The Dallas Mavericks have agreed to a two-year deal for the minimum salary with power forward Quincy Acy, according to a league source. Dallas is also in discussions with former first-round pick Rodrigue Beaubois about a possible return to the team, league sources said.The deal with Acy does not include any options for the second season.Acy, 25, a Baylor product and native of Dallas suburb Mesquite, is a four-year veteran with career averages of 4.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in limited roles with the Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings.He fits the Mavs philosophical shift of filling out their roster with developmental prospects instead of the older veterans they often signed in years past.Sources told ESPN that no deal has been agreed to with?Beaubois, but both sides have?been in talks regarding a potential reunion after the 28-year-old guard spent the past three seasons playing in his native France.Beaubois recently earned an audition with the New Orleans Pelicans thanks to his strong play this past season with Strausbourg, sources say, but the Pelicans opted to re-sign guard Tim Frazier instead.If Dallas does elect to re-sign Beaubois, sources say hell have to beat out Mavericks summer league sensation Jonathan Gibson for a roster spot. During an ESPN broadcast from the Las Vegas Summer League this week, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Dallas is signing Gibson to a three-year contract with partial guarantees included.Beaubois was selected No. 25 overall in the 2009 draft by Oklahoma City on Dallas behalf and spent the next four seasons with the Mavericks. But a string of injuries -- including two foot surgeries and a hand operation -- contributed to Beaubois inability to live up to the lofty expectations generated by a 40-point game against Golden State and fellow rookie Steph Curry in the 2009-10 season. Vin Baker Jersey . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Lonnie Shelton Jersey . 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Five minutes to hit tennis balls on the court where youre about to play a match that could win you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars and the chance for even more riches at the tournament -- or could send you to the airport.Five minutes to feel the depth, spin and speed of your opponents shots, in the wind, sun and humidity youre about to contend with. Five minutes to practice every type of shot you might have to hit, some of them dozens or hundreds of times: serves, forehands, backhands.Yet just about every pro spends at least half of those five precious minutes standing near the net, hitting the ball out of the air -- something he or, especially, she might do more in those five minutes of warm-ups than in the actual match.Tennis players dont come to net in matches as much as they used to, and some essentially dont do it at all of their own volition, though they might find themselves up there unwillingly after retrieving an opponents drop shot. Yet even the most dedicated baseliner hits about 15 volleys and smashes during warm-ups.Even Angelique Kerber, the world No. 2, who won the Australian Open and is a semifinalist here at the US Open.Sometimes you [are] going to the net, Kerber said after her fourth-round match against Petra Kvitova, a match in which Kerber went to net on just eight points, winning four. When you know you have a little bit [of] warm-up in the net its actually better for your [confidence]. Im not going too often to the net, but still its good to know that you hit during your practice [a] few balls there.Kerber played a lower percentage of her points at the net than just about any of the other 32 men and women who reached the round of 16 at the U.S. Open: just 5.6 percent through her first three matches. Not every match is scored, and counting can be inconsistent, because of the subjective nature of stat-keeping in tennis. Nonetheless, the naked eye and Kerber herself confirm that she rarely chooses to come to net. That didnt change much against Kvitova (6.1 percent).Venus Williams, who lost in the fourth round, played at net more frequently than most of her peers in the tournament.Some people come in just to shake hands and do the coin toss, she said. Im not one of those people.The seven-time major singles champ pointed out that slow courts and advanced racket strings make it easier for players to hit shots past opponents at the net. Kerber is much better at hitting passing shots than she is at cutting them off.Men generally go to net more often than women, in part because their bigger serves and topspin-laden ground strokes can push opponents back farther behind the baseline, and in part because their longer winngspans make it harder to hit over or around them.ddddddddddddThe frequency of net approaches varies widely among the men. British 21-year-old Kyle Edmund is among the least likely to come to net, and when he did in his fourth-round match against No. 1 Novak Djokovic, it often started with a Djokovic drop shot and ended with a missed or misplayed Edmund volley. Edmund won just 7 of 19 points at net.How many net shots players take in warm-ups seems to have little correlation to how often they venture to the net during matches. I counted warm-up net shots for 20 different players for 13 matches during the Open. And 70 percent of the players averaged between 13 and 17 net shots during warm-ups, typically dividing them up something like five forehand volleys, five backhand volleys and four smashes. (Theyd hit backhand smashes only when their opponents lobs went to the wrong side of the court.)Karolina Pliskova, who rarely goes to net, averaged nine net shots during warm-ups, while Serena Williams, who has been coming to net more this year, averaged 23. One sign that frequency of net points during matches has little to do with how much of their warm-ups players devote to net shots: Men averaged exactly as many warm-up net shots as women.Former pro and ESPN commentator Brad Gilbert pointed out in an interview that golfers dont warm up: They just play. Hed like to see tennis players do the same.You come to the court, do the coin toss, whoever wins, start play, Gilbert said. Nobody comes out on the court cold.His broadcasting colleague, 18-time major singles champ Chris Evert, said she used to take about 30 seconds warming up at net. Her rival Martina Navratilova, who played much more at net than Evert did, would use a minute and a half at net. (American teenager Taylor Townsend, whose net game is a throwback, starts her warm-ups at the net rather than the baseline.)Evert said she thinks even Kerber types should practice volleys during warm-ups.It gives you a quicker reaction, Evert said. You see the ball quicker.There are lots of other reasons to practice net shots, too. Players who dont choose to come to net much might get drawn forward by their opponents, like Kerber was by Roberta Vinci with drop shots in their quarterfinal on Tuesday. (Kerber ended up winning 7 of 13 net points.) And showing you can hit competent smashes might help dissuade your opponent from throwing up lobs whenever theyre out of position.Even Evert, who encourages everyone to warm up their volleys, reminds pros not to skimp on warm-up serves.The serve is the most important thing to practice. ' ' '
