Rick Carlisle said that newly signed C Samuel Dalembert is "a bit underrated offensively." Sammy has career averages of 8.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, and he hasn't played more than 25 minutes per game since the 2007-08 season with Philadelphia. Brandan Wright is a lock to re-sign in Dallas and should split minutes at center, making Dalembert a low-end option for fantasy owners hunting blocks in the late rounds.

Mavs sign free agent center Samuel Dalembert to a two-year, $7.5 million deal. Dalembert has rubbed just about every coach he has played for in the NBA the wrong way, and for yet another season he'll get an opportunity to waltz into a starting job. Whether he'll fail to capitalize once again is anybody's guess, but nevertheless he's well worth watching heading into draft season. Hopefully Rick Carlisle isn't carrying over last year's grumpiness into this campaign.

Samuel Dalembert's contract with the Mavs is for two years and $7.5 million, sources tell Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. The contract is only partially guaranteed in 2014-15, which means it could end up being a one-year deal. That serves both sides since Dalembert will be able to re-establish his market value with consistent playing time and the Mavs will retain cap space entering next summer, which is poised to be a massive year for big-time free agents.

The Mavericks reached a verbal agreement with C Samuel Dalembert on Wednesday, reports ESPN's Marc Stein. Dallas will continue to pursue free-agent center Greg Oden, but it looks like they're signing Sammy D to be their starting center this season. We've jumped on his bandwagon in the past and he has the ability to post some monster lines and block a lot of shots, but he's failed to do so over a sustained period of time. As the starting big man in Dallas, he'll be worth drafting in fantasy, but expectations should be tempered for now.

The Mavericks are closing in on a contract with Samuel Dalembert, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. According to Stein, the Mavs are still in on the Greg Oden sweepstakes but felt like they had to sign Dalembert after losing out on Dwight Howard and declining to sign Andrew Bynum. Dalembert would land a starting job with the Mavs, but he's unlikely to have much fantasy value at this point in his career.

The Knicks have "expressed interest" in free agent Samuel Dalembert, but they're unable to offer him more than the veteran's minimum salary. This almost isn't worth passing along, though Andrei Kirilenko's signing with Brooklyn proves that you can't rule anything out. The Mavericks reportedly want to sign Sammy as their starting center, and they can offer him more money, so Dallas remains his most likely landing spot.

The Mavericks had an all-day meeting with Samuel Dalembert on Thursday. Jose Calderon was at the meeting to help persuade Dalembert. The Mavericks still don't have a center and are hoping to sign Brandan Wright along with either Dalembert or Greg Oden.

Unrestricted free agent Sam Dalembert will meet with Mavericks on Thursday in Dallas. He is a prime target for the Mavs to be their backup center or they could even choose to start him. Re-signing Brandan Wright looks to be a priority for the Mavericks, but they really don't have much depth even with Wright back in the fold. Dalembert should help a defense that projects to be a bit easy to penetrate with Jose Calderon trying to cover the opponent's point guard.

The Mavs have identified Samuel Dalembert as a "prime target" if their pursuit of Andrew Bynum fails, sources tell ESPN's Marc Stein. Stein reports the Mavs are still in on Bynum, who visited with Dallas on Wednesday. Dalembert is a decent fall-back option as the 32-year old would provide a shot-blocking presence to pair with assumed backup Brandan Wright.

The Blazers have reportedly inquired about free agent C Samuel Dalembert. Portland is trying to get their hands on a true center in any way possible. They struck out on Tiago Splitter, missed on Alex Len/Nerlens Noel in the draft and have been linked to Omer Asik in trade rumors. Dalembert, now 32, would at least bring in a shot-blocking presence.