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No Traction For Mavs On Buddy Hield Trade

September 24th, 2023 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have interest in acquiring Pacers sharpshooter Buddy Hield, veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein confirmed in the latest edition of The Saturday Stein Line on 97.1 FM in Dallas (hat tip to Grant Afseth of SI.com). However, according to Stein, there’s “no traction between the teams at this point.”

Shams Charania of The Athletic previously identified the Mavericks as a potential suitor for Hield. In addition to confirming that interest, Stein points out that the 30-year-old maintains an offseason residence in Dallas, meaning that – in all likelihood – he “wouldn’t exactly protest” if he were traded to the Mavs.

Dallas also has a logical outgoing trade chip in Tim Hardaway Jr., whose $17.9MM cap hit could be used as a salary-matching piece for Hield’s $19.3MM expiring deal. But Stein doesn’t get the sense that Indiana would have much interest in acquiring Hardaway.

“My read at this juncture is that the Pacers are not inclined to make that sort of swap,” Stein said. “At least not now.”

Unlike Hield, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, Hardaway has a second guaranteed season left on his contract and will count for $16.2MM against the cap in 2024/25. If they’re not acquiring a player who can be part of their long-term core in a Hield deal, the Pacers would likely prefer to take back expiring salaries so as not to compromise their potential 2024 cap flexibility.

Still, if the Mavericks were willing to attach the right assets to Hardaway, Indiana would have to consider such a deal. So far this offseason though, Dallas has shown no inclination to move either Josh Green or Jaden Hardy, having kept both young players out of their Clint Capela trade talks with Atlanta. The Mavs’ ability to trade future draft assets is also pretty limited — they have just one movable first-round pick and three tradable second-rounders.

If Dallas were to offer a first-rounder without heavy protection, the Pacers would presumably become more open to the idea of a Hield/Hardaway swap. I’m skeptical the Mavs would be willing to pay that sort of price for a role player on an expiring contract – even one who shoots as well as Hield – but Stein does think the Pacers will be able to extract a solid return for the veteran wing.

“My instinct is that the Pacers actually do have a pretty good chance to manufacture a first-rounder from someone out there when they trade Hield,” he said.

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Mavericks Sign Dexter Dennis

September 22nd, 2023 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have signed former Texas A&M guard Dexter Dennis, the team announced today (via Twitter). While the terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, undrafted rookie free agents like Dennis typically receive Exhibit 10 contracts.

Dennis, 24, spent his first four college seasons at Wichita State before joining the Aggies for the 2022/23 season. As a “super-senior” taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility afforded to college players due to COVID-19, he averaged 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per game across 34 appearances.

Dennis never averaged double-digit points per game in any of his five college seasons and made just 37.5% of his shots from the field over the last two years, including 30.4% of his three-pointers. However, he’s a talented defender who earned AAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022 for the Shockers.

As we noted earlier today when we examined the Mavs’ roster situation, they only have two players on two-way contracts, so Dennis and the team’s other camp invitees could have a shot to earn that final two-way deal. If he’s waived before the season begins, Dennis will likely report to the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League affiliate, where he could earn a bonus worth up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the club.

The Mavericks are now at 21 players, the offseason maximum, and their announcement today indicated that their training camp roster is set, which suggests they don’t intend to make any additional moves in the coming days. The club is traveling to Abu Dhabi and Spain for preseason games, so it will open camp next Wednesday, ahead of most NBA teams.

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Pre-Camp Roster Snapshot: Southwest Division

September 22nd, 2023 at 9:16am CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is in the process of taking a closer look at each NBA team’s current roster situation, evaluating which clubs still have some moves to make and which ones seem most prepared for training camp to begin.

This series is meant to provide a snapshot of each team’s roster right now, so these articles won’t be updated in the coming weeks as more signings, trades, and cuts are made. You can follow our roster counts page to keep tabs on teams’ open spots as opening night nears.

We’re continuing our pre-camp Roster Snapshot series today with the Southwest Division. Let’s dive in…

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks spend much of the early part of the offseason on the hunt for a reliable veteran center, having been linked to players like Deandre Ayton and Clint Capela. They’d probably still welcome a trade for a big man if one falls into their laps, but if not, they seem likely to open the season with a full 15-man roster that features their current 14 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Morris.

