Mavericks Rumors

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/4/19

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

  • Pistons first-round pick Sekou Doumbouya was assigned to the Grand Rapids Drive, Eric Woodyard of ESPN tweets. The teenage forward had been in the league’s concussion protocol since late in the preseason.
  • The Raptors assigned rookie big man Dewan Hernandez to Raptors 905, Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets. Hernandez has yet to make his NBA debut.
  • The Wizards recalled rookie guard Justin Robinson prior to their team’s game against the Pistons, the team’s PR department tweets. The point guard has made two cameo appearances this season.
  • The Celtics assigned first-round pick Romeo Langford to the Maine Red Claws, the team’s PR department tweets.  The rookie guard from Indiana is still looking for his first NBA basket.
  • The Nets recalled power forward Nicolas Claxton from their Long Island affiliate, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. The rookie out of Georgia has yet to make his NBA debut.
  • The Mavericks recalled rookie forward Isaiah Roby from the Texas Legends, according to a team press release. This is the second time the second-round pick has been recalled from the G League.

Youngest, Oldest NBA Rosters For 2019/20

The Suns currently have the NBA’s youngest roster, according to the NBA’s official roster survey. The league’s data shows that the average age of a Suns player this season is just 24.49 years. On the other end of the spectrum, the Rockets have the league’s oldest roster, with an average age of 30.24.

[RELATED: Oldest, Youngest Players On NBA Rosters For 2019/20]

Houston also has the NBA’s oldest roster in terms of years of experience — the average Rocket has played in the NBA for 8.93 seasons. The Celtics beat out Phoenix for the league’s least experienced roster, at an average of 2.73 seasons per player.

The NBA’s full roster survey, which includes every player on a standard contract (ie. not two-way players), is packed with interesting data, including the official heights and weights for every player, as well as each player sorted by jersey number and by home country. It’s worth checking out in full, but here are the rest of the league’s findings on the youngest and oldest NBA rosters:

Youngest rosters by average age:

  1. Phoenix Suns (24.49)
  2. Chicago Bulls (24.83)
  3. Golden State Warriors (24.87)
  4. Minnesota Timberwolves (24.91)
  5. New York Knicks (24.98)

Least experienced rosters by average seasons of NBA experience:

  1. Boston Celtics (2.73)
  2. Phoenix Suns (2.80)
  3. Chicago Bulls (3.07)
  4. Minnesota Timberwolves (3.40)
  5. Indiana Pacers (3.53)

Oldest rosters by average age:

  1. Houston Rockets (30.24)
  2. Los Angeles Lakers (29.07)
  3. Milwaukee Bucks (28.73)
  4. Dallas Mavericks (27.40)
  5. Utah Jazz (27.08)

Most experienced rosters by average seasons of NBA experience:

  1. Houston Rockets (8.93)
  2. Los Angeles Lakers (8.07)
  3. Milwaukee Bucks (7.07)
  4. San Antonio Spurs (5.67)
  5. Portland Trail Blazers (5.57)

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/31/19

Every night during the NBA G League season, Hoops Rumors provides the assignments and recalls for each team. With training camps now open, here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the G League:

  • The Mavericks have assigned Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News relays (Twitter link). Roby was selected in the second round by Dallas this past summer.
  • The Jazz are sending three players to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Tony Bradley, Dante Exum, and Miye Oni are all headed to the G League.

Isaiah Roby Recalled From Texas Legends

Kings Not Entertaining Trade Offers For Bogdanovic

Despite some speculation that they might shop him, the Kings aren’t believed to be entertaining trade offers for Bogdan Bogdanovic at this time, as one general manager tells Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.

“That’s not something they’re looking at too seriously now as far as anyone can tell,” the GM said. “They’re probably going to have to, but that’s not something to rush into. There would be a good market for Bogdanovic if they figure they can’t go far right now, but (the Kings) are still looking at how to make all of this work this season.”

There are number of factors contributing to trade speculation involving Bogdanovic. The Kings recently locked up Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield to deals worth in excess of $20MM per season, and will likely have to invest heavily in De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III within the next few years, creating uncertainty about whether the club would also want to pay big money to Bogdanovic. The Kings reportedly offered him a four-year, $51MM+ extension, but he hasn’t accepted it, and two ESPN reporters have heard he’s not thrilled about the idea of coming off the bench long-term in Sacramento.

On the other hand, Bogdanovic has denied that he’s unhappy with his role, and Deveney hears from a league source that the Serbian swingman hasn’t expressed any dissatisfaction to the Kings. It’s also worth noting that Bogdanovic could still accept that four-year extension offer during the season, since his eligibility didn’t expire on opening night. Plus, the Kings will face no cap restraints when it comes to retaining Bogdanovic and their other players, since he, Fox, and Bagley would all reach the market as restricted free agents. It could simply come down to how much Sacramento wants to spend.

The Kings have plenty of time to assess their options on Bogdanovic and see if they can turn things around after an 0-4 start. Even if they keep the 27-year-old through the 2019/20 season and bring him back as a restricted free agent, it wouldn’t prevent Sacramento from considering a trade down the road.

