Samuel Dalembert hit 4-of-7 shots for nine points, eight rebounds, one steal and four more blocks in Wednesday's preseason win over the Pacers.

This is exactly what the Mavs are looking for out of Sammy D, and exactly what he has been delivering for most of the preseason. When you need a shot-blocking center late in your draft, Dalembert is your guy.

Samuel Dalembert started at center Wednesday and hit 4-of-6 shots for 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes.

He was knocking down some elbow jumpers and the Mavs would be thrilled to get this line from Dalembert every night. Once the end of your draft rolls around and the premier centers are gone, Dalembert could end up being a very useful pick up if he can stay healthy.

Samuel Dalembert (back) said he feels "fine" after receiving anti-inflammatory medication, but Rick Carlisle openly questioned his conditioning.

"I just told him in front of the whole team that he's got to keep working," said Carlisle. "We need his minutes ... When he's in shape, he's a factor as a rim protector and rebounder." Dalembert was also suffering from a "case of the sniffles" during Monday's awful performance, when foul trouble and turnovers limited him to just 11 minutes of action, but we won't list him on the injury report unless he sits out practice or an exhibition

Samuel Dalembert said that he played through a back issue on Monday night.

He scored four points with two boards in 11 minutes against the Pelicans. Dalembert said he sustained the injury in the team's first practice, but this is the first we've heard of the ailment. He is going to start, so he has value toward the end of drafts even though he will share minutes with Brandan Wright.

Head coach Rick Carlisle said that he doesn't see any reason why Samuel Dalembert "can't have a substantial impact" with the Mavs.

"I don't see any reason why he can't have a substantial impact with his size and length," Carlisle said. "He's worked hard this summer to get himself into shape and he knows we're depending on him. But it's not just going to fall on one big guy." Dalembert is expected to start while up-and-comer Brandan Wright backs him up. Both Wright and Dalembert offer nice upside in the later rounds of drafts.

Rick Carlisle said that newly signed C Samuel Dalembert is "a bit underrated offensively."

Sammy has career averages of 8.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, and he hasn't played more than 25 minutes per game since the 2007-08 season with Philadelphia. Brandan Wright is a lock to re-sign in Dallas and should split minutes at center, making Dalembert a low-end option for fantasy owners hunting blocks in the late rounds.

Mavs sign free agent center Samuel Dalembert to a two-year, $7.5 million deal.

Dalembert has rubbed just about every coach he has played for in the NBA the wrong way, and for yet another season he'll get an opportunity to waltz into a starting job. Whether he'll fail to capitalize once again is anybody's guess, but nevertheless he's well worth watching heading into draft season. Hopefully Rick Carlisle isn't carrying over last year's grumpiness into this campaign.

Samuel Dalembert's contract with the Mavs is for two years and $7.5 million, sources tell Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.

The contract is only partially guaranteed in 2014-15, which means it could end up being a one-year deal. That serves both sides since Dalembert will be able to re-establish his market value with consistent playing time and the Mavs will retain cap space entering next summer, which is poised to be a massive year for big-time free agents.

The Mavericks reached a verbal agreement with C Samuel Dalembert on Wednesday, reports ESPN's Marc Stein.

Dallas will continue to pursue free-agent center Greg Oden, but it looks like they're signing Sammy D to be their starting center this season. We've jumped on his bandwagon in the past and he has the ability to post some monster lines and block a lot of shots, but he's failed to do so over a sustained period of time. As the starting big man in Dallas, he'll be worth drafting in fantasy, but expectations should be tempered for now.

The Mavericks are closing in on a contract with Samuel Dalembert, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

According to Stein, the Mavs are still in on the Greg Oden sweepstakes but felt like they had to sign Dalembert after losing out on Dwight Howard and declining to sign Andrew Bynum. Dalembert would land a starting job with the Mavs, but he's unlikely to have much fantasy value at this point in his career.

The Knicks have "expressed interest" in free agent Samuel Dalembert, but they're unable to offer him more than the veteran's minimum salary.

This almost isn't worth passing along, though Andrei Kirilenko's signing with Brooklyn proves that you can't rule anything out. The Mavericks reportedly want to sign Sammy as their starting center, and they can offer him more money, so Dallas remains his most likely landing spot.

The Mavericks had an all-day meeting with Samuel Dalembert on Thursday.

Jose Calderon was at the meeting to help persuade Dalembert. The Mavericks still don't have a center and are hoping to sign Brandan Wright along with either Dalembert or Greg Oden.

Unrestricted free agent Sam Dalembert will meet with Mavericks on Thursday in Dallas.

He is a prime target for the Mavs to be their backup center or they could even choose to start him. Re-signing Brandan Wright looks to be a priority for the Mavericks, but they really don't have much depth even with Wright back in the fold. Dalembert should help a defense that projects to be a bit easy to penetrate with Jose Calderon trying to cover the opponent's point guard.

The Mavs have identified Samuel Dalembert as a "prime target" if their pursuit of Andrew Bynum fails, sources tell ESPN's Marc Stein.

Stein reports the Mavs are still in on Bynum, who visited with Dallas on Wednesday. Dalembert is a decent fall-back option as the 32-year old would provide a shot-blocking presence to pair with assumed backup Brandan Wright.

The Blazers have reportedly inquired about free agent C Samuel Dalembert.

Portland is trying to get their hands on a true center in any way possible. They struck out on Tiago Splitter, missed on Alex Len/Nerlens Noel in the draft and have been linked to Omer Asik in trade rumors. Dalembert, now 32, would at least bring in a shot-blocking presence.

Samuel Dalembert is interested in signing with the Miami Heat as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

His current team, the Milwaukee Bucks, are playing the Heat in the first round of the playoffs, so it's good to see that Dalembert has his mind focused on the present. Regardless, Dalembert has flirted with Miami previously, and he could be an alternative to Chris Andersen depending on what happens with the Birdman.

Jim Boylan does not anticipate Samuel Dalembert or Drew Gooden having a role in the postseason rotation.

In other words, things will remain status quo. "It's just the way it is," Boylan said when asked why neither would play. Simply put, there is no need for either one at this time.

Making another start at power forward, Samuel Dalembert had 10 points and 13 rebounds in Friday's loss to the Pacers.

Ersan Ilyasova (hip) is reportedly feeling better and could return Sunday, so the party is coming to an end here. The three-game fiesta wasn't even that wild anyway, as Dalembert strangely has zero blocks while Ersan has been out. Only owners desperate for boards and swats should hang on.

Samuel Dalembert made another start at power forward on Wednesday but hit just 1-of-7 shots for two points, seven rebounds and zero blocks in 18 minutes.

He played 20 minutes on Tuesday and blew up for 16 points and seven boards, but didn't block a shot in that one, either. For as long as Ersan Ilyasova continues to miss time with his back injury, look for Dalembert to start and put up numbers that fall somewhere in between these two performances, with some blocks thrown in.

Samuel Dalembert made a surprise start alongside Larry Sanders on Tuesday and had 16 points, seven rebounds and zero blocks in 20 minutes.

He hadn't even played in three of his last four games, and didn't score in the one he appeared in, so this came out of nowhere. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was out and the Blazers basically start two centers in J.J. Hickson and LaMarcus Aldridge, so the Bucks went ahead and threw Sammy D out there. It worked, as the Bucks won and Sanders chipped in with eight points, 13 boards, two steals and two more blocks. Continue to ignore Dalembert unless he suddenly becomes a full-time starter for the Bucks going forward.