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Nerlens Noel On Track For Early February Return?

January 4th, 2018 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle provided an update on Nerlens Noel‘s recovery timetable today, indicating that the big man is two weeks away from stepping up his activity (Twitter link via Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com). According to Carlisle, if Noel doesn’t experience any setbacks, he could get back on the court in early February.

Noel, 23, played a limited role for the Mavericks before going down with a thumb injury in December. In 18 games (six starts), Noel averaged 4.0 PPG and 4.1 RPG in just 12.5 minutes per contest. As such, his return likely won’t have a major on-court impact for the Mavs, who remain out of playoff contention anyway.

Nonetheless, the timing of Noel’s recovery could prove fortuitous for Dallas as the team considers potential trades. This year’s NBA trade deadline is earlier than usual, landing on Thursday, February 8. If Noel’s rehab progresses as hoped, he should be back on the court by that point, boosting his trade value.

While Noel has the ability to veto any trade that involves him, he would likely welcome an opportunity to go a team willing to give him a more consistent rotation role, if not a starting job. Still, it remains to be seen whether any club offers anything of value for the former sixth overall pick. Noel would lose his Bird rights if he’s traded, so potential suitors may simply prefer to pursue him in July, when he’ll reach unrestricted free agency.

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Kyler’s Latest: Lakers, Mavs, Grizzlies, Magic

January 4th, 2018 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers and Mavericks both currently sit comfortably in the lottery, with little chance of making a run at a playoff spot this season. Still, there’s a sense in NBA circles that the two teams could be logical trade partners, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.

Kyler cautions that there have been zero talks between the Lakers and Mavericks about a potential Luol Deng trade, but he suggests that if any team is willing to roll the dice on Deng and his exorbitant contract, Dallas might be that team. The Mavericks have some expiring contracts that would appeal to L.A., and if the Lakers attached Julius Randle and a future draft pick to Deng, that could pique the Mavs’ interest, Kyler writes.

Of course, within the last month, we’ve heard that the Lakers aren’t interested in parting with future first-round picks in order to move Deng, and a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski suggested that the club had essentially given up hope of another team taking on the veteran forward’s unwieldy contract. So even if the Mavericks represent the best potential fit, the odds of a deal remain slim.

Kyler’s latest piece for Basketball Insiders includes several other items of interest on a handful of lottery teams, so let’s round up a few highlights…

  • The Grizzlies are unlikely to make any franchise-altering moves before next month’s trade deadline, which means Marc Gasol probably isn’t going anywhere. Still, they’re a team worth watching, according to Kyler, who points to Tyreke Evans as a potential Memphis trade candidate.
  • The “dream scenario” for the Magic would be to move Bismack Biyombo before the deadline, but they’re highly unlikely to find a taker for that contract. Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier may also emerge as trade chips, but Aaron Gordon almost certainly isn’t going anywhere — the “prevailing thought” is that he’ll be retained by Orlando as a restricted free agent this summer, says Kyler.
  • The Hawks appear open to listening to inquiries on Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore, but their current asking prices are probably too high to work anything out, reports Kyler.
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Wesley Matthews Has Altered His Game

January 2nd, 2018 at 10:57pm CST by marksuleymanov
  • Wesley Matthews, who holds a player option for the 2018/19 season, has altered his game for the Mavericks this season, Eddie Sefko of Dallas Morning News writes. Matthews has always been a “3 and D” player, meaning he shoots well from beyond the arc while providing solid defense. However, this season, Matthews has attempted fewer threes in favor of shots closer to the basket.
  • The Pelicans are a win-now team that is struggling to win games, including back-to-back losses to the Mavericks and Knicks in recent days. Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate opines that Pelicans fans deserve better from the organization.
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Josh McRoberts Nearly Ready For Debut

December 31st, 2017 at 10:49am CST by Arthur Hill
  • Josh McRoberts is getting closer to making his debut with the Mavericks, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Acquired from the Heat in an offseason trade, McRoberts has been sidelined with a lower extremity injury. There was hope that he might be able to play tonight against the Thunder, but he has been declared inactive, tweets Earl K. Sneed. With McRoberts returning and Nerlens Noel expected back from thumb surgery in early to mid-January, the Mavericks will again have an abundance of big men that will likely be resolved by a trade before the February 8 deadline.
  • Regardless of whatever else happens this season, the Mavericks are confident they have a building block for the future in Dennis Smith Jr. The rookie point guard has been everything Dallas expected when it made him the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft, although coach Rick Carlisle said he still needs to learn how to be a leader at the NBA level. “We drafted him because we think he can be a great player, one of the best players to ever play in a Mavericks’ uniform, on the one hand,” Carlisle said. “On the other hand, the things that are really essential to winning and are very nuanced aren’t screaming out to the world the way a triple-double is. And he’s understanding that. It’s a huge step.”
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Nowtizki Still The Mavericks Leader

December 30th, 2017 at 11:56am CST by marksuleymanov

Dirk Nowitzki is no longer the perennial All-Star that the Mavericks organization and fanbase grew accustomed to but he is still the team leader, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. While Nowitzki’s numbers are down across the board this season but the team is still in awe of how important he is to the team.

