Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jae Crowder Signs Three-Year Deal With Suns

November 28th, 2020 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 28, 3:37pm: Crowder has officially signed, per team press release.

NOVEMBER 21, 1:03pm: The Suns have reached an agreement to sign Jae Crowder to a three-year contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The deal will be worth just shy of $30MM, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Phoenix will use its full mid-level exception to complete the signing.

Crowder, who finished the season in Miami, reportedly explored a new deal with the Heat, but was seeking a guaranteed multiyear commitment that the Heat weren’t comfortable with, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

League sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) that Crowder also drew interest from the Mavericks, Timberwolves, Clippers, and Hornets, but that Phoenix’s offer was ultimately too good to pass up.

Crowder, 30, provides value as a three-and-D player who has the size to guard bigger wings. He also played some of his best basketball at exactly the right time in his contract year.

After being traded from the Grizzlies to the Heat at last season’s deadline, the veteran forward made 44.5% of his threes for Miami in 20 games to finish the season, then started all 21 postseason contests as the Heat came within two wins of a title.

Having secured a commitment from Crowder and having traded for All-Star point guard Chris Paul earlier in the week, the Suns are looking like an intriguing playoff contender in the Western Conference this season. The team finished five games below .500 in 2019/20, but had an impressive 8-0 run in the Walt Disney World bubble, increasing expectations for ’20/21.

Paul and Crowder will join a promising group that includes star guard Devin Booker, former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton, and young wings Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson, among others. The Suns also still hope to re-sign restricted free agent forward Dario Saric, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Wright To Pistons, Ariza To Thunder, Johnson To Mavs In Three-Team Trade

November 27th, 2020 at 5:23pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 27: The Thunder, Mavericks, and Pistons have officially finalized their three-team trade, according to press releases from the teams. As detailed below, Ariza and Jackson are headed to Oklahoma City, Johnson is going to Dallas, and Wright moves to Detroit.

The Thunder also acquired a 2023 second-round pick (the more favorable of Dallas’ and Miami’s picks) and the Mavs’ 2026 second-rounder in the deal.

NOVEMBER 21: The Thunder, Mavericks, and Pistons have agreed to a three-team trade, according to reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links) and Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links).

The move will send James Johnson from Oklahoma City to Dallas and Delon Wright from Dallas to Detroit. The Thunder will receive Trevor Ariza (from the Pistons), Justin Jackson (from the Mavericks), and – unsurprisingly – some form of draft compensation.

From the Mavericks’ perspective, the deal will allow them to open up a roster spot and add some veteran toughness, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who tweets that Dallas intends to keep Johnson on its roster. Moving Wright, who had two years left on his contract, and taking back Johnson’s expiring $16MM deal also allows the Mavs to create some added cap flexibility for the summer of 2021.

The Pistons will reduce team salary for 2020/21 and will reunite Wright with his former coach in Toronto, Dwane Casey. Having signed a three-year deal in Dallas in 2019, Wright had a decent year off the bench, averaging 6.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 3.3 APG in 73 games (21.5 MPG). But he became expendable when the club acquired Josh Richardson earlier this week.

As for the Thunder, I’d be surprised if they have big plans for Ariza or Jackson — they simply saw another opportunity to pick up an extra draft pick to add to Sam Presti‘s constantly-growing collection.

Ariza, who is still technically a member of the Blazers, has now been part of trade agreements that will send him to Houston, Detroit, and Oklahoma City within the last few days. Those deals will all be completed after the transaction moratorium lifts on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mavs Sign Tyrell Terry To Four-Year Deal

November 27th, 2020 at 4:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 1: The Mavericks have made it official with Terry, the team announced today (via Twitter).

NOVEMBER 27: The Mavericks are expected to give a four-year contract to rookie guard Tyrell Terry, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.

MacMahon anticipates a pact similar to the four-year, $6.1MM contract that Dallas handed Jalen Brunson prior to his rookie year in 2018.

Terry was the first pick in the second round of this month’s draft. Terry averaged 14.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.2 APG and 1.4 SPG in his lone year with Stanford.

Dallas is signing small forward Tyler Bey, who was taken five picks after Terry, to a two-way contract.

NBA Teams With Hard Caps For 2020/21

November 27th, 2020 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA salary cap is somewhat malleable, with various exceptions allowing every team to surpass the $109,140,000 threshold once their room is used up. In some cases, teams blow past not only the cap limit, but the luxury-tax limit of $132,627,000 as well — the Warriors project to have a nine-figure tax bill this season as a result of their spending.

The NBA doesn’t have a “hard cap” by default, which allows a club like Golden State to build a significant payroll without violating CBA rules. However, there are certain scenarios in which teams can be hard-capped, as we explain in a glossary entry.

