Western Notes: Harris, Gallinari, Jazz

Devin Harris anticipates a change in his role with the Mavericks after the offseason additions of Deron Williams, Wesley Matthews, and the team’s new deal with J.J. Barea, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “I would consider the backcourt crowded, but I think we got solid pieces — one, two and three,” Harris said. “I don’t know how much of a role change I’m going to have, but I think I’ll probably be playing mostly off the ball, you know, with J.J. coming back and with Deron coming in. But we’ll see what happens throughout training camp. You never know what will happen.” Harris also indicated that the franchise has recovered and moved on from what he termed, “the whole DeAndre Jordan fiasco,” Sneed adds. The center had spurned Dallas after reaching a verbal agreement in order to re-sign with the Clippers.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

• Danilo Gallinari admits that he was pleasantly surprised by the Nuggets‘ renegotiation-and-extension offer, which he has officially signed, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. “I was very fast in saying yes to this extension,” Gallinari said. “I’m very happy to stay in Denver. This extension came because of the people in Denver, the fact that I’ve been in Denver for a while now and the fact that I love the city.“
• The forward also noted that he was pleased with the Nuggets‘ offseason moves, including the hiring of Michael Malone as coach, Dempsey adds. “I’m very confident in the choices they made this summer in changing the coach and everything,” Gallinari said. “They are doing everything possible in their capacity to win. And I think that they made the right choices, and hopefully we can start winning again starting this season.“
• Despite point guard Dante Exum possibly suffering a torn left ACL on Tuesday, the Jazz are more than likely going to rely on Trey Burke, Bryce Cotton, and Raul Neto at the one spot, rather than signing or trading for a veteran player to bolster their depth, Tony Jones and Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune write.