Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Scotto’s Latest: Bulls, Hawks, Finney-Smith, Thunder, Rockets

January 12th, 2022 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls figure to explore potential roster upgrades at the trade deadline, but they’re resistant to the idea of moving Patrick Williams, Michael Scotto said on the latest episode of the HoopsHype Podcast.

If the Bulls want to make a major move at the deadline, it may have to involve Williams, 2020’s No. 4 overall pick, since the club has already traded away multiple future first-rounders. Williams’ ability to help the team this year may also be limited, since a wrist injury is expected to sideline him for most or all of the regular season.

Still, based on Scotto’s reporting, it sounds as if Chicago will likely hang onto Williams. One Bulls player who is available in the right deal is 2019 lottery pick Coby White, rival executives tell Scotto.

Here’s more from the HoopsHype Podcast:

Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari could be had for a first-round pick or as part of a larger package, rival executives tell Scotto. I’m very skeptical any team will be willing to give up a first-rounder for Gallinari unless they can dump an unwanted long-term contract on Atlanta. Scotto adds that execs believe Hawks forward Cam Reddish is more likely than not to be on the move at the deadline.
Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith and Thunder forward Kenrich Williams are among the role players on modest contracts who are drawing trade interest from playoff teams, says Scotto. Oklahoma City is obviously more likely than Dallas to be a seller, but rival executives believe there may be an opportunity to poach Finney-Smith since he and Jalen Brunson are free agents in 2022 and re-signing both would likely make the Mavs a taxpayer.
Playoff-caliber teams are also monitoring Rockets veterans Eric Gordon and Daniel Theis, according to Scotto. They’ve been mentioned multiple times this season as potential trade candidates, since they probably don’t fit the timeline of a rebuilding Houston squad.
League sources tell Scotto that Thunder rookie Aaron Wiggins is a good candidate to have his two-way contract turned into a standard deal at some point this season.

Mavericks Waive JaQuori McLaughlin

January 10th, 2022 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have requested waivers on guard JaQuori McLaughlin, the team announced today in a press release. McLaughlin will become a free agent on Wednesday, assuming he goes unclaimed.

A 6’4″ point guard, McLaughlin began his college career at Oregon State before transferring to UC Santa Barbara for the last three seasons. He was named Big West Player of the Year as a senior in 2020/21 after averaging 16.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 40.8% from three-point range.

McLaughlin wasn’t drafted in July, but he caught on with the Mavs, signing a two-way contract with the team in September. His role in Dallas was essentially nonexistent, as he logged just 11 total minutes across four games and has yet to score his first NBA points. However, he averaged 13.3 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 4.7 RPG in 12 games (31.6 MPG) for the Texas Legends, the Mavs’ G League affiliate.

Dallas has been active in turning over its two-way contracts slots as of late. The team waived two-way player Eugene Omoruyi on December 26 and signed Theo Pinson today to fill that opening. Now, the Mavs once again have an open two-way spot.

It’s worth noting that Marquese Chriss, who has played well on a series of 10-day contracts with the club, isn’t eligible for a two-way contract, since he’s in his fifth NBA season. To sign a two-way deal, a player must be in his first, second, third, or fourth season.

Mavs Sign Marquese Chriss To Third 10-Day Deal

January 10th, 2022 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

1:04pm: Chriss’ 10-day contract is now official, according to the Mavs (Twitter link). It’ll run through January 19, covering Dallas’ next five games.

9:42am: The Mavericks intend to sign big man Marquese Chriss to a third 10-day hardship contract, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link). Chriss’ second 10-day deal with Dallas expired overnight, so he’s technically a free agent for now.

A player isn’t permitted to sign more than two traditional 10-day contracts with the same team in a single season. However, that rule doesn’t apply to hardship deals, which are permitted as long as a team has at least one player who is in the health and safety protocols. The Mavs are eligible to sign Chriss to another 10-day deal via a hardship exception because Kristaps Porzingis remains in the protocols, says Stein.

Chriss, 24, has now appeared in 10 games with the Mavs this season, averaging 6.1 PPG and 4.1 RPG in just 11.9 minutes per contest. Dallas has gone 8-2 in those games. The former eighth overall pick, who previously played for the Suns, Rockets, Cavaliers, and Warriors, is coming off a 2020/21 season that ended after just two games when he broke his right fibula.

Entering today, Dallas had 15 players on its standard roster, with one two-way slot open. Theo Pinson, whose 10-day hardship contract also expired overnight, is expected to fill that opening — Chriss wasn’t eligible for a two-way deal because he’s in his fifth NBA season.

If the Mavs want to retain Chriss once they’re no longer eligible for a hardship exception, they’ll need to trade or release someone from their 15-man roster.

Mavericks Sign Theo Pinson To Two-Way Contract

January 10th, 2022 at 12:18pm CST by JD Shaw

JANUARY 10: Pinson’s two-way contract with the Mavs is now official, the team announced today (Twitter link). Dallas once again has a full 17-man roster and is expected to add an 18th man by re-signing Marquese Chriss to another 10-day hardship contract.

