The Dallas Mavericks and free agent center Chris Kaman have agreed to a one year contract, according to sources.
Kaman took to the Twitterverse to announce the agreement.
"Partnering up with @swish41 and heading to the Mavs........," Kaman tweeted. " I want to say thanks to the Hornet fans for all the support, even though our marriage was a short one!!!
Kaman and the Mavericks have agreed to one year, $8 million deal.
Kaman will play with his German national teammate and good friend Dirk Nowitzki.
The Mavericks needed to make some sort of splash after losing Jason Terry to the Boston Celtics and its failed attempt to drive Deron Williams out of Brooklyn.
The Philadelphia 76ers will release former All-Star forward Elton Brand under the league's amnesty clause.
The Sixers needed to release Brand in order to make room for free agent Nick Young, who is expected to sign with Philadelphia, and the re-signing of center Spencer Hawes.
Elton Brand will still collect the $18 million that the Sixers owe him next season. Brand will first be offered to teams under the cap through waivers.
The Dallas Mavericks are told to have interest in bringing in Brand. The Mavs are under the cap after the failed attempt at Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams.
If Brand goes unclaimed through waivers, he would then become a free agent and free to sign with any team he so wishes.
Former Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Terry and the Boston Celtics have agreed to a deal, according to sources.
The Celtics will sign Terry to a three year deal and will be paid the full mid-level exception of $5 million a year.
The signing of Terry to the Celtics will likely end the Ray Allen era in Beantown. The Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and Memphis Grizzlies have all made a run for Ray Allen's services.
The man affectionately known as "Jet", Terry, spent the last eight seasons with the Dallas Mavericks replacing the popular Steve Nash. Terry won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award in 2006 and an NBA title in 2011, the Mavericks' first title.
A source says that Terry's decision on leaving the Mavericks had nothing to do with Deron Williams spurning the Mavs for the Brooklyn Nets.
Dallas Mavericks president of basketball operations, Donnie Walsh, said of Terry's departure, "What Jet did for this city and franchise will never be forgotten. He's one of the greatest clutch performers in the history of our game and an even better person. We wish him nothing but the very best."
The Mavericks are looking at bringing back Steve Nash to replace Jason Terry, but the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks appear to be the favorites to land Steve Nash.
One of the most coveted free agents in the NBA this offseason has finally made his decision.
Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams has opted to stay with the Nets rather than sign with his hometown Dallas Mavericks.
Williams and the Nets agreed to a five year deal worth $98 million, that bested the Mavericks best offer of four years, $75 million.
Williams announced his decision via Twitter when he tweeted, "Made a difficult decision today..." and had a link to a photo of the Brooklyn Nets logo.
The Nets have what seems to be a very solid team behind them. They re-signed Gerald Wallace, agreed with the Atlanta Hawks on a trade for swingman Joe Johnson, and are trying to acquire the Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard.
Deron Williams was sold on the belief that he would be the face of the new look Nets as they move into the brand new Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Williams also has a great relationship with Nets General Manager Billy King and head coach Avery Johnson. Williams and his family also live in nearby Manhattan and has enjoyed the lucrative endorsement deals that he has been given by playing in the New York market.
The Miami Heat and LeBron James finally closed out a long awaited NBA title and ABC decided to do something special.
ABC aired a two minute long montage devoted to the journey LeBron has taken to become an NBA champion. From "The Decision" to his very complete season, it also included the loss to the Dallas Mavericks that seemed to give LeBron the fire and determination to dig even deeper and win a title.
The only thing missing in this video was Luther Vandross.
We continue our Year in Review, albeit a bit late, with our look at the Best Sports Moments 0f 2011.
Abby Wambach Keeps US Hopes Alive With Miracle Goal
Remember in the 2010 World Cup when Landon Donovan's goal lifted the US into the knockout round, only to lose to Ghana, GHANA!, and made Americans care about soccer for a hot minute. Well, Abby Wambach's goal in the 2011 Women's World Cup was perhaps bigger than Donovan's. If not for that goal, the US don't make it to the Finals, where they eventually lose to upstart Japan. This goal does not get nearly enough credit like Donovan's did.
Mavericks Defeat Big Three, Nation Rejoices
The Miami Heat have become the villains of the NBA ever since LeBron and Chris Bosh decided that it would just be easier to join a team of superstars to win a title rather than lead one, like Michael Jordan did. So when they reached the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, most of the US, except for a smattering of people in South Florida, were rooting for the Mavs. The Heat finally met their match going up against Dirk Nowitzki and Jason "Jet" Terry as the Mavs won the series in six games. I don't think I've been that happy during an NBA Finals since Jordan pushed off Byron Scott in the '98 Finals to give the Bulls their most recent title.
David Freese Goes From Goat To Hero In One Game
St. Louis Cardinals third baseman David Freese had quite a postseason winning the NLCS MVP and World Series MVP, but Game 6 every baseball fan can agree was quite a roller coaster. Freese had committed an awful error in the 5th inning when he dropped a routine pop up from Michael Young. That error allowed the Rangers to score later in the inning to take a one run lead. Then in the 9th inning, Freese stepped up to the plate with two outs against a young flame throwing closer in Neftali Feliz and hits a bases clearing triple to tie the game.
