5:08pm: Dalembert and the Mavs will meet in person Tuesday, sources tell Stein (Twitter link).
1:49pm: The Mavericks again have interest in Samuel Dalembert as they look far and wide for a rim protector, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Dallas signed the Haitian-born center two years ago and he spent much of the season as the team’s starting center, but the Mavs dealt him to the Knicks in the Tyson Chandler trade, and Dalembert has been a free agent ever since New York waived him as part of a three-team trade in January.
The reacquisition of Dalembert would represent a step back of sorts for the Mavs, who seemed eager to replace him with Chandler last year. Chandler, who at one point was reportedly the Mavs’ top fallback at the position to DeAndre Jordan as they planned this summer’s free agency, quickly committed to the Suns, leaving Dallas scrambling when Jordan pulled his about-face to return to the Clips. Still, the Mavs reportedly saw Dalembert heading into free agency as one of an assortment on minimum-salary options for them. The trade Dallas made for Zaza Pachulia has already given the team a potential starter, but the Mavs’ continued search, which also encompasses JaVale McGee, indicates that Dallas, with plenty of cap room left to burn, isn’t prepared to simply sit tight.
Dalembert, 34, put up numbers this year that were his lowest since his rookie season of 2001/02. He started 21 games for the Knicks, but quickly fell out of favor.
From Jordan to Dalembert/Zaza/JaVale. Tough to recover from DJ’s decision.
that not too bad, but at least they might have a good backcourt with wes and d will