Dallas’ Exhibit 10 camp invitees, including Brown, Walker, and Wieskamp, could end up vying to earn the team’s final two-way contract.

Houston Rockets

It’s extremely unlikely that Porter will play another game for the Rockets — the question is whether he’ll be traded, released, or simply sent home for the start of the season.

Whether or not Porter remains on the roster, Houston is in position to add one more player to its 15-man squad before opening night, since grouping Marjanovic and Holiday with the 12 players with guaranteed salaries would leave one opening.

Memphis Grizzlies

Five games into Morant’s suspension, the Grizzlies will be able to move him to the suspended list and open up an extra roster spot. However, that won’t be possible at the start of the season, so Memphis will have to trade or waive two of its 17 players with guaranteed contracts by opening night. Christopher and Todd appear to be the most at risk, especially if no trade opportunities arise.

New Orleans Pelicans

Alvarado is a lock to make the roster, of course, which would give the Pelicans 14 players on standard contracts. New Orleans is a little over the tax and would rather duck below that line (perhaps by trading Lewis) than go further above it, so I wouldn’t expect the team to add a 15th man for opening night unless it can make a cost-cutting trade.

The Pelicans’ primary offseason goal could be finding a pair of players who will join Seabron on two-way deals. Jemison, Jones, Nolley, and Robbins haven’t been officially signed yet, but they could all be contenders for one of those spots.

San Antonio Spurs

Like Memphis, San Antonio will have to trade or release two players with guaranteed salaries before the season begins. A report last week suggested that the Spurs probably won’t make any more cuts before training camp begins, with all 17 of those players on guaranteed deals given the opportunity to make a strong impression at camp.

Of course, some roster spots are more secure than others. Osman, Bullock, McDermott, and perhaps Bassey could be trade candidates, while Birch and Graham will have little trade value and might be the odd men out if San Antonio decides to simply waive two players. The Spurs already removed one veteran on an expiring contract from their roster when they cut Cameron Payne earlier this month.

Previously:

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Trade Rumors: Future Trade Candidates, Hield, Ayton, Brogdon

September 22nd, 2023 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

As teams besides the Heat consider how aggressively to pursue Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, one factor they’re weighing is whether it makes more sense to preserve their assets in the hopes of landing an even more valuable star in the near future, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said this week during an appearance on NBA Today (YouTube link).

“There could be some massive talents available for trades next season. Maybe at the trade deadline, maybe next year,” Wojnarowski said. “So you have teams weighing the assets they might use to trade for Damian Lillard vs. who could be available to them that they don’t want to be out of the game for. Some younger, first team All-NBA type players who may be in that marketplace.”

While Wojnarowski didn’t name any specific players, his ESPN colleague Zach Lowe followed up on Woj’s point by directly mentioning Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and obliquely referencing Sixers center Joel Embiid as well.

“Look, not to put it too baldly, but Giannis’ recent comments have changed the landscape of the league, at least a little bit, and have had teams at least have the meeting of, ‘Wait a second, do we need to keep our powder dry if we think we have a one percent, two percent, five percent (chance to acquire him)?'” Lowe said.

“And by the way, the Bucks may not have to trade Giannis at all. They may win the title this year, everything’s fine, he signs an extension. But those comments, along with everything going on in Philly, have at least forced you to have the meeting of, ‘Do we need to keep our powder dry?'”

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors:

  • The Mavericks, Sixers, Bucks are among the teams to watch as the Pacers seek a trade partner for sharpshooter Buddy Hield, Shams Charania of The Athletic said in an appearance on The Rally (Twitter video link). “Those are the types of teams that could definitely use a shooter like Buddy Hield,” Charania said. “And I think they’ve had a level of interest in him over the last several months.”
  • With Deandre Ayton‘s name once again popping up in trade rumors, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports cites a source who says the Mavericks made an “underwhelming” offer for the Suns center over the summer. Bourguet adds that Phoenix fielded inquiries on Ayton on draft night in June, but the offers at that time weren’t compelling, with one source even describing them as “trash.”
  • While Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe acknowledges that the Malcolm Brogdon situation in Boston “feels slightly off,” he hasn’t gotten any recent indications that the Celtics are considering trading Brogdon any more than they’re considering moving any other player.
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Contract Details: Morris, Gibson, Boban, Forrest, Millner

September 18th, 2023 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Markieff Morris‘ new contract with the Mavericks is a one-year, minimum-salary deal that is partially guaranteed, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who tweets that Morris received a $200K guarantee.

