Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Texas Notes: Doncic, Pondexter, Spurs, Bzdelik

November 7th, 2018 at 6:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, the early-season favorite for Rookie of the Year, hasn’t needed time to adjust to the NBA game, writes Martin Rogers of USA Today. Unlike past European stars who have struggled with the faster pace, Doncic has made an impact right away, averaging 19.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game in his first three weeks in the NBA.

Teammate Dirk Nowitzki, who made the same transition 20 years ago, believes Doncic has benefited from rules changes that limit the amount of contact by defenses.

“The game is easier to adjust to now than it was 10 years ago,” Nowitzki said. “It is less physical and more free flowing, so everything is set up for him to succeed and do well.”

There’s more NBA news from the Lone Star State:

Veteran swingman Quincy Pondexter has a “50-50” shot at staying on the Spurs‘ roster for the entire season, according to Jabari Young of The Athletic. Pondexter, who signed with San Antonio in August, is the only player on the team without a guaranteed contract. He has appeared in six games and is only playing 7.5 minutes per night, but has been a positive influence in the locker room. Young believes his fate will depend on whether the Spurs decide they want to sign someone who has been bought out.
The Spurs plan to scout several players before filling their second two-way slot, Young adds in the same story. San Antonio gave one spot to Drew Eubanks shortly before camp opened, but has been keeping the other one vacant. Young doesn’t believe its being held for injured forward Josh Huestis, formerly of the Thunder, who is now with the Spurs’ G League affiliate in Austin.
The Rockets opted to keep the same defensive philosophy as last season despite a change in personnel and are bringing back associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik to try to make it work, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Bzdelik, who installed the switching-heavy approach that took Houston to within a game of the NBA Finals, announced his retirement shortly before the start of training camp. However, team officials convinced him to return and he plans to rejoin the Rockets at the end of this month.

Nowitzki Hopes To Be Back In Three Weeks

November 7th, 2018 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks big man Dirk Nowitzki is hoping to make his 2018/19 debut in about three weeks, per Charania. Nowitzki continues to recover from ankle surgery.

[SOURCE LINK]

Mavericks Notes: Early Struggles, Nowitzki, Matthews

November 4th, 2018 at 6:15pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

Despite early season buzz and expectations surrounding the Mavericks‘ young core and the addition of DeAndre Jordan, they have gotten off to another slow start this season, sitting at just 2-7. As Eddie Sefko writes for The Dallas Morning News, this start looks eerily similar to past seasons, as the Mavericks are no stranger to such struggles.

As a result of anticipation surrounding the backcourt pairing of Dennis Smith Jr. and Luka Doncic, as well as the signing of Jordan, many were expecting the Mavericks to make a significant jump in the Western Conference. Even with Doncic impressing on a nightly basis, Dallas has struggled to win games, despite a relatively easy schedule to start the season.

Sefko points out that there are ways out of this early hole, with the Mavericks getting Dirk Nowitzki back in the near future as Harrison Barnes continues to work his way back from a preseason injury. The Mavericks have yet to have their ideal rotation playing together, which can give them some confidence that things will turn around.

It will take plenty of fight and effort, as well as a healthy rotation, for the Mavericks to truly turn things around given how tough the conference will be this season. Early signs indicate that this will be another year of growth and development for the Mavericks.

There’s more from the Mavericks:

Speaking of Nowitzki, Eddie Sefko (via Twitter) also points out that coach Rick Carlisle would be “thrilled” if the 40-year-old big man plays in games this month. Nowitzki has been working out during practices, but this seems to indicate that he is still several weeks away from getting on the court during games.
After earlier reports revealed that Wesley Matthews had an intense meeting with Mavericks’ President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson after the team’s loss to the Knicks on Friday, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News, Rick Carlisle is denying that the meeting was heated in any way.

Dirk Nowitzki Still Weeks Away From Returning

November 1st, 2018 at 9:24pm CST by JD Shaw

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is expected to be sidelined for weeks as he continues his rehab from left ankle surgery, according to Dwain Price of Mavs.com. “We’re still looking at weeks at this point,” Nowitzki said.“I haven’t even started running on the court, I haven’t even started running quick on the treadmill. I’ve just been slowly jogging and seeing how the foot reacts. Unfortunately we’re still talking weeks over days.” Nowitzki underwent surgery in April and hasn’t gone through a full practice session this season.

Texas Notes: Nowitzki, Butler, Rockets, Ginobili

October 31st, 2018 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

An injury continues to disrupt what may be Dirk Nowitzki‘s final NBA season, writes Dwain Price of Mavs.com. The Mavericks star said he is still “weeks” away from returning to action because of a left ankle problem that has bothered him since undergoing surgery in April. He hasn’t been able to participate in a full practice or go through a normal workout.

“We’re taking it super slow obviously now since we’ve had a couple of setbacks since we’ve increased the workload,” Nowitzki said. “So I’m just taking it slow, just started shooting, just started running a bit on the treadmill slow.”

