The Dallas Mavericks finally landed the free agent they have wanted for years after signing Monta Ellis to a contract and now that the deal is done, the team has started up talks again with Devin Harris after their original agreement fell apart due to an injury.
Marc Stein from ESPN is reporting that sources close to the situation said that Harris and the Mavericks are back into contract talks after a previous deal broke down when the team discovered an injury in his toe. The report says that the two sides had an agreement on a three-year, $9 million deal before it was cancelled due to the discovery of a toe injury and now the sides are back it. Harris previously played for the Mavs before being included in the Jason Kidd trade from a couple years ago and a new deal could get done this week.
Harris went through x-rays and the toe injury was revealed and after the Mavericks signed Ellis to a $25 million deal, it appeared that the deal with Harris was dead. The team signed Ellis away from the Bucks after the team originally offered him an extension and he joins free-agent Jose Calderon, with rookie guards Shane Larkin and Gal Mekel in the backcourt as Mark Cuban tries to overhaul the roster. The team is also looking at free agents Samuel Dalembert and Greg Oden after losing out on Andrew Bynum and is they sign either of the two players that would help solidify the front court and interior defense.
Ellis is considered an offensive star and while his defense is suspect, playing in Dallas could get him back on his game on that end of the floor. The 30-year-old Harris was originally drafted in 2004 and was traded to the Mavericks and last season while spending time with the Hawks, he averaged 9.9 points and 3.4 assists while starting some games for the team. Harris is likely happy to come back to Dallas after bouncing around the league and clearly Cuban agreed, as they are back in talks after the toe injury was discovered.
Ellis averaged 19.2 points last season for the Bucks and he now joins Calderon, who signed a four-year, $29 million deal with the team. Ellis had a six year deal with the Warriors before being traded to the Bucks and he decided to opt out of his deal with a year to go, which would have paid him over $11 million. Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo are gone after last season and the team decided to overhaul the roster a bit by adding Ellis and Calderon. The team took Larkin in the draft and also got Ricky Ledo, giving the bench a whole new look as the season approaches through the summer. The team is also going after Greg Oden along with the Spurs, Kings, Heat and other teams.
