Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets, Mavs, Pelicans Eyeing Mario Chalmers

August 7th, 2018 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets, Mavericks, and Pelicans are among the teams that have shown some interest in unrestricted free agent point guard Mario Chalmers, a source tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link).

Chalmers, 32, suffered a torn Achilles in 2016 and sat out the entire 2016/17 season, but appeared in 66 games for the Grizzlies in 2017/18. His numbers (7.7 PPG, 3.0 APG) were modest and his shooting rates (.379 FG%, .277 3PT%) were well below his career averages, as he gradually made his way back to full speed. However, Spears says that Chalmers is “completely healthy” now.

Addressing his free agency a couple weeks ago, Chalmers said he believed it was “just a matter of time” until he secured an NBA contract. “They [NBA teams] are getting all the young guys, all the big free agents out of the way now,” Chalmers said at the time. “I’m just waiting my turn.”

While Chalmers’ assessment of the market may be accurate, 15-man roster spots around the NBA are drying up, so the veteran isn’t necessarily a lock to receive a guaranteed contract, even at the minimum. He has shown in the past that he’s willing to roll the dice on the right opportunity though — when Chalmers signed with Memphis last July, his contract only featured a partial guarantee of $25K. He earned his full guarantee by making the team’s regular season roster in October.

And-Ones: ROY Predictions, Offseason Rankings, NBAGL

August 6th, 2018 at 4:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has the best chance to win the Rookie of the Year award, according to an ESPN panel. Doncic will fill up the stat sheet and might wind up with the ball more often than second-year guard Dennis Smith Jr., according to Mike Schmitz. Top overall pick Deandre Ayton ranks second on the poll, with Schmitz noting that the Suns big man likely to get more playing time than any other rookie. Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., Cavaliers point guard Collin Sexton and Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr. round out the top five.

We have more from around the league:

Retaining Paul George in free agency and dumping Carmelo Anthony‘s contract while receiving projected sixth man Dennis Schroder in return earned the Thunder the top spot on NBA.com’s David Aldridge’s offseason rankings. The rankings are based upon what teams have done during the offseason. The Lakers ranked No. 2 by virtue of signing LeBron James and handing out one-year contracts to other players, thus allowing them to be a force again in next year’s free agent market. The Nuggets gained the No. 3 spot by locking up Nikola Jokic and making trades that cleared roster spots and eased their luxury-tax situation.
Forwards DJ Hogg (Texas A&M) and Malik Pope (San Diego State) and swingman BJ Johnson (LaSalle) are among the top 10 prospects at the G League Invitational, according to Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype. The invitational takes place Sunday in Chicago and over a dozen of last year’s prospects received training camp invites afterward.
The Warriors’ over-under odds for wins next season is 62.5, according to Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. The Celtics ranked second overall with a 57.5 over-under win total with the Rockets third at 54.5. The Hawks have the lowest projected win total at 23.5. The odds for each NBA team were passed along by ESPN’s Ben Fawkes.

Mavericks Waive Chinanu Onuaku

August 6th, 2018 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: The Mavs have officially waived Onuaku, according to a team press release.

AUGUST 2: The Mavericks will waive newly-acquired center Chinanu Onuaku, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). After completing the move, Dallas will be able to move forward with other signings, such as the club’s new deal with free agent guard Devin Harris.

Onuaku, 21, appeared in just six NBA regular season games in two NBA seasons with the Rockets. The former Louisville big man has spent most of his two professional seasons in the G League, playing in 83 total games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and averaging 12.3 PPG and 10.0 RPG to go along with 2.5 APG, 1.4 BPG, and 1.1 SPG. He also has a .617 FG% in the NBAGL.

While the Mavs’ acquisition of Onuaku may look pointless now that he’s being released, it essentially represented a no-cost opportunity to move up a few spots in the second round of the 2020 draft. The Rockets are reportedly covering Onuaku’s salary with cash as part of the trade, with the Mavs giving up the rights to a player who will likely never play in the NBA. Dallas will get the chance to swap the Warriors’ 2020 second-round pick for Houston’s second-rounder.

As we noted earlier today, the Mavs had already committed to free agent deals with 21 players this offseason, so it’s not a surprise that they’re cutting Onuaku to help make room for those signings. They’ll need to release or trade one more player to finalize all their reported deals.

As for Onuaku, once he’s officially waived, he’ll spent two days on waivers. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, eligible to sign with any team except the Rockets.

Mavericks Sign Ryan Broekhoff

August 6th, 2018 at 12:25pm CST by Austin Kent

AUGUST 6: The signing is official, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

JULY 5: The Mavericks have agreed to a two-year deal with swingman Ryan Broekhoff, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The first year of the deal is guaranteed.

According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic, the two-year pact will be worth $2.4MM.

While Broekhoff played four seasons at Valparaiso, he’s spent the past five campaigns plying his trade abroad. The 27-year-old Austrailian most recently played 16 EuroCup games with Lokomotiv Kuban of Russia’s VTB United League, averaging 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the process.

The 50.6% three-point shooter will give the Mavs extra depth on the perimeter as they gear up for a season of competitive basketball after bolstering their lineup this offseason. Team owner Mark Cuban calls him “the best shooter in Europe” (Twitter link via Dwain Price of Mavs.com).

Mavericks Hope Ryan Broekhoff Will Fill Shooting Need

August 6th, 2018 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

After losing Doug McDermott in free agency, the Mavericks hope they have found a replacement in sharpshooter Ryan Broekhoff. The Dallas Morning News takes a closer look at the Australian star, noting that Matthew Dellavedova lobbied the Bucks to sign him.

