Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Mavericks Rumors

Free Agent Rumors: Knicks, Pelicans, Looney, Satoransky, More

June 27th, 2019 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Following up on recent reports that have linked the team to Julius Randle and Bobby Portis, Ian Begley of SNY.tv confirms that the Knicks will have “strong interest” in those young bigs if they can’t land their top free agent targets. However, as we’ve heard repeatedly in recent days, New York prefers not to offer contracts longer than two years to its secondary targets, according to Begley, who acknowledges that either Randle or Portis could get a longer-term offer from another team.

Begley also confirms that the Knicks have weighed the idea of pursuing DeMarcus Cousins in free agency, as was previously reported. According to Begley though, some in the organization have indicated that going after a younger player like Randle or Portis is a higher priority than pursuing Cousins, who is entering his age-29 season.

  • The Pelicans are among the teams expected to show interest in free agent big man Kevon Looney, writes former Sporting News reporter Sean Deveney (Facebook link). As Deveney notes, New Orleans will have cap flexibility and could use another veteran big man in the frontcourt with Anthony Davis and potentially Julius Randle departing.
  • Tomas Satoransky, who will become a restricted free agent after receiving a qualifying offer from the Wizards, is expected to receive interest from the Mavericks, Pacers, Magic, and Celtics, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. According to Hughes, the Jazz also had Satoransky on their list of targets before swinging a deal for Mike Conley. I’d imagine the Celtics would be out of the running as well if they can land Kemba Walker.
  • Appearing on a recent ESPN podcast with Zach Lowe, Brian Windhorst said he got word a month ago that the Spurs were interested in free agent forward Bojan Bogdanovic. As Windhorst notes though, San Antonio doesn’t have the cap room to make a play for Bogdanovic and would need to make a cost-cutting move for it to be a realistic possibility.
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Diallo A Possible Fit; Cuban Downplays Importance Of FA Meetings

June 27th, 2019 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams
  • Cheick Diallo, who shares an agent with Mavericks star Luka Doncic and Mavs free agent target Patrick Beverley, is a potential fit for Dallas, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Diallo reportedly won’t receive a qualifying offer from New Orleans, so he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
  • Speaking of the Mavericks, team owner Mark Cuban downplayed the importance of face-to-face meetings for free agents, as Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News writes. “There’s some players that want a presentation and they want the dog-and-pony show,” Cuban said. “And there’s some players, they don’t care. They have a feel and they just want to ask some questions and you don’t really have to have a meeting to do that. … It really depends on the players. I can give you a long list of players we didn’t have meetings with that we signed, and a lot of teams that didn’t have meetings and they signed people. There’s not a lot of secrets. It’s not like all of a sudden you’re going to say something they didn’t know.”
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Patrick Beverley Reportedly Seeking Three Years, $40MM

June 27th, 2019 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent point guard Patrick Beverley is said to be seeking a three-year deal in the $40MM range, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (via Twitter). According to MacMahon, the Mavericks, Bulls, Lakers, and Clippers are expected to be among the suitors for Beverley.

Although Beverley earned just over $5MM last season, it’s no surprise that he’ll be seeking a substantial raise. ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Bobby Marks recently suggested that the point guard would likely earn more than the mid-level ($9.25MM), with Marks predicting that Beverley’s annual salary could end up as high as $14-15MM. A three-year, $40MM contract would be worth about $13.3MM annually.

The Mavericks have previously been cited as a probable suitor for Beverley, with one report suggesting that the two sides viewed one another as a “perfect fit.” As MacMahon notes, Beverley’s agent Bill Duffy also represents Luka Doncic and is “intrigued” by the possibility of pairing his two clients in Dallas. The Mavs project to have more than $29MM in cap space.

The Bulls and Lakers have also been linked to Beverley, with reports indicating that there’s mutual interest between the veteran point guard and his hometown team in Chicago. The Bulls project to have about $23MM in cap room and reportedly want to use some of it on a point guard. The Lakers’ situation remains very much in flux, but Beverley would make sense if the club plans to split up its cap room (likely $24-32MM) on two or three players.