The agreement doesn’t include any early salary guarantee dates prior to the league-wide salary guarantee date in January, so Morris will have to remain under contract beyond January 7 in order to earn his full $3,196,448 salary. If it becomes guaranteed, it will count for $2,019,706 against the Mavericks’ cap, with the NBA covering the difference between the cap hit and Morris’ full salary.

Here are a few more contract details from around the NBA:

  • The one-year, minimum-salary deal that Taj Gibson signed with the Wizards is fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. That gives Washington a total of 17 players on standard guaranteed contracts, meaning the club will need to trade or waive at least two of those players before opening night.
  • Boban Marjanovic‘s one-year contract with the Rockets will be worth the veteran’s minimum and will be partially guaranteed, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).
  • The two-way contracts recently signed by Trent Forrest (Hawks) and Setric Millner (Spurs) each cover just one year, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means Forrest and Millner will become eligible for restricted free agency in 2024, assuming they play out their respective deals.
  • In case you missed it, we recently passed along the details on Danny Green‘s non-guaranteed contract with the Sixers, including multiple partial guarantee dates.
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And-Ones: Zagars, Sophomores, Super-Max, Best Offseason Deals

September 18th, 2023 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

World Cup standout Arturs Zagars has officially signed with Turkish club Fenerbahce and has been loaned to Lithuanian team BC Wolves, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net relays. A recent report suggested that was the likely outcome for Zagars, who attracted NBA interest based in part on his strong play for Latvia at this year’s World Cup.

Zagars averaged 12.4 points, 7.4 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game across his eight World Cup appearances, making 48.6% of his shots from the floor and 41.7% of his three-pointers. The 23-year-old, who spent last season playing in Lithuania, was named to the All-World Cup Second Team.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

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Mavericks Re-Sign Markieff Morris

September 16th, 2023 at 12:29pm CST by Rory Maher

The Mavericks have re-signed free agent forward Markieff Morris, the team announced in a press release.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but given his modest role last season, it seems likely that the 34-year-old signed a one-year, minimum-salary contract. We’ll have to wait and see if he got any guaranteed money, but Morris, who is entering his 13th season, would earn just under $3.2MM on a minimum deal, while Dallas would carry a $2,019,706 cap hit.

Morris was sent to Dallas from Brooklyn in early February as part of the Kyrie Irving trade. He was averaging a career-low 10.6 minutes per game in 27 appearances for the Nets and said he was looking for an opportunity for more playing time after the deal, but Morris played even less for the Mavs, averaging just 8.8 minutes over eight appearances. That average is actually inflated — he played 26 minutes in the team’s final game, when Dallas was trying to lose to keep its lottery pick.

While he hasn’t found much individual success in recent seasons, Morris played all 21 playoff games for the Lakers in 2019/20 when they won the championship. The longtime veteran holds career regular season averages of 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in 750 games (378 starts, 24.1 minutes), with a shooting slash line of .446/.343/.778.

The Mavericks waived and then used the stretch provision on JaVale McGee to free up a roster spot for Morris. McGee later signed a guaranteed one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Kings after clearing waivers.

With Morris officially signed, the Mavs now have 20 players under contract, one shy of the offseason limit. They have one two-way slot open, as our tracker shows.

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Super-Max Candidates To Watch In 2023/24

September 14th, 2023 at 7:30am CST by Luke Adams

Note: This is an updated version of an article that was sent exclusively to our Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers in June. Click here for more information on Trade Rumors Front Office.

The NBA’s Designated Veteran rule, as we explain in our glossary entry on the subject, allows players to qualify for a maximum salary worth 35% of the cap before they gain the required NBA service time.

