Dallas Mavericks to sign Jameer Nelson
As the offseason began, the Dallas Mavericks made a huge move to reacquire New York Knicks’ center Tyson Chandler, who was the Mavericks’ center when they won the 2011 NBA Title. The Mavericks dealt point guard Jose Calderón, center Samuel Dalambert, swingman Wayne Ellington, point guard Shane Larkin and two second round picks, the 34th-overall selection and the 51st-overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft (The Knicks used those picks to select former Wichita State Shockers’ swingman Cleanthony Early and Greek swingman Thanasis Antetokounmpo) in exchange for Chandler and point guard Raymond Felton.
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Although the Mavericks re-signed Devin Harris, they have been looking for a veteran point guard to backup Harris and play alongside him. They were in talks with Portland Trail Blazers’ free agent Mo Williams, but nothing wound up coming of the talks. They then turned their attention to point guard Jameer Nelson, who was waived by the Orlando Magic after spending his first 10 seasons there. According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, Nelson has committed to signing with the Mavericks. According to a source of Spears, the Mavericks, who still $2.7 million exception even after agreeing to a deal with New Orleans Pelicans’ forward Al-Farouq Aminu earlier in the evening and will be using that exception to sign Nelson.
Nelson should prove to be a good fit because he is a talented scorer and an excellent presence in the locker room. The Magic liked Nelson, but wanted to pave the way for younger guard like rookie Elfrid Payton and second-year man Victor Oladipo.
Nelson averaged 12.1 points, 7.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 39.4% from the field, 34.8% from beyond the arc and 85.7% from the free throw line last season.