- Trade speculation will continue to follow Mavericks guard Wesley Matthews in the upcoming season, according to a Dallas Morning News profile. At age 31 and entering the final year of his contract after opting in over the summer, Matthews could be expendable after the team assembled its backcourt of the future in the past two drafts.
- Given the crowded nature of the Mavericks‘ backcourt, the addition of Devin Harris may seem somewhat extraneous. However, Harris figures to serve as a mentor for a group that includes Dennis Smith Jr., Luka Doncic, and Jalen Brunson, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson and two other NBA players have been granted permission by the league to participate in the Asian Games. The story was first reported by CNN Philippines.
Clarkson was originally barred from playing in the event because it wasn’t sanctioned by the NBA and FIBA. The NBA has an agreement with FIBA to permit players to take part in the Olympics, the FIBA World Cup and Continental Cups, plus qualifying tournaments. The Asian Games do not fall into any of those categories, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN notes.
Clarkson will play for the Phillippines, while the Rockets’ Zhou Qi and Mavericks’ Ding Yanyuhang are expected to suit up for China, Windhorst adds. The Philippines will play their first game on Thursday when they face Kazakhstan.
- Salah Mejri is once again looking at defensive-oriented reserve role with the Mavericks, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. The 32-year-old Mejri will back up DeAndre Jordan, though Dirk Nowitzki will also cut into Mejri’s minutes when he gets shifted to center. Mejri signed a one-year veteran’s minimum contract earlier this month.
Former Hornets and Mavericks guard Aaron Harrison has backed out of his agreement to play with Galatasaray in the Turkish league, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando tweets. The reasons behind Harrison’s decision are unknown, though the economic crisis in the country could have played a role, Cauchi adds.
Harrison was not tendered a qualifying offer this summer by Dallas and became a unrestricted free agent. He joined the Wizards’ summer league team but shot poorly in five Las Vegas games, making just 19% of his attempts while averaging 5.8 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 15.4 MPG.
The former Kentucky Wildcat appeared in nine games, including three starts, with Dallas last season after signing a 10-day deal and then a rest-of-the-season contract in early April. The 6’6” Harrison averaged 6.7 PPG in 25.9 MPG but shot just 27.5% from the field. He saw action in a combined 26 games with Charlotte the previous two seasons.
The Turkish team also has an agreement with forward Nigel Hayes, who played for three different NBA franchises last season.
- Dwight Powell needs to continue to grab rebounds in bunches, as he did toward the end of last season, in order to solidify his spot in the Mavericks’ rotation, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. It’s unlikely he’ll start, so he needs to be tough around the boards to stand out among a frontcourt reserve corps that includes Salah Mejri, Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith, Sefko adds.
- The Chinanu Onuaku trade between the Mavericks and Rockets was a minor deal on the surface, but included some interesting details, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter links). Dallas will have the right to swap the Warriors’ 2020 second-round pick for the Rockets’ 2020 second-rounder, but that Houston pick is top-39 protected. If it ends up falling within the protected range, the Mavs will instead receive $500K from the Rockets. Additionally, the $1,544,951 in cash Houston is sending the Mavs in the trade to cover Onuaku’s salary will be paid out in 17 installments over the next year.
- The Chinanu Onuaku trade between the Mavericks and Rockets was a minor deal on the surface, but included some interesting details, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter links). Dallas will have the right to swap the Warriors’ 2020 second-round pick for the Rockets’ 2020 second-rounder, but that Houston pick is top-39 protected. If it ends up falling within the protected range, the Mavs will instead receive $500K from the Rockets. Additionally, the $1,544,951 in cash Houston is sending the Mavs in the trade to cover Onuaku’s salary will be paid out in 17 installments over the next year.
- After Tom Ziller of SBNation.com wondered earlier this week why we haven’t heard any news on the investigation into workplace misconduct allegations within the Mavericks‘ organization, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News provides an update. According to Townsend, the process is taking longer than initially anticipated because the investigators are “being as thorough as humanly possible, dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s.”
