Mavericks Rumors

Southeast Notes: Hawks Bench, Poole, Hornets, Green, Smith

March 1st, 2025 at 11:03am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Hawks are receiving strong contributions from their bench since adding Caris LeVert, Terance Mann and Georges Niang at the trade deadline, Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. That trio helped Atlanta defeat Miami on Monday and combined for 50 points on Friday. On Wednesday, the bench – LeVert, Mann, Niang, and Clint Capela – scored 45 of the Hawks’ 109 points.

“I feel like we can keep getting better,” Capela said of Atlanta’s second unit. “Once again, defensively, we’re able to get stops and run get easy buckets for everybody, myself included Caris, Terance, Georges. I mean, I feel like, those are the guys that know how to play, they’ve been in this thing long enough to know how to play, and I’ve started feeling better playing with them.”

In the eight games since the newcomers arrived, Niang is averaging 14.0 points per game while shooting 41.7% on 7.5 three-point attempts per game, LeVert is recording 15.3 PPG, and Mann is averaging 8.4 PPG while shooting 57.9% from beyond the arc.

“Yeah, I think that’s the thing that’s kind of bringing us together, is our communication and our experience,” LeVert said. “We’ve all played a lot of basketball. So, I think just getting on the same page has been a lot easier.”

Williams adds that the Hawks still need to find a solution for replacing some of Trae Young‘s play-making production when he sits and that Vit Krejci should be considered an option for alleviating that concern.

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Jordan Poole is enjoying a strong second season in Washington after his production dipped in his first season there. As Varun Shankar of The Washington Post writes, Poole is averaging career highs in points (21.0), assists (4.8) and three-point percentage (37.0%). Poole didn’t start in 12 games last season but now he’s a full-time starter and is second on the Wizards in minutes per game.
The Hornets are going through a tough stretch — they won just two games in February and have lost five in a row. Still, coach Charles Lee is optimistic that the team is growing through the adversity, Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes. “I thought just as a group, we competed at a much better level,” Lee said after their most recent loss, a 103-96 game against the Mavericks on Thursday. “To judge a man to see how he gets knocked down and to see how he responds, the group definitely responded today.“
Josh Green returned to American Airlines Center for the first time as a member of the Hornets on Thursday. He had “weird feelings” in his return to face the Mavericks, with whom he spent the first four years of his career, according to Mavs.com’s Eddie Sefko. “It’s been different for me,” Green said. “Being a younger guy in Dallas and then to come here and being a veteran, it’s definitely been a shift. It’s fun. I’ve enjoyed it. Looking back at my time in Dallas, my first couple years were some of my really toughest times, not playing, not getting many minutes. Having guys like Dwight [Powell] and Maxi [Kleber] were great leaders for me. And it’s motivated me to be the best [mentor] I can be for guys.”
Roster deadlines are approaching and – as we wrote last weekend – the Heat could conceivably make a two-way contract switch, since Dru Smith is out for the season. However, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald hears that the front office is leaning toward keeping Smith on his two-way deal to avoid another team claiming him and getting the chance to re-sign him in restricted free agency this summer. Asummiing he remains in Miami, Smith could be re-signed to a two-way deal or to a standard contract. He established himself as part of the team’s rotation before his unfortunate injury.

Southwest Notes: Zion, Mavericks, Popovich, Spurs

February 28th, 2025 at 7:54pm CST by Luke Adams

With Brandon Ingram no longer on the roster and Dejounte Murray out with a long-term injury, Zion Williamson will have to shoulder more leadership responsibilities for the Pelicans both on and off the court, says William Guillory of The Athletic. While there have been questions in the past about Williamson’s conditioning habits and the way he has communicated with the organization, he has earned rave reviews for the work he has put in behind the scenes this season, according to Guillory.

“I feel like he’s been a lot more locked in. He’s been taking it really seriously. You see a different look in his eye,” teammate Trey Murphy said. “He’s just ready to build and keep building chemistry and figure out what we’re doing.”

The former No. 1 overall pick led New Orleans to its third straight win on Thursday by recording the first triple-double of his career, with 27 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds, as David Brandt of The Associated Press details. New Orleans outscored Phoenix by 17 points during Williamson’s 31 minutes on the court.

