The Dallas Mavericks have signed Deron Williams a free agent contract after his buyout from the Brooklyn Nets and the team could target players like Kevin Seraphin, Carlos Boozer and Tyler Hansbrough as other options for the bench after the Mavs lost DeAndre Jordan back to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Mavericks previously pursued Deron Williams before he was re-signed by the Nets and after losing Jordan, the team has worked out a deal with the point guard. According David Aldridge of NBA.com, Williams has agreed to a buyout and now he will sign a two-year contract with the team. Williams is from Texas and he returns home after an up and down run with the Nets in Brooklyn. Marc Stein reports that Williams will sign in the "$10 million range" with Dallas.
Williams had two years and over $40 million left on his contract and Aldridge reported that after Williams passes waivers, he is allowed to sign a contract in Dallas. Williams previously signed a five year deal for just under $100 million when he was a free agent three years ago and the Nets never were able to make a deep playoff run in that time. The team spent a ton of money, but they were unable to break through.
The Nets were reportedly shopping Joe Johnson earlier in the offseason to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that deal did not come close to happening. Marc Stein is now reporting that after the Williams deal, the Nets "intend" to keep Johnson into next season, which will be the final year of his deal. According to Mike Mazzeo at ESPN, the buyout for Williams will be $27.5 million and it will be "spread out over five years with $5.5 million per season."
The Mavericks have tried to rebound from losing Jordan back to the Clippers and they responded with signing Williams and trading for Zaza Pachulia. The team signed Wesley Matthews to a contract worth $70 million after Jordan left and now the Mavs have to find a way to bounce back after missing out on going after other free agents. The market has thinned out and the team lost Tyson Chandler to the Phoenix Suns and now players like Carlos Boozer, Kevin Seraphin and Tyler Hansbrough could be depth pickups.
According to Marc Spears at Yahoo Sports, the Mavericks, Lakers, Suns and Wizards have shown interest in Seraphin this offseason. Seraphin is looking for a bigger role and with the Mavericks losing Jordan, he could get minutes along with Charlie Villanueva, Jeremy Evans and Zaza Pachulia. Last season Seraphin averaged six points and three rebounds in 79 games for Washington and that was in 15 minutes per game. Carlos Boozer is also available and he has received interest from the Mavericks and LA Clippers along with the New Orleans Pelicans.
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