Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mavericks Sign Luka Doncic To Five-Year, Max-Salary Extension

August 10th, 2021 at 8:01am CST by Arthur Hill

AUGUST 10: The extension is now official, according to the team (Twitter link).

AUGUST 9: The Mavs and Doncic are in formal agreement on their five-year, maximum-salary extension, agent Bill Duffy tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The team sent a contingent to Slovenia this week to officially complete the deal and will hold a news conference on Tuesday morning to announce it.

As we detailed earlier today, Doncic’s extension projects to be worth slightly over $207MM based on the NBA’s $119MM cap projection for 2022/23. The deal will include a fifth-year player option, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

“Today is a dream come true,” Doncic said in a statement, per Woj (Twitter link). “I am humbled and excited to remain in Dallas as part of the Mavericks and appreciate the support of my fans.”

AUGUST 2: The Mavericks are ready to give star guard Luka Doncic a five-year, maximum-salary extension, tweets veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein. The deal projects to be worth $207.06MM.

However, no formal talks will take place until after Doncic is finished with the Olympics this week. His Slovenian team is in the medal round after breezing to three victories in preliminary games.

Doncic, 22, has emerged as one of the NBA’s top players after three seasons in the league. He averaged 27.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists in 66 games this year, earning first-team All-NBA honors for the second straight season.

Doncic was named Rookie of the Year in 2019 and is a two-time All-Star. He was highly decorated before coming to the NBA, winning MVP and Final Four MVP awards in the EuroLeague in 2018.

Doncic’s extension, which would have a starting salary worth 30% of the cap, would take effect in the 2022/23 season and would keep him under contract through the summer of 2027.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Goran Dragic Apologizes For Comments On Trade To Raptors

August 9th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran point guard Goran Dragic, who was traded from the Heat to the Raptors in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade deal last week, apologized on Monday for comments he made in his home country of Slovenia about the trade, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.

A clip that surfaced on Twitter on Monday of Dragic speaking to Slovenian reporters was accompanied by the English caption, “Toronto is not my preferred destination. I have higher ambitions.” While there was some uncertainty about whether something may have been lost in translation, Dragic didn’t claim he was misquoted. He did tell Grange, however, that the context of the quote was missing.

“I was in the center of the city and the journalists were there and I was asked about Toronto and it was basically taken out of context,” Dragic said. “I told them that I had spent seven years in Miami and that would be the preferred destination for me because my family is there and everything, not Toronto.”

Dragic, who is on an expiring $19.5MM contract, was always expected to be part of the Raptors’ return for Lowry after the Heat picked up his team option, but there was speculation for much of last week that he might be flipped to a third team. The Mavericks were frequently mentioned as a potential destination, since Dallas had been on the lookout for a point guard in free agency and joining the Mavs would give Dragic the opportunity to team up with fellow Slovenian Luka Doncic.

It’s still possible Dragic will be moved to the Mavs or another team at some point, but no deal appears imminent, and he told Grange he’s prepared to spend the 2021/22 season in Toronto.

“My message basically, to all Toronto fans, is I would like to apologize,” Dragic said. “It didn’t come out the right way. I know they love their team, and they should be proud, it is one of the best organizations in the NBA. They’ve already won a championship and I didn’t, so what I said, it really was not appropriate.

“… I’ve always been professional. You can ask a bunch of people. Everywhere I’ve played, wherever I’m going to play, I’m going to be professional and do my job,” he continued. “I love basketball, I love to play and I’m going to give 100% wherever I play. Right now I’m (with) Toronto and that’s my main thing to think about.”

Asked during an appearance on 590 The Fan in Toronto about Dragic, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster cautioned that the 35-year-old’s comments were translated to English and he’d want to “get it directly” from the point guard to understand what he meant, Grange writes. Webster also stressed that the Raptors aren’t a rebuilding team looking to jettison veterans.

“We feel like we’re gonna be competitive, we have a core — as we’ve talked about — that’s been around for a while and has won at the highest level as well,” Webster said. “So think that we’ll just give it some time here to see how (Dragic) would fit in and if he likes it here or not. I think he’s a pro and he’s been around a lot and he’s obviously entitled to wanting to make the most of his years as his career comes down here … so I don’t think it’s in any way a slight or anything like that.”

