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REPORT: Chris Kaman Signs for 1-Year, $8 Million, Mavericks to Amnesty Brendan Haywood

By Josh Bowe Updated
Presswire

Update #2: ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon says the Mavericks will use the amnesty clause on Brendan Haywood as well. This gives Dallas a better shot at acquring Elton Brand and frees up room for a potential trade for Dwight Howard, if the Mavericks wish to make a serious pursuit before he hits free agency in 2013.

Update: ESPN.com is confirming this is a done deal. Also, this:

Well, so much for inactivity. From ESPN's Marc Stein and Yahoo! Sports Marc J. Spears:

The move isn't too much of a shocker. Kaman has been linked to Dallas for the last few years, a teammate of Dirk Nowitzki on the German national team.

But this move likely eliminates the Mavericks from bidding on Elton Brand. As I mentioned last night, Brand is a quality defender and scorer in the post that would make a nice front court mate with Nowitzki. Kaman isn't a bad fit either, he also is a quality scorer from the post. But he isn't near the defender Brand is (but Kaman's also a better defensive rebounder, which the Mavericks desperately need.)

The price tag is great, and a one-year deal is another sweetener for the Mavericks if they plan to make a run at trading for Dwight Howard. Kaman will instantly be an upgrade over Brendan Haywood, offensively, which was a big reason the Mavericks offense as a whole was so miserable last season.

Brand would have had the most intriguing possibilities as a two-way player, but plugging Kaman into the rotation instantly makes the Mavericks front court a helluva lot more respectable past Nowitzki.

Here are Kaman's career numbers, FYI:

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