The Dallas Mavericks are reportedly close to signing veteran power forward David Lee after he was waived by Boston following the Celtics failure to deal him before last Thursday's NBA trade deadline.

CBS Sports indicated that Lee "is expected to sign with the Dallas Mavericks for the $2.1 million room exception". The report also said that the Mavs' deal is worth more than the rest of the teams in the league who could only offer the 32-year-old a veteran's minimum because Dallas did not use their trade exception last summer.

Like Us on Facebook

Lee has been generating his lowest numbers since his rookie season, averaging 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game this season because he has only suited up in 15.7 minutes a night for the Celtics.

Last season, when the Warriors won the NBA championship, Lee averaged 7.9 points, 5.2 boards, and 1.7 dimes in 18.4 minutes per game during the regular season as Golden State began to transform into the team that it is today.

Two seasons ago in 2013-2014, Lee had averaged 18.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 33.2 minutes per game, numbers that he may still be capable of producing in the right system and if given enough playing time.

Lee and the Mavericks would certainly hope they could work it out together if the deal pushes through.

Fansided noted that Dallas has been "one of the more competitive teams in the Western Conference and look primed to make the playoffs again", which means they could certainly use someone like Lee to threaten their conference's top teams, namely the Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Right now, the Mavs are in the no. 6 spot of the West standings with a 29-27 record and are "limited on assets" to make a significant postseason run and acquiring Lee is one of the ways to solve that issue.

Lee's primary role is reportedly to become Dirk Nowitzki's backup and that would give him a lot more minutes than he had been getting with Boston as the 37-year-old German will need more rest than ever before.

TagsNBA News & Rumors, david lee, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, NBA News & Rumors 2016