The Dallas Morning News reported that Dallas has reached a multi-year
agreement with free agent DJ Mbenga.  No word as to the actual length or
amount.  The contract can not officially be signed until the July
Moratorium ends (July 12, unless delayed).

The Mavs have reportedly reached a 6 year, $50 million contract agreement
with free agent Jason Terry.  Terry was very happy to reach the agreement
and stay with Dallas.  The contract can not officially be signed until the
July Moratorium ends, but may be signed later than then as Terry will be
on vacation at that time.

The Mavs hope to sign Dirk Nowitzki to a contract extension (he can
opt-out of his current contract next summer), but he said he's in no rush
to sign that (it's also can't be signed until the July Moratorium ends) as
it can be signed through October.

The Mavs announced their summer league roster, which includes Josh Powell,
Rawle Marshall, Pavel Podkolzin, and Maurice Ager.  The team will compete
in the Las Vegas Summer League July 6-13 and the Rocky Mountain Revue July
14-21.  You can see the roster and schedule (and later boxscores) at
http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs/mavs-stats/06-07/sum06/sum06.html


The NBA draft occurred June 28.  With the #28 pick, Dallas drafted Maurice
Ager, a 6-5 shooting guard from Michigan State.  The Mavs wasted no time
and signed him on July 1 to a 4 year, $4,804,924 rookie contract with the 
3rd and 4th years at the team's option.  The Mavs were very happy to get
Ager, who slipped some (was projected to go in the teens), and feel that
he may contribute some to the team next season.  Avery Johnson was happy
to get a 4-year college player from a strong college system - they
contacted Ager's college coach Tom Izzo and his assistant (whom Johnson
had played with) to ask about Ager and got glowing words.  Although Ager
is more known for his offense, Johnson talked more about Ager's defense on
Wednesday night.  Johnson felt that one of the Mavs' needs was a defensive
2-guard that could also score - not slighting Adrian Griffin, whom Johnson
described as a good defender for small forwards and post-up players and
not good with isolation players (ala Dwyane Wade).  Donn Nelson also
echoed Johnson's praise for Ager in being happy he fell to Dallas and him
being a defensive 2 that can shoot.  Ager was just so happy to be drafted.
He was not invited to the draft in New York (only those expected to go
really high are invited), but attended anyways and was one of the few to
show emotion when his name was announced as he broke down in tears when he
crossed the stage.  Ager said that Dallas was a perfect situation to go
to.  He will wear #13.  [quotes from draft night and the meet-and-greet 
the next day below]

You can see Ager's college stats and bio at 
http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs/mavs-stats/current-players/ager_m

Dallas selected J.R. Pinnock with the #58 pick, but the player was
selected for the LA Lakers as Dallas traded the rights to Pinnock to the
Lakers for Miami's 2007 2nd round draft pick (which the Lakers had from
a previous trade).


patricia


----
More quotes about and from Maurice Ager
Draft night
Avery Johnson: "We're excited to announce that we've taken Maurice Ager 
out of Michigan State with our 1st round pick.  6-5, slasher, defender,
can score, great body.  I had a chance to talk with his coach Tim Izzo and
Jim Boylen, who's an assistant coach there.  We had a long discussion 
about him.  We're really excited to have a 4-year player who improved each
and every year.  He just fits in well with our system.  We were looking 
for that kind of guy in the draft.  We were fortunate to fill a need at 
the 28th pick."

Johnson on if Ager can be part of the rotation: "Yes.  I think from what 
we've seen, he can give us a few minutes next year.  We were looking for a
guy that had the potential to be a shutdown guy at the 2-spot.  We don't 
think we have that on our team.  We also wanted that guy to be someone who
could stretch the defense a little bit, who they won't want to lay off of 
and will respect his shot.  To be able to get this type of player at 28, 
we're really excited.  This is the guy we were hoping would fall to us and
we're happy he did."

Johnson: "Great body.  At the end of the game, he was the guy that they'd 
put on another guy to get stops.  Obviously, his teammate Shannon Brown 
was pretty good.  We liked him also.  He went a couple picks ahead of us. 
We like Ager's defensive skills.  We think coming out of last year, we're 
pretty good defensively at the point guard spot and at the 3-spot but we 
thought we had to get better defensively at the 2-spot but also have 
someone that can score.  As much as we stress defense, coming out of this 
season we know we want to have guys who can defend but we need guys who 
can also score."

Johnson: "He can put the ball on the floor a little bit and get to the 
basket.  No 1st round guy is flawless.  There's going to be things I'm 
going to have to coach and work with him on.  We were successful a couple 
years back in getting Josh Howard and he progressed.  This is a guy we're 
hoping can be in that same mold that can be one of our top players a 
couple years from now but at the same time can come right in as a rookie 
and potentially play for us."

Johnson on Ager staying in college for 4 years: "That was important for 
me.  It was more important than getting a guy coming out of his freshman 
season, 19 years old.  You just don't know if you have to wait 3 or 4 
years.  We're not really in that situation.  We kind of catapulted 
ourselves pretty much where I wanted us in that championship talk and 
that championship level.  We really didn't want a guy who we'd have to 
wait on as a project."

