Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: McConnell, Nets, Cuban, Brunson, Cavs

September 1st, 2024 at 6:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

T.J. McConnell‘s agreed-upon four-year, $45MM extension, which doesn’t kick in until the 2025/26, could impact the Pacers’ upcoming decisions regarding Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin, according to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star.

The McConnell and Andrew Nembhard (three-year, $58.6MM) extensions will put the Pacers closer to the luxury tax threshold and the prohibitive tax aprons going forward. Turner would become an unrestricted free agent without an extension before July 2025, while Mathurin will be eligible for a rookie scale extension at that time.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

The Nets could dictate next summer’s free agency and trade markets, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. They could open up as much as $70MM in cap space, plus they could control as many as four first-round picks in a loaded draft. The Nets also have the league’s second-biggest trade exception at $23.3MM.
Mavericks former majority owner Mark Cuban apologized to Jalen Brunson for a perceived jab at the Knicks guard over Brunson’s 2022 free agency, Peter Botte of the New York Post relays. The exchange between Cuban and Brunson occurred during The Roommates podcast (video link). Cuban said in April 2023 that negotiations to retain Brunson “went south, when (father Rick Brunson) took over, or the parents took over.” Brunson signed with the Knicks shortly after they hired his father as an assistant coach. “The only thing that I … didn’t like about the whole situation was when Mark said, ‘When the parents got involved, that’s when things got messy,’” Brunson said. “So that was the one thing that I was like, I kind of was like, ‘Damn that was a little jab.’” Cuban offered the following reply: “I apologize, if it put you in a certain way, that wasn’t the intention. But it was hard to deal with. It was a unique negotiation in a lot of different ways.”
The Cavaliers will hold their first week of training camp at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., according to a team press release. Cleveland will become the first NBA team to hold training camp at IMG Academy. It will also be the Cavaliers’ first remote training camp since preparing for the 2004/05 season at Capital University in Columbus, OH.

Nine NBA Teams Have Two-Way Contract Openings

September 1st, 2024 at 9:11am CST by Rory Maher

Two-way contracts allow NBA teams to carry three extra players in addition to the 15 on their regular season roster. These players generally bounce back and forth between the NBA and G League, but remain under team control and can’t be poached by rival franchises.

With training camps set to begin in about a month, there are still nine NBA teams with open two-way spots. Two clubs — the Nets and Magic — each have a pair of two-way openings, while the remaining seven teams have one opening apiece. That means there are currently 11 two-way openings in the NBA.

Here’s the full list of NBA teams with two-way vacancies, as shown by our 2024/25 two-way contract tracker:

Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls
Charlotte Hornets
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons
Los Angeles Clippers
Orlando Magic
Portland Trail Blazers
Washington Wizards

Technically, the Cavaliers have yet to finalize their reported two-way deal with JT Thor, but we expect that to occur at some point before training camp — that’s why they are not included on this list.

Since two-way deals are non-guaranteed and don’t count against the salary cap, it’s pretty common to see players shuffled in and out of rosters both before and during the season. It’s worth noting that Exhibit 10 deals can be converted to two-way contracts under certain conditions — these teams may be waiting until training camp and preseason to get a better look at young players.

First introduced in 2017, two-way deals have undergone some rule changes in recent years, and the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement has updated them further. Here are some key points to remember:

Teams can now carry three players on two-way contracts, rather than two.
Two-way players are eligible to be active for up to 50 of their team’s 82 regular season games. If a team isn’t carrying a full 15-man standard roster, its two-way players can only be active for a combined 90 games.
Players on two-way contracts will earn $578,577 in 2024/25, half of the rookie minimum.
Two-way contracts can’t be signed after March 4.

You can check out our glossary entry to learn more about two-way contracts.

Southwest Notes: Cuban, Thompson, Grizzlies, Sheppard, Sochan

August 31st, 2024 at 8:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Appearing on The Roommates Show podcast (video link), Mark Cuban suggested that Klay Thompson might get better scoring opportunities with the Mavericks than he did during his years with the Warriors. Cuban explained that playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving should free up Thompson for plenty of open shots.

“Obviously the big addition was Klay,” Cuban said in addressing the team’s offseason moves. “Just somebody who you have to face guard, who’s going to make 40% (from three-point range), and we’re hoping, you know at Golden State he had to always be on the move. They had that motion offense where he was always coming off screens and running. We don’t do that, or not nearly as much, and sure we’ll run some of that action for him, but just standing in the corner, and standing in the wings, and just catch and shoot from Luka and Ky. Hopefully his life is going to be a lot easier.”

