Kelenna Azubuike penciled into 2012-13 rotation
If Azubuike isn’t in the rotation next season, the Mavs’ front office will be disappointed.
The Mavs signed Azubuike last week, a process that started when Mark Cuban saw the former Warrior’s name on a list and wondered what happened to him. The Mavs reached out to Azubuike’s agent, set up a workout and signed him shortly thereafter, sending him to the D-League Texas Legends to chip off the rust from a two-year layoff due to a patella tendon injury and complications from the surgery.
The minimum-salary deal includes a team option for next season, which the Mavs intend to pick up barring a setback for Azubuike. He has already agreed to play for the Mavs’ summer league team.
“We want to give him as much court time as possible,” Cuban said. “It’s a chance to get him back to where he was, which we easily think can happen.”
Azubuike was a starting small forward, averaging 14.4 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 46.4 percent from the floor and 44.8 percent from 3-point range the season before he suffered his knee injury.
Tim MacMahon
ESPNDallas.com- Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009
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Tim MacMahon
Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
Marc Stein
Marc Stein began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 as Senior NBA Writer. He also makes regular appearances on "SportsCenter," "NBA Shootaround," "NBA Fastbreak," "NBA Coast To Coast," ESPNEWS, ESPN "First Take" and ESPN Radio.
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TEAM LEADERS
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Dirk Nowitzki
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| Rebounds | S. Marion | 7.8 | ||||||||||
| Assists | D. Collison | 5.1 | ||||||||||
| Steals | D. Collison | 1.2 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | E. Brand | 1.3 | ||||||||||
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