When Nowitzki does return, the Mavs haven’t decided whether he will remain a starter or be moved to the second unit.

There’s more tonight out of Texas:

Despite being mentioned as a possible candidate in the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes, the Mavericks have no interest in trying to acquire the star forward from the Timberwolves, tweets Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. He lists the Rockets, Sixers and Heat as the top candidates, in that order, and states that the Lakers may make a strong bid as well.
No team has gotten off to a more disappointing start than the Rockets, who went from the league’s best record last year to one of the worst over the first two weeks of this season. Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post examines what has gone wrong in Houston and wonders whether the team was too focused on saving money this offseason. Bontemps agrees that it made financial sense to let Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute leave in free agency, especially considering the luxury tax implications of keeping them, but he questions why the Rockets didn’t use any of their mid-level exception and why they dealt Ryan Anderson for Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss, who may both struggle to get playing time.
Manu Ginobili retired over the summer, but he still has one more momentous night left in San Antonio. The Spurs announced on their website that Ginobili’s number 20 will be retired in a March 28 ceremony. Ginobili played 16 seasons and was part of four championship teams. He will be the ninth San Antonio player to have his number retired.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 10/29/18

October 29th, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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

The Clippers assigned guard Sindarius Thornwell to the Agua Caliente Clippers, the Clippers’ PR department tweets. Thornwell was a regular member of the team’s rotation as a rookie last season, appearing in 73 games, including 16 starts. He hasn’t seen the court this season.
The Mavericks have assigned rookie big man Ray Spalding to the Texas Legends, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Spalding was languishing behind DeAndre Jordan, Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell in the rotation and with Harrison Barnes returning from an injury, there was no playing time for him. The 6’10” Spalding was the 56th overall pick in June by the Sixers, who then shipped him to the Mavs. He has made one cameo appearance with Dallas.

Devin Harris Hoping To Return This Week

October 29th, 2018 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks guard Devin Harris, who remains out of action due to a hamstring injury, has been targeting Wednesday’s game against the Lakers as a potential return date, but that’s not set in stone, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. “I ran on it for the first time,” Harris said on Sunday. “The next step is to run on it comfortably. It didn’t feel quite right.”

DeAndre Jordan Off To Strong Start for Mavericks

October 28th, 2018 at 4:43pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

As one of the Mavericks’ key offseason additions, DeAndre Jordan has been exactly what the team needed, Eddie Sefko writes for The Dallas Morning News. Jordan is off to a strong start, averaging 16 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game while hitting 84.6% of his free throws.

Latest On Jimmy Butler

October 25th, 2018 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

With the 2018/19 regular season underway, trade chatter around the NBA has quieted down for the time being. Typically, teams don’t complete many trades near the start of the season, since they’re still taking stock of what they have on their rosters — plus, many players don’t become eligible to be dealt until December.

Still, given all the Jimmy Butler trade rumors we heard in the weeks leading up to opening night, it’s a little jarring how quickly those rumors were put on the back burner, as Butler plays alongside the teammates he reportedly berated in practice earlier this month.

Appearing this week on The HoopsHype podcast with Alex Kennedy, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revisited the Butler situation, exploring where things stand at the moment, and discussing when a deal might get done. Here are a few highlights from that conversation:

Although team owner Glen Taylor acknowledged that the Timberwolves almost certainly have to trade Butler before February’s deadline, Windhorst thinks it might be “a while” before a deal is completed.
As Windhorst observes, the Heat always appeared to be the most logical trade partner for Minnesota, but they didn’t want to bid against themselves. When Miami backed off trade talks before the season began, the club was betting that the Timberwolves had no other viable trade possibilities out there for Butler, and that might be true, says Windhorst.
While the Heat and Rockets, who won’t have cap room in 2019, have reason to pursue Butler in an in-season trade, teams with cap space can afford to be more patient, especially if the four-time All-Star won’t turn them into a title contender right away. Windhorst points to the Clippers as one team that won’t go all-in for Butler on the trade market when they could have an opportunity to go after him in free agency in the summer.
Interestingly, Windhorst identifies the Mavericks as one of the teams that still has interest in Butler. We heard last month that the Mavs had gauged the asking price for the All-NBA swingman, but a report out of Dallas suggested that it wasn’t a realistic landing spot for him. Like the Clippers, Dallas will have cap space in 2019.
Windhorst believes that, while they won’t say so publicly, several of the young players on the Timberwolves‘ roster will be “excited” if and when Butler is dealt.

Young Backcourt Already Producing Results

October 21st, 2018 at 11:57am CST by Arthur Hill

The future the Mavericks envision was on display in Saturday’s win over the Timberwolves, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. First-round pick Luka Doncic had 26 points and six rebounds, while last year’s star rookie, Dennis Smith Jr., poured in 19 points, including the game-winning shot. “Hey, if that was a peek at the future, it’s looking good,” said J.J. Barea. “Great win. And you see Luka. He just plays the game. And Junior, he had foul trouble, stuck with it and made the big shot. He took a tough shot and made it. They’re tough.”