  • As free agency nears, DeMarcus Cousins‘ list of suitors could include the Mavericks and the team may be appealing to him, too, Sefko writes in a separate story. Nowitzki called Cousins one of, if not the best centers in the NBA and himself sounded intrigued by Cousins joining Dallas. “And as far as a potential Maverick, you never know. Free agency is tough to predict. We’ll see what happens,” Nowitzki said.
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Mavericks Notes: Barnes, Smith Jr., Draft

December 26th, 2017 at 4:56pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Mavericks haven’t lived up to expectations this season and the team’s highest-paid player is taking responsibility for the team’s woes.

“There’s no lying about it, it’s difficult for everybody. It comes down to taking personal responsibility,” Harrison Barnes said (via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News).

“A lot of that falls on my shoulders. I have the ball a lot. I take the lion’s share of the shots. We’ve been close in a lot of late games. We’ve lost a lot of late games, so I take a lot of blame for that. Obviously, I have to be better, so we can be better.”

Here’s more from Dallas:

  • Dennis Smith Jr. sees adapting to the Mavericks‘ system as his biggest challenge at this point in the season, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com writes. “It’s a systematic team, so I’m trying to convert my game into buying into the system,” said Smith. “Just listen and watch the film. Really, whatever they say, that’s what I’ve got to do.”
  • The Mavericks currently own the second spot in our Reverse Standings, which means there’s a good chance that they end up with a top selection in the upcoming draft. Sefko (in a separate piece) believes the team could end up with the worst record in the league, noting that Dallas has lost games to many of the teams sitting in the league’s cellar.
  • ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla (via The Dallas Morning News) examines which players could go in the top-3 and speculates that the Mavs could be interested in Luka Doncic with their first-round pick.
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Ferrell Displays Sweet Shooting Stroke

December 25th, 2017 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • The Pelicans are hovering around the .500 mark and need to take advantage of a soft spot in their upcoming schedule, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders examines. They face the Nets, Mavericks and Knicks before the New Year, which could help them make a move in the standings. If New Orleans continues to wallow in mediocrity, trade chatter will increase with DeMarcus Cousins heading to free agency this summer, Kyler notes. The lack of a bona fide leader, plus a penchant for turnovers, are two of the major issues confronting a team that should be better than its current record, Kyler adds.
  • Mavericks combo guard Yogi Ferrell has boosted his 3-point shooting average to 40.2% during a recent seven-game hot streak, which doesn’t come as a surprise to head coach Rick Carlisle. One of the reasons Dallas signed Ferrell last season was his superior shooting mechanics, as Carlisle told Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. “I feel good anytime any of our shooters have a good look at a three,” he said. “But when Yogi has the space and the pass is on time and on target, he does a great job of stepping into it.”
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Lakers, Mavericks Discussed Randle-Noel Swap

December 23rd, 2017 at 8:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers and Mavericks had “initial” trade talks involving Julius Randle and Nerlens Noel, according to Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN’s Full Court Press special.

Discussions broke off after Noel suffered a torn ligament in his left thumb that required surgery. The team didn’t offer a timetable for recovery after the December 6 operation, but Noel said doctors told him four to six weeks. That would have him back around mid-January, which is well in advance of the February 8 trade deadline. It remains to be seen if the Lakers will still be interested.

Both teams have obvious motives to make a deal. The Lakers are trying to clear cap room in hopes of offering two max contracts in next summer’s free agency, and Randle will have a $12.5MM cap hold. L.A. chose not to extend Randle’s rookie contract in October, and a report last month said it’s “unlikely” he will remain with the team beyond this season. Noel would bring an expiring contract, which is what the Lakers are looking for. Randle, a Dallas native, might have interest in signing long-term with the Mavericks when he becomes a restricted free agent in July.

Noel has been a disappointment in Dallas since being acquired from the Sixers at last year’s trade deadline. He was averaging 4.0 points and 4.1 rebounds through 18 games and had fallen out of the rotation before his surgery. Because he signed a $4.2MM qualifying offer to return to the Mavs this season, Noel has the option to refuse any trade.

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Nerlens Noel Deal Not Dallas' Biggest Blunder

December 22nd, 2017 at 7:44pm CST by Austin Kent
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Deveney: Mavs Reluctant To Trade Veterans

December 20th, 2017 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams
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