The Dallas Mavericks have brought back center DeSagana Diop on a five year contract. Diop was part of the Jason Kidd trade with the Nets last season. The 26-year old Diop is a defensive stopper and a good rebounder but that’s about it. Don’t expect him to do anything on offense. Diop played in 79 games (23 starts) for the Nets & Mavericks this season and he has averaged 16.4 minutes, 2.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Diop has now played in 434 games (82 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 14.7 minutes, 2.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Look for Diop to do a decent job for the Mavericks this season.

The Mavericks have signed G/F Gerald Green to a 1-year contract that will become official on July 9th. He’s more known as a dunk artist than a basketball player and that will need to change if he wants to get off the bench in Dallas. The 22-year old, 6′8″, 200 pound Green can handle either the shooting guard or small forward position. Green played in 30 games (0 starts) last season with the Timberwolves & Rockets and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 5.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Green has now played in 143 games (29 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 17.6 minutes, 8.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. This was a nice low risk/high reward signing for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks were very happy to see a polished player like Shaun Foster fall to them in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft. Foster is 6′6″, 205 pounds and he’s a deadeye shooter from the outside hitting 42.1% of his three point attempts. Foster played in 132 games (122 starts) at Vanderbilt and he averaged 15.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He likely won’t get a lot of playing time on the veteran Mavericks team this season but he will in the future.

The Mavericks season ended last night despite a strong effort and it cost Avery Johnson his coaching job. Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks with 22 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocked shots. Jason Kidd had a decent game on offense with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 9 assists but he had problems guarding Chris Paul again. Jason Terry only shot 4 of 11 from the floor but he finished with 13 points and 9 assists. The Mavericks lost this series 4-1.

The Mavericks didn’t play any offense or defense on Sunday Night! The Hornets shot 50% from the floor and the Mavericks only shot 36% from the floor in this game. Dirk Nowitzki led the way for the Mavericks in this game with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists. Jason Terry only shot 6 of 16 from the floor but he still finished with 20 points and 3 assists. Brandon Bass was solid off the bench with 12 points and 9 rebounds in only 25 minutes. The Mavericks are down 3-1 in this series.