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Dirk Nowitzki Still Weeks Away From Returning

October 12th, 2018 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks big man Dirk Nowitzki is still weeks away from returning to action, head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters today. As Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com details, that means Nowitzki will miss the start of the season, his 21st with the Mavs.

“It’s going to be multiple weeks, I can tell you that,” Carlisle said. “But there’s no real soft or hard date [for Nowitzki’s return] at this point. He is doing better, but has not done any significant court work. His rehab work is ongoing, and we can update you in another 10 days or something like that.”

Nowitzki, who continues to recover from April ankle surgery, initially hoped to be ready to go to start the 2018/19 season, but suffered a setback last month. He won’t require any additional procedures on that ankle though, according to Carlisle (Twitter link via Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News).

After averaging 12.0 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 77 games (24.7 MPG) last season, with a very respectable shooting line of .456/.409/.898, Nowitzki re-signed with the Mavericks in July. The 40-year-old has indicated that he’d like to keep playing as long as he remains healthy and productive, as he was last season. It appears this year is off to a more ominous start in terms of his health, however.

Harrison Barnes‘ availability for the start of the regular season also remains up in the air, according to Carlisle, who said today that Barnes will need to get in some “quality practice time” before Dallas’ opener in order to play in that game.

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Mavericks Release Rashad Vaughn, Donte Ingram

October 11th, 2018 at 4:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Three days after signing them, the Mavericks have waived Rashad Vaughn and Donte Ingram, both of whom were on non-guaranteed contracts. Dallas confirmed the cuts today in a press release.

While Vaughn and Ingram didn’t spend much time with the Mavericks, they could be in line for a stint with Dallas’ G League club, the Texas Legends. Unless another team signs them once they clear waivers on Saturday, Vaughn and Ingram are eligible to become affiliate players for the Mavs and could earn bonuses worth up to $50K.

Vaughn was the Bucks’ first-round pick in 2015 and has played a total of 139 NBA games since then. In 28 games for the Bucks, Nets and Magic last season, Vaughn averaged 2.3 PPG in 7.6 MPG. He played for the Heat’s Summer League teams in Las Vegas and Sacramento this offseason.

Ingram, meanwhile, went undrafted in June after playing four years for Loyola University Chicago. He started 38 games as a senior and averaged 11.0 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 30.6 MPG. He also appeared in five games for the Bulls’ Las Vegas Summer League team in July, averaging 6.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 1.4 APG in 26.8 MPG.

Dallas’ roster now sits at 17 players — 15 on standard NBA contracts and a pair on two-way deals.

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Mavericks Waive Ding Yanyuhang

October 10th, 2018 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks have waived Chinese forward Ding Yanyuhang, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Ding missed training camp and most of the preseason because of tendinitis in his knee, so it’s not surprising that he wasn’t able to earn a roster spot. He will join Dallas’ G League affiliate once he clears waviers, Stein adds (Twitter link).

Ding has played in China for the past seven seasons with the Shandong Golden Stars. He averaged 26.0 points and 5.2 rebounds last year and earned the Chinese Basketball Association Domestic MVP award for the second straight season.

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2018/19 Over/Unders: Southwest Division

October 9th, 2018 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2018/19 NBA regular season will get underway in just seven days, which means it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from Bovada and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, to have you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

Having kicked things off with the Atlantic on Monday, we’re moving onto the Southwest today…

Houston Rockets

(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Rockets poll)

New Orleans Pelicans

(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Pelicans poll)

San Antonio Spurs

(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Spurs poll)

Dallas Mavericks

(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Mavericks poll)

Memphis Grizzlies

(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Grizzlies poll)

Previous voting results:

Atlantic:

  • Boston Celtics (59.5 wins): Over (53.63%)
  • Toronto Raptors (55.5 wins): Over (56.95%)
  • Philadelphia 76ers (54.5 wins): Under (51.19%)
  • Brooklyn Nets (31.5 wins): Under (56.04%)
  • New York Knicks (28.5 wins): Under (54.13%)
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Mavs Sign Donte Ingram, Rashad Vaughn

October 8th, 2018 at 4:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks have signed swingman Donte Ingram and guard Rashad Vaughn and waived forward Jalen Jones and guard Codi Miller-McIntyre, according to a team press release.

Terms were disclosed but the two signings are almost certainly Exhibit 10 contracts.

Ingram went undrafted in June after playing four years for Loyola University Chicago. He started 38 games as a senior and averaged 11.0 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 30.6 MPG. He played five games for the Bulls’ Las Vegas summer league team, averaging 6.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 1.4 APG in 26.8 MPG.

Vaughn, who like Ingram is listed at 6’6”, was the Bucks’ first-round pick in 2015 and has played a combined 139 NBA games. In 28 games for the Bucks, Nets and Magic last season, Vaughn averaged 2.3 PPG in 7.6 MPG. He played for the Heat’s summer league teams in Las Vegas and Sacramento this offseason.

The 6’7” Jones appeared in one Dallas preseason game before being let go. He played 12 regular-season games with the Mavericks as a rookie last season, averaging 5.8 PPG and 2.9 RPT in 13.5 MPG. The 6’3” Miller-McIntyre made cameos in two preseason games.