Typically, a player is ineligible to receive a maximum contract that starts at 35% of the cap until he has at least 10 years of experience, but the Designated Veteran rule gives a player with between seven and nine years of experience the opportunity to do so if he meets certain performance criteria. This has become colloquially known as signing a “super-max” deal.

The performance criteria are as follows (only one of the following must be true):

  • The player was named to an All-NBA team and/or was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
  • The player was named the NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.

Since the NBA introduced the concept of the Designated Veteran contract in 2017, 12 players have signed them across seven offseasons. Celtics wing Jaylen Brown became the latest player to join that group this summer when he signed a five-year super-max deal that could become the NBA’s first $300MM contract.

Brown will be the only player who signs such a contract this offseason, but it’s worth taking a peek down the road to see which players are the best candidates to join the list of super-max recipients in 2024 and 2025.

We can start by penciling in another Celtic, Jayson Tatum, for 2024. Although he doesn’t yet have enough years of NBA service to sign a Designated Veteran extension, Tatum met the performance criteria in the spring by earning his second consecutive All-NBA berth.

That means that even if he doesn’t make an All-NBA team in 2024, he’ll have received an All-NBA nod in two of the previous three seasons when he meets the service time criteria next summer, making him super-max eligible. It seems likely the Celtics will offer him a Designated Veteran extension at that time.

Here are some other candidates to watch during the 2023/24 season:

2024

Because a player become ineligible for a Designated Veteran extension if he’s traded after his first four years in the NBA, prime candidates like Donovan Mitchell and Domantas Sabonis won’t be able to qualify. Still, there’s an intriguing group of candidates in play for next summer.

Ingram, Murray, and Siakam, members of the 2016 draft class, would have become super-max eligible if they had made an All-NBA team this year. They’ll get another chance in 2024.

Ingram averaged a career-best 24.7 points and 5.8 assists per night in 2022/23, but injuries limited him to just 45 games. While he’s not one of the best 15 players in the NBA, it’s not impossible to imagine the 26-year-old earning an All-NBA spot if he stays healthy and helps lead the Pelicans to a top-four seed in the West. He’s probably a long shot, but we can’t rule him out entirely.

Murray was making his way back from an ACL tear last season, which meant he was subject to load management and wasn’t necessarily at his best from day one. But his postseason performance – 26.1 points per game on .473/.396/.926 shooting en route to a championship – served as a reminder that he has All-NBA upside.

Siakam made the All-NBA Second Team in 2020 and the Third Team in 2022 and received some votes in 2023. However, he still needs one more All-NBA nod in 2024 to become eligible for a Designated Veteran deal. He’ll be a candidate to watch as long as he remains in Toronto for the 2023/24 season. A trade – which would make him ineligible – still looms as a possibility.

Adebayo and Fox are 2017 draftees with just six years of NBA experience, which means that Fox didn’t meet the Designated Veteran performance criteria by earning All-NBA honors in May — he’ll need to do it again in 2024 to qualify for a super-max deal. His performance this past year showed that he’s capable of it.

Adebayo’s path to an All-NBA berth is complicated by the fact that the All-NBA teams will become positionless beginning in 2024. That means voters won’t necessarily have to choose three centers, which may reduce his odds of making the cut.

Still, the field of All-NBA candidates may be more wide open than usual in 2024, since the league is also requiring players to appear in at least 65 games in order to be eligible for one of the 15 spots. That means a player who misses a few weeks with an injury might be out of the running. If Ingram, Murray, Siakam, Fox, and Abebayo can stay healthy and play at least 65 times, their All-NBA odds will increase.

It’s worth noting too that being named Defensive Player of the Year is another way to qualify for a super-max. Adebayo has finished in the top five in voting for that award in each of the last four seasons and is a legitimate candidate to win it at some point.

2025

Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jackson were drafted in 2018 and have just five years of NBA experience, so they’re still two years away from having the service time required for a Designated Veteran contract — none of them would be able to sign a super-max extension until 2025. However, they all have an opportunity to meet the performance criteria in 2024.

Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander made up the All-NBA First Team backcourt in 2023, so if they make an All-NBA team again next year, they’ll have done so in at least two of the three years leading up to the 2025 offseason.

As for Jackson, he missed out on All-NBA honors in 2023, but was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. It’s a tall order, but if he can win a second DPOY award in either of the next two seasons, he’ll make himself eligible to sign a super-max contract in 2025.

The rookie scale extension recipients

Ball, Edwards, and Haliburton have all signed five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extensions this offseason that project to start at 25% of the 2024/25 cap. If we assume the cap will rise by the maximum allowable 10%, those deals would be worth just shy of $217MM.

However, all three extensions include Rose Rule language. This is another form of the super-max — we can call it the “mini” super-max, paradoxical as that may sound. Unlike a player who signs a Designated Veteran contract, which starts at 35% of the cap instead of 30%, a player who meets the Rose Rule criteria can receive a starting salary worth 30% of the cap rather than 25%.

The performance criteria for a Rose Rule salary increase are essentially the exact same as for a Designated Veteran bump, but must be achieved by the end of the player’s four-year rookie contract. That means Ball, Edwards, and Haliburton would have to make the All-NBA team in 2024 in order to increase the projected value of their respective extensions to $260MM over five years — an All-NBA berth in 2025 or 2026 would be too late.

Each of these three players has an All-Star berth under his belt, so making the leap to All-NBA certainly isn’t inconceivable. Edwards may be the best bet of the three to qualify for the mini super-max, but if Ball and Haliburton can lead their teams to playoff spots, they’d certainly have a case.

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Doncic Needs To Stop Complaining So Much

September 10th, 2023 at 8:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Luka Doncic isn’t doing himself any favors with his constant complaining to the officials, Tim Cato of The Athletic writes. The Mavericks superstar was tossed from Slovenia’s quarterfinal loss to Canada in the FIBA World Cup. Doncic’s technical fouls in the NBA have risen in each of his five seasons. Cato notes. Doncic has publicly acknowledged over the years he needs to pipe down, but his actions haven’t reflected it. He’s a master at drawing contact but complaining about non-calls serves no useful purpose, as Cato writes.

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Luka Doncic Played Through Thigh Injury At World Cup

September 9th, 2023 at 4:05pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks star and Slovenian captain Luka Doncic played through a thigh injury at the World Cup, he told reporters following Thursday’s loss to Lithuania.

“I do not know what to say,” Doncic said, according to Eurhoops. “It’s not okay. At the same time, I have to prepare for one more game, and then for a whole season in the NBA.”

The All-NBA guard said last month that he had an MRI to get the injury checked out.

“It is an old injury, which caused me problems in March in the NBA,” Doncic said. “Therefore, we performed an MRI. Everything is okay. Nothing worse.”

It’s troubling that Doncic, 24, is still dealing with lingering effects from the thigh strain he sustained late in the 2022/23 season. His March MRI was clean, and he wound up missing five games.

Oddly, Doncic played a tournament-high 37 minutes against Lithuania less than 24 hours after losing in the quarterfinals to Canada, notes Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. The game was basically meaningless, as both teams had already been eliminated from medal contention and couldn’t qualify for the Olympics.

“The answer is very simple. It’s because Luka is very competitive,” head coach Aleksander Sekulic responded to BasketNews when asked about Doncic’s motivation for the game.

“I don’t know where he found energy, but he said he feels great and wanted to play,” Sekulic added. “He’s our best man regarding energy. He was trying to motivate everybody and put everybody on another level. I think we were not on the level we wanted to be, but he tried hard in the game, timeouts, and locker room. He tried all the time to push them to their limits. But that’s why he played because he felt good.

“This shows his character and that he loves basketball. That also shows a lot of how serious he is when he plays for his country and that he plays with his heart.”

Perhaps that explains why Doncic played one additional minute — 38 — as Slovenia defeated Italy on Saturday to finish seventh place.

Despite the injury, Doncic still put up his typical gaudy stats at the tournament, averaging 27.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.5 steals in 32.2 minutes. However, he also struggled with turnovers, committing 4.3 per contest.

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