The Mavericks are close to the roster limit after waiving PJ Dozier, Jameel Warney and Maalik Wayns, tweets Earl K. Sneed. All three will be eligible to join the Mavs’ G League affiliate if they clear waivers.
Dozier, a combo guard, went undrafted this year out of South Carolina. He played briefly for the Lakers’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League before landing a partially guaranteed camp deal with Dallas.
Warney, a 6’9″ power forward, signed with the team on Friday. He was in camp with the Mavericks last season as well and played 44 games for the Texas Legends in the G League.
Wayns, 26, has played for a variety of G League and international teams since going undrafted out of Villanova in 2012. He had brief stays with the Sixers and Clippers, playing 29 total NBA games.
Dallas still has one more move to make and could reach the roster limit by turning Gian Clavell‘s contract into a two-way deal.
October 13th, 2017 at 11:50am CST by Dana Gauruder
The Mavericks have waived power forward Brandon Ashley and signed another forward, Jameel Warney, according to a team press release that was relayed by Earl K. Sneed (Twitter link).
The 6’8” Warney was on the team’s training camp roster last season but was waived midway through camp. He then played 44 games for the Texas Legends of the G League and averaged 17.3 PPG and 8.0 RPG in 29.2 MPG. Warney went undrafted in 2016 after playing four seasons for Stony Brook University.
The 6’9” Ashley signed with Dallas in August after playing for its Summer League teams. The former University of Arizona product appeared in five games this preseason and averaged 3.2 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 13.9 MPG.
Mavericks center Jeff Withey has worked on his 3-point shooting to try to fit into coach Rick Carlisle’s system, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Withey signed a two-year contract worth nearly $3.4MM this summer, but only $350K of that is guaranteed. “We like his length, shot-blocking ability,” Carlisle said. “[Owner] Mark [Cuban] was really a key guy on this. He’d been studying him for a while. And he’s shown that he can knock in some perimeter shots from time to time.”
Seth Curry has been diagnosed with a stress reaction of his left tibia, according to a Mavericks press release. He’ll be reevaluated weekly and there is no timetable for his return.
Curry was the favorite to land the team’s starting shooting guard spot after impressing in training camp and limited preseason action. Coach Rick Carlisleindicated earlier in the week that Curry in the starting lineup “makes sense.”
“I’m not saying it’s 100 percent. But we need a consistent scorer and a guy who can guard that position and he’s continued to make strides,” Carlisle said of Curry prior to the injury.
Dallas signed Curry to a two-year, $6MM last offseason and he enjoyed his best season as a pro in year one with the franchise. The guard scored 12.8 points per game while shooting 42.5% from behind the arc.
There have been no shortages of distractions throughout Nerlens Noel‘s basketball career and that’s not about to change during the 2017/18 campaign. As Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post writes, the Mavs center will approach this season with his unrestricted free agency looming.
Still just 23 years old, Noel has already dealt with injuries, trade rumors and free agency speculation across stops with Kentucky, the Sixers and now the Mavs. This year he’ll look to earn a substantial offseason payday despite starting the season as Dallas’ backup center.
With Dirk Nowitzki slotted ahead of him at the five, Noel will be utilized off the bench as an athletic post defender with the ability to check guards on the perimeter. The Mavs will also look to employ his ability to crash the net in pick-and-roll situations, with a keen eye on how the young center might fit with the franchise long-term, in the post-Nowitzki era.
The Mavs only have 12 players currently on guaranteed deals. It turns out, Gian Clavell could be one of their seven players on non-guaranteed deals to convince the team to keep him on for the full year. Earl Sneed of Mavs.com tweets that the guard has made a strong case for making the squad.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is leaning toward Seth Curry as his opening-night starter at shooting guard, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Curry is competing for the position with Yogi Ferrell, who has been working with the first team in practice alongside rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr. Regardless, Carlisle says Curry “probably” has the edge for the starting position. “I’ve just been real impressed with him the first week and right now, it makes sense,” the coach said. “I’m not saying it’s 100 percent. But we need a consistent scorer and a guy who can guard that position and he’s continued to make strides.”
Curry started 42 of his 70 games a year ago in his first season with Dallas, averaging 12.8 points and 2.7 assists per game. He led the team on a second-half surge after joining the starting lineup in January. Dirk Nowitzki, Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews are expected to join Curry and Smith as the opening-night starting five.
