Kaman fired up to be joining Mavericks

Published Jul. 11, 2012 5:47 p.m. ET

foxsports

DALLAS — First thing Wednesday morning, we noted that Mark Cuban had become a follower of Chris Kaman on Twitter. Last thing Wednesday afternoon, the former All-Star center was tweeting about his love of 'Texas gun laws' and his excitement over 'partnering up with Dirk and heading to the Mavs.'

The Dallas Mavericks have taken numerous stabs at acquiring Chris Kaman over the years, most recently in mid-May when they were hopeful he'd be a buyout free agent in New Orleans.

Instead, Dallas gets its first positive veteran-related headline of the summer with a one-year agreement with a player Dirk Nowitzki believes fits the mold in terms of need and center and fit overall.

Kaman, who embraces his reputation as an off-the-court kook, is celebrating the freedom in the "Texas gun laws'' and is also expected to be given lots of freedom as a Mavs rarity: a true low-post offensive threat.

Kaman, a German Olympic teammate of Dirk's, is reportedly going to get $8 mil for his one season, an agreement that allows Dallas to "keep its powder dry'' and maybe turn Kaman into a future chip.

In the meantime, the 7-0 former All-Star who once upon a time scored 18 points a game with 9.3 rebounds will be trying to overcome a repuation as "injury-prone,'' maybe the biggest reason that at age 30, his numbers last year were reduced to 13.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for the Hornets.

This isn't the homerun that primo target Deron Williams would've represented, of course. But Dallas continue to pursue a plan of fielding a competitive squad around Nowitzki this season while also maintaining the cap flexibility to remain a superstar suitor.