Mavericks re-acquire DeSagana Diop

By Perry

DeSagana Diop was part of the trade that sent him to the New Jersey Nets for Jason Kidd. NBA sources confirmed Wednesday that the 7-foot center and the Dallas Mavericks have agreed in principle on a five-year contract starting at $5.5 million for the first year that will bring him back to Dallas. This signing cost the Mavericks their entire mid-level exception.

Perry, what do you mean when you say ‘mid-level exception?’ Good question. Mid-level exception or MLE allows a team to sign one player to a contract equal to the average NBA salary (2008-09 MLE is $5.8 million), even if the team is over the salary cap already, or if the signing would put them over the cap. Furthermore, only teams that are over the salary cap can use the mid-level exception to sign free agents.

PHOTO CAPTION: DeSagana Diop is in this picture, but it’s hard to find him because he is a Ninja.

In Basketball July 3, 2008