When a club uses the bi-annual exception, acquires a player via sign-and-trade, or uses more than the taxpayer portion ($5,718,000) of the mid-level exception, that club will face a hard cap for the remainder of the league year.

When a team becomes hard-capped, it cannot exceed the “tax apron” at any point during the rest of the league year. The tax apron was set $6MM above the luxury tax line in 2017/18 (the first year of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement) and creeps up a little higher each time the cap increases. For the 2020/21 league year, the tax apron – and hard cap for certain clubs – is set at $138,928,000.

More than half the teams in the NBA have been willing to hard-cap themselves this offseason, and in some cases, it will significantly impact a team’s ability to add further reinforcements later in the league year. The Bucks and Lakers are among the teams right up against the hard cap, which may prevent them from being players in free agency during the season unless they can shed salary.

For other clubs, the hard cap is just a technicality that won’t affect their plans. The Hawks and Thunder are among the hard-capped clubs that will have zero practical concerns about reaching that threshold in 2020/21.

Listed below are the hard-capped teams for the 2020/21 league year, along with how they created a hard cap.

Atlanta Hawks

Acquired Danilo Gallinari from the Thunder via sign-and-trade.

Boston Celtics

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Tristan Thompson.

Charlotte Hornets

Acquired Gordon Hayward from the Celtics via sign-and-trade.

Dallas Mavericks

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Burke.

Denver Nuggets

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on JaMychal Green and Bol Bol.
Using bi-annual exception on Facundo Campazzo.

Detroit Pistons

Acquired Jerami Grant from the Nuggets via sign-and-trade.

Houston Rockets

Acquired Christian Wood from the Pistons via sign-and-trade.

Los Angeles Clippers

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Serge Ibaka.

Los Angeles Lakers

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Montrezl Harrell.
Using bi-annual exception on Wesley Matthews.

Miami Heat

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Avery Bradley and Maurice Harkless.

Milwaukee Bucks

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on D.J. Augustin and Bryn Forbes.
Using bi-annual exception on Bobby Portis.

New York Knicks

Acquired Austin Rivers from the Rockets via sign-and-trade.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Acquired Kenrich Williams, Josh Gray, and Zylan Cheatham from the Pelicans via sign-and-trade.

Phoenix Suns

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Jae Crowder.

Portland Trail Blazers

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Derrick Jones.

Toronto Raptors

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Aron Baynes and Alex Len.

Utah Jazz

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Derrick Favors.

Washington Wizards

Using non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Robin Lopez.

This list could continue to grow during the offseason if other teams acquire a player via sign-and-trade, use more than the taxpayer portion of their mid-level exception, or use their bi-annual exception.

Mavericks Re-Sign J.J. Barea

November 27th, 2020 at 9:25am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 1: The signing is official, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 27: Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms (via Twitter) that Barea’s new guaranteed one-year deal will be worth the veteran’s minimum. He’ll earn $2.56MM, with a cap hit of $1.62MM.

NOVEMBER 22: Barea will get a guaranteed contract from the Mavs, per Towsend (Twitter link). Considering he’s coming off a one-year, minimum-salary deal, it’s a safe bet that Barea will sign the same contract this time around.

NOVEMBER 21: The Mavericks are planning to re-sign veteran guard J.J. Barea, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets.

Barea, 36, has seen his role diminish and he’s also dealt with some injuries over the past two seasons but he remains a fan favorite. He appeared in 29 regular-season games last season, including six starts, and averaged 7.7 PPG and 3.9 APG in 15.5 MPG.

Dallas agreed to a three-year deal with another free agent guard, Trey Burke, so Barea would many serve as insurance in case of backcourt injuries. It also has Jalen Brunson as a point guard option behind star Luka Doncic.

Dallas has agreed to trade another guard, Delon Wright, in a three-team swap and Townsend speculates the Mavs might make more backcourt moves to clear a logjam. Barea has been on Dallas’ roster since the 2014/15 season.

Haliburton, Covington Were Trade Targets

November 23rd, 2020 at 7:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks tried to trade up in the draft to land guard Tyrese Haliburton, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (hat tip to RealGM). Dallas attempted to trade multiple picks to lottery teams in the 7-11 range to make that move. Haliburton was ultimately selected at No. 12 by the Kings. The Mavs also tried to work out a deal with the Rockets for small forward Robert Covington, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, but Houston instead chose to deal him to the Trail Blazers.

Free Agency Rumors: Ibaka, Iwundu, Hernangomez, Bazemore

November 22nd, 2020 at 8:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Big man Serge Ibaka was not bereft of contending suitors in free agency, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Scotto notes that the Raptors, the team with whom Ibaka spent most of the last four seasons, apparently offered a one-year, $12MM deal to Ibaka for an encore appearance in 2020/21. Toronto was believed to be unwilling to offer multiple years, which would have cut into the team’s projected 2021 cap space.

