Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Chriss, Clippers Arena, Johnson, KCP

December 30th, 2019 at 6:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors forward Marquese Chriss has been fined $35K for shoving Mavericks star guard Luka Doncic to the floor, according to an NBA press release. The amount of the fine was based in part on the fact that Chriss has been disciplined on several prior occasions for physical altercations on the court. The incident, for which Chriss was assessed a technical foul, occurred during the third quarter on Saturday.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Clippers’ proposed arena will contribute to a “significant and unavoidable” increase in traffic, noise and pollutants, according to a draft environmental impact report, Jason Henry of the Orange County Register relays. The report found there will be a significant impact to intersections and freeways during most of the venue’s events, regardless of any improvements. The Clippers are hoping to construct a new arena that will open in 2024.
Tyler Johnson is the most likely player the Suns will deal before February’s trade deadline, Gina Mizell of The Athletic opines. Johnson’s $19.2MM expiring contract is the best trade asset the Suns have, Mizell notes. The 27-year-old combo guard has seen his playing time dry up, as he’s only appeared in four games this month.
Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has caught fire since being moved to the bench, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register notes. Caldwell-Pope, who holds an $8.49MM option on his contract for next season, has knocked down 11 of his last 15 3-point attempts. “It’s a credit to his mental toughness and character,” coach Frank Vogel said. “At times guys can go in a shell if they’re facing heavy criticism and he didn’t do that. He responded by remaining confident, being true to himself, believing in himself.”

Kings’ Dewayne Dedmon Confirms Trade Request

December 30th, 2019 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

11:40am: The NBA will investigate Dedmon’s comments to determine whether he’ll be fined, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. As noted below, the league’s CBA prohibits players from publicly requesting a trade.

8:55am: Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Friday that Kings center Dewayne Dedmon, who has fallen out of the team’s rotation after signing a three-year, $41MM contract in the summer, wants to be dealt. Speaking on Sunday to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee, Dedmon made no effort to deny Charania’s report or downplay his desire to be moved.

“I would like to be traded,” Dedmon confirmed. “I haven’t been playing, so I would like to go somewhere where my talents are appreciated.”

Dedmon, 30, was coming off two solid seasons in Atlanta when he reached unrestricted free agency this past offseason. In 2018/19, he averaged a career-best 10.8 PPG to go along with 7.5 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 1.1 BPG, and a .382 3PT%. That performance made him a popular target on the open market and resulted in a lucrative contract offer from Sacramento.

However, Dedmon was outplayed by bigs like Richaun Holmes and Nemanja Bjelica in the early going this season. With Marvin Bagley III and Harrison Barnes also in the frontcourt mix, head coach Luke Walton hasn’t found minutes for the former Hawk as of late — Dedmon, who is making just 41.9% of his shots from the field this season, has only played seven total minutes since December 6, and is frustrated that he hasn’t gotten more of a chance to reverse his slow start.

“I’m not the only person struggling with my shot, so if that’s a factor then it’s kind of crazy,” Dedmon told Anderson. “If you’re not allowed to shoot through your slumps, I don’t know how you’re supposed to make shots.”

Dedmon is earning $13MM+ this season and has another fully guaranteed year left on his deal, so the Kings may still want to get him back into the rotation at some point to rebuild his value and salvage their investment. However, the veteran big man sounds skeptical that things will turn around for him in Sacramento.

“I definitely appreciate (the Kings’ investment), but I want to be somewhere where I get to play,” Dedmon said. “That’s my biggest thing. I’m trying to play and I’ve been told I’m no longer in the rotation here, so there’s really nothing to wait on.”

According to Anderson, the Kings are listening to offers for Dedmon and there may be a market for his services, but the front office will insist that any deal must make sense for the team’s future. Sam Quinn of CBS Sports recently speculated that teams like the Clippers, Celtics, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, and Hawks could be fits for Dedmon. Anderson adds the Mavericks and Magic to that list of hypothetical suitors.

The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits players from making public trade demands, so we’ll see if the league responds to Dedmon’s comments. Anthony Davis was fined $50K last winter when agent Rich Paul publicly requested a trade.

Warriors Willing To Trade Alec Burks, Other Veterans

December 28th, 2019 at 7:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

Shooting guard Alec Burks is among several players the Warriors are willing to part with before the February 6 trade deadline, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Poole suggests Golden State could be one of the most active teams on the trade market after virtually ignoring it during the past five years.

He identifies Burks as the most coveted of the Warriors’ assets because he can stretch defenses and has an affordable contract at $2.3MM. Burks is averaging 15.5 PPG through 30 games and shooting 34.9% from 3-point range.

Poole names the Lakers, Mavericks, Clippers, Pacers and Raptors as teams that could use another wing player who can shoot from the outside. He states that the Warriors will be looking for future assets such as draft picks and young players.

Although Golden State’s front office likes Burks, they need to open up roster spots soon to keep two-way players Damion Lee and Ky Bowman, who are both nearing their 45-day NBA limit. Lee has 12 days remaining and Bowman has 11. After that, they will have to have their contracts converted to NBA deals or remain in the G League until that season is over.

“It’s an awkward situation for us, because Ky and Damion are coming up on their limit,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters after Friday’s game. “And they’re two of our top seven players in our rotation. And yet the rules are that we only have them for another nine or 10 days each. Everybody is aware of that. We don’t know how it’s going to play out.”

Several league sources told Poole that the Warriors are ready to move into serious trade discussions. They added several veterans over the summer on contracts that they believed would be easy to move when the time came.

Those include Glenn Robinson III at $1.9MM, Marquese Chriss at a non-guaranteed $1.7MM and Willie Cauley-Stein at $2.2MM with a $2.3MM player option for next season. They also traded for Omari Spellman, who makes $1.9MM this year, and picked up his option for 2020/21 at nearly $2MM.

