By: Tyler Ward
Center Brendan Haywood announced today that he will be returning to the Dallas Mavericks this season. The deal is reportedly for 6 years and $55 million. The sixth year is not fully guaranteed so each year is set between $7 and $8 million. If Haywood reaches the incentives set by the Mavericks, the annual salary could increase.
The Mavericks acquired Haywood from Washington last season in a seven player deal. Dallas received Haywood, Caron Butler, and DeShawn Stevenson while Washington received Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton, and Quinton Ross. Haywood played in 28 games for Dallas last season, while sharing time with overpaid center, Erick Dampier. He averaged 8.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game for the Mavericks.
Haywood has been sharing time with Dampier at center, and the Mavericks are trying to move Dampier aggressively. In 2004, Dampier signed with Dallas for 7 years and $73 million. He has not lived up to the contract as he has suffered a few injuries and put up dismal stats.
The Heat expressed interest in Haywood, but instead, he chose to go back to Dallas. It was unlikely that the Heat would nab Haywood after reports surfaced of Miami signing LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Rick Carlisle was apparently the person that got Haywood to return to the team. The Mavericks also expressed interest in signing Jermaine O'Neal, but he signed with the Celtics earlier today - O'Neal was hoping to reunite with Carlisle, who he played for in Indiana. Dallas was O'Neal's front runner, but when the Mavericks couldn't guarantee him a starting position, he decided to go elsewhere.Haywood is happy to go back to Dallas, as he thinks they have a great team. After the announcement, Haywood told reporters, "At the end of the day, and I told [Heat president] Pat Riley this, I have never been around a better group of guys [than the Mavs]. If a guy played one minute or 30 minutes, everyone was always cheering. Dirk [Nowitzki] is back and I think we'll be better as a team because we'll be together longer."
