The Dallas Mavericks fully guaranteed the first-year of second-round pick Bernard James' contract on Wednesday, moving their roster total to the full complement of 15 players.
James and fellow second-round pick Jae Crowder did enough at the Las Vegas Summer League to convince the Mavericks front office to keep them around for a whole season, although high second-round picks almost always receive at least one year of contract guarantees.
James, an athletic 6'10 235 shot-blocker from Florida State, starts training camp behind Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Kaman, Elton Brand and Brandan Wright in Dallas' big man rotation.
He'll likely need to beat out Wright, a similarly long, athletic and lanky big man, to earn any minutes on the Mavericks next season. There's still a chance that James ends up making a few stints in the D-League with the Texas Legends this year.
For all the latest news and notes on the Mavericks free agency plans, stay tuned to the SB Nation Dallas storystream as well as Mavs Moneyball.