Mavs Notes: Lee, Jenkins, Matthews

David Lee expects to gain a rotation spot with the Mavericks but didn’t ask for any promises before joining the club on Monday, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports. Lee officially signed with Dallas on Monday after being released by the Celtics last week as part of a buyout agreement. While the veteran big man only requested an “opportunity,” he clearly doesn’t want to get buried on the bench, as he did in Boston. “I look forward to being able to help us on the glass and offensively and defensively fitting in with a team that’s already done pretty well this season,” Lee told MacMahon. “Really, I don’t believe much in them promising me a number on minutes. This is something that I’m coming in here and expect to earn playing time by playing well and helping the team get wins.” Lee was informed by coach Rick Carlisle that he will receive the bulk of his minutes backing up center Zaza Pachulia.

In other news concerning the Mavs:

• Carlisle wants the team to re-sign shooting guard John Jenkins sometime in the future, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. Jenkins, who signed a three-year deal prior to this season with only a first-year guarantee, was released on Monday to make room for Lee. Jenkins had earned a lot of respect inside the locker room, Sneed adds, but got caught in a numbers crunch.
• Wesley Matthews continues to struggle with his shooting and it’s fair to wonder whether the club should have handed the former Trail Blazers shooting guard a four-year, $70MM contract, MacMahon examines in a separate story. While owner Mark Cuban recently proclaimed that the club didn’t sign Matthews for this season, he has shown no progress in his first season since recovering from a left Achilles tendon tear. Matthews is averaging just 10.7 points since the New Year while shooting 37.4% from the field and 30.5% on 3-point tries, MacMahon points out. If Dallas doesn’t start getting better production from its highest-paid player, it has virtually no chance of winning a playoff round and could even slide out of the postseason picture, MacMahon adds.
• The Mavs are still looking to add another shooter, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News hears. They could be interested in two-guards Joe Johnson or Kevin Martin if either reaches a buyout agreement and gets released, though Sefko has doubts whether the Mavs would cut into Matthews’ minutes by signing Martin.