Benny Sieu – USA Today Sports Images
The Dallas Mavericks didn’t end up with any of the centers that they truly desired in NBA Free Agency. They tried to land arguably the best center in the league in Dwight Howard and failed. They tried to take a gamble on the enigmatic Andrew Bynum and failed again. Most recently they tried to land Greg Oden in his reclamation project and failed a third time.
However, the center that they did land on was Samuel Dalembert, an 11-year veteran in the league. Though Dalembert hasn’t exactly been great over the past few seasons, he might actually not be as bad with Dallas as some people might think.
Last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Dalembert played in 47 games and was solid, though he played mostly as a reserve and didn’t have too much playing time to work with. He averaged 6.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 16.3 minutes per game while also shooting a solid 54.2 percent from the field.
Dalembert isn’t going to be a reserve for the Mavs, though. In fact, Dalembert is going to be the main guy at the center position for Dallas. The last time Dalembert was unequivocally the guy at center for a team was back in the 2007-2008 season for the Philadelphia 76ers when he started all 82 games and played 33.2 minutes per game. That season he averaged a solid 10.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game and shot a solid 51.3 percent from the floor.
Dalembert may be much older now at 32 years old than he was in Philly, but he still has a bit left in the tank. He can come in and be a solid rebounder, defender and an efficient offensive post-scorer. The Mavs are going to struggle next season, but it won’t be because of Dalembert.
Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google+ and like his Facebook page.
