Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports that Wang Zhi-Zhi is almost a Clipper. On Thursday, the Mavericks will allow Zhi-Zhi to sign with Los Angeles, ending his two-year run with the Mavericks.  Dallas had the opportunity to match the 3-year, $6 million offer made by the Clippers and retain Zhi-Zhi, but they chose to let him go.

Mavs coach Don Nelson and owner Mark Cuban offered differing reasons why the 7-1 Center was let go.

"The main reason we're not matching is that Wang signed a contract with his country that he would return there in our off-season to play for their national team," Nelson said Wednesday. "When Wang broke that contract, he also broke his word with us. We have apologized to the Chinese Basketball Association and made it clear that we were in no way part of the reason why Wang never went back."

Cuban cited the luxury tax implications of the contract as the main reason for the decision. With the Mavericks already over the tax limit, Wang?s salary would be doubled and he would be relegated to reserve duty. Cuban said he understands the need for a trusting relationship with China's basketball officials. But the question of how much Wang would have been able to contribute this season also weighed heavily in the decision.

"He's a great player with lots of potential, but the reality on our team is that the coaching staff didn't think there would be more than 10 minutes per game for him," Cuban said. "That's what it came down to. But we wanted to hold off until the last minute in case somebody got hurt."