The Lowry sign-and-trade was officially completed on Friday, so it can no longer be expanded to include a third team, but Dragic could be flipped to a new team immediately as long as his salary isn’t aggregated with another player’s in the deal.

Mavs Add Sterling Brown, Re-Sign Boban Marjanović

August 9th, 2021 at 6:14pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 9: The signings of both Brown and Marjanović are now official, per NBA.com’s transactions log. Marjanović’s new contract with Dallas is worth $7MM over two years, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

AUGUST 2: The Mavericks are set to make a pair of bench signings as free agency begins in earnest.

As had been rumored, the Mavericks are opting to bring back center Boban Marjanović this summer. Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets that Dallas will be re-signing the reserve big man.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that the 7’4″ Marjanović will be signed to a one-year deal with the Mavericks, his third full season with the team. Dallas initially signed the big man to a two-year, $7MM deal in the 2019 offseason. The club will thus have the 32-year-old’s full Bird rights next summer, following three full seasons of service.

Marjanović made a big impact in limited this season, averaging 4.7 PPG and 3.9 RPG in just 8.2 MPG across 33 contests.

Charania also reports (via Twitter) that the Mavericks will also be signing a new addition, free agent guard Sterling Brown. Brown, 26, was most recently a reserve contributor for another Texas club, the Rockets, for the duration of the 2020/21 season.

Brown averaged 8.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 1.4 APG in 51 games for the rebuilding Rockets, with a solid shooting line of .448/.423/.806.

Brown’s agent Mark Bartelstein has indicated that the 6’5″ vet will sign a two-year, $6.2MM contract with the club, per Marc Stein of Substack (via Twitter). There is no word as to whether both seasons will be guaranteed in the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Mavs Sign Tim Hardaway Jr. To Four-Year Deal

August 9th, 2021 at 4:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 9: The Mavericks have officially re-signed Hardaway, the team announced today in a press release. Bartelstein tells Stein (Twitter link) that the total value of THJ’s four-year deal came in at $75MM.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that Hardaway’s new contract will decline in value across each of its four seasons. Hardaway will earn $21.3MM during the first year of the agreement, 2021/22, and that number will eventually dip to $16.2MM for Hardaway’s age-32 season, 2024/25.

AUGUST 2: The Mavericks and their top free agent, guard Tim Hardaway Jr., have agreed to a four-year, $72MM contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the actual value is $74MM, so we may have to wait to see the official terms once it’s finalized. Marc Stein of Substack (Twitter link) first reported that the Mavs were expected to re-sign the veteran wing.

Hardaway is one of the top unrestricted free agents on the market and Dallas prioritized bringing back one of its primary offensive threats.

Hardaway, 29, averaged 16.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG and 1.8 APG last season while shooting 39.1% from the field. He also excelled in the postseason, then said after the season he was hoping he could work out a deal with his current club.

“If you were to talk to anybody in this organization and anybody that’s around me, they will definitely say that I love it here,” Hardaway said.

Hardaway’s four-year, $71MM deal he signed with the Knicks in 2017 expired at the end of the season.

Western Contract Details: Gay, Conley, Graham, Nunn, SGA

August 8th, 2021 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

Originally reported as a two-year deal with a second-year player option, Rudy Gay‘s new contract with the Jazz actually covers three years, with a third-year player option, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The full three-year value of the contract, which was officially announced on Friday, comes in at about $18.55MM.

Smith has details on several other newly-signed contracts from around the Western Conference, so let’s dive in and round up some of the highlights (all links are courtesy of Smith)…

Mike Conley‘s three-year deal with the Jazz includes some unlikely bonuses and has a partial guarantee on year three (Twitter link). The 2023/24 salary of $24.36MM is only guaranteed for $14.32MM.
Devonte’ Graham‘s four-year contract with the Pelicans starts at $11MM and features 5% annual raises (Twitter link). The fourth year salary of $12.65MM is only partially guaranteed for $2.85MM.
The Lakers used most of their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Kendrick Nunn (Twitter link). His deal is worth $5MM in 2021/22, with a $5.25MM second-year player option.
The Mavericks used the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Reggie Bullock to a three-year deal worth slightly over $30MM (Twitter link). The contract, which includes a 5% trade bonus, is only guaranteed for $5.45MM (of $10.49MM) in the final year.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s five-year, maximum-salary extension with the Thunder includes a 15% trade kicker (Twitter link).