AUGUST 10, 12:20pm: The Mavericks have formally re-signed Jones, according to a press release issued by the club. Both moves are now official, increasing the team’s roster count back up to 20 players.
AUGUST 9, 6:00pm: The Mavs have formally waived Larrier, the team announced in a press release.
1:13pm: The Mavericks‘ offseason roster continues to undergo charges, with Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News reporting that the club will waive camp invitee Terry Larrier and bring back Jalen Jones, who was released by the club last month.
Larrier, who signed with the Mavs at the end of July, will have his stint with the club cut short due to a major knee injury. According to Sefko, the former UConn forward suffered a torn ACL in a workout and will miss the entire 2018/19 season.
Because Larrier had only been on a “make-good” summer contract, he won’t receive his full-season salary. However, the Mavericks will pay him for training camp and will monitor his rehab — he’ll undergo ACL surgery in Dallas and will rehab with the Mavs and their G League affiliate, the Texas Legends.
As for Jones, he opened the 2017/18 season on a two-way contract with the Pelicans before being cut in January. The Mavericks claimed him off waivers and he finished the year with Dallas. Jones’ two-way deal was for two years, but the Mavs opted to go in another direction with their two-way slots this summer, waiving him in July. Jones, a 6’7″ forward, appeared in 16 overall NBA games last season, including 12 with Dallas.
By swapping in Jones for Larrier, the Mavs will keep their offseason roster at 20 players, the maximum allowed. Dallas reportedly reached a contract agreement with Donte Ingram as well, but it’s not clear when the club intends to finalize that deal.
Dirk Nowitzki will set a new NBA record this fall when he officially enters his 21th season with a single franchise. But even after making history as a Maverick, Nowitzki isn’t ready to assume he’ll call it a career after the 2018/19 campaign. Speaking at a kids’ summer camp event on Wednesday, Nowitzki said he remains unsure whether next season will be his last, as Dwain Price of Mavs.com details.
“I’m going to make that decision (about retirement), I guess, once obviously I see how the season goes,” Nowitzki said.
As the veteran big man points out, he had a very healthy year in 2017/18, appearing in 77 games and remaining productive for the Mavericks. As he enters his age-40 season, there’s no guarantee he’ll continue to be able to stay on the court that often going forward, but if he stays injury-free again, he’ll want to consider all his options in the summer of 2019.
“If next year is going to go sort of the same (in terms of health), then hey, maybe, and we’ll leave the door open and I’m going to play another (season),” Nowitzki said, per Price. “But I want to approach this as if there is no tomorrow and then just hopefully have a great year. I’m going to try to be efficient again as I’ve often tried my entire career. We’ll just go from there, but hopefully it’s going to be a lot more fun than last year.”
The Mavericks’ win totals have slipped from 50 to 42 to 33 to 24 over the last four seasons, but Nowitzki is confident that this year’s roster has the talent necessary to reverse that trend. The longtime Mav called DeAndre Jordan one of the NBA’s most effective two-way centers and said that No. 3 overall pick Luka Doncic has “all the tools” to succeed in the NBA.
“I think we should be a lot better than last year,” Nowitzki said. “That’s not a secret.”
AUGUST 8: The Mavericks have made their deal with Harris official, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed the veteran guard. Dallas now has a full 20-man roster, so a move will be required at some point to accommodate Donte Ingram‘s reported agreement with the club.
JULY 26: The Mavericks and veteran guard Devin Harris have reached an agreement on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports was the first to report the news.
Harris, who will receive $2.4MM, was the beneficiary of Yogi Ferrell‘s change of heart. Ferrell backed out of an agreement with Dallas to sign with the Kings. That opened up a backcourt spot for the 35-year-old combo guard.
This will mark his third stint with the franchise. The Mavericks acquired him in a draft-night trade with the Wizards in 2004 and kept him until 2008, when they traded him to the Nets. Harris returned to Dallas as a free agent in 2013 and spent five more years with the Mavs before they traded him to the Nuggets in February.
The 35-year-old combo guard appeared in 44 games with Dallas and 27 with Denver last season, averaging 8.4 PPG and 2.1 APG. His addition will give the Mavericks 16 players under contract.