Daniel Shirey – USA Today Sports Images
The Dallas Mavericks haven’t had the best of luck in NBA Free Agency this summer. They were initially going after Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, then were in pursuit of Andrew Bynum, and are now trying to sign Greg Oden in what seems like another unsuccessful venture as their other three pursuits turned out to be.
The Mavs have been able to land guys like Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis, but there hasn’t been near the excitement regarding the players they have signed as there would have been for Paul, Howard and Bynum. However, Dallas and owner Mark Cuban just pulled off one of the best deals of free agency this week when they finally came to terms with free-agent point guard Devin Harris.
Earlier in the summer, the Mavs and Harris were about to agree on a three-year, $9 million deal, but then his pre-signing physical revealed that Harris needed surgery on a dislocated toe, which shelved contract talks. However, on Wednesday the two parties were able to agree on a one-year deal for the veteran minimum $1.3 million.
With the Atlanta Hawks last season, the 30-year-old Harris played in 58 games and averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 assists, two boards and 1.1 steals in 24.5 minutes per game. He also shot 43.8 percent from the floor and 33.5 percent from beyond-the-arc. Harris isn’t the explosive player that he used to be, but he’s still an extremely capable floor general and playmaker that will fit in nicely as a backup in Dallas.
The reason this is a steal, though, is that Harris is worth way more than the veteran minimum. In fact, the $3 million per year that he was originally about to be owed before discovering his toe injury was an extremely good price. Now Dallas has signed him for less than half of that money. The Mavs may have had a tough off-season, but this makes up for some of their shortcomings.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google+ and like his Facebook page.