“It’s a reminder to the NBA, to the fans, to everybody,” Pelicans head coach Willie Green said after the victory. “This is who he can be, night in and night out. That’s what we’re all striving to accomplish as a group. We’re striving to get our best player on the floor.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has his work cut out for him with his top three big men injured, Moses Brown‘s 10-day contract close to expiring, Dwight Powell on a restriction of 10-12 minutes per game, and Kessler Edwards just 10 appearances away from his limit of 50 active games, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Brown – who had 20 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday’s win over Chicago – can’t be re-signed until April 10 once his 10-day deal expires due to Dallas’ hard cap situation, which will also prevent the team from promoting Edwards to the 15-man roster until the final week of the season.
The Dallas Morning News staff takes a closer look at what we know so far about the possibility of a new arena for the Mavericks, including the city of Irving’s efforts to lure the Mavs out of Dallas.
Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Today on Thursday (YouTube link), Shams Charania of ESPN provided a few more details on the first in-person meeting between Gregg Popovich and his players since the Spurs head coach suffered a stroke in the fall. Charania says that “tears were shed” during the meeting and notes that Popovich hasn’t given up hope of resuming his coaching career, even though he won’t be back this season.

Jeanie Buss Explains Lakers’ Approach To Luka Doncic Trade

February 28th, 2025 at 2:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss was one of the few people with advance knowledge of the trade talks with Dallas involving Luka Doncic, but she wasn’t sure the deal would get done until the last minute, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register.

Speaking at an event on Thursday to promote her new Netflix show, Buss told reporters that the front office proceeded cautiously throughout the process, making sure to prevent leaks that might have affected team chemistry if the deal had fallen through.

“I mean, not until (general manager Rob Pelinka) told me it was done and they had made the trade call,” she said. “Because these things fall apart all the time. It was really important to me that we didn’t blow up the team. If it had leaked out and the trade hadn’t happened, that would be really unfair to the progress that the coaching staff had made with the team. Because it’s a huge distraction. And the trade deadline is part of the business. It increases the level of stress for everybody. And I’m really proud that it didn’t leak out and that we were able to execute the trade in a way that still was surprising to all the parties involved. But that goes with this business.”

Buss compared the acquisition of Doncic with two significant deals from Lakers history, Price adds. She cited the 2008 trade with Memphis for Pau Gasol and the 2011 agreement with New Orleans for Chris Paul that was eventually overturned by then-commissioner David Stern.

As the Doncic trade edged closer to reality, Lakers officials were worried about any unexpected snags that might prevent it from being finalized.

“There’s always this concern there’s going to be some new ruling that, like, now what’s going to happen?,” Buss said. “But what I have complete confidence in Rob is that he knows how to walk a deal through step by step to make sure that everything is complete and buttoned up and that’s exactly what happened.”

Buss praised Pelinka and Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison for their discretion in keeping the deal quiet, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. From the time the first discussions were held on January 7, they were able to operate in near secrecy, even though Utah had to be brought in as a third team to take the salary of Lakers guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.

Buss also compared the trade to the type of deals her late father, Dr. Jerry Buss, used to make when he built the Lakers into one of the NBA’s premier franchises.

“He’d be very proud. When you get a player of that stature, you have to give up a lot. My dad was such a great poker player, and he said that he always wanted me to remember that poker was a game of patience,” she said. “That you had to wait for the right cards, but once you got the cards, you had to go from zero to 100 and play the cards and not be afraid to play them. So, it was difficult because we were not looking to trade Anthony Davis or Max Christie. But it was a deal that he would’ve made, and we had to go for it.”

Mavs Inquired About Anthony Edwards Before Trading Doncic To Lakers

February 28th, 2025 at 7:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers were not the only team that Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison reached out to regarding a possible Luka Doncic trade. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Mavericks had informal discussions with the Timberwolves regarding a possible Doncic-Anthony Edwards swap in the weeks leading up to the blockbuster deal with Los Angeles.

Those discussions didn’t go anywhere because Minnesota had no interest in trading its All-Star guard. However, the Timberwolves brass was stunned that Dallas was even considering the idea of trading Doncic, sources tell Amick.

From a salary standpoint, the numbers would have matched up pretty neatly — Doncic is making $43MM this season and Edwards is pulling in $42.2MM. Edwards is in the first year of a five-year, max extension that currently adds up to $244.6MM. Recall that the main motivation for Dallas to trade Doncic is that the front office didn’t want to give him a five-year, super-max extension worth a projected $345MM.

Had the Timberwolves been willing to trade Edwards for Doncic, the two franchises would have essentially swapped superstars entering or in their prime. Edwards is still just 23 years old, while Doncic is 26.

