Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

COVID Updates: Cheatham, Brown, Simpson, York

January 1st, 2022 at 10:15am CST by Dana Gauruder

Here’s are the latest updates regarding players entering or exiting the league’s health and safety protocols or on 10-day contracts:

Zylan Cheatham‘s 10-day contract with the Heat expired after the team’s game against the Rockets on Friday, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald tweets. The Heat still have six other players on 10-day contracts and six players in protocols. Cheatham never appeared in a game with the Heat and entered protocols on Dec. 29.
Charlie Brown Jr. won’t receive another 10-day from the Mavericks, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Brown made three cameo appearances for Dallas.
Gabe York agreed to a 10-day contract with the Magic on Dec. 29. However, he tested positive for COVID-19 the next day, scuttling the deal, Justin Spears of Tucson.com reports. York has been playing with the G League Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers’ affiliate.
Guard Zavier Simpson agreed to a 10-day with the Thunder on Monday. However, he has also entered protocols, according to Shaw. It’s still possible Simpson could sign a contract once he’s cleared.

Mavs Sign Chriss, Pinson To Second 10-Day Contracts

December 31st, 2021 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

12:06pm: The Mavericks have officially signed Chriss, the team confirmed today (via Twitter). The team also announced that it signed Theo Pinson to a second 10-day contract (Twitter link).

Pinson appeared in five games during his first 10-day deal with Dallas, averaging 5.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 15.8 minutes per contest.

The two deals will run through January 9, covering the Mavs’ next six games.

10:26am: Marquese Chriss became a free agent today when his 10-day contract with the Mavericks expired, but he won’t remain on the open market for long. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Dallas intends to bring back Chriss on a second 10-day hardship deal.

Chriss, 24, appeared in four games during his first 10 days with the Mavs, averaging 6.3 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 12.3 minutes per contest. He scored 13 points in 13 minutes last Thursday vs. Milwaukee, though he had three turnovers and fouled out of that game.

Chriss, who previously played for the Suns, Rockets, Cavaliers, and Warriors, is coming off a 2020/21 season that came to an end after just two games when he broke his right fibula.

The Mavericks currently have eight players in the health and safety protocols and five players (besides Chriss) signed to hardship deals. However, four of those contracts will expire on Friday or Saturday night, and Dallas expects to have a few players clear the protocols soon, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).

COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Trail Blazers, Heat, Rockets, Sixers, I. Thomas, More

December 30th, 2021 at 8:22pm CST by Rory Maher

The league continues to be battered by players entering and exiting the health and safety protocols. If any of the players entering the protocols registered a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, they’ll remain sidelined for at least six days or until they can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

Here are the latest updates from around the NBA:

Bradley Beal, Anthony Gill, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have exited the protocols and are active Thursday night for the Wizards, but Spencer Dinwiddie has entered the protocols, as reported by Shams Charania and Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (all four Twitter links).
Anfernee Simons and Brandon Williams have entered the protocols for the Trail Blazers, while Dennis Smith Jr. and Ben McLemore have exited and rejoined the team, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
The Heat‘s outbreak continues, as Duncan Robinson and Marcus Garrett have entered the protocols, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets.
DeJon Jarreau has entered the protocols for the Rockets, as reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Shake Milton has exited the protocols and is active Thursday night for the Sixers, according to Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Head coach Doc Rivers isn’t the only coach affected, as “several coaches,” including Sam Cassell and Brian Adams, are also in the protocols, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets.
Others entering protocols: Isaiah Thomas, who just signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks Wednesday, Ivica Zubac of the Clippers, and Xavier Tillman of the Grizzlies, per the three teams’ PR departments (all Twitter links).
Others exiting protocols: Trevor Ariza for the Lakers, Lou Williams for the Hawks, and Ed Davis for the Cavaliers, according to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter), and Chris Kirschner and Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter links). Neemias Queta has cleared the protocols for the Kings, a source tells Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe has also exited the protocols, Brian Lewis of The New York Post tweets.

Isaiah Thomas Signs 10-Day Deal With Mavericks

December 29th, 2021 at 6:45pm CST by Luke Adams

6:45pm: The Mavericks have officially signed Thomas to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception, the team announced (via Twitter). He’s expected to be active for Wednesday’s contest at Sacramento.

12:51pm: Free agent point guard Isaiah Thomas intends to sign with the Mavericks and is on track to join the team tonight in Sacramento, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Thomas, 32, returned to the NBA earlier this month for the Lakers, appearing in four games during his 10-day stint in Los Angeles. The veteran started strong, with 32 points in his first two games, but had just five points on 2-of-16 shooting in his next two contests.

Before he joined the Lakers, Thomas briefly played for the Grand Rapids Gold in the G League. In his first and only game with Denver’s affiliate, he put up 42 points, eight assists, and six rebounds in 42 minutes.

The safe bet is that Thomas will sign a 10-day hardship deal, but the Mavs currently have six replacement players on their roster and just five players in the health and safety protocols. If the plan is for Thomas to sign a 10-day contract, Dallas either has more players entering the protocols or will be replacing a couple of its current hardship signees.

[UPDATE: Two Mavs players have entered the protocols]

The Mavs do have one opening on their standard roster, but it’s a two-way slot — Thomas isn’t eligible for a two-way contract.

COVID-19 Updates: Mavs, B. Boston, Cacok, Lakers, C. Thomas

December 29th, 2021 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have placed center Boban Marjanovic and guard Brandon Knight – who signed a hardship deal last week – in the health and safety protocols, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Marjanovic and Knight are the sixth and seventh Dallas players currently in the protocols.

As we noted earlier today, the Mavericks reportedly reached an agreement to sign Isaiah Thomas, who will be the team’s seventh replacement player. If Dallas had just five players in the protocols, the team wouldn’t be able to make another hardship signing, so the fact that Marjanovic and Knight are now in the protocols helps explain the Thomas deal.