JANUARY 8: The Mavericks are signing forward Theo Pinson to a two-way contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Pinson previously signed a pair of 10-day hardship contracts with the team, the second of which will expire on Sunday night.

Pinson, 26, holds past NBA experience with Brooklyn, New York and Dallas. He played 51 games with the Nets between 2018-20 and 17 games with the Knicks in 2020-21.

In his 10 appearances with Dallas this season, Pinson has averaged 2.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 9.3 minutes per contest. He’s shot 30% from the floor during those outings.

Pinson went undrafted in 2018 after spending four seasons at North Carolina. The Mavericks have dealt with key availability issues this season, but the team still holds the fifth-best record in the West at 21-18.

Charania’s Latest: Collins, Simmons, Celtics, Pacers, Wall, Cavs

January 10th, 2022 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

Hawks big man John Collins has grown increasingly frustrated with his role in Atlanta, multiple sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Although Collins signed a five-year, $125MM contract with the team in the offseason, his usage rate and scoring average (17.5 PPG) are the lowest they’ve been since he was a rookie in 2017/18.

According to Charania, Collins has challenged his Hawks teammates in the locker room multiple times this season, encouraging them to play team basketball. He has “felt his voice go unheard,” Charania adds.

Although Charania doesn’t explicitly state that Collins is a candidate to be traded before this year’s deadline, he notes that the Hawks are a team to watch in the Ben Simmons sweepstakes, echoing a Friday report from Marc Stein. If Atlanta is willing to make Collins available, it would certainly increase the number of trade possibilities open to the team.

Here’s more from Charania:

Besides Atlanta, the Kings, Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, and Pacers are among the clubs still in the mix for Simmons, according to Charania, who says the Sixers don’t appear any closer to moving the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up than they were prior to the season. Philadelphia hasn’t been fining Simmons, since he has been participating in training sessions and team meetings and continues to meet with mental health specialists, per Charania.
The Celtics have continued to convey to rival teams that they want to build around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown rather than trading one of them, sources tell Charania.
The Pacers are having trade discussions about Myles Turner and Caris LeVert, with Turner drawing interest from the Mavericks, Knicks, Lakers, and Hornets, while the Cavaliers remain interested in LeVert, according to Charania. Rival executives tell The Athletic that Indiana values Domantas Sabonis very highly and seems less likely to move him.
Teams would be interested in Rockets guard John Wall if he reaches the open market, but a trade remains very unlikely and Houston still doesn’t appear to have interest in a buyout, Charania writes.
As the Cavaliers consider possible backcourt upgrades, building a deal around Ricky Rubio‘s expiring contract and draft assets is a possibility, says Charania.

Nuggets Expected To Sign DeMarcus Cousins To 10-Day Contract

January 9th, 2022 at 2:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

JANUARY 9: The Nuggets will meet with Cousins on Sunday and if that meeting goes well, the plan is to sign him to a 10-day contract, tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Singer adds that a deal may not be officially finalized until mid-week.

JANUARY 8: After being waived Thursday by the Bucks, DeMarcus Cousins will sign a 10-day deal with the Nuggets, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Cousins will reunite with Michael Malone, who was formerly his head coach in Sacramento, Charania notes (Twitter link).

Cousins will leave his offseason home in Las Vegas on Sunday and head to Denver for a physical and other tests, a source tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). The Nuggets play on Sunday night in Oklahoma City and then on Tuesday in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

The Mavericks also had interest in signing Cousins, Spears’ source says (Twitter link).

Denver is eligible to add a player to a standard 10-day contract using a non-COVID hardship exception because the team has five players sidelined with long-term injuries, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Vlatko Cancar suffered a fractured right foot this week, joining injured teammates Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., PJ Dozier and Markus Howard.

Cousins was impressive during his stay in Milwaukee, averaging 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds in 17 games and making five starts. However, the Bucks decided to release him, opting for the flexibility of an open roster spot heading into the trade deadline. GM Jon Horst hinted that the team might be interested in bringing him back, but it may not be possible if he is successful in Denver.

We heard earlier this week that the Nuggets were perusing the trade market for a backup center. That search may continue, but Cousins should slide into that role for the time being.

COVID-19 Updates: Malone, Budenholzer, Hawks, Holiday, Marjanovic, Vincent, Nader

January 8th, 2022 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Two head coaches may clear health and safety protocols in time for their teams’ next games. Michael Malone traveled with the Nuggets to Oklahoma City and expects to be on the sidelines Sunday, tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Malone missed four games while in the protocols, and acting coach Popeye Jones compiled a 2-2 record.

Darvin Ham, who is serving as acting head coach for the Bucks, is hoping Mike Budenholzer will be ready to return for Monday’s game at Charlotte, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link). Nehm suggests that Budenholzer still needs to return multiple negative tests before being cleared.