Following a trip to the NBA Finals, Dallas has worked to upgrade its roster this summer. Along with adding Thompson, the Mavs improved their perimeter depth by picking up Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie.

“We wanted to keep that defensive mindset, but we also wanted somebody that was going to be able to make a three,” Cuban added, “because Luka is always going to get you an open look, Kyrie is going to get you an open look or score on their own.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

DaMichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal examines the Grizzlies‘ options for their open roster spot after waiving Mamadi Diakite this week. Cole states that the team could either promote one of its two-way players, sign a free agent to improve the bench or keep the slot open for a move later in the season. Cole believes Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jay Huff are the two-way players with the best chance of receiving a standard contract, while center and point guard are the positions with the greatest need for more depth.
There’s been skepticism on whether Reed Sheppard will play enough on a deep Rockets team to be a serious Rookie of the Year candidate, but Tim McMahon stated on the Hoop Collective podcast that playing time shouldn’t be an issue (Twitter link from Chris Gorman). “He’ll be on the floor,” McMahon said. “I think he’ll play a significant role as a play-maker off the bench.”
Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan wasn’t hurt in a one-vehicle crash last weekend, according to Raul Trey Lopez of The San Antonio Express-News. Sochan told police that he “lost control” of his $240K Porsche 911 GT3 RS before hitting a guardrail.

Jokic Tops Poll For Best Player; Gilgeous-Alexander Gets Nod For 2024/25 MVP

August 26th, 2024 at 10:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is the best NBA player right now but he’s not going to win another Most Valuable Player award next season.

That’s the majority opinion of the 18 NBA coaches, scouts and executives that ESPN’s Tim Bontemps polled. All but three of them believe Jokic is the league’s top player.

However, when the subject of next season’s MVP came up, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received seven votes. A handful chose Mavericks guard Luka Doncic with Jokic only receiving two votes.

The Thunder and Celtics are the solid favorites to emerge from their respective conferences and square off in the Finals. Boston received 13 votes to win the East, while Oklahoma City picked up 14 votes to emerge from the West. The Celtics received eight votes to repeat as champions, while the Thunder were chosen by seven members of the group.

There was no love for the top pick in the draft, Zaccharie Risacher.The Hawks big man didn’t receive a single vote for Rookie of the Year. The same goes for the topic of best player from the 2024/25 rookie class in five years. Grizzlies center Zach Edey garnered a panel-best eight votes for ROY, while Rockets guard Reed Sheppard was chosen by eight of them to be the best of the bunch in five years.

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama got two-thirds of the vote for top overall player in five years.

Prosper's Road To Playing Time Blocked

August 26th, 2024 at 8:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Olivier-Maxence Prosper spent most of last season in the G League after the Mavericks drafted him in the first round. He’ll have a tough time cracking the rotation in his second year with the additions of Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall, and Quentin Grimes. However, the club is still optimistic about his future and the wing’s development remains an intriguing element to monitor, according to Grant Afseth of Dallas Sports Journal.

And-Ones: Diamond RSNs, Dragic, Nowtizki, Oppenheimer

August 23rd, 2024 at 8:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Diamond Sports Group – the parent company of the Bally Sports regional networks – announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement with the NBA to continue local broadcasts for 13 teams for the 2024/25 season, according to Evan Drellich and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.

Diamond’s agreements, including a deal with the NHL to continue broadcasting nine teams’ games, will need to be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge. That hearing is scheduled for September 3, per Drellich and Vorkunov. While the new deals will only cover the 2024/25 season for now, they could extend beyond that if Diamond gets out of bankruptcy.

Diamond won’t be moving forward on deals with the Pelicans or the Mavericks, according to Friday’s announcement. The Pelicans news was reported earlier this month, with the team making plans to broadcasting its games for free over the air through Gray TV.

The Mavericks’ broadcast plans for the coming season remain unclear. However, The Athletic characterized the split with Dallas as mutual, and an NBA spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News that the Mavs “declined to continue distributing their games” through Diamond/Bally Sports, so it sounds like the club has a new plan in the works.

The 13 teams whose games will continue to air on Diamond’s regional sports networks in 2024/25 are the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, Timberwolves, Thunder, Magic, and Spurs.