The Clippers, of course, would have interest in bringing back Beverley after he averaged 7.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.8 APG with a .407/.397/.780 and great defense in 78 games for the team last season. Like the Lakers though, they’ll be pursuing bigger fish, so there may be timing issues if Beverley wants to make a quick decision.

Retweet 6 Share 0 Send via email0

Celtics Emerge As Frontrunner For Kemba Walker

June 27th, 2019 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

8:58am: The Celtics have made Walker their No. 1 priority and are expected to offer him a four-year, maximum-salary deal when free agency opens on Sunday, Wojnarowski writes in his full story at ESPN.com.

It appears increasingly likely that Kemba will accept that deal, according to Woj, who says that Hornets owner Michael Jordan is “no longer determined to extend far enough financially” to bring back the All-NBA point guard.

8:06am: There are “sizable gaps” in contract negotiations so far between Kemba Walker and the Hornets, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Charania, the lack of progress toward a deal with the Hornets so far has opened a pathway for teams like the Celtics, Mavericks, and Knicks to have a shot at Walker. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Boston has emerged as the frontrunner to the 29-year-old, echoing a Wednesday report.

As we’ve detailed previously, Walker became eligible for a super-max contract by earning a spot on the All-NBA Third Team this spring. That means that the Hornets could offer him up to as much as $221MM over five years. Rival suitors can’t offer more than about $141MM for four years, creating a significant window for Charlotte to outbid their competition without technically maxing out the All-Star guard.

While Walker has said that the Hornets remain his first priority and has indicated he’s open to accepting less than the super-max to return to Charlotte, the club doesn’t have the same strong foundation that teams like the Celtics and Mavs do.

If they re-sign Walker, the Hornets would be up against the tax line and would have trouble adding complementary pieces around him. In Boston, he could team up with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Gordon Hayward, while Dallas would give him the chance to join Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. The Knicks are more of a blank slate, but have the cap flexibility to potentially add a second star to join Walker.

The Celtics can create enough salary for Walker’s maximum salary ($32.7MM) if they renounce Terry Rozier. The Mavs are at about $29MM in projected room and could get to a max slot by waiving and stretching Courtney Lee. The Knicks have enough space for two max deals.

Retweet 6 Share 0 Send via email0

Mavs Not Believed To Be Serious Threat For Horford

June 27th, 2019 at 8:31am CST by Luke Adams
  • Reporters around the NBA are still trying to pin down the mystery team that appears to be on track to sign Al Horford to a lucrative four-year contract. Marc Stein of The New York Times thought it might be the Pelicans, but says he has been “strongly advised” that that’s not the case (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) doesn’t believe the Mavericks are seriously in the mix for Horford, despite reports that suggested otherwise.
Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Pistons Trade For No. 37 Pick Deividas Sirvydis

June 26th, 2019 at 8:51pm CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 26, 8:51pm: Per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, the deal is official.

JUNE 20, 10:59pm: The Mavericks are receiving the 2020 and 2021 second-rounders that the Pistons acquired earlier in the evening from Cleveland, tweets Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The 2020 pick is Utah’s and the 2021 selection is Portland’s.

JUNE 20, 10:34pm: The Pistons and Mavericks have agreed to a trade that will send the rights of No. 37 pick Deividas Sirvydis to Detroit, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter), Dallas is receiving the No. 45 pick from Detroit tonight, along with two future second-round picks. The Pistons just acquired four second-rounders for the No. 30 pick, so it wouldn’t be surprised if those two of those selections are being re-routed to the Mavs.

Sirvydis, a wing player, is expected to be a draft-and-stash pick for the Pistons, reports Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).

Sirvydis, who declared the draft as an international early entrant, played in the Lithuanian league this season. He projects as a dangerous perimeter threat, as ESPN’s Jonathan Givony tweets.

Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0

Oubre, Wright, Finney-Smith, Kleber Receive QOs

June 26th, 2019 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

With the qualifying offer deadline just a few days away, several more players have been tendered QOs by their respective teams, which will ensure that they become restricted free agents (rather than unrestricted) on the evening of June 30. Those players are as follows:

Oubre’s name is the most interesting one in the bunch. Wojnarowski suggests that the former Wizard will be a candidate for a significant offer sheet, especially from a team with cap room that misses out on a high-profile unrestricted free agent.

As long as Oubre remains on the Suns‘ books, he’ll carry a cap hit in the neighborhood of $9.63MM, which will cut into the club’s projected cap room. Once they acquire Aron Baynes and Dario Saric and move T.J. Warren, the Suns project to have about $14MM in cap space. That number would increase to about $23MM if Phoenix were to renounce Oubre.

Wright had a strong finish to the season for the Grizzlies after being acquired in the Marc Gasol trade at the deadline, averaging 12.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 5.3 APG in 26 games for Memphis. With Mike Conley headed to Utah, Wright could be re-signed to share point guard duties with No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant.

As for Finney-Smith and Kleber, the Mavericks view them as quality role players who will fit in well with franchise cornerstones Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, says MacMahon. Because both players have such modest cap holds, they won’t compromise the team’s flexibility on the open market.

Dallas could keep those holds on the team’s books and eventually go over the cap to re-sign Finney-Smith and Kleber to new deals. The Mavs have Bird rights for Finney-Smith and Early Bird rights for Kleber.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0

Celtics Frontrunners For Kemba Walker?

June 26th, 2019 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams
  • One league source who spoke to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) views the Celtics as the favorites for free agent point guard Kemba Walker, followed by the Hornets and Mavericks.
Retweet 3 Share 0 Send via email0

Mavericks To Sign Josh Reaves

June 26th, 2019 at 12:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

JUNE 26: Reaves is expected to sign an Exhibit 10 deal with the Mavs rather than a two-way pact, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News hears (Twitter link).

Reaves’ contract could be converted into a two-way later in the offseason, and not signing him to a two-way deal right away would allow Dallas to retain and evaluate both Macon and Antetokounmpo for a little while longer.

JUNE 21: The Mavericks will sign Penn State’s Josh Reaves to a two-way contract, tweets Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Their interest was first reported by ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link).

The 6’5″ shooting guard averaged 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds during his senior season with the Nittany Lions. He was named Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 10.

Dallas ended the season with its two-way spots occupied by Daryl Macon and Kostas Antetokounmpo. Both players have two-year deals, so one would need to be waived to make room for Reaves.

Retweet 5 Share 0 Send via email0

Latest On Kawhi Leonard

June 25th, 2019 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri expressed confidence today that his team will be able to re-sign Kawhi Leonard, telling reporters that he believes the franchise has “built a trust” with the All-NBA forward and adding that there have been positive discussions between the two sides.

Still, there will be plenty of rival suitors looking to lure Leonard back south of the border. Here are the latest rumblings on a few of those contenders:

  • A meeting between Leonard and the Clippers is tentatively scheduled for July 2, Frank Isola of The Athletic hears (Twitter link). Teams technically aren’t permitted to contact free agents to set up meetings until June 29, but it won’t be surprising if some plans are in the works before then. We’ll have to wait to see if this is one of them.
  • Chris Broussard of FOX Sports has heard that the Lakers won’t be in the running for Leonard, even if they can create enough cap room to offer a max or near-max contract (link via Wil Leitner of FOX Sports Radio).
  • Despite rumblings that the Mavericks are confident about getting a meeting with Leonard, Mike Fisher of 247Sports.com says it’s “premature” to go that far. According to Fisher, the Mavs would love to meet with Kawhi, but “don’t know yet” if he’ll consider them.
  • The Knicks remain hopeful about getting a meeting with Leonard in free agency, a source tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
Retweet 1 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts