Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mavericks Sign Wesley Iwundu To Two-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 7:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 1: The Mavericks have officially added Iwundu to their roster, the team announced today (via Twitter).

NOVEMBER 21: Free agent swingman Wesley Iwundu is nearing a new deal with the Mavericks, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that Iwundu is headed to Dallas on a two-year deal, while Zach Lowe of ESPN tweets that it’ll be worth the veteran’s minimum.

Iwundu’s contract will be fully guaranteed, a source tells Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). That source confirms that J.J. Barea will be brought back and says the team still has an open roster spot to fill.

Iwundu, 25, spent the past three seasons in Orlando, where he was a valuable rotation piece and a part-time starter. He averaged 5.8 points and 2.5 rebounds last season in about 18 minutes per night.

Mavericks Sign Trey Burke To Three-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 8:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 1: Burke’s deal is now official, according to an announcement from the Mavs.

NOVEMBER 20: The Mavericks have reached a three-year agreement with guard Trey Burke, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. The total amount of the deal is in the $10MM range, Stein adds.

Burke’s agent, Sam Permut of Rock Nation, negotiated a 7.5% trade kicker as part of the contract, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. It also includes a player option in the third year.

Burke was added to Dallas’ roster prior to the restart after Willie Cauley-Stein opted not to play. Despite a bout with COVID-19 and an ankle sprain, Burke delivered some quality minutes for the Mavs.

He averaged 12.0 PPG and 3.8 APG in the final eight regular-season games and 12.0 PPG and 2.3 APG in six playoff games, including three starts. He’s a career 34.5% 3-point shooter but made over 40% of his attempts in both the regular season and playoffs last season.

Burke, 27, has passed through four other organizations. He’ll compete for minutes behind Luka Doncic and could also join the Mavs’ superstar in some two point guard looks.

Free Agent Rumors: Bogdanovic, VanVleet, Augustin, Thompson

November 20th, 2020 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Now that Bogdan Bogdanovic has re-emerged as a free agent option for teams outside of Milwaukee, the RFA swingman and his representatives are expected to take meetings when free agency opens, according to Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic, who say that the Hawks and Lakers are known to have interest.

Amick and Nehm suggest it’s “widely known” that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had been recruiting Bogdanovic to Milwaukee. Since it seems that union won’t happen, teams hoping to eventually lure Giannis away from the Bucks will probably become a little more interested in Bogdanovic, according to The Athletic’s duo, who mention the Mavericks and Heat as a couple of those clubs.

Here’s more on free agency:

Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News tweets that he has consistently heard the Raptors‘ goal is to re-sign Fred VanVleet on a Malcolm Brogdon-type contract. Brogdon’s four-year, $85MM deal was cited way back in August as a probable market-setter for VanVleet’s new contract.
The Suns have reached out to D.J. Augustin, who is also drawing real interest from the Bucks, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). Gambadoro adds that the veteran point guard is likely to accept the best offer he receives.
Even after winning a championship, the Lakers aren’t content to be passive in free agency, says general manager Rob Pelinka. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN relays, Pelinka vows his club will be “aggressive” as it looks to continue making upgrades. “We’re not going to just sit back and not expect others who are in position to try to better their roster or better their teams,” Pelinka said. “So we have to stay aggressive. I think the danger of winning is complacency, and I won’t — we won’t allow that to creep in here. We’re going to try to improve our team and put Coach (Frank) Vogel and his staff in the best possible position to defend.”
The Lakers would love to land Tristan Thompson in free agency, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com. Mannix says the Raptors are also expected to express interest in Thompson, though Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) hears Toronto hasn’t reached out to the Canadian center yet.

Mavericks To Make Tyler Bey A Two-Way Player

November 20th, 2020 at 8:37am CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks plan to give a two-way contract to second-round pick Tyler Bey, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Coach Rick Carlisle talked about Bey during a radio interview Thursday and confirmed that Nate Hinton will be the team’s other two-way player.

Bey, a 6’7″ small forward out of Colorado, was taken with the 36th pick in Wednesday’s draft. He drew attention at the virtual combine with a 43.5-inch max vertical leap, the highest ever recorded for a forward.

Shooting guards Antonius Cleveland and Josh Reaves were the Mavericks’ two-way players last season.

Dakota Mathias, 76ers Agree To Two-Way Contract

November 19th, 2020 at 4:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers have agreed to a two-way contract with G League guard Dakota Mathias, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets.

Mathias, 25, played last season for the Mavericks’ affiliate, the Texas Legends. He averaged 18.1 PPG and 3.1 APG while shooting 39.5% on 3-point attempts.

Mathias was not selected in the 2019 draft after spending four seasons at Purdue. He was in Dallas’ camp last season but was waived prior to signing with the Legends. He has yet to make his NBA debut.

Two-way players are eligible to play up to 50 NBA games next season.

Mavericks’ Tim Hardaway Jr. Opts In For Next Season

November 19th, 2020 at 12:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. will exercise his $18.975MM player option for next 2020/21, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Acquired from the Knicks midway through the 2018/19 season, Hardaway became a valuable contributor during his first full season in Dallas. The 28-year-old averaged 15.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 71 games while shooting a career-best 39.8% from three-point range.

Like many players with option years, Hardaway would have faced an uncertain fate in free agency due to the league’s downturn in revenue and the lack of teams with cap space. He will become an unrestricted free agent next summer in what is expected to be a more robust market.

Southwest Notes: Porzingis, Jackson Jr., Winslow, Metu

November 19th, 2020 at 9:49am CST by Arthur Hill

There’s no timetable for Kristaps Porzingis to return to action following knee surgery, but he’s optimistic about his recovery, tweets Dwain Price of Mavs.com. Porzingis underwent a procedure in October to repair the meniscus in his right knee and won’t be available when the season starts.

“The only thing I know is that I’m recovering well, and that’s the most important thing,” he said. “We’ll see. I would like to start as soon as possible and I’m doing all the things necessary to do that.”

Porzingis hurt his knee in the first game of Dallas’ playoff series against the Clippers and played two more games with the injury. The Mavericks hope he will be cleared to resume on-court activities by January 1.

“I think I’m pretty close to being able to get some shots up,” Porzingis said. “We’re just taking it easy, we’re taking our time, but I’m pretty much there and I can’t wait to start doing more stuff. But I have to be smart, I have to be patient.” (Twitter link)

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks tried to get a higher pick in the first round of last night’s draft, but weren’t able to work out a deal, tweets Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. General manager Donnie Nelson said the team also had opportunities to move down, but didn’t want to pass up Josh Green with the 18th pick.
The Grizzlies will have to start the new season without Jaren Jackson Jr. and Justise Winslow, writes Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Executive VP of basketball operations Zach Kleiman confirmed that both players aren’t fully recovered from injuries that sidelined them last season. Winslow, who had an injured hip, is expected back before Jackson, who underwent knee surgery in August. “I would say that Justise is going to return early this season. It might not be day one, but no setbacks,” Kleiman said. “He’s been in our facility in Memphis, working out twice a day, doing an awesome job in his rehab and we’ll be excited to have him early in the season.”
Spurs center Chimezie Metu has changed agents, signing with Wasserman’s Darren Matsubara, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Mavericks Sign Nate Hinton, Freddie Gillespie

November 19th, 2020 at 1:07am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 1: The Mavericks have officially signed Hinton to his two-way contract, the club confirmed today (via Twitter). Gillespie’s deal is also official, per the Mavs (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 19: The Mavericks have agreed to sign undrafted Houston shooting guard Nate Hinton to a two-way contract, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link).

Dallas has also reached a contract agreement with undrafted Baylor big man Freddie Gillespie, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Terms of Gillespie’s deal weren’t specified — he’ll either get the Mavs’ other two-way deal or come to a camp on a standard contract, perhaps with an Exhibit 10 clause.

Hinton and Gillespie both rank among ESPN’s top 20 prospects who didn’t get drafted on Wednesday night — Hinton at No. 4 and Gillespie at No. 19.

Hinton declared for the draft after averaging 10.6 PPG and 8.7 RPG with a .387 3PT% as a sophomore in 2019/20. Gillespie, meanwhile, averaged 9.6 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in his senior season at Baylor, earning Big 12 All-Defense honors.

It was an eventful draft night for the Mavs, who also nabbed Josh Green, Tyrell Terry, and Tyler Bey, and sent Seth Curry to Philadelphia in a deal for Josh Richardson.

Sixers Trade Josh Richardson, Tyler Bey To Mavs For Seth Curry

November 18th, 2020 at 11:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

11:57pm: The deal is official, according to the Mavericks, who confirmed that they acquired Richardson and the rights to Tyler Bey (the No. 36 pick) from the Sixers in exchange for Curry.

10:11pm: The Sixers are finalizing a trade to send Josh Richardson to the Mavericks, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Dallas will also get the 36th pick in tonight’s draft and will send Seth Curry to Philadelphia, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Richardson, 27, was also traded last offseason, being sent from the Heat to the Sixers in the four-way deal that brought Jimmy Butler to Miami. He averaged 13.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 55 games during his lone season in Philadelphia. He’s the second rotational player to be dealt by the Sixers today, following the agreement to send Al Horford to Oklahoma City.

Curry, 30, will bring some outside shooting to a team that struggled to make three-pointers last season. He shot a career-best 45.2% from beyond the arc last year and averaged 12.4 PPG, mostly in a reserve role. Curry is the son-in-law of new Sixers coach Doc Rivers.

Richardson will earn $10.8MM during the upcoming season and has an $11.6MM player option for 2021/22. Curry’s salary will be $7.8MM and he is signed through 2022/23.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Roundup: Gallinari, Harris, Millsap

November 18th, 2020 at 7:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat could be among the teams bidding for free agent forward Danilo Gallinari, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. If Giannis Antetokounmpo accepts a super-max offer from the Bucks, there will be less incentive for Miami to preserve cap room for next summer. If the two-time MVP is off the market, Scotto hears that the Heat will extend Bam Adebayo, try to re-sign Goran Dragic and look to add a forward, possibly Gallinari, in free agency.

Oklahoma City is expected to structure the trade for Al Horford so it can retain Gallinari’s cap hold, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link).

There’s more free agent news to pass along:

A rumor circulating earlier today that the Mavericks and Thunder were negotiating a sign-and-trade deal involving Gallinari is false, at least so far, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
The Hawks and Hornets were both planning to pursue Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris, but it seems increasingly likely that he will remain in Brooklyn, Scotto notes in the same piece. Charlotte will look for more affordable guards who can give the team veteran leadership and shooting.
Nuggets forward Paul Millsap could be in line for the Trail Blazers‘ full mid-level exception if he signs in Portland, Scotto adds. The Blazers are expected to make a strong push for the 35-year-old.