AUGUST 7TH, 3:52pm: The Mavericks have officially signed Blair, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 31ST, 9:15pm: For the second time in as many days, Blair has taken to Twitter to announce he has signed with the Mavs. While Blair's tweet indicates that it is official this time around, neither the team nor its beat writers have confirmed the deal.
JULY 30TH, 10:04pm: ESPNNY.com's Jared Zwerling is reporting that a deal between Blair and the Mavericks has yet to happen.
6:45pm: The Mavericks and DeJuan Blair have reached an agreement on a new deal. After ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported earlier today that the two sides were in serious talks, Blair himself broke the news via his Twitter account. Dwain Price from the Star-Telegram tweeted that the contract will be a one-year deal at $1.4MM, though if it's a minimum-salary deal, as expected, its value will be closer to $948K.
Blair's deal with the Mavs is the latest move in a busy offseason for the club. Although Dallas missed out on its top target, Dwight Howard, the team has used its cap space to add several free agents, including Jose Calderon, Monta Ellis, Samuel Dalembert, Gal Mekel, and Wayne Ellington. The Mavericks also re-signed Brandan Wright and Bernard James, and are on track to finalize a contract with ex-Mav Devin Harris.
Blair, 24, has spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Spurs, but saw his role reduced as Tiago Splitter emerged as a productive rotation player for the team. After he averaged 8.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and a 17.5 PER in his first three years, Blair's rates fell to 5.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and a 14.6 PER in 2012/13. As Kennedy tweets, the Happy Walters client looks poised to see a boost in playing time in Dallas, as part of a frontcourt that also features Dirk Nowitzki, Wright, James, and Jae Crowder.
The signing of Blair likely means the Mavs won't end up landing Greg Oden, who is drawing interest from several teams, most of whom can offer a larger salary than Dallas can.