Singleton to stay with Mavericks

The Mavericks are set to retain the services of James Singleton, who is expected to accept their qualifying offer and sign his contract today or Tuesday, a pair of NBA sources said. Singleton averaged 5.1 points and 4 rebounds last season, but improved as the year went along as he recovered from serious knee surgery. The 6-8 Singleton also played four different positions during the course of the season and showed 3-point shooting range in addition to being a solid rebounder. Singleton had been weighing his options since receiving the Mavericks' qualifying offer, which is for $1.09 million. The league minimum for a player entering his fourth season is $884,000. The Mavericks' roster now has 17 guaranteed contracts. A maximum of 15 can be kept on the final roster, meaning management will be busy in the coming weeks trying to shed two or more lower-end contracts for future considerations. The easiest player to jettison is Greg Buckner, who has a $4-million contract, but can be bought out for $1 million, which owner Mark Cuban has said is a possibility. And trades are always in the Mavericks' discussions. --Eddie Sefko