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

Saturday’s farewell game in honor of Goran Dragic‘s retirement – dubbed “The Night of the Dragon,” will stream on the NBA App at 2:00 pm Eastern time, the league announced today (Twitter link). Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic will team up as part of “Team Luka,” while Dragic’s roster features former MVP Steve Nash. Eurohoops published the full rosters on Twitter.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Dragic’s farewell game, Dirk Nowitzki suggested that he would like to continue working in basketball in some capacity, but he doesn’t plan on becoming a full-time coach for any team. “I don’t think I see coaching in my future,” Nowitzki said, per Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops. “Things could change very quickly, but I don’t see myself as a team coach. I see more myself as an individual coach.”
Former Bucks assistant Josh Oppenheimer has accepted a job on Porter Moser‘s coaching staff at Oklahoma, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Milwaukee parted ways with Oppenheimer – who had a “close working relationship” with Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Wojnarowski – back in May as Doc Rivers made changes to his staff ahead of his first full season with the Bucks.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Theis, Marshall, Mavericks

August 22nd, 2024 at 5:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Pelicans are set to hold a voluntary mini-camp ahead of the official start of their team training camp, reports Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link). New Orleans is expected to have all but one member of its roster present at the mini-camp, which will take place next week in California.

The club is looking to build on its postseason success last year. New Orleans finished with a 49-33 record, its best finish since 2008/09. The team fell in its first play-in tournament game to the Lakers, but managed to survive the Kings and secure the West’s No. 8 seed. The Pelicans were quickly swept out of the playoffs by the No. 1-seeded Thunder.

Team president David Griffin wasn’t going to take the defeat lying down. He traded to acquire former All-Star combo guard Dejounte Murray from the Hawks, and is hoping New Orleans can bolster its backcourt defense. The Pelicans lost starting center Jonas Valanciunas to free agency, and questions remain about the fate of star forward Brandon Ingram. Ingram’s fit alongside All-Star forward Zion Williamson has long been in question. Ingram has yet to work out a contract extension with New Orleans this summer.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

Newly-signed Pelicans center Daniel Theis isn’t expected to join his teammates in California for the team’s voluntary mini-camp, tweets Guillory. The 6’8″ big man inked a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal to join New Orleans this summer. Across 60 games for the Pacers and Clippers in 2023/24, Theis posted averages of 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.9 blocks per night, with a shooting line of .532/.366/.760.
In a mailbag, Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News reflected on how new addition Naji Marshall may be able to offset the free agency departure of starting swingman Derrick Jones Jr., noting that Marshall is a stronger long-range shooter and a solid passer, but not quite as good a defender or lob target.
Elsewhere in the mailbag, Curtis says he sees the Mavericks’ three major roster acquisitions as overall improvements over role players Jones, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Josh Green. Beyond Marshall, Dallas added former Warriors All-Star wing Klay Thompson via sign-and-trade and obtained guard Quentin Grimes.

Southwest Notes: Ingram, Spurs, Mavericks

August 22nd, 2024 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Brandon Ingram situation will be a fascinating one to watch this season if he and the Pelicans don’t work out an extension before the regular season begins, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com.

Clark believes New Orleans would have liked to move Ingram in a trade for a starting center this offseason, but couldn’t find a deal that made sense, with targets like Jarrett Allen and Nic Claxton signing long-term deals with their respective teams and Orlando deciding to hang onto Wendell Carter.

While Ingram is a virtual lock to start for the Pelicans as long as he’s on the roster, there will be several starting-caliber players vying for minutes in late-game situations, Clark notes. Dejounte Murray, Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Herbert Jones, and Trey Murphy will all be in that mix, and if New Orleans wants to use a traditional center in certain matchups, Daniel Theis figures to join them.

