- Dirk Nowitzki scrimmaged with his Mavericks teammates for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in April, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports. Coach Rick Carlisle said Nowitzki should be available for training camp, which opens September 21, Sefko continues. Lottery pick Luka Doncic and J.J. Barea were among the other players in the scrimmage, Sefko adds.
- Mavericks swingman Dorian Finney-Smith should find more playing time in the frontcourt rather than the crowded backcourt, Sefko writes in a separate story. The club hopes he can develop into a 3-and-D player and he’ll earn more minutes if his outside shot improves, Sefko continues. It’s a pivotal year for Finney-Smith, who will become a restricted free agent after the season if he receives a qualifying offer or unrestricted if the club declines to do so, Sefko adds.
The Lakers and Luol Deng agreed to a buyout earlier this week, which will allow Los Angeles the ability to offer a top free agent a max contract next offseason. Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the final figure on what Deng agreed to give up in the agreement came out to $7.3MM, slightly less than what was previously reported.
The Lakers are projected to have approximately $38MM in cap space next offseason, enough to be a major player in the market. While we wait to see if the team makes any other moves, let’s check out some notes from their rivals in the Western Conference:
- The Suns are not interested in George Hill, Ashish Mathur of Amico Hoops reports. Phoenix traded away Brandon Knight over the weekend and has made inquiries on a few veteran options.
- The Mavericks lost Doug McDermott in free agency, but Ryan Broekhoff, who signed a multiyear, minimum-salary deal with Dallas, may be a suitable replacement for the former first-round pick, Eddie Sefko of Sports Day writes. The Mavericks need all the shooters they can get, Sefko adds, so Broekhoff may find himself getting some playing time as the season goes along.
- The Rockets and Clint Capela took some time to arrive at their five-year, $80MM+ deal but many of the team’s prominent members never doubted that the big man would return, as they tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “Oh, we’re not worried about stuff like that,” head coach Mike D’Antoni said of Capela possible slipping away. When James Harden was asked if he was concerned about Capela leaving, he replied “Nah.”
The third overall pick from the 2018 NBA Draft, Luka Doncic, will not be part of the Slovenian national team for September’s FIBA World Cup qualifiers, per a Sportando report. Instead, he will remain in the United States to prepare for the upcoming NBA season, Doncic confirmed with a tweet.
Doncic, 19, was drafted by the Hawks with the third pick in the draft but was immediately traded to the Mavericks in exchange for the draft rights to Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick. Given his past success internationally, it was possible that Doncic would have suited up for the Slovenian team before the NBA season started.
With Real Madrid this past season, Doncic racked up several major awards. He became the youngest player to win the EuroLeague Final Four Most Valuable Player award in addition to being named the EuroLeague MVP and Rising Star.
Check out more Southwest Division notes below:
- In an in-depth look at the recently retired Manu Ginobili, Gilbert Garcia of the San Antonio Express-News looked at how his presence around the organization made everyone appreciate him. After 16 seasons with the Spurs, the Argentina product announced he will retire instead of pursuing a 17th season.
- Trevon Bluiett impressed at Summer League, which paved the way for him to ink a two-way contract with the Pelicans. As Scott Kushner of The Advocate writes, Bluiett is excited about the opportunity and is ready to prove himself. “All I know is that it’s a foot in the door,” Bluiett said. “I don’t look at it as, I signed a two-way so I’m good and everything is done. It’s just a foot in the door to get to my ideal goal.”
- The Grizzlies finalized their basketball operations department, the team announced in a press release.
- Shane Rhodes of Basketball Insiders examines some potential surprise teams for the 2018/19 season, suggesting that the Bulls, Mavericks, Pistons, Clippers, and Suns are candidates to exceed expectations.
Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. is looking forward to the challenge of playing more at the shooting guard spot with the addition of rookie Luka Doncic, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. Coach Rick Carlisle said he’s not concerned about how Smith and Doncic will mesh, even though Smith mainly played the point last season. Smith wasn’t thrilled about playing the two-guard spot at times last season, according to Sefko, but the second-year guard is now a willing participant. “I made strides toward the end of the year playing off the ball. And I got better playing with it, too,” Smith told Sefko. “I believe both guys can play with it and without it.”
- The Mavericks have hired Peter Patton as their new shooting coach, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. Patton previously held the same role with the Timberwolves, but was among several people dismissed by the organization in May.
Utilizing Dirk Nowitzki as a sixth man might be the best strategy for the Mavericks during the upcoming season, Eddie Sefko of Dallas Morning News opines. The team seems committed to start rookie guard Luka Doncic, so if Nowitzki also starts, that would thrust Wesley Matthews into a bench role, Sefko notes. Pairing Nowitzki with reserve guard J.J. Barea in pick-and-pop situations might be a more sensible route, Sefko adds.
For the 10th time in 12 years, John Schuhmann of NBA.com got the opportunity to ask the NBA’s incoming crop of rookies a series of questions related to their fellow draftees.
Historically, the NBA rookies haven’t been particularly clairvoyant when it comes to their predictions — they haven’t accurately identified a Rookie of the Year winner since Kevin Durant in 2007/08. Still, it’s an interesting exercise, and one that occasionally results in a dead-on prediction, like when last year’s rookie class named Donovan Mitchell the steal of the 2017 draft.
Here are a few of the most interesting responses from this year’s rookies about the 2018/19 class:
- Deandre Ayton (Suns) and Collin Sexton (Cavaliers) are viewed as the co-favorites for the Rookie of the Year award this season, with each player earning 18% of the vote. No other rookie had more than a 9% share of the vote.
- Opinions were a little more divided on which player would have the best long-term NBA career, with Wendell Carter Jr. (Bulls) narrowly earning that title by receiving 13% of the vote. Interestingly, reigning EuroLeague MVP Luka Doncic (Mavericks) wasn’t picked by a single player for this question.
- No. 48 overall pick Keita Bates-Diop (Timberwolves) was named the steal of the 2018 NBA draft by his fellow rookies, edging out 14th overall pick Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets) and 18th overall pick Lonnie Walker (Spurs).
- Trae Young (Hawks) is widely considered the best shooter and play-maker in this year’s class. Jevon Carter (Grizzlies) earned the most votes for best rookie defender, while Zhaire Smith (Sixers) is viewed as the most athletic rookie.
- Be sure to check out Schuhmann’s full piece for the rest of the rookie survey results.
- Mavericks guard Luka Doncic should be able to handle the physical grind of the NBA but his athleticism and quickness will be tested in his rookie season, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. He also has to prove he can consistently knock down 3-pointers from behind the NBA arc, Sefko adds. Doncic is expected to jump right into the starting backcourt alongside Dennis Smith Jr.
The results of the investigation into the Mavericks’ alleged front-office misconduct could be made public next week, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports. The league and team would like to have the results finalized by Labor Day but there’s no firm timetable, Sefko continues.
An SI.com report back in February detailed inappropriate behavior by former employees, including former team president and CEO Terdema Ussery. Outside counsel was hired soon after to investigate the matter but the probe has dragged on through the summer.
The investigation is currently awaiting input and possible league sanctions, along with a re-examination of the details in the report, sources told Sefko.
It’s expected that the league will dole out some form of punishment to the organization, though the franchise has made sweeping moves to under new CEO Cynthia Marshall to change the front-office culture, Sefko adds. The front office has been overhauled and new initiatives were put in place to give all employees a voice in matters of inclusion and diversity.