Southwest Notes: Doncic, Pelicans, Silas, Allen

August 7th, 2021 at 8:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

Luka Doncic played Saturday’s bronze medal game with an injured left wrist, but he tells Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News that it’s nothing Mavericks fans need to worry about. Doncic hit his wrist on plexiglass at courtside during Thursday’s semifinal contest. He had it wrapped in ice afterward and used several strips of tape to stabilize the wrist and forearm area for the bronze medal showdown.

“My wrist is going to be fine,” Doncic said. “I need a couple of days off from basketball. I’ve had every day basketball since the beginning of NBA season. A lot of games, so I need a couple days off.”

Doncic will return to Slovenia and will host a Mavericks contingent next week that includes owner Mark Cuban, new head coach Jason Kidd, general manager Nico Harrison and special advisor Dirk Nowitzki. They will finalize a five-year max-salary extension for Doncic that projects to be worth up to $207MM.

After that meeting, Kidd and director of player health and performance Casey Smith will head to Latvia to meet with Kristaps Porzingis, tweets Marc Stein of Substack.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Pelicans were hoping to make a splash in free agency, but the results have been disappointing, writes Scott Kushner of NOLA.com. New Orleans was rumored to be in contention for an established point guard such as Chris Paul or Kyle Lowry, but instead the team got rid of three starters with no obvious upgrade in return. Kushner notes that it’s dangerous for a team in the NBA’s second-smallest market with no tradition of success to rely on signing free agents.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas is ready to focus on basketball again after spending 10 days in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Silas, who wasn’t able to be in the draft room or attend the post-draft press conference, expressed his enthusiasm about the team’s four first-round picks — Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher. “I was excited to get all four guys because I had done research on all for of them and studied them. We had talked a lot about them,” Silas said. “It all worked out almost as a perfect world for us as far as who we got and where we got them and now looking forward with them.”
The Grizzlies received a B-minus from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton for Friday’s trade that sent Grayson Allen to the Bucks in exchange for Sam Merrill and two second round picks. Pelton states that Allen wasn’t in Memphis’ long-term plans and may not have gotten another contract after his rookie deal expires next summer.

Heat, Raptors Finalize Kyle Lowry Sign-And-Trade

August 6th, 2021 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have officially acquired point guard Kyle Lowry from the Raptors via sign-and-trade, Miami announced today in a press release. Toronto received point guard Goran Dragic and big man Precious Achiuwa in the deal.

Lowry was one of the first free agents to make a commitment when the negotiation period opened on Monday evening, but it took all week for the details of the sign-and-trade to be confirmed. Dragic and Achiuwa were always believed to be part of the deal, but there were rumors that Dragic would be flipped to a third team or that the Raptors would receive additional pieces. Ultimately, it’s just a two-for-one swap.

Lowry’s new, fully guaranteed contract with the Heat was initially reported to be worth $90MM over three years, but it’ll actually come in at $85MM, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Miami would’ve needed to include more salary in addition to Dragic and Achiuwa for matching purposes in order to accommodate that $90MM figure, notes Blake Murphy of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Heat, who have been after Lowry since at least the trade deadline in March, will unite the six-time All-Star with his close friend Jimmy Butler, who has agreed to sign a lucrative new contract extension of his own with Miami.

While a guaranteed three-year, $85MM investment is a risk for a player who is entering his age-35 season, Lowry has championship experience and is an ideal fit on virtually any roster due to his ability to handle the ball, knock down outside shots, and provide strong defense. He averaged 17.2 PPG, 7.3 APG, and 5.3 RPG on .436/.396/.875 in 46 games (34.8 MPG) in his final season as a Raptor.

“Kyle Lowry is a great leader and an exceptional defender,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “As a point guard, he will bring important skills to run the offense, score the ball and defend with the very best.”

The Raptors, meanwhile, still could theoretically flip Dragic to another team in the coming days, weeks, or months. However, Marc Stein reported earlier today that Toronto has “resisted external interest” in the Slovenian guard from the Mavericks and other teams.

