitzki in this charity event is a by-product of why he would be thrilled if he could finish his career with the Mavs.

"Dirk's a great guy and I support guys wo are doing great in the community,'' Carter said. "Alongside that, I enjoy Dallas.

"I'm a Southern boy. This is just like home -- the South -- so it's great to be here.''

Carter also said it would be great if the Mavs can make their free agent wish come true and sign Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams.

"He's a great talent with a lot of ability,'' Carter said. "You put somebody like this on a team that we have now and we can go very far.''

As far as the celebrity game goes, Carter made a circus catch in left field and looked like a natural with the baseball bat.

"First of all everybody had a good time and nobody got hurt,'' Carter said. "But other than that, I had a great time.

"That's what it's all about. Guys coming together for a good cause and having a great time doing it.''

-- Dwain Price

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Williams: Don't turn into LeBron James

DALLAS ---- Deron Williams got to be careful he doesn't turn into LeBron James and alleniate his hometown folks.

Yeah, there's a slight difference in that James grew up in surburban Cleveland and played seven years for the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Williams grew up in surburban Dallas but has never played for the Mavs.

Mavs fans may think Williams is toying with them with thoughts of coming to play for the Mavs. Especially f he turns around and decides to sign a free agent contract with the Brooklyn Nets.

If the latter occurs, it may get a little uncomfortable for Williams when the Nets play in American Airlines Center for the rest of Williams' career. That's just the way society has become.

No one likes to get spurned. Particularly if the spurning is done by someone who grew up in your own backyard and knows this place like he knows the back of his hands.

If Williams doesn't sign with the Mavs, he may regret not doing what Dallas native Chris Bosh did when he became a free agent in the summer of the 2010. Bosh never considered coming back to Dallas to play for the Mavs, so no carrot was dangled in the faces of the Mavs' fans.

Bosh went on to sign a free agent contract with the Miami Heat.

Whether he knows it or not, Williams inviting Nets coach Avery Johnson to his private birthday party and tweeting pictures of himself playing golf in the Hamptons with Jason Kidd sends signals that he's going to sign with the Nets. There are plenty of very nice places to place golf and hold a private birthday party in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

In essence, if Williams signs with the Nets, he may want to bring his earplugs to American Airlines Center whenever Brooklyn comes to town to play the Mavs. Or he may want to just ask LeBron James how that's working out for him whenever the Heat superstar plays in Cleveland.

-- Dwain Price

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What rookies came to Dallas to workout for the Mavs?

DALLAS _ So who did the Dallas Mavericks bring in for workouts prior to this past Thursday's NBA Draft? Well, none of the rookies the Mavs ended up with came in for workouts.

The players the Mavs worked out at American Airlines Center include North Carolina's Kendall Marshall, Kentucky's Terrence Jones, Washington's Terrence Ross, Baylor's Quincy Miller, Mississippi State's Arnett Moultrie, St. Bonaventure's Andrew Nicholson, France's Evan Fournier, North Carolina's Tyler Zeller, Kentucky's Marquis Teague, Michigan State's Draymond Green and Alabama's JaMychal Green.

The Mavs used the 17th overall pick to draft Zeller, then traded him and Kelenna Azubuike to Cleveland for draft picks Nos. 24, 33 and 34. The Mavs turned those picks into Oregon State shooting guard Jared Cunningham, Florida State power forward  Bernard James and Marquette small forward Jae Crowder.

Dallas also drafted Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom on the second round of Thursday's draft, but promptly traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for cash considerations.

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs haven't 'drafted' impact players lately

DALLAS -- For some odd reason, the Dallas Mavericks haven't exactly done very well when it comes to drafting impact players.

The last player the Mavs drafted that turned in a significant impact in the NBA was Josh Howard, who was the 29th and final pick of the first round of the 2003 draft. Howard made the NBA all-rookie second team in a draft that included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison, Carmelo Anthony, David West, Kirk Hinrich, Chris Kaman and Boris Diaw.

Howard went on to make the 2007 NBA All-Star team before the Mavs traded him to the Washington Wizards on Feb. 13, 2010.

Other than Howard, the last time the Mavs drafted a player who had an impact in  the NBA was Jason Kidd, who was chosen No. 2 overall in the 1994 draft. Before that the Mavs' impact draftees includes Jamal Mashburn (No. 4 overall in 1993), Jim Jackson (No. 4 overall in 1992) and Roy Tarpley (No. 7 overall in 1986).

It must be noted that forward Dirk Nowitzki has spent his entire 14-year career with the Mavs. However, the Mavs officially didn't draft Nowitzki.

With the sixth pick of the 1998 draft, the Mavs selected Michigan forward Robert "Tractor'' Traylor. Nowitzki was drafted ninth overall in that draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

But in a pre-arranged deal, the Mavs traded Traylor to the Bucks for Nowitzki.