As Clark points out, Ingram was frustrated when he was benched during the fourth quarter this past spring in the Pelicans’ play-in loss to the Lakers, so it could be awkward if that situation repeats itself in the coming season, with the team asking the former All-Star to sacrifice while he’s playing for his next contract. Ingram could become a more indispensable part of the team’s closing lineups if he’s willing to be a floor spacer and shoot more three-pointers, Clark adds.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Given the strength of the Western Conference and the fact that they only won 22 games last season, the Spurs may not be quite ready to enter the play-in mix in 2024/25, opines Kelly Iko of The Athletic. While Victor Wembanyama figures to take another step forward and the veteran additions of Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes will help, Iko stresses that San Antonio is committed to a patient roster-building approach and could still be the worst team in a strong Southwest Division next season.
Iko ranks the Pelicans ahead of the Mavericks in his early projection of the division’s standings, but he believes Dallas had the slightly better offseason overall and lauds the team for improving its outside shooting by adding Klay Thompson and Quentin Grimes, among others. Iko’s mailbag also explores the Rockets‘ projected win total, Zach Edey‘s potential impact on the Grizzlies, and a few more topics from around the Southwest.
Grant Afseth of NBAAnalysis.net takes an in-depth look at the Mavericks‘ offseason moves, exploring how Thompson will be deployed, who will replace Derrick Jones as the team’s go-to on-ball defender, and whether Spencer Dinwiddie is in position to replicate his past success in Dallas. Afseth also discusses the ongoing evolution of the Kyrie Irving/Luka Doncic backcourt duo and Dereck Lively‘s continued development.

Mavs’ Kidd Credits Kyrie For Role In Recruiting Thompson

August 20th, 2024 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the latest episode of NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dubs Talk podcast, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said the recruitment of free agent sharpshooter Klay Thompson this summer was a group effort, but singled out Mavs guard Kyrie Irving as having played a lead role, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.

“When you talk about the recruitment, it was a lot of people that were involved in that. But one of the biggest players in that was Kai,” Kidd said. “Kai being able to, player to player, (detail) his experience of what Dallas has been like for him in two years and being able to tell Klay the honest truth of what he thinks can happen with Klay coming to Dallas.

Irving requested a trade out of Cleveland in 2017, then did the same in Boston in 2019 and Brooklyn in 2023. He was also at the center of a handful of off-court controversies during his time with the Nets. However, since arriving in Dallas, the eight-time All-Star is enjoying an “unprecedented level of stability and fulfillment,” Poole notes, making him an ideal candidate to sell a newcomer on the city and the organization.

“… I would love to say it was all me,” Kidd joked. “But it wasn’t. It was a team effort. But I think player-to-player – in this league, they all talk about their situations, and they all recruit one another – this was about Kai and Klay being able to talk. And I also believe Klay did his homework, just understanding the situation. It would have been an easy for him to stay (in California). So, he had to put in some effort of doing some homework to see what Dallas was all about.”

Although the Mavericks appeared in the NBA Finals this past spring, Irving is the only player on the roster besides Thompson with a championship under his belt (Markieff Morris, who is expected to re-sign with the Mavs, has also won a title). Kidd believes Thompson’s experience on the biggest stage – which includes four championships – will benefit Dallas as the team looks to win its first title since 2011.

“We truly believe that he gives us something that we haven’t had, a guy who’s not afraid to take the shot,” Kidd said of Thompson, per Poole. “He’s been in championship situations. He understands what it means. We believe that we’re building a championship team. And his being a veteran, his experience being in big games and then being able to play both ends, we truly believe that he’s going to make a lot of open shots for us and have fun. But, also, we’re going to lean on him because has won a championship. We’re going to need his advice and his leadership throughout this journey.”

According to veteran NBA reporters Marc Stein and Chris Haynes (Twitter links), several Mavericks players – including Thompson – are practicing together this week in Los Angeles. Irving is in attendance even though he can’t yet practice in full as he continues to recover from hand surgery — he’s doing limited work for now and remains on track to be cleared by the start of training camp.

Mavericks To Add Makhtar N’Diaye To Front Office

August 18th, 2024 at 11:58am CST by Rory Maher

The Mavericks plan to hire former NBA big man Makhtar N’Diaye as their director of pro personnel and international scouting, reports Marc J. Spears of Andscape (via Twitter).

N’Diaye only appeared in four games for the Grizzlies back in 1999, but he made history as the first player from Senegal to play in the NBA. N’Diaye was a scout for the Knicks for nine years, Spears notes.

N’Diaye, 50, played college ball at Michigan and North Carolina and spent time in the NBA D League (now known as the G League) after his stint with Memphis. He also played professionally in France.

The Mavericks have been busy the past handful of months, giving multiyear extensions to head coach Jason Kidd and GM Nico Harrison and making the NBA Finals in June for the first time since 2011.

They made some roster changes this offseason, essentially swapping out Josh Green, Derrick Jones and Tim Hardaway Jr. for Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes. They also brought back Spencer Dinwiddie on a one-year, minimum-salary contract.