If Sacramento does listen to inquiries on Bogdanovic, the Knicks and Mavericks are expected to be among the clubs kicking the tires, according to Deveney, who notes that Dallas has had interest in the past. Deveney believes that the Kings should be able to get a first-round pick in return for Bogdanovic. Currently, New York owns two of Dallas’ future first-round picks.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/28/19

Every night during the NBA G League season, Hoops Rumors provides the assignments and recalls by each team. With training camps now open, here are Monday’s assignments and recalls from around the G League:

  • Bulls swingman Chandler Hutchison was assigned to the Windy City Bulls, the Bulls’ PR department tweets. Hutchison, who recently had his contract option for the 2020/21 season picked up, is working his way back from a hamstring injury.
  • As expected, the Grizzlies assigned former lottery pick Josh Jackson to the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ PR department tweets. That was the plan all along when Memphis acquired the former Suns forward this offseason and he attempts to jump-start his career.
  • Undrafted rookie guard Jalen Lecque was assigned to Northern Arizona by the Suns, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
  • The Jazz assigned Miye Oni to the Salt Lake City Stars, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. The rookie guard out of Yale was selected with the 58th overall pick in June.
  • The Timberwolves assigned forward Keita Bates-Diop, guard Jaylen Nowell and center Naz Reid to their Iowa affiliate, according to a team press release. Bates-Diop was a second-round selection last year, while Nowell was chosen in the second round this June. Reid is an undrafted rookie out of LSU.
  • The Mavericks assigned rookie forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Roby, who played at Nebraska, was chosen in the second round in June and acquired in a draft-night deal.
  • The Sixers assigned swingman Zhaire Smith to the Delaware Blue Coats, the team’s PR department tweets. Smith, a 2018 first-round selection, recently had his 2020/21 contract option picked up by Philadelphia even though he missed most of his rookie campaign due to injuries.
  • The Hornets assigned rookie forward Jalen McDaniels to the Greensboro Swarm, according to a team press release. McDaniels, a second-round pick, made his NBA debut on Friday.

Stotts: Seth Curry An Ideal Fit For Mavs

Knicks Notes: Smith, Ntilikina, Morris, Barrett

Dennis Smith Jr. has become the scapegoat for Knicks‘ fans in an 0-3 start, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Smith turned in his third straight ugly performance last night in the team’s home opener, missing all three of his shots in 11 minutes and falling to 1-of-11 for the season. He was 3-of-17 in two preseason games after returning from a back issue. Fans booed loudly when he was in the game and started a “We want Frank” chant in the second half, referring to little-used guard Frank Ntilikina.

Smith is being singled out because he was the key piece the team received in the January trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas. Porzingis has recovered from a torn ACL and is averaging 23.5 PPG in his first two games with the Mavericks. The trade also gave the Knicks enough cap room to sign two max-level free agents, but they missed on their top targets, further angering their fans.

“Our fans are passionate. I get it,’’ Fizdale said of the reaction to Smith. “The kid is obviously struggling. We’ll look at the situation and continue to adjust. (The fans) know what they like and what they want. It doesn’t do anything to my mindset. I’m going to coach this team.’’

There’s more this morning from New York:

  • Fizdale told reporters that Ntilikina will eventually get a chance to earn playing time and hinted that a shooting slump is keeping him out of the lineup, Berman adds in the same piece. The 2017 lottery pick has been on the court for three total minutes this season. “It’s three games in,’’ Fizdale said. “It’s not like 20 games into the season. But other guys will get opportunities. That’s how it will work. You either perform and get it done or you’re not. (Ntilikina is) overthinking it and pressing it. He’s mentally tough and he’s struggling right now, but he’ll find his way out of it.’’
  • Marcus Morris had an unusual free agent experience this summer, verbally committing to the Spurs before switching to the Knicks when they made a better offer. However, that could have been avoided if the Celtics had tried to keep him, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. “I guess that’s the business,” Morris said. “I thought I at least deserved a phone call, but it is what it is.”
  • At age 19, RJ Barrett looks ready for any challenge, including a game-deciding battle with Kyrie Irving, observes Steve Popper of Newsday.

And-Ones: Duval, G League Draft, NBA Rosters, Williamson

Trevon Duval has signed a G League contract and is eligible for this Saturday’s draft, Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days tweets. Duval was a two-way player for the Rockets last season and became a free agent when the team didn’t give him a qualifying offer this summer. He was claimed by Houston in March after the Bucks waived him. The former Duke guard made three cameo appearances with Milwaukee.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Journeyman center Hasheem Thabeet, former Lakers guard Vander Blue, and forward Trey Mourning, son of Alonzo Mourning, are some of the more interesting names on the list of players eligible for the G League draft, according to a league press release. The Northern Arizona Suns have the first pick.
  • There are 108 international players from 38 countries and territories on current NBA rosters, according to a league press release. The most-represented countries among the 108 international players on opening-night rosters are Canada (16 players), Australia (nine players), France (eight players), Croatia (seven players) and Serbia (six players). The Mavericks lead the league with seven international players.
  • Zion Williamson‘s knee injury created disappointment for the NBA’s TV partners, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic explains. TNT and ESPN wanted nationally-televised games featuring the Pelicans during the opening week of the season to showcase Williamson. They were stuck showing the Pelicans without the top pick in the draft on the court because it was too late to make a change. Vardon goes in-depth on how the national TV schedule is designed and notes that the Lakers play 21 of their 30 nationally -televised games after New Year’s Day because the networks wanted to feature LeBron James and Anthony Davis during the team’s playoff push.
  • Amida Brimah, the former UConn center who was in training camp with the Pacers, has suffered a torn right ACL, Scott Agness of The Athletic tweets. He was slated to join Indiana’s G League team, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.  Brimah will undergo surgery next week, Agness adds.

Mavericks Cut Chad Brown

The Mavericks have placed former UCF forward Chad Brown on waivers, according to a press release issued today by the club. Brown, who was just signed on Thursday, is expected to be designated as an affiliate player for Dallas’ G League team, the Texas Legends.

Brown primarily came off the bench during his four college seasons, averaging 4.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 33 games (17.3 MPG) as a senior in 2018/19. He went undrafted this spring and joined the Magic for Summer League play in July.

Dallas now has 17 players under contract — 15 on fully guaranteed standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals. The roster is regular-season ready, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the Mavs are done making moves.