The Nets also wanted Ibaka, but could only afford a taxpayer mid-level exception, which would have started at $5.7MM this season. Ibaka ultimately inked a two-year, $19MM contract with the Clippers.

Here are more free agency rumors:

Though swingman Wesley Iwundu ultimately opted to sign a two-year, veteran’s minimum contract with the Mavericks, the Hawks, Pelicans and Kings were also in the running for Iwundu’s services this offseason, Scotto reports in the same piece.
The Mavericks and Kings also considered adding reserve center Willy Hernangomez before he agreed to terms with the Pelicans on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal, per Scotto. Hernangomez’s 2019/20 club, the Hornets, also apparently wanted to re-sign the 26-year-old big man.
Scotto reports that former Kings wing Kent Bazemore also found himself in high demand this offseason before agreeing to a one-year veteran’s minimum deal with the Warriors. The Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Celtics, Suns, Knicks, Nets, and Hornets were all interested in adding the three-and-D vet this offseason.

Mavericks Re-Sign Willie Cauley-Stein To Two-Year Deal

November 22nd, 2020 at 2:07pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

DECEMBER 1: The Mavericks have made it official, formally announcing that they’ve re-signed Cauley-Stein.

NOVEMBER 22: The Mavericks have agreed to bring back veteran center Willie Cauley-Stein, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Cauley-Stein will sign a two-year contract worth $8.2MM. This signing would most likely be achieved via Dallas’s mid-level exception.

Charania adds (via Twitter) that there will be a second-year team option on Cauley-Stein’s contract, and notes that Dallas pivoted to a new deal with the big man after falling out of the mix for Marc Gasol.

Sources tell Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) that the Mavericks are “most likely done” with their offseason dealmaking, but caution that “in this crazy environment you never know.” The club’s biggest new offseason addition is swingman Josh Richardson, brought in via a trade with the Sixers for Seth Curry that also yielded the rights to rookie guard Tyler Bey.

Cauley-Stein, 27, played 13 games for the Mavericks last season, averaging 5.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 0.8 BPG in 12.1 MPG. Dallas traded for the 7′ center after starter Dwight Powell went down with an Achilles tear in January. Power forward/centers Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber will be ahead of Cauley-Stein in the center rotation.

Luke Adams contributed to this report. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marc Gasol Narrowing Focus To Lakers, Raptors

November 22nd, 2020 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent center Marc Gasol is narrowing his focus to the Lakers and Raptors, according to Shams Charnia of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Warriors were among the teams also expressing interest in Gasol, but it sounds as if they’re no longer in the mix. The Mavericks also aren’t considered a probable destination anymore, Charania adds, noting that Dallas had been in the running up until now (Twitter link).

The Raptors hold Gasol’s Bird rights and are well positioned to offer him a lucrative one-year deal for 2020/21. Toronto should be especially motivated to bring back its starting center, having lost Serge Ibaka to the Clippers. If both Gasol and Ibaka depart, 2019 second-rounder Dewan Hernandez would be the only center under contract for the Raptors, since their other big man – Chris Boucher – is a restricted free agent.

While the Raptors can offer Gasol more money for next season, the Lakers are working the marketplace to try to find a way to improve their offer, per Charania. For the time being, they’d be limited to the veteran’s minimum, since they’ve already signed Wesley Matthews using the bi-annual exception and intend to use the full mid-level exception to Montrezl Harrell.

If the Lakers can shed some salary – and if the Raptors or Clippers are willing to cooperate – a sign-and-trade deal for either Gasol or Harrell could help keep the MLE open for the other. Los Angeles is exploring trading away JaVale McGee and his $4.2MM cap hit, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Should the Lakers snatch Gasol away from Toronto, the Raptors may shift their attention to a Lakers free agent, according to Stein, who reports (via Twitter) that Toronto has “strong interest” in forward Markieff Morris.

Mavericks Sign Devonte Patterson To Exhibit 10 Deal

November 22nd, 2020 at 9:10am CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 1: Patterson has been officially added to Dallas’ camp roster, the Mavs announced today (via Twitter).

NOVEMBER 22: Devonte Patterson of Prairie View will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Mavericks, tweets Tim Cato of The Athletic.

The 6’7″ forward was named SWAC Player of the Year last season after averaging 15.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He originally declared for the NBA draft in 2019, but opted to return to school.

The signing assures Patterson an invitation to Dallas’ training camp. Players with Exhibit 10 contracts usually have the chance to earn bonus money for joining a team’s G League affiliate, but the fate of the G League is uncertain this season.