Examining Barea's Return From Achilles Tear

December 26th, 2019 at 10:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Mike Piellucci of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at Mavericks guard J.J. Barea and the work he has put in to make it back from an Achilles tear at age 35 when he could have easily called it a career.

Luka Doncic Expected To Return For Mavs

December 26th, 2019 at 12:14pm CST by ChrisCrouse

There is good news out of Dallas for Mavericks fans. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the team is planning for Luka Doncic to make his return to the lineup against the Spurs tonight.

Doncic has been sidelined since December 14 with an ankle sprain. He’s missed four games – and most of a fifth – with the ailment.

In 25 games for the Mavericks this season, Doncic has been electric. He’s scoring 29.3 points per game, grabbing 9.6 rebounds and dishing out 8.9 assists. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden have a higher TPA this season despite Doncic’s time away from the court.

Doncic Fully Participates In Practice, Nears Return

December 24th, 2019 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks star Luka Doncic was a full participant in practice today, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Doncic’s status for Thursday’s game remains up in the air, but “things are looking better and better,” according to head coach Rick Carlisle.

Mavericks Show Off Roster Depth

December 21st, 2019 at 11:36am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Mavericks showed off their roster depth beyond starry headliners Luka Doncic (still out with an injury) and Kristaps Porzingis in a 117-98 road win over the Sixers last night. To be fair, Porzingis scored 22 points, pulled down 18 rebounds, and blocked three opponents’ shots. Still, Tim McMahon of ESPN notes that Tim Hardaway, Seth Curry, and even Ryan Broekhoff have had clutch moments for Dallas so far. “We have so many different weapons and so many different guys that can come in,” Porzingis noted after the victory. “I almost feel bad because we have so many guys that can come in, and sometimes they don’t get the opportunity.”

Mavs Not Expected To Pursue Andre Iguodala

December 20th, 2019 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Mavericks appear to have the pieces necessary to make an attractive trade offer for Andre Iguodala, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) has been told that Dallas has “zero interest” in the veteran forward.

Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links) reiterates that point, citing league sources who say that the Mavericks like Iguodala and had interest in him during the offseason, but aren’t actively pursuing a trade for the 35-year-old and don’t intend to.

As Townsend explains, Dallas’ management group “loves” the club’s current chemistry. Although Iguodala wouldn’t necessarily negatively impact that chemistry, adding a veteran like him would to disrupt the current rotation, Townsend notes. Stein, meanwhile, suggests that the Mavs are being “measured” as they consider possible trade targets, even after emerging as potential contenders.

The Grizzlies have held onto Iguodala since acquiring from Golden State in July, despite the fact that he hasn’t played a single minute for the team this season. Memphis reportedly hasn’t budged from its asking price of a first-round pick, while contenders like the Lakers, Clippers, and Rockets continue to hold out hope that Iguodala will be bought out, per Stein (Twitter link).

Houston and the L.A. clubs aren’t particularly well positioned to acquire Iguodala in a trade, but Dallas might be. A package of Courtney Lee‘s expiring contract and the Warriors’ 2020 second-round pick would likely appeal to the Grizzlies.

It’s possible Dallas is projecting a lack of interest in Iguodala to gain leverage and lower Memphis’ asking price, but for now it seems safe to assume that the Mavs aren’t the favorites for the former Finals MVP.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/19/19

December 19th, 2019 at 10:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Raptors recalled Dewan Hernandez from their G League affiliate, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. Toronto needs all hands on deck as a result of various frontcourt injuries this week.
The Magic have assigned Melvin Frazier and Amile Jefferson to the Lakeland Magic, the team announced on Twitter. Lakeland plays the South Bay Lakers in its first game of the G League showcase.
The Pacers have assigned Alize Johnson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, per the team’s transaction log. This is Johnson’s third G League stint of the week.
Justin Robinson has been assigned to the Capital City Go-Go, per the Wizards‘ Twitter feed. The G League squad takes on the Iowa Wolves in its first match of the showcase in Las Vegas.
The Mavericks have recalled Isaiah Roby from the Texas Legends, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
The Thunder have recalled Deonte Burton from the Oklahoma City Blue, per the team’s website. Burton has played seven games in the G League this season, averaging 16.1 points per game.

Grizzlies Still Seeking First-Rounder For Iguodala?

December 19th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies, who have no plans to buy out Andre Iguodala, also haven’t adjusted their asking price on the trade market for the veteran forward, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. Having acquired a first-round pick along with Iguodala in July, the Grizzlies are hoping to secure a second first-round pick when they flip the 35-year-old.

“They haven’t budged,” a league executive told Deveney. “Maybe they will as the date gets closer, but they’ve made clear, they’re not interested in a buyout with Andre and they’re looking for a first-rounder. Teams have been trying. They haven’t let go of that. But that tells you they know they’ll be able to get something and won’t have to buy him out.”

Acquiring a first-round pick for Iguodala’s $17MM expiring contract seems ambitious unless the Grizzlies are willing to take on some unwanted multiyear money, but there’s no harm in trying. The former Finals MVP is currently away from the team, and any potential trade partner with interest would be eyeing him for a potential playoff run, so Memphis can afford to be patient.

While I’d be surprised if the Grizzlies get a first-rounder for Iguodala, it seems as if the club should be able to land a second-rounder or two. The Mavericks, who control one of 2020’s most valuable second-round picks and could match Iguodala’s salary using Courtney Lee‘s expiring contract, still look to me like the best fit, but Deveney identifies the Bucks, Nuggets, and Jazz as a few other possible suitors.

I explained earlier today why several contending teams – including the Lakers – will have a tough time putting together a trade package for a player like Iguodala.