Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Luka Doncic Sprains Ankle, May Miss Two Weeks

December 15th, 2019 at 12:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

DECEMBER 15, 12:15pm: Doncic may be sidelined for a couple of weeks, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who states that Mavericks officials feel like they “dodged a bullet” with the injury. Doncic won’t make the trip to Milwaukee for tomorrow’s game and no further updates will be provided until Wednesday night, adds Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).

DECEMBER 15, 8:19am: Doncic has been diagnosed with a moderate ankle sprain, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

DECEMBER 14, 8:34pm: Mavericks star Luka Doncic left tonight’s game early after injuring his right ankle, but X-rays didn’t reveal any serious damage, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. He has been ruled out for the rest of the contest.

Doncic was diagnosed with a sprained right ankle, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), and there has been no word from the team on how much more time he might miss. The injury occurred when Doncic rolled his ankle early in the first quarter.

The reigning Rookie of the Year has been outstanding in his second season, averaging 30.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 9.3 assists through 24 games and leading Dallas to a 17-7 start.

Mixed Opinions On Kevin Love’s Trade Value

December 12th, 2019 at 8:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Trade season is nearing and Kevin Love‘s name is again popping up. However, the latest tidbit isn’t particularly favorable to the Cavaliers. Jason Lloyd of The Athletic hears from multiple sources that the team is going to have a difficult time dealing Love because of his massive contract.

Love has three years and roughly $91MM left on his deal after this season and some teams are asking the Cavaliers to attach a first-rounder or other asset to the big man in order to move him. While that stance exists, it is not uniform throughout the league.

Cleveland is seeking a first-rounder in exchange for Love and Lloyd hears from one rival executive that the franchise may end up netting that asset in a trade. It may all depend on how much salary the Cavaliers are willing to take back in addition to the pick.

“I don’t think it’s distracted anything right now,” coach John Beilein said of the trade rumors. “I’ve been hearing that since the time I was hired. We want Kevin to go out there and play his best every single day for the Cleveland Cavaliers.”

Lloyd names the Celtics, Trail Blazers, and Mavericks as teams that make sense as a trade partner based on his conversations with people around the league. Portland might seem like an odd fit with Carmelo Anthony playing well at power forward, but some around the game believe Melo’s game will fade as the season goes along.

The Cavaliers have essentially made “everyone but [Darius Garland]” available. The franchise wants to find way to gain additional first-round picks and would love to flip a player on an expiring deal for one. That’s unlikely to happen even for Tristan Thompson, who is playing some of the best basketball of his career. Trading Love while taking some money back may be Cleveland’s only route to its desired asset.

Mavericks Assign Roby

December 11th, 2019 at 10:15pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Mavericks have sent rookie forward Isaiah Roby to the Texas Legends, according to a Mavericks press release. The 6’8″ Roby has yet to play in an NBA game for Dallas. He is averaging 11.8 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 SPG, and 1.6 BPG in 25.0 minutes for the Legends.

Herrington: Mavs Most Logical Trade Fit For Iguodala

December 11th, 2019 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

What sort of trade options might the Grizzlies have for Andre Iguodala? Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian takes a deep dive and explores several hypothetical scenarios, labeling the Mavericks as Memphis’ most logical trade partner and the Nuggets and Raptors as possible wild cards.

Knicks Rushed Porzingis Trade With Mavs

December 11th, 2019 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

When Porzingis and his brother (and agent) Janis found out the Knicks were discussing a possible trade with the Mavericks, they hurried a meeting with the team, providing a wish list of four destinations (Nets, Clippers, Raptors, and Heat), according to Shelburne and Wojnarowski. The Knicks turned around and quickly finalized a deal with Dallas, perhaps not wanting to lose leverage when Porzingis’ request leaked. The series of events left more than a dozen teams around the NBA wondering why they didn’t have a chance to bid on Porzingis, and suggested one of two things to rivals, per Shelburne and Woj: Either the Knicks knew Durant and Irving were coming, or they didn’t know how to properly execute a franchise-altering trade.

Latest On Knicks’ Potential Front Office Search

December 10th, 2019 at 6:36pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Knicks are planning to make a run at top Raptors executive Masai Ujiri and Marc Stein of The New York Times reports (via his latest newsletter) that there are many around the league who believe Ujiri can be lured to New York.

Even though the Knicks have been laughable on the court, the prestige of the franchise and of winning it all in the arguably the greatest city in the world carries weight with top executives in the NBA. Entering Madison Square Garden’s latest rehabilitation project and coming out with a championship remains a unique and coveted prize.

