rior to the early signing period, but five-star frontcourt prosp | Forum

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks again will seek major upgrades in free agency, a year after DeAndre Jordans jolting change of heart ruined their plans. USA Soccer Pro Shop .Theyre going after another center, too.Miamis Hassan Whiteside is expected to be among the top targets for Dallas, along with Memphis point guard Mike Conley. And those pursuits are likely to jeopardize Chandler Parsons future in Dallas after knee injuries sidelined the versatile forward during the playoffs in both his seasons after Houston declined to match owner Mark Cubans offer sheet in 2014.Parsons opted out of the final year of his contract, along with star forward Dirk Nowitzki and point guard Deron Williams, who played one season with his hometown team after taking a buyout from Brooklyn. Nowitzki is almost certain to return for a 19th season in Dallas, while a second for Williams seems unlikely.This much is set when free agency opens at midnight Eastern time Thursday: For the fifth straight year, the Mavericks are trying to reshape their roster without significant help from the draft. And they dont have a playoff series victory to show for the effort since Cuban chose financial flexibility over bringing back key pieces of the franchises only championship in 2011.Were always looking to have maximum impact in terms of talent, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said. Itll be the same.The Mavericks chose a center -- Purdues A.J. Hammons -- with their only pick in the NBA draft last week. The 7-footer went in the middle of the second round at No. 46 overall and may or may not be a rotation player depending on what happens at center in free agency.That position is deep and includes Houstons Dwight Howard, who was at the top of Dallas wish list in 2013 -- a year after Williams chose the Nets over coming home. The litany of misses was its most painful for the Mavericks last summer, when Jordan initially said he would join them before changing his mind and staying with the Los Angeles Clippers.While pursuing Jordan, the Mavericks lost Tyson Chandler to Phoenix, the second time he has left in free agency since helping them win the title. But Dallas believes it has two promising centers in Dwight Powell and Salah Mejri, a 7-foot-2 Tunisian who turned 30 after his rookie season.I dont think theres any relation to what our strategy is going to become on July 1, Nelson said after the draft. You can never have enough talent in your center bullpen and given the guys that we have right now, weve got shot blocking, weve got athleticism. A.J. gives us a low-post presence, a guy thats got a thicker body.If Parsons and Williams go elsewhere, the Mavericks will be looking for three new starters for the fifth straight year. Assuming Nowitzki comes back, the other returning starter is shooting guard Wesley Matthews, a free agent who got bumped up to a max contract with Dallas last year when Jordan changed his mind.The one constant amid the turnover has been coach Rick Carlisle, who has made the playoffs in all but one of his eight seasons in Dallas.Im always excited this time of year for a lot of reasons, Carlisle said. Well just go full bore into this summer and into this period, and build this team back up.And maybe put the bad memory of Jordans reversal behind them for good.Were optimistic, Nelson said. I think its an exciting time and ... (drafting Hammons) was a good first step to what hopefully will be a great summer for the Mavericks. Custom USA Soccer Jerseys . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. USA Soccer Store . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Five-star point guard?Quade Green?has committed to Kentucky.Green chose the Wildcats over Syracuse, although Villanova, Temple and Duke were also on his final list of five schools.Syracuse appeared to be the prohibitive favorite for Green for most of the fall, taking the lead from Duke in late August. The Orange hosted Green on at least four visits since the summer, but Green was impressed with Kentucky when he visited Lexington for Big Blue Madness. The Wildcats offered Green in June and remained heavily involved in his recruitment.Green, a Neumann-Goretti High School (Pennsylvania) product, is ranked No. 22 in the ESPN 100 for 2017. The No. 3 point guard in the class, Green pushed into five-star status after an impressive spring and summer with the PSA Cardinals on the Nike EYBL circuit. He averaged 14.9 points, 9.8 assists and 3.2 steals, leading the competition in the latter two categories. At 6-foot-1, Green is at his best when attacking the basket, utilizing change of speed and crafty dribbling ability to beat his man and get into the lane. He has excellent passing vision and has improved his offensive arsenal, including his 3-point shoooting, floater and midrange game. Fake USA Soccer Jerseys. Kentucky badly needed guards in the 2017 class, with freshmen DeAaron Fox and Malik Monk and sophomore Isaiah Briscoe all potentially leaving for the NBA draft next spring. There are zero scholarship guards on the roster expected to return to Lexington next season. The Wildcats landed four-star point guard?Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?(No. 44) in the middle of the early signing period, but the two incoming point guards are capable of playing together.Green and Gilgeous-Alexander join a recruiting class that was ranked in the top five entering the week. John Calipari and Kentucky had zero 2017 commits prior to the early signing period, but five-star frontcourt prospects?Nick Richards?(No. 12) and?P.J. Washington?(No. 16) committed on the same day in mid-November.Calipari remains involved with five-star forwards Kevin Knox (No. 7), Mohamed Bamba (No. 4) and Jarred Vanderbilt (No. 23), and he could also look at wing prospects moving forward, primarily Hamidou Diallo (No. 13). ' ' '