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Turnovers Only Negative For Doncic So Far

October 7th, 2018 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic has drawn rave reviews during the preseason, but he needs to cut down on turnovers, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Doncic has given the ball up eight times in 60 minutes of action, with four of those coming on traveling calls. “The behind the back [passes] and all that is good when it goes well,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He threw one of them to somebody over in the second row one time. We’ve got to correct that. He’s adapting to the different ways they call traveling in the NBA. In Europe, they had a different interpretation of it.”
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Additional Harassment Allegations Made

October 5th, 2018 at 5:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks will hire former professional sports gambler Bob Voulgaris to a front office role, Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN report. Voulgaris will be the team’s director of quantitative research and development, another example of how the league is embracing the betting community and gambling after previously shunning it. As a gambler, Voulgaris used analytics and expertise on coaching strategy and tendencies of individual referees. He will now serve as a strategic thinker to help examine on-court strategies.

  • The Mavericks are facing a new round of sexual harassment allegations in the workplace, according to Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. Several former female employees allege that team photographer Danny Bollinger has a history of propositioning female co-workers and making lewd comments. The allegations were not part of the recently-concluded investigation into workplace misconduct within the organization. Owner Mark Cuban agreed to donate $10MM to organizations that “promote women in leadership roles and combat domestic violence” following that investigation.
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Injury Updates On Yanyuhang, Nowitzki

October 4th, 2018 at 2:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets hope Marquese Chriss will develop into the type of backup center they thought they acquired when they signed Brandan Wright late last season, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Wright got hurt quickly and only played one game for Houston, but the team sees Chriss as the same style of player, a mobile big man who can attack the rim on pick-and-rolls.

Chriss was acquired from the Suns at the end of August in the trade that sent Ryan Anderson to Phoenix. The former eighth overall pick had a solid debut for the Rockets on Tuesday with 11 points and four rebounds and welcomes a more defined role.

“The difference is they know what they want me to do,” Chriss said of the Rockets. “They’re asking me to do a specific job. I’m trying to do it to the best of my ability. There really is no question about what they want my role to be. They made it straightforward to me when I first got traded here. I embraced it, and I’m working to do it as best as I can. Being on the Suns, it was kind of touch and go what we were capable of doing or I was able to show.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • Jahlil Okafor‘s ankle injury won’t prevent him from making the Pelicans‘ roster, tweets Scott Kushner of The Advocate. Okafor is expected to miss a week or two after spraining his right ankle late in Sunday’s game, but coach Alvin Gentry said that won’t affect his decision on Okafor’s status.
  • The Grizzlies should have plenty of minutes for both rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. and JaMychal Green, the returning starter at power forward, writes Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian. Jackson attracted more attention at media day, but Green is entering the final year of his contract at nearly $7.7MM and has incentive to put up big numbers heading into free agency.
  • Mavericks‘ forward Ding Yanyuhang hasn’t practiced yet because of knee tendinitis, but may be able to make his preseason debut in his home nation of China, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Coach Rick Carlisle said Ding has been ruled out for the team’s game in Shanghai, but he may practice and play in Shenzhen. Carlisle also said the next update on Dirk Nowitzki‘s condition will come October 12 (Twitter link).
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NBA GMs Weigh In On 2018/19 Season

October 3rd, 2018 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

NBA.com has completed its annual survey of NBA general managers, with John Schuhmann of NBA.com asking each of the league’s 30 GMs to answer an array of questions about the league’s top teams, players, and coaches. Unsurprisingly, the Warriors are once again viewed by the NBA’s general managers as the overwhelming favorites to be the last team standing, with 26 of 30 GMs (87%) picking Golden State to win the NBA championship for the fourth time in five years.

While there are many responses in the GM survey worth checking out, we’ll focus on rounding up some of the more noteworthy ones related to rosters and player movement. Let’s dive in…

  • LeBron James (30%) and Kevin Durant (27%) are viewed as the frontrunners for the 2018/19 MVP award, but two younger players led the voting for the player GMs would most want to build a franchise around starting today. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (30%) and Pelicans big man Anthony Davis (23%) led the way in that category. Interestingly, Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t receive a single vote this year after leading the way with 29% of the vote in 2017.
  • The Lakers‘ signing of James helped them earn 70% of the vote for the team that made the best overall moves this offseason. The Raptors, buoyed by their acquisition of Kawhi Leonard, finished second at 20%.
  • A ton of different signings and trade acquisitions received votes for the most underrated addition of the summer, with the Pacers‘ signing of Tyreke Evans barely leading the way with four votes. The Spurs‘ trade for DeMar DeRozan, the Bulls‘ signing of Jabari Parker, the Pelicans‘ addition of Julius Randle, and the Thunder‘s acquisition of Dennis Schroder received three votes apiece.
  • DeMarcus Cousins‘ decision to join the Warriors (35%) was considered the most surprising move of the offseason, followed by the Spurs/Raptors blockbuster trade (29%) and Paul George remaining with the Thunder (19%).
  • While Mavericks guard Luka Doncic is the strong frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, GMs expect Suns center Deandre Ayton and Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. to be the best players five years from now. Meanwhile, the Clippers‘ selection of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at No. 11 was viewed by the most GMs as the steal of the draft.
  • The Sixers (47%) and Celtics (33%) dominated voting for the teams with the most promising young cores.
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