NBA Rumors: Dallas Mavericks interested in Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen
By Bryan Rose
The Dallas Mavericks, always on the lookout for size appear to have interest in Chris Andersen, also known as Birdman of the Miami Heat.
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Andersen recently opted out of his contract with the Miami Heat, though according to Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick prefers to remain in South Beach and is just looking for a more stable deal.
“Don’t overreact to Heat opt-outs. Hearing, for instance, that Dallas will inquire about Texas-bred Andersen. But that preference is to stay.”
Of course, Andersen’s preference to remain with the Miami Heat is likely attached to the future of LeBron James. If James is to shockingly leave in free agency, the Heat aren’t nearly as attractive of a destination and that would likely give the Mavericks enough ammunition to swoop in and attempt to bring the veteran big man aboard.
If James does return to Miami, Dallas will certainly have a challenge on their hand as Andersen will likely prefer to remain with the Heat unless the Mavericks are to offer a contract he can’t refuse.
Dallas will have available funds to make such an offer to Andersen, though, it’s not expected they’d offer him a very big deal (no reason to blow your cap space on a bench player) so it appears as if the Mavericks are hedging their bets on Anderson simply wanting to leave the Heat, which doesn’t sound to be the case – at least not yet.
Birdman is a native of Iola, Texas, a town sandwiched between Houston and Dallas, though his desire to play close to home is unknown.