O.J. Mayo turned down a more lucrative offer from the Suns in order to sign with the Mavericks.

"You've got to know what the young man wants in his life,'' Mayo's business manager, LaPoe Smith, said. "He didn't want to go to a team that loses 60 games.

"That's not any fun. O.J. deserves better than that.''

Mayo agreed to a two-year contract for $8.5 million with Dallas, with the second year being a player option.

"Hopefully with some of the veteran guys they already have and me bringing some new juice to the team, hopefully we can get back to that level,'' Mayo said. "I think we can, because I know the pedigree of Coach Carlisle -- he’s a terrific coach.

"He’s one of the main reasons I came here. I just have a lot of faith in his ability to get the job done. And then just watching Dirk’s work ethic and Vince and Shawn … it’ll make me a better player, I believe.''