Here are a few more COVID-related updates from around the league:

Clippers rookie Brandon Boston Jr. has entered the health and safety protocols, the team announced today. Boston had been playing an increased role as of late with the Clippers shorthanded, averaging 19.6 MPG in 13 games this month.
Spurs two-way big man Devontae Cacok has joined teammate Dejounte Murray in the COVID-19 protocols, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). They’re the only two San Antonio players affected for now.
Lakers guards Austin Reaves and Kent Bazemore have cleared the protocols, tweets Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group. They won’t be with the team in Memphis tonight, but should be available by Friday’s home game vs. Portland.
Nets rookie guard Cam Thomas has exited the protocols and is available, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

Chriss Worked Out Weeks Ago

December 28th, 2021 at 9:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Marquese Chriss worked out for the Mavericks a couple of weeks before they signed him to a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. At the time, there was no roster spot open for Chriss, who has averaged 6.3 PPG and 4.8 RPG in four games.

COVID Updates: Schroder, Richardson, Bullock, Konchar, Ilyasova

December 28th, 2021 at 6:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are the latest developments on players entering or exiting the league’s health and safety protocols:

The Celtics got some good news, as Dennis Schröder and Josh Richardson have exited the COVID-19 protocols, Jared Weiss tweets. Schroder last played on Wednesday, while Richardson has been sidelined since Dec. 18. Boston plays the Clippers tomorrow.
Mavericks swingman Reggie Bullock has cleared the protocols, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets. The Mavs still have a handful of players in the protocols, including franchise player Luka Doncic. That group will miss Wednesday’s game against Sacramento.
Grizzlies guard John Konchar has entered the protocols, the team’s PR department tweets. Konchar contributed a combined 18 points and 23 rebounds in a back-to-back over the past two nights.
Forward Ersan Ilyasova, signed to a 10-day deal by the Bulls on Wednesday, has entered the protocols, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets.
Heat guard Max Strus entered the protocols shortly before the team’s game against Washington on Tuesday, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets.

Mavericks Waive Eugene Omoruyi

December 26th, 2021 at 4:53pm CST by JD Shaw

The Mavericks have requested waivers on two-way forward Eugene Omoruyi, the team announced on social media (Twitter link). The move clears a two-way roster spot for the club.

Omoruyi, 24, signed with Dallas after going undrafted last August. He only appeared in four games with the franchise, averaging 1.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 4.5 minutes.

The 6-foot-6 Omoruyi recently underwent surgery on his right big toe and is expected to miss four-to-six months of action, as we previously relayed. Prior to going undrafted, he played his senior collegiate season at Oregon, averaging 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

The Mavericks currently own the eight-best record in the Western Conference at 15-17.

COVID-19 Updates: Osman, Lyles, Maxey, Kings, Aldridge, Mavericks

December 25th, 2021 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

If the Cavaliers are able to host the Raptors Sunday afternoon, both teams will have a shell of their normal lineups. Cavs forward Cedi Osman has become the team’s eighth player in the league’s health and safety protocols, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. He joins Jarrett Allen, Ed Davis, Evan Mobley, RJ Nembhard, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler.

Toronto’s roster is even more strained, with 10 players currently in protocols. Khem Birch, Isaac Bonga, and Justin Champagnie were placed in the protocols earlier today, joining Precious Achiuwa, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Malachi Flynn, Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet. Toronto will have to finalize 10-day hardship contracts with at least one more player before game time to reach the league roster minimum of eight.

There’s more COVID-19 news from around the league:

Pistons forward Trey Lyles entered the protocols Saturday, becoming the team’s sixth player this week to do so, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. Lyles is coming off his best game since signing with Detroit in the offseason, posting 28 points, eight rebounds and four blocks Thursday night. Sankofa expects rookie Luka Garza and possibly Jamorko Pickett to see more playing time while Lyles is unavailable.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has also been placed in the protocols, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Maxey has taken over as point guard in the absence of Ben Simmons and has started 28 of the 29 games he has played in his second NBA season.
Kings forwards Marvin Bagley III and Louis King have cleared protocols and should be available Sunday, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Terence Davis has been cleared as well, Anderson tweets.
Nets coach Steve Nash said veteran big man LaMarcus Aldridge has either exited the protocols or is close, but will need time for conditioning before he can resume playing, relays Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link).
Josh Green has joined his Mavericks teammates in Utah after clearing protocols, but won’t be active for tonight’s game, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). He’s expected to be able to play during the rest of the team’s road trip.
Mavericks assistant coach Kristi Toliver tweeted on Christmas that she contracted COVID-19.

D’Angelo Russell, Three Blazers Enter Protocols

December 25th, 2021 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell has joined the growing list of Minnesota players in the health and safety protocols, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Timberwolves now have eight players affected, including stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. They’ve already signed a pair of replacement players – Chris Silva and Rayjon Tucker – using hardship exceptions, but will likely make at least one more roster addition before their next game on Monday.

Here are more COVID-19 protocol updates from around the NBA:

Three Trail Blazers players – Robert Covington, Ben McLemore, and Keljin Blevins – have entered the health and safety protocols, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). That brings Portland’s total count to five affected players, all of whom have been placed in the protocols in the last two days.
Kevin Knox has exited the protocols, but Jericho Sims has entered, so the Knicks still have three players affected, according to the team (Twitter links). RJ Barrett is back in the starting lineup for New York today and Quentin Grimes is also expected to play, but Immanuel Quickley and Knox will need a little more time to ramp up their conditioning, says Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link).
Mavericks wing Josh Green has tested out of the protocols, but didn’t travel with the team to Utah and won’t play tonight, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.