After the Rangers blew a two run lead in the 11th inning, Freese once again came to the plate against Mark Lowe, perhaps the Rangers weakest reliever, and hit a bomb to dead center field to force a Game 7 that the Cards would eventually win. ESPN's Buster Olney has said that Game 6 was the greatest game in baseball history.
Eric LeGrand Leads His Team On The Field After Spinal Cord Injury
This is perhaps the most inspirational moment of the year. Rutgers football player Eric LeGrand had suffered a severe spinal cord injury while making attempting to make a tackle last season in a game against Army. Doctors said that LeGrand would be paralyzed from the neck down, but in January, LeGrand defied the odds and regained feeling in his shoulders and sensation throughout his entire body. In July, LeGrand was able to stand with some assistance and was gaining feeling back in his arms.
On October 29, Eric LeGrand led his Rutgers teammates onto a snowy field for its game against West Virginia. LeGrand sat in his wheelchair with an ax across his lap symbolizing coach Greg Schiano's message to "Keep Chopping". LeGrand has indeed taken that motto to new heights.
Tim Thomas, Tim Thomas, Tim Thomas
As a Bruins fan, I feel I need to put this down on my list of moments. Without the outstanding goaltending of Thomas, the Bruins don't win the Cup. Hands down. Sure the Bruins have great pieces around him, but without solid goaltending you can't go far. Case in point, the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the epic seven game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Thomas was perhaps his best in Game 7. The Bruins won Game 7 by the score of 1-0 and Thomas was a huge, if not the main, reason they won that game and the series. The Lightning gave the best challenge to the Bruins all playoffs, not the Canucks. Dwayne Roloson would not back down and if the Canucks had Roloson in net, Vancouver would be hoisting the Cup not Boston. Thomas' GAA was an outstanding 1.98 and his save percentage was .940. So, yeah Tim Thomas big, huge part of the Bruins Cup run.
September 28, 2011: Greatest Night of Baseball Ever
Four teams entered the final night of the baseball regular season with two spots on the line. The Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox were trying to find a way to stop the bleeding and back their way into the postseason. The St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays were just trying to complete to epic comebacks and surprise the baseball world by making the postseason.
The Cards won rather easily over the Major's worst Houston Astros, but the other three games were of epic proportion. The Atlanta Braves blew a 9th inning lead to the Philadelphia Phillies and lost the game in extras to complete the meltdown. The Red Sox seemed to have the game locked up, at least according to Boston Globe writer Dan Shaughnessy, and all of New England was calling for the umps to call the game early due to rain, but to no avail. Papelbon ends up blowing the save when Red Sox killer Robert Andino lined a hit to left field that came up short from a diving Carl Crawford's glove. The Red Sox lost to the Orioles and were now rooting for the Yanks.
The Yankees had a SEVEN run lead in their game against the Rays, but in true Boston sports fan tradition the Rays came all the way back to tie it in the 9th inning when seldom used Dan Johnson just cleared the right field fence to tie the game. Red Sox fans should have known something was up when Joe Girardi kept one of his seldom used, worst relievers in the game for 2 and 2/3 innings and didn't use Rivera to close the game. Again in true Boston sports fans tradition, Evan Longoria launched a ball just over the left field wall and sent the Rays to the postseason and the Red Sox, and Terry Francona, packing.
I'm sure there is more, but I can't keep typing forever. If you have any more moments I should have mentioned, feel free to comment below. Have a Happy New Years, folks.
Frank McCourt finally relented and is putting the Los Angeles Dodgers on the market and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is interested in buying.
Cuban, however, is only interested if the price is right. He had inquired about the price recently to McCourt and McCourt was asking for $1 billion to $1.2 billion. Cuban backed off because the price was too high.
Cuban had tried to purchase other Major League teams in the past. Cuban tried to buy the Chicago Cubs in 2009, but lost out to the Ricketts family. Last August, Cuban tried buying the Texas Rangers, but the ownership group led by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan beat him out in a bankruptcy auction.
Many don't want Cuban to own a Major League team because of his demeanor and outspokenness, but at the end of the day Cuban is a great owner. The Mavericks under Mark Cuban has turned them from NBA doormat to champions. The years before Cuban owned the mavericks they had a winning percentage of 40% and a losing playoff record. Since Cuban bought the team in 2000, the Mavs have won 69% of their games and finally won their elusive NBA title by defeating the heavy favorite Miami Heat.
Cuban is the guy to turn the Dodgers around. The Dodgers need a charismatic owner to help alleviate the numerous black eyes that the incompetent ownership of Frank McCourt. Cuban has proved he can turn teams around, so Major League Baseball needs to give him a shot.
However, he faces a situation similar to the failed Texas Rangers bid. Former Dodgers Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser have expressed interest and so has former Dodger owner Peter O'Malley, the son of Walter O'Malley.
The Dodgers need Cuban more than he needs them. With the Cuban ownership, it will give the Dodgers something positive to talk about other than the McCourt divorce hearings, Frank McCourt using the Dodgers as his piggy bank, and the Bryan Stow beating.
