Mavericks reach agreement with JaVale McGee to return to Dallas for 3 year, $20.1 million deal

According to a report from Yahoo’s Chris Haynes, the Dallas Mavericks are bringing back veteran center JaVale McGee. The Athletics’ Shams Charania reports it as a three year, $20.1 million deal, with the third year as a player-option. McGee has played over 800 games in his lengthy NBA career and brings with him a championship rings after his two seasons with the Golden State Warriors and one season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Interestingly, McGee comes to Dallas under the impression that he is going to be the starter, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. Perhaps he assumes he’s going to be playing some of the Dwight Powell role but with stronger rebounding.

McGee last played with the Mavericks during the 2015-16 campaign, where he played just 34 games. During that time, he played under 11 minutes a game and scored 5.1 points and grabbing 3.9 rebounds. It’s safe to say he was not a Rick Carlisle favorite during a season where the Mavericks went 42-40 and finished sixth in the Western Conference.

During his lengthy career, he’s played a variety of roles, having started 336 of the 821 games he’s played in. To Dallas he brings a veteran’s presence and an ability to play spot minutes in a big man rotation. Though he’s likely not the big name that many Maverick fans wanted to start free agency, he brings size and despite being 34 years old, is still startlingly athletic.

We’ll update with more information as we learn more about the deal.