There’s more NBA news out of Texas:
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich offered a health update on Tony Parker, saying the injured point guard could be ready to return in December, relays Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Parker received partial medical clearance last week for training camp and expressed hope that he could return in November from the torn quadriceps tendon that knocked him out of the playoffs. Parker has been approved for weight work, running and shooting, but not for any contact drills. “I think he’s going to be ahead of schedule,” Popovich said. “I kept thinking he might be ready in January or something. He might be ready in December. He’s come along really well.”
After listening to Carmelo Anthony trade rumors all summer, the Rockets are ready to move on, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston was considered the likely landing spot for Anthony right up until he was traded to Oklahoma City. However, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who once coached Anthony in New York, said talks never got far enough that he expected him to join the team. “We’re human. We think about possibilities,” D’Antoni said. “If we can get that guy, look at this. Then reality sets in. I found out if I go play a little bit more golf and quit thinking about it, I’m better off.”
Chris Paul has no doubt that he and James Harden can be an effective backcourt combination for the Rockets, relays Michael Lee of The Vertical. Paul forced a trade from the Clippers over the summer, telling the team he planned to opt out and sign with Houston if it didn’t deal him. “It was definitely time for a change,” Paul said.
While Dennis Smith Jr. of the Mavericks (37%) was voted the biggest steal of the 2017 draft, most GMs expect Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball (62%) to win the Rookie of the Year award.
After finishing below .500 last season for the first time since the 1999/2000 campaign, the Mavericks recognized that they’re no longer among the league’s bona fide contenders and committed to a rebuild.
That means the club essentially sat out of free agency — Dallas’ own free agents, Dirk Nowitzki and Nerlens Noel, were the only players to get more than the minimum salary from the team this offseason, and neither of them got more than $5MM in guaranteed money.
Of course, the Mavericks’ primary summer addition was Dennis Smith Jr., who has generated some buzz as a Rookie of the Year candidate. Still, it may be unfair to expect too much from Smith. Outside of a few transcendent talents, first-year players often struggle to make an impact right away, and the rookie point guard will be just 19 years old on opening night. He may develop into an All-Star caliber player down the road, but he’s unlikely to be fully formed out of the gate.
Given their limited upgrades, the Mavericks aren’t expected to significantly improve upon last year’s 33-49 record. Offshore betting site Bovada has the club’s over/under at 35.5 wins for 2017/18.
What do you think? Are you more bullish on the Mavs’ chances to pick up a few extra victories this season, or will the team continue to pile up losses in a tough Western Conference? Vote below in our poll and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!
September 30th, 2017 at 11:09am CST by marksuleymanov
Rudy Gay‘s season in Sacramento ended abruptly last season due to a torn left Achilles tendon. After declining his $14.2MM option for 2017/18, Gay signed a two-year pact with the Spurs looking to reestablish himself. Early indicators for the 31-year-old are positive, Tom Osborn of San Antonio-Express News writes.
“I think he’s going to be great,” guard Danny Green said to Osborn. “He’s going to give us that versatility of playing four smalls (because) he can play inside and out and guard bigs. Once he gets into shape and gets comfortable with that Achilles, I think he’ll be great for us.”
Gay has a career average of 18.4 PPG in 11 NBA seasons. If he can regain his pre-injury form for the Spurs, San Antonio will have another productive scorer in their lineup. A scorer that Green compared to Kevin Durant due to his ability to quickly shoot the ball.
Below are additional news tidbits around the Southwest Division:
Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com writes a similar story, noting that Carlisle is considering having two point guards in the backcourt at times to play at a quicker pace.
Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes that Grizzlies coach David Fizdale was unhappy with the team after a recent practice. Fizdale now wants to implement a style where the team plays at an increased pace.
September 25th, 2017 at 10:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder
Mavs big man Nerlens Noelwill likely come off the bench this season behind Dirk Nowitzki, coach Rick Carlisle told Tim MacMahon of ESPN and other media members. Noel started 12 of 22 games after being acquired from the 76ers in February. Carlisle informed Noel and agent Rich Paul of his plans over the weekend, MacMahon adds. “At this point in time, Dirk at the 5 position is probably the best scenario for Dirk and for our team, and I just don’t think that Dirk is a guy that’s going to come off the bench as long as I’m here,” Carlisle said. “So there’s a very good chance that Nerlens will come off the bench.” Noel had a tumultuous summer as a restricted free agent, changing agents and ultimately signing Dallas’ qualifying offer of $4.1MM when he didn’t get the contract offers he expected. Noel will an unrestricted free agent next summer.