- 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.”
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.
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.
- 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.”
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.
- The Nerlens Noel deal has been more of a disappointment than an outright mistake, Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News writes. Sherrington cites how little the Mavs had to give up for the big man as the reason why the trade isn’t as disastrous as, say, the Rajon Rondo deal back in 2014.
- Even though they’re not a contender, the Mavericks remain reluctant to sell off veterans like Wesley Matthews, J.J. Barea, and Devin Harris, writes Deveney. Nerlens Noel will be on the trade block though.
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The Carolina Panthers are up for sale and while many with interest in owning an NFL franchise will line up to try and take the reins of the team, don’t expect Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to be among them.
“Not interested at all in any NFL franchise,” Cuban tells Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. The Shark Tank star later added, “Why would I buy an NFL team if I think the league is in decline?”
In order to buy an NFL team, Cuban would be required to sell the Mavericks (per NFL rules). That’s not something that’s likely to happen anytime soon.
“There’s no team I would want other than the Mavericks, certainly no football team in the universe,” Cuban said. “There’s not even a close second.”
“I love the Mavs. I love Dallas. I mean, Charlotte’s a great city, but there’s nothing I don’t like here — other than losing right now. I would never turn my back on the city of Dallas.”
Cuban has been critical of the NFL’s future with regard to players’ safety and he believes buying a team would go against his strong stance on the sport.
“Like I’ve always said, Dallas has given me so much. And what am I going to say to my son and his friends or my daughter and her friends: ‘Oh, yeah: Football’s dangerous for you, but I bought a football team…I know I’m a hypocrite from time to time, but I really, really, really try not to be,” Cuban added.
- Antonius Cleveland, who had been on a two-way contract with the Mavericks, was waived today after suffering a left ankle injury on Monday. According to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (Twitter link), Cleveland will require surgery on that ankle. Still, the news isn’t all bad for the rookie swingman — he’ll rehab at the Mavs’ facilities, he will continue to be paid by the team until he gets healthy, and he’s a candidate to rejoin the club at some point, per head coach Rick Carlisle.
The Mavericks have completed a series of roster moves, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived center Jeff Withey from their 15-man roster. Additionally, Dallas has made a change to its two-way players, waiving swingman Antonius Cleveland and signing guard Kyle Collinsworth to a two-way contract to replace him.
Withey, 27, signed a non-guaranteed two-year deal with the Mavericks back in August, and earned a spot on the team’s regular season roster. However, he didn’t play much in Dallas, appearing in 10 games and logging just 39 total minutes this season. The Mavs will assume a cap hit of about $588K for Withey if he goes unclaimed on waivers.
Meanwhile, Dallas also swapped in a new player on a two-way contract — Johnathan Motley will remain in one of the team’s two slots, while Collinsworth will replace Cleveland in the other. Collinsworth has spent the last two seasons with the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League affiliate. In 18 games this season, the 6’6″ guard has averaged 11.4 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, and 1.7 SPG.
As for Cleveland, he had spent a good portion of this season with the Mavericks, having appeared in 13 games for the team, but with his 45-day limit approaching, Dallas has apparently decided to cut him rather than to convert his contract into a standard NBA deal. Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News notes (via Twitter) that Cleveland suffered an ankle injury on Monday night, so it’s possible the Mavs could bring him back when he gets healthy.
The Mavs now have 16 players under contract — two on two-way deals and 14 on standard NBA pacts.