Mavericks Re-Sign Salah Mejri

August 3rd, 2018 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 3: Having used up all their cap room, the Mavericks have finally gone ahead and finalized their new one-year, minimum-salary contract with Mejri, according to a press release.

Mejri will have the ability to veto trades during the 2018/19 league year.

JULY 1: The Mavericks have reached an agreement to re-sign Salah Mejri, with the big man’s agency breaking word of his new deal (Twitter link). League sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link) that it’ll be a one-year, minimum-salary contract for Mejri.

Mejri posted 3.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 61 games (12.0 MPG) for the Mavericks in 2017/18. The 7’1″ center is 32 years old, but made his NBA debut late and only has three years of NBA experience under his belt.

Mejri was eligible for restricted free agency this summer and initially received a qualifying offer from the Mavericks, but the team quickly withdrew that offer in order to maximize its cap flexibility.

Now that he has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Mavs, Mejri is unlikely to finalize his agreement until after the team uses all its cap room. At that point, Dallas can use the minimum salary exception to lock up Mejri, with no cap space required. He’d be in line for a $1,567,007 salary.

Rockets Trade Chinanu Onuaku To Mavericks

August 2nd, 2018 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 2: The Mavericks have officially announced the trade in a press release. Dallas receives Onuaku, cash, and the ability to swap the Warriors’ 2020 second-round pick with the Rockets’ pick. In exchange, Houston receives the draft rights to 2008 second-rounder Maarty Leunen.

AUGUST 1: The Rockets are trading center Chinanu Onuaku to the Mavericks, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Dallas will receive Onuaku and cash from Houston in exchange for the ability to swap 2020 second-round picks.

Onuaku, 21, was selected by the Rockets in the second round of the 2016 draft with the 37th overall pick. Although he has spent the last two seasons with Houston, he has appeared in just six NBA regular season games for the club.

The former Louisville big man has spent most of his two professional seasons in the G League, playing in 83 total games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In his NBAGL career, Onuaku has averaged a double-double (12.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG) to go along with 2.5 APG, 1.4 BPG, and 1.1 SPG. He also has a .617 FG%.

Having apparently felt that Onuaku wouldn’t have a role on this year’s team, Houston will move him and his guaranteed $1,544,951 salary to Dallas, creating a trade exception worth that same amount. The in-the-tax Rockets may end up replacing Onuaku on their roster, but will perhaps do so with a slightly less expensive player who has a better chance to contribute to the 2018/19 squad.

As for the Mavericks, they’ll absorb Onuaku’s contract using their leftover cap room. Once the move is official, Dallas figures to move forward with completing minimum salary deals for Salah Mejri and Devin Harris.

Mavericks Face Roster Decisions

August 2nd, 2018 at 3:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Today’s agreement with Donte Ingram on a training camp contract gives the Mavericks commitments to 22 players, two over the maximum allowed by NBA rules, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad.

Only 17 of those players are officially under contract right now, so Dallas will have some flexibility with how it proceeds, but the team will have to be careful with the timing of its moves, Nahmad notes.

Still unsigned, in addition to Ingram, are Salah Mejri, who will re-sign for another year, Devin Harris, who will return for his third stint with the franchise, and Australian Ryan Broekhoff, who agreed to a two-year deal. The Mavericks also have a pending trade with the Rockets for Chinanu Onuaku.

Barring more trades, two players will eventually have to be released, and Nahmad speculates that Onuaku may be one of them (Twitter link). Dallas is using cap space to take on his $1,544,951 contract, but is reportedly receiving that amount in cash in the trade. The reporting on that trade hasn’t been clear on the exact terms, but if it’s Dallas – rather than Houston – getting the second-round pick swap in the deal, it makes sense that the Mavs could acquire Onuaku only to waive him.

[UPDATE: Mavericks to waive Chinanu Onuaku]

It’s also possible that two-way spots currently held by Kostas Antetokounmpo and Daryl Macon aren’t guaranteed (Twitter link). Ingram’s Exhibit 10 contract can be converted into a two-way deal if the Mavericks decide to go that route (Twitter link). Macon received an Exhibit 10 offer from the Heat, but opted for the two-way contract with Dallas.

NBA rules allow teams to bring up to 20 players into training camp. Rosters must be trimmed to a maximum of 15 players, plus a pair of two-way deals, by the start of the season.

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Dallas Mavericks

Donte Ingram To Get Training Camp Deal With Mavericks

August 2nd, 2018 at 12:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks will sign Donte Ingram of Loyola Chicago to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

A four-year player with the Ramblers, Ingram gained national prominence in March during their unlikely run to the Final Four. He averaged 11.0 PPG and 6.4 RPG as a senior. After going undrafted, he joined the Bulls’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, posting a 6.0/4.8/1.4 line in five games.

The addition of Ingram will give Dallas 18 players in camp, two below the limit.

Aldridge Not Surprised By Mavs Accelerating Rebuild

August 1st, 2018 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, TNT’s David Aldridge said he’s not surprised that the Mavericks are making an effort to accelerate their rebuild by signing DeAndre Jordan and trading their 2019 first-round pick. “[Team owner Mark Cuban] is not really interested in, I don’t think, kind of the gradual three- or four-year rebuild,” Aldridge said, per The Dallas Morning News. “I just don’t think that’s how he’s wired.”