Johnson: "I like his toughness.  He took all of the big shots for 
Michigan State.  I asked Coach Izzo, Who did you throw the ball to the 
last 2 years when you needed something to get done in the last minute of
the game?  He said hands down Mo.  He said, believe it or not, you may be
able to count on him some next year in those situations."

Maurice Ager (barely audible on a cellphone with a group of reporters
huddled around it) on being drafted by Dallas: "Oh, it's great.  It's a 
perfect situation going on there.  I love the way they play, I love Avery
Johnson.  I just think things are going to work out perfect."

Ager: "I don't think it's going to be hard getting used to Avery Johnson 
because I'm defensive minded.  I feel like playing 4 years at Michigan 
State and being coached by a defensive coach is going to help me a lot."

Ager on staying in college 4 years: "I think it was a great decision.  I 
had a chance to grow up and become a man.  I think 4 years of college 
really helps."

Donn Nelson: "We had no idea he was going to slip and fall to us.  We've 
got a need of an athletic guy who can guard and can make shots.  He fills
that.  He has terrific upside.  We couldn't be happier."

Nelson on not working out Ager: "We had enough information on him going in
and he was expected to go higher.  We got lucky.  He brings athleticism, 
toughness, and has a defensive mindset.  He can shoot it from deep.  He's 
got some good stuff to work with."

Nelson on getting a player that may contribute next season: "We went in 
hopeful that this would happen, Ager slipping.  We had a number of guys, 
around 25, that we felt could come in and potentially help us.  We needed
a couple of surprise picks in there to help us out.  We were active.  We 
had a couple of guys we were interested in trading up for.  We weren't
able to do that for various reasons, but Ager fell into our lap."


Thursday's meet-and-greet
Mark Cuban: "Obviously, were incredibly excited to welcome Mo to the 
Dallas Mavericks.  We feel very fortunate that he managed to slide his 
way down to us at 28.  We're hoping he continues the tradition of #28 and 
29 [draft picks] turning into a real player for us."

Avery Johnson: "We're really excited to have Mo on board.  This is a 
great day for the Mavericks.  He fits really nicely into our system.  I 
had a chance to visit with him and he's all about winning and playing 
defense."

Maurice Ager: "I always looked at Dallas as being a great place for me. 
I think the energy they bring, playing hard every day, getting up and 
down the floor, scoring, shooting - it's exciting."

Ager on Michigan State assistant Jim Boylen: "Jim was real tough on me. 
He did a good job not only with preparing me conditioning wise, he taught
me a lot of little things like showing good character, making a great 
first impression, speaking well, getting rid of bad habits, and just 
becoming a pro."

Ager on being drafted #28: "To be honest, going into the draft I looked at
the worst case scenarios.  Honestly, I didn't think I would go that late 
but it's a great situation and I'm glad I'm here.  You hear predictions 
all day and I was all over the board so I didn't know what to expect.  
Sitting there with the 1st round winding down and your name hasn't been 
called yet, it's kind of tough.  I just thank God I got through it."

Ager on hearing his named announced at #28: "It was very emotional.  I 
know you hear people say this all the time, but it's a dream come true. 
I've wanted to play in the NBA since I was 6, 7-years old.  I can't speak
for others, but its a privilege and I feel honored to be able to play at 
this level."

Ager on defense: "Even my high school coach was very defensive minded. 
Playing for Coach Izzo for 4 years, you got to play defense because that's
the only way you can get out on the floor.  After a while, it's something 
you become good at and something you enjoy doing.  It's something I really
want to do for myself.  If you can be a great offensive player and a great
defensive player, that separates yourself."

Ager on going to a winning team: "Very fortunate.  Like Avery said, I'm 
about winning.  That's the most important thing.  I won at every level, 
so hopefully I can come here and contribute to help this team win."

Ager on staying 4 years in college: "It was great.  As far as basketball,
that's one thing; but growing up as a man, maturing and learning things. 
I never thought there was anything wrong with going to college for 4 
years.  It was fun and it helped me grow up to be a man."

Ager on attending the draft despite not being invited: "We felt 
comfortable with me being a 1st round pick and the NBA Draft only comes 
around once.  I just wanted to go up there and shake David Sterns hand."

Ager on his expectations in his rookie year: "Got to defend.  That's the 
first thing.  You have to defend to get on the court in the NBA."

Ager on his biggest strength: "Getting to the basket.  Driving.  It's 
kind of hard in the Big Ten because the defense packs in, but I feel 
that's one of my strengths, along with athleticism and quickness."

Ager on what he needs to work on: "I think I need to continue working on 
being a combo-guard.  Ball handling and decision making."

Ager on why he feels Dallas is a perfect fit: "I feel that way because of 
Avery Johnson.  I know he's a tough coach.  I've dealt with a tough coach
for 4 years at college and I feel like Avery can push me and I can take 
it."