Regardless of whom New York lands, the franchise’s next architect will face his share of challenges. It’s not certain if owner James Dolan is finally ready to give his top executive something that resembles “real autonomy,” Stein writes. Even Phil Jackson, who was relieved of his duties before his contract was up, didn’t get nearly enough freedom to make internal moves that could have impacted the culture. Stein adds that Dolan has given zero indication that he will sell the team.

In addition to Ujiri, Stein mentions R.C. Buford (Spurs), Bob Myers (Warriors) and Donnie Nelson (Mavericks) as names to keep an eye on when it comes to a potential top executive search in New York.

Mavs Could Dangle Warriors' Second-Rounder In Trade Talks

December 10th, 2019 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

O’Connor identifies the following teams as ones that appear most open to trading late first-round or early second-round draft picks: The Bucks, Raptors, Clippers, Celtics, Sixers, and Mavericks. Some of those clubs hold other teams’ picks and could dangle those in trade talks. For instance, Milwaukee owns Indiana’s lottery-protected first-rounder; Philadelphia has New York’s and Atlanta’s second-rounders; and Dallas controls Golden State’s second-rounder.

[SOURCE LINK]

Delon Wright Considered Day-To-Day With Adductor Strain

December 9th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks may have dodged a bullet, as point guard Delon Wright is being considered day-to-day with an adductor strain, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The injury usually tends to be more of a week-to-week issue, MacMahon notes.

Porzingis Becomes "Unicorn 2.0" In Dallas

December 8th, 2019 at 2:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Kristaps Porzingis, the Mavericks‘ 7’3″ sharp-shooting, shot-blocking “Unicorn,” has adapted his game since being traded from the Knicks. The explosive offensive fire power of his triple-doubling teammate Luka Doncic has impacted how KP can best help in Dallas. The Athletic’s Shams Charania unpacks how the 24 year-old has adapted his shot profile and playmaking in Dallas, upon signing a five-year, $158MM extension in July. “Some nights I get more opportunities and some nights I don’t get as many opportunities,” Porzingis told Charania. “But most nights, we give Luka the ball and let him f***ing go.”

And-Ones: LaMelo, MVP Votes, Warriors, Fratello

December 4th, 2019 at 2:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

LaMelo Ball doesn’t mind a little campaigning in his effort to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft, writes Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports. The buzz around Ball continues to grow as he strings together impressive performances in Australia’s National Basketball League. Over the weekend, he became the first NBL player since 2005 to post back-to-back triple doubles.

“Most definitely,” Ball responded when asked whether he thinks he should be the first pick. “I believe in myself and I’ve worked hard to get here. The other guys at the top of the draft, James [Wiseman] and Anthony [Edwards], are very talented too. But just in the way I believe in myself, I think I’m the top pick.”

Several scouts were in New Zealand recently to watch Ball go up against another projected lottery pick in R.J. Hampton. Many came away impressed, with one scout saying, “The fact that he’s putting up numbers like this in a league full of former NBA players is forcing every team to look at him as a potential No. 1 pick.”

Ball addressed rumors that he might end his season early to protect his health for the draft. He insists he’s “committed to the whole season,” even though his team is off to a 3-9 start.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Roughly a quarter of the way into the season, Giannis Antetokounmpo is in good position to repeat as MVP, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. In a poll of 101 media members, Antetokounmpo received 48 first-place votes and was the only player listed on all the ballots. LeBron James (29 first-place votes), Luka Doncic (14) and James Harden (nine) were next in line.
Declining ratings continue to be a concern, and the NBA has started taking action to address the problem. One solution is fewer national TV games for the Warriors, who have the NBA’s worst record after five years as its marquee team. Golden State’s next two scheduled ESPN games have been replaced, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who speculates that more are likely to be removed.
Former NBA coach and long-time broadcaster Mike Fratello will be back on the sidelines soon, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando. Fratello will serve as head coach for USA Basketball in February’s qualifying games for the FIBA AmeriCup.
Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the China controversy today, saying a “culture clash” was almost inevitable, tweets Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic. NBA games haven’t returned to China Central Television, the main broadcaster in Mainland China, but they are back on Tencent, which Silver called a “thawing” in tensions (Twitter link).
Sources tell Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that March 20 has been set for the debut of the NBA’s Basketball Africa League (Twitter link). The first game will take place in Dakar, Senegal.
The NBA will consider allowing corporate investors to hold passive minority stakes in more than one team, tweets Alex M. Silverman of MorningConsult. The measure will be part of the agenda at April’s Board of Governors meeting.