Samuel Dalembert to Sign With the Dallas Mavericks


Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confirmed his team’s interest in free agent center Samuel Dalembert — a deal will soon be reached, according to Cuban. Per ESPN: “It’s not signed, signed, but it’s agreed upon,’ Mavs owner Mark Cuban said at the Las Vegas Summer League. ‘He’ll bring shot-blocking and rebounding to the team.’ Dallas continues to pursue free-agent center Greg Oden, as do Miami, New Orleans, Sacramento and San Antonio. But Dalembert emerged as the Mavericks’ top priority after they lost out to Houston in the Dwight Howard sweepstakes and decided to pass on Andrew Bynum, who signed with Cleveland. The Mavericks have discussed the prospect of acquiring Dalembert via trade for years — including talks with Milwaukee last season that could have sent starting center Chris Kaman to the Bucks — because they’ve seen the defensive-minded 7-footer from Haiti as a good stylistic fit next to star forward Dirk Nowitzki. Other teams can offer more, but sources say the Mavericks have met face to face with Oden twice in the past week and continue to try to sell him on the merits of making his comeback in Dallas, which includes the chance to work with highly rated athletic trainer Casey Smith. Also on the big-man front: Bernard James left the Mavericks’ summer league team in Las Vegas, sources said, after agreeing to move back the guarantee date in his contract for the 2013-14 season.”