[Underdog]

Kaman sees a future in Dallas, hoping for more than one-year stay with Mavs

Chris Kaman signed his one-year, $8 million contract Friday, shortly after he began the process of looking for a house in Dallas.

One-year contracts are not what most NBA players want. And while the six zeroes at the end of Kaman’s salary make it hard not to like, he admitted Friday evening that he had aspirations for a longer-term deal.

But he also knew what reality was.

“Obviously, one year isn’t the most perfect situation for me,” Kaman said. “I would have liked more [years], obviously. But that’s not what was on the table. And I know why. And I respect the reason why. Hopefully, I’ll show I’m a valuable piece for this team.”

Kaman, keen to the fact that the Mavericks are retooling the roster while also staying primed for free-agent stars next summer, may have a future as a general manager with that sort of thinking.

The 7-foot center signed his contract shortly before 5 p.m. He will bring the style of game that won’t look familiar to a lot of Maverick fans, coach Rick Carlisle said.

Dirk Nowitzki has teamed with just about every kind of player there is, but by signing Kaman, the Mavericks will give Nowitzki something he’s never had. Kaman is a true center who can step out for a 16-foot jump shot. And the bonus is that he can actually make it.

“He’s a terrific low-post scorer,” Carlisle said. “He’s a very good mid-range shooter for a 7-footer. I don’t think we’ve ever had a center here that could step out and shoot the 18-foot shot consistently that’s been the caliber of player that Chris Kaman is. Sometimes, Dirk’s the tallest guy on the floor for us, but he’s always the four [power forward] in our system. He’s never been able to play with a five man [center] who shoots it like that.”

Kaman, 30, has a history with Nowitzki. They played together on the German national team that qualified for the 2008 Olympics. Kaman said he was leaning on Nowitzki throughout the process of negotiating with Mark Cuban and the Mavericks.

“Yeah, I was texting him,” Kaman said. “I don’t want to tell you everything I was texting him. In the beginning, it was a hard-ball game between Mark and my agent. It didn’t start the way I wanted, and I’m telling Dirk, ‘Hey, talk to Mark because I really want to be here.’ And he’s with his fiancée right now [overseas], so I didn’t want to mess him up. But we worked a deal out a pretty good deal that’s fair for both sides.”

Kaman had offers from a few other teams. He visited Indiana, and he waited for three days before the Pacers matched the offer that Portland had given center Roy Hibbert. Portland, too, showed interest, but Kaman, who has a brother went to school in Dallas and a cousin who lives in Flower Mound, thought this is the best situation for him.

The Mavericks put Kaman through a routine physical Friday, and they have been convinced that he is healthy. Various injuries forced him to miss 50 games two seasons ago and 51 in 2008-09. Last season, he played 47 of 66 games.

“I feel good,” Kaman said. “I took some time and rested my body.”

Looks like Chris Kaman signed here for the same reasons that we thought Deron would have - Dirk and family...