Mavericks Notes: Washington, Arena, Welts, Klay

Mavericks forward P.J. Washington has been on the shelf for Dallas’ last five contests due to a sprained right ankle. He saw his injury status upgraded to questionable ahead of the club’s latest clash with Texas rival San Antonio on Wednesday, according to The Athletic’s Christian Clark (Twitter link).

With an hour to go before game time, however, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd revealed that Washington would miss his sixth consecutive contest, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (via Twitter).

Kidd noted that the Dallas was optimistic about Washington’s chances to make his return on Friday against another Lone Star State nemesis, the Rockets.

In 47 games this season, the 6’7″ forward is averaging 14.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks for the Mavericks.

According to Dallas’ pregame injury report (Twitter link), only nine healthy players will be available against San Antonio, with Brandon Williams upgraded to available after missing Monday’s game due to a hamstring issue.

There’s more out of Dallas:

• Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has issued a statement regarding construction on the Mavericks’  proposed new arena, Townsend reports for The Dallas Morning News (subscriber link). “The Mavericks have called the City of Dallas home for the last 45 years,” Tolbert said Tuesday in a statement. “We are committed to the long-term relationship we have established with them and are working closely with team officials to keep them in Dallas — where they belong.” The nearby city of Irving is open to rezoning which could open up a 182-acre terrain that owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp. Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont serves as Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s COO. The area could include a new arena, a destination resort and a possible casino.
• Mavericks CEO Rick Welts stressed to Townsend that, within the next year, the team plans to find a site that sits on 30-50 acres that the team’s ownership group can develop into a new arena plus a “full-blown entertainment district.” “What we’re saying to the city is we want to exhaust every possible option in the city of Dallas before considering pivoting to another location in the Metroplex,” Welts told Townsend. “That’s our commitment. That’s our desire. That’s the outcome we want, to be doing this project in the city of Dallas.”
• With Luka Doncic plying his trade for Los Angeles and All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis — plus several other key contributors — out due to injuries, the Mavericks’ path to postseason glory looks narrow indeed. Dallas is currently 33-33 on the year, having recently snapped a five-game skid with a win against the Spurs on Monday. Klay Thompson, who signed a lucrative free agent contract to leave Golden State for the Mavericks last summer, is trying to look at the bright side of the team’s seemingly dire situation, according to Townsend in a separate article (subscriber link). “We still want to make a run,” Thompson said. “The injuries have been awful, but I still love our team… I’m here for two more seasons after this, so I would love to help them return to the glory that they were brought to in 2011.”