Instead, the centerpiece of the package the Mavs received was 31-year old big man Anthony Davis, an oft-injured perennial All-Star who suffered an adductor strain in his Dallas debut and has yet to return. The deal has been extremely unpopular with Mavericks fans but they might have had a different reaction if the team essentially replaced one high-scoring play-maker with a younger one.

Thus far, the Lakers are 4-2 in the games that Doncic has played since the trade, including a 111-102 win over the Timberwolves on Thursday.

Southwest Notes: Thompson, Whitmore, Pelicans Lineup, Brown

February 27th, 2025 at 9:19pm CST by Tristan Tucker

With Fred VanVleet out for the past 11 games, Amen Thompson‘s ball-handling role has been amplified, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle observes.

“For sure, I feel like my play-making’s taken a step up, and they’ve put me in positions where they trust me to do that,” Thompson said. “I feel like it’s just more experience being at the one and knowing where my guys are gonna make their shots most of the time.”

While his play-making has been impressive (6.3 assists per game in his last 11 compared to 2.9 APG before that), it raises the question of exactly what Thompson’s offensive role will be when VanVleet returns. The Rockets will be fully healthy for the first time since December when VanVleet returns, but coach Ime Udoka hasn’t yet decided on a starting lineup.

Thompson has more than earned a continued stay in the starting lineup and he did start next to VanVleet earlier this year. However, the Rockets are just 5-6 in their last 11 games without their veteran point guard and will receive a boost when he returns.

“I think when we signed Fred, the beauty of him was that he could play on and off ball,” Udoka said. “He had been with [Pascal] Siakam and Kawhi Leonard, those guys, and always been a handler but another recipient because of the shooting. Obviously, that stands out. So [it’s] something he does pretty naturally, something I’m sure he’ll welcome. You know, get some easier shots [rather] than having to create and be on the ball all the time.”

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In the Rockets‘ past five games, swingman Cam Whitmore has only played 25 total minutes, with a pair of DNP-CDs. According to Udoka (Twitter link via Lerner), Whitmore’s drop in minutes is directly linked to Jabari Smith Jr.‘s return to the lineup. “There’s not a ton of minutes, just like at the start of the season, for all the wings,” Udoka said. “Like I said, depth is a really good problem but people are gonna get squeezed out for sure.” Whitmore is averaging 9.1 points per game in 38 appearances this season.
Pelicans center Kelly Olynyk is playing alongside rookie big man Yves Missi since coming from Toronto at the trade deadline. As Rod Walker of NOLA.com observes, New Orleans is finding some success with two-big lineups featuring the duo. The Pelicans have out-rebounded opposing teams in the three games with Olynyk and Missi playing next to each other. “We like the big lineups so far,” said coach Willie Green. “After many games of not being able to win the rebounding margin, we’re winning that and that’s giving us extra possessions. It’s allowing us to get out and play in transition.”
After averaging 10.5 minutes per game in his first two outings with the Mavericks, Moses Brown drew a start on Thursday, as noted by Dallas Hoops Journal’s Grant Afseth (Twitter link). Brown has tonight and Saturday’s game against the Bucks before his current 10-day deal expires. Due to Dallas’ restrictive hard-cap situation, the team won’t be able to re-sign him at that time.

Mavs Notes: Davis, Doncic, Irving, Marshall, Thompson

February 27th, 2025 at 8:17am CST by Luke Adams

Anthony Davis wasn’t able to play on Tuesday in the Mavericks‘ first game against the Lakers since the blockbuster trade that sent Davis from Los Angeles to Dallas. But he was in the building and told Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times that he appreciated the tribute video the Lakers made for him and the love that the fans in L.A. showed him.

Davis also spoke about the experience of being traded without having any idea it was coming, a rarity for player with his résumé. Davis had been traded once before in his career, but in that case he asked the Pelicans to move him and knew for months that a deal was likely coming. After learning about the blockbuster sending him to Dallas, the big man immediately FaceTimed longtime teammate LeBron James, he told Turner.

“When it happened, I honestly didn’t know s–t,” Davis said. “(LeBron)’s been my running mate for six years … so the first thing I wanted to do was call him.

“… Obviously, I know there are going to be a lot of political things in the front office when they talk to me. The front office has to do what it has to do and obviously they’re going to do what’s best for the organization. So I don’t know if I ever got the ‘real’ about any of it. I don’t know what’s true or what’s not, coming from upstairs. So, my thing is, I’m gonna go to my counterpart who I’ve been running with and see what’s going on, get his reaction and that’s all it was. We had a conversation. That was it.