And in 2000, the Mavs traded the draft rights of center Dan Langhi to Houston for the draft rights of forward Eduardo Najera, who was a gritty rotation player during his four-year tenure with the Mavs.

This past Thursday, the Mavs drafted North Carolina center Tyler Zeller with the 17th pick. But they ended up trading guard Kelenna Azubuike and Zeller's draft rights to Cleveland for three picks that ended up being Oregon State shooting guard Jared Cunningham, Florida State power forward Bernard James and Marquette small forward Jae Crowder.

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs trade Odom to the Clippers

DALLAS -- The Lamar Odom Era in Dallas has offically ended.

In a four-team deal Friday, the Dallas Mavericks traded Odom to the Los Angeles Clippers, who then traded point guard Mo Williams to the Utah Jazz. The Mavs received at least an $8.5 million trade exception from the Jazz.

The Mavs also sent the draft rights to Shan Foster to the Jazz. Foster, who spent last season playing in Belguim, was the 51st pick of the 2008 draft.

The Clips also traded the draft rights to Furkan Aldemir -- he was the 53rd pick of Thursday's NBA Draft -- to the Houston Rockets. In addition, the Mavs received 6-9, 235-pound Serbia power forward Tadija Dragicevic -- a 2008 second-round pick by the Jazz -- from Utah, and some cash considerations from the Rockets.

Dragicevic, 26, has never played in the NBA and spent the past two seasons playing in Rome and Berlin.

The trading of Odom ends one of the most controversial eras of any player in Mavs history.

-- Dwain Price

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A "tweetbomb'' to get D-Will set for 2 p.m.

DALLAS -- In an all-out effort to get Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams to sign a free agent contract with the Dallas Mavericks, a "tweetbomb'' has been scheduled for 2 p.m. CDT today.

The official site of the Bring DWill Home has a Twiiter account _ @BringDWillHome. At 2 p.m., folks are asked to tweet their desire for Williams -- a native of The Colony -- to do some soul searching and sign a free agent contract with the Mavs.

Folks are also asked to include the hashtag, #DeronToDallas, with their tweet.

-- Dwain Price

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Cavs pick three players for the Mavs

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks turned their first-round pick and guard Kelenna Azubuike in Thursday's NBA Draft into three players.

Earlier Thursday night, the Mavs traded the draft rights to the No. 17th pick -- North Carolina center Tyler Zeller -- and Azubuike to the Cavs for the 24th, 33rd and 34th picks. The Cavs drafted Oregon State shooting guard Jared Cunningham with the 24th pick, then used the 33rd pick to draft 27-year old Florida State power forward Bernard James, and the 34th pick to draft Marquette small forward Jae Crowder.

Jones, who spent six years in the Air Force, averaged 10.8 points and 8.1 rebounds this past year. Meanwhile, Crowder averaged 17.5 points and 8.4 rebounds last season for Marquette, and Cunninghame averaged 17.9 points this past year for Oregon State.

-- Dwain Price

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Three-team Mavs deal held up by Mo Williams

DALLAS -- That huge three-team deal involving the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz is being held up because point guard Mo Williams hasn't yet opted out of his contract with the Clips.

The Mavs were slated to trade Odom to the Clips, who are set to ship Williams to the Jazz. Utah, in turn, would send the Mavs an $8.5 million trade exception. Williams can wait until Saturday to inform the Clips if he plans to pick up the option year in his contract.

-- Dwain Price

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Cavs draft Cunningham for the Mavs

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks went presidential in Thursday's NBA Draft.

With the 24th pick of the draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers picked Oregon State shooting guard Jared Cunningham. The Cavs were picking for the Mavs, who traded the draft rights to No. 17th pick Tyler Zeller to the Cavs for the 24th, 33rd and 34th picks of Thursday's draft.

The 6-4, 194-pound Cunningham played his college ball for coach Craig Robinson, who is the brother-in-law of President Barack Obama. This past season Cunningham averaged 17.9 points while leading the Pac-12 in steals -- for the second year in a row -- at 2.53 per game.

-- Dwain Price

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Mavs draft NC center Tyler Zeller, then traded him to the Cavs

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks used the No. 17th pick of the first round tonight to draft North Carolina center Tyler Zeller.

But Zeller didn't wear a Mavs uniform very long because Dallas traded his draft rights to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 24th, 33rd and 34th picks in tonight's draft.

Zeller averaged 12.8 points and 6.7 rebounds in 23.1 minutes per game during his four-year career with the Tar Heels. He also shot 54.2 percent from the field during his career.

During the past season, the 7-foot, 247-pound Zeller averaged 16.3 points and 9.6 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game.

The Mavs figured parlaying Zeller into three picks was more advantageous than keeping a player -- like Zeller -- who likely will be a career backup center in the NBA.

With the three picks, the Mavs may be positioning themselves to make a trade for Orlando center Dwight Howard. They also saved about $2 million in guaranteed money.

-- Dwain Price

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@dwainprice