Here are more updates on COVID-19 and the health and safety protocols:

Hawks head coach Nate McMillan remains in the protocols, but assistant Chris Jent has been cleared and will serve as acting head coach for Sunday’s game against the Clippers, tweets Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Bucks guard Jrue Holiday tested out of the protocols, tweets Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. However, Holiday sat out tonight’s game because of pain in his left ankle.
Mavericks center Boban Marjanovic has cleared the protocols, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Heat guard Gabe Vincent is out of the protocols, but isn’t with the team for tonight’s game in Phoenix, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link). Marcus Garrett is the only Miami player remaining in the protocols.
Suns forward Abdel Nader has also cleared the protocols, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Nader is recovering from a knee injury and will have to go through reconditioning before he can play again.
Follow our Health And Safety Protocols Tracker for a complete list of how the virus is affecting the league.

COVID-19 Updates: Pacers, Kidd, Fultz, Tre Jones, Daigneault, A. Brooks

January 7th, 2022 at 5:07pm CST by Rory Maher

Justin Anderson and Torrey Craig have become the latest Pacers players to enter the league’s health and safety protocols, per James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star (via Twitter). The Pacers now have six players in protocols. Craig signed a two-year, $10MM deal with Indiana last summer, while Anderson just signed a 10-day hardship contract with the team last week.

On the bright side, Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce has cleared the protocols and has returned to the team, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.

Here are some more COVID-related updates:

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has entered the protocols, with assistant coach Sean Sweeney set to take over his duties Friday night in Houston, sources tell Marc Stein of Substack (Twitter link). Kidd is the 13th head coach to enter the protocols.
Markelle Fultz isn’t ready to return from his torn ACL yet, but he has exited the protocols for the Magic, according to Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter).
The Spurs‘ outbreak continues, with Tre Jones being the sixth player currently in the protocols, tweets Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault has cleared the protocols and will resume his duties Friday vs. Minnesota, the team tweets.
Rockets guard Armoni Brooks has exited the protocols and is listed as available for Friday’s game against the Mavs, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 (KRIV) relays (Twitter link).

Cavs’ Stevens, Mavs’ Brown To Have Salaries Guaranteed

January 7th, 2022 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

Second-year forward Lamar Stevens will have his full-season salary guaranteed by the Cavaliers, sources tell our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

Players without fully guaranteed salaries will have their contracts for 2021/22 become guaranteed on January 10. However, today is decision day for their teams, since they must clear waivers before January 10 in order to avoid having their salaries become guaranteed. So Cleveland has decided not to waive Stevens today, ensuring he’ll receive his full $1,517,981 salary.

A former Penn State forward, Stevens signed with Cleveland as an undrafted free agent during the 2020 offseason. He had his two-way contract turned into a standard multiyear deal in April and is still on that same deal, which runs through 2023/24. It includes a non-guaranteed minimum salary in ’22/23 and a minimum-salary team option in ’23/24.

Stevens’ per-game averages this season – including 3.8 PPG and 2.0 RPG – are relatively modest, but he hasn’t played big minutes (12.8 MPG in 24 games). The 24-year-old a solid defender who is knocking down three-pointers at a higher rate this season (32.3%) than he did as a rookie (4-for-25) and is seeing more action lately with forwards Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman sidelined.

Meanwhile, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), the Mavericks have decided to hang onto big man Moses Brown, another player whose salary isn’t fully guaranteed. The decision will lock in Brown’s $1,701,593 cap hit for the season.

Brown has played a very limited role in Dallas so far this season, averaging just 6.7 minutes per contest in 22 games. However, he has put up solid numbers on a per-minute basis, and apparently has showed the Mavs enough to warrant keeping his spot on the 15-man roster.

COVID-19 Updates: Grizzlies, Harrell, Thybulle, Bolmaro, More

January 7th, 2022 at 8:09am CST by Luke Adams

All the Grizzlies players who were recently placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols have now been cleared, head coach Taylor Jenkins said on Thursday evening (Twitter link via Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal). After three Memphis players exited the protocols on Wednesday, John Konchar and Xavier Tillman were the only players still affected — they’re apparently out of the protocols now too.

Here are more updates on COVID-19 and the health and safety protocols:

Wizards big man Montrezl Harrell has cleared the protocols and is questionable to play on Friday in Chicago, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.
Matisse Thybulle is no longer on the Sixers‘ injury report, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets, which is a good indication he’s out of the protocols.
Timberwolves rookie Leandro Bolmaro has entered the COVID-19 protocols, according to the team (Twitter link). He’s the only Minnesota player in the protocols for now.
The NBA’s latest injury report lists Mavericks guard Isaiah Thomas as simply “not with team” and Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman as probable to play on Friday in Portland as he takes part in return to competition reconditioning, so it sounds like both players have exited the protocols. However, Thomas has been ruled out for tonight’s game and his 10-day contract will expire overnight.
Hawks guard Chris Clemons has entered the protocols, per Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Clemons’ 10-day deal expires tonight, so his time in Atlanta could be over.
The NBA will continue daily COVID-19 testing of players who haven’t received a booster shot through the All-Star break, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. All players and coaches, regardless of vaccination status, will also continue to be tested daily through January 15, Wojnarowski adds.