Barring further trades, Dragic will join the Raptors’ backcourt alongside Fred VanVleet, Malachi Flynn, and Gary Trent Jr., while Achiuwa will battle for minutes in a frontcourt rotation that includes Khem Birch and Chris Boucher.

Southwest Notes: Spurs, Batum, Finley, Kerr, Green

August 5th, 2021 at 8:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The five-team trade the Spurs are involved in continues a trend of the teamstockpiling draft picks, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News notes. The Spurs will gain a 2022 second-round pick along with Chandler Hutchison from the Wizards in the agreed-upon multi-team swap, highlighted by the Lakers’ acquisition of Russell Westbrook. San Antonio is also acquiring three picks – a first-rounder and two second-rounders – in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade with the Bulls.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks were among the teams interested in Clippers forward Nicolas Batum before he agreed to re-sign with Los Angeles, Marc Stein of Substack tweets. The Warriors also checked in on Batum before he chose to take a two-year deal with a player option from the Clippers.
The Mavericks have officially announced the promotion of Michael Finley to assistant GM/VP of basketball operations, the team’s PR department tweets. Finley will work under new president of basketball operations Nico Harrison in his expanded front office role.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is ecstatic that one of his former assistants, Willie Green, got the Pelicans‘ head coaching job and believes he’ll have little trouble growing into the role, Kerr told William Guillory of The Athletic. “There’s just kind of this quiet dignity and intelligence about him that the players will really appreciate,” Kerr said. “And then I think, like all coaches, he’s going to have to find his voice and find his style. I’m sure he’s going to hire a great staff to help him do that. And he’ll grow into the job, but I think he’ll be fantastic.”

Trade Rumors: Kings, Siakam, Raptors, Dragic, Spurs, Markkanen

August 4th, 2021 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings “definitely” have trade interest in Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, Sam Amick of The Athletic said during an appearance on The Deuce & Mo Podcast (video link).

There have whispers this offseason – particularly since the Raptors used the No. 4 overall pick to draft Scottie Barnes – that Siakam is available via trade, but Amick says the Kings have been waiting for clarity on just how willing Toronto might be to move him. Sacramento would likely pursue Siakam if given the chance, though it’s unclear how much interest the Raptors would have in possible trade chips like Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley.

Here are a few more trade-related rumors and notes from around the NBA:

It’s looking more and more like Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa – the two primary outgoing pieces in the Heat‘s Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade – will end up with the Raptors, at least for the time being, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. The Raptors are believed to be exploring flipping Dragic to a third team, such as the Mavericks, but apparently haven’t found a deal they like yet.
Dragic, for his part, offered the following update on Slovenian television on Tuesday, per Iztok Franko of Mavs Moneyball (Twitter link): “I haven’t heard from Toronto yet, I’m still waiting for the news. Everything depends on the third team, we’ll have the news in the next few days.”
Before agreeing to acquire Thaddeus Young and Al-Farouq Aminu in their DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade with the Bulls, the Spurs were interested in landing Lauri Markkanen via sign-and-trade, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast. However, according to Windhorst, Markkanen sought a larger contract than the Spurs were comfortable offering, prompting the team to pivot to the veterans on expiring contracts. Windhorst believes there’s a “decent chance” Markkanen – a restricted free agent – will end up returning to Chicago.

Mavs Re-Sign Nate Hinton To Two-Way Contract

August 3rd, 2021 at 11:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have re-signed shooting guard Nate Hinton to a new two-way contract, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log.

Hinton, who finished the 2020/21 season on a two-way deal with the Mavs, received a qualifying offer equivalent to another one-year, two-way contract, so he may have simply accepted that offer.

Undrafted out of Houston in 2020, Hinton caught on with the Mavs and appeared in 21 games for the team as a rookie, though he saw very limited minutes. He averaged 2.0 PPG in 4.4 minutes per contest at the NBA level, but saw more action at the G League level for the Santa Cruz Warriors, putting up 10.6 PPG and 7.1 RPG in 10 games (23.0 MPG).

While Hinton got a qualifying offer from Dallas, the club didn’t extend one to its other two-way player, Tyler Bey, so one of its two-way slots for 2021/22 is open.