“Everybody’s saying nobody knew and all this other s–t. I just don’t believe it. But, hey man, I’m past that. I’m ready to move forward with Dallas, try to get a championship there with these guys. First off, getting back on the floor and get ready to compete. All the emotions, that s–t lasted that night when it was just a shock.”

Davis, who is currently on the shelf with an adductor strain, is scheduled to be reevaluated on March 6.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

As Sam Amick of The Athletic writes, there are a number of people in Dallas who are predicting Luka Doncic‘s “basketball demise” in the coming years due to his health history and social habits that include “a taste for beer and hookah.” But Doncic showed in Tuesday’s Lakers win over Dallas why the decision to trade him could age horribly, according to Amick, who says most people around the league continue to think that the Mavs made a “grave mistake.”
After having been teammates with Doncic for two years, it was “awkward” but “fun” to face him as an opponent, Kyrie Irving told reporters after Tuesday’s game, per Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. Irving spoke at length about his bond with Doncic and said it’s “one of those lifetime things” that goes beyond basketball. The Lakers’ newest star agreed. “Kai is my hermano,” Doncic said. “We go way beyond basketball. So, it was good to see those guys. Like I said, we went to the wars together, and it was really fun to see them all.”
Mavericks forward Naji Marshall acknowledged in a conversation with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda that it has been a challenging few weeks for the team, which has had to deal with the aftermath of the Doncic trade and a series of injuries that have decimated the frontcourt. However, he remains bullish about the Mavs’ chances of contending this season. “I think we’re all still locked in,” Marshall said. “Everyone is still focused and not letting the outside noise derail the goals that we made up at the beginning of the season. And it’s still very possible to accomplish those. So I think that we’re in a great spot. … Stay tuned. It’s a long season. We are not done yet. Stay tuned.”
Following Sunday’s game in Golden State, Mavericks sharpshooter Klay Thompson presented Dr. Richard Ferkel, who repaired Thompson’s Achilles tear in 2020, with a 2022 Warriors championship ring, as Amick relays (Twitter video link). Kalan Hooks of ESPN has the full story.

Lakers Notes: Doncic, LeBron, Mavs Win, Defense

February 26th, 2025 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

Luka Doncic scored just 19 points in his first game against the Mavericks on Tuesday, but he also contributed 15 rebounds and 12 assists, registering his first triple-double since joining the Lakers and becoming the third player in NBA history – along with Russell Westbrook and teammate LeBron James – to post triple-doubles against all 30 teams, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Most importantly, Doncic and the Lakers picked up the win, defeating his former team by a score of 107-99. After the game, the star guard sounded more relieved than triumphant, according to McMenamin.

“It was just a lot of emotions and not much sleep,” Doncic said. “I can’t even explain (it). It was a different game. … Sometimes I don’t know what I was doing. And I’m just glad it’s over, honestly.”

While the scene wasn’t as charged as it figures to be on April 9 when the Lakers visit Dallas for the first time since the trade, Doncic said getting his first game against the Mavs out of the way will “definitely help me,” though he added that it will take “a while” to feel like he has closure on that era of his career.

“Obviously there’s a lot of emotion that goes in when you give so much to a franchise and you sacrifice for a franchise and you have that type of love and respect for a franchise — throughout all the journeys,” James said, per McMenamin. “(Doncic and the Mavericks) went to the Finals, all that stuff. He’s grown from being an 18-, 19-year-old kid to now a 25-year-old man with a family. … And when you move on or they move on from you, it’s very emotional, obviously. It’s very taxing.

“It’s probably a lot of things that were going on in his head that probably didn’t even involve the game itself. And with that said, I thought he handled it tremendously.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Within an interesting behind-the-scenes look at how the first few weeks of Doncic’s time in Los Angeles have played out, ESPN’s McMenamin notes that James has expressed a willingness to defer to his new superstar teammate on offense. “I’ve worked on my outside shot and my catch-and-shoot game for quite a while now to be able to sync up with someone like Luka,” LeBron said. “… I believe that in order for us to ultimately be the team that we want to be with him here, he has to have the ball, he has to be able to put us all in position, he has to be him. The seven years that we’ve seen in the NBA with Luka, we want that Luka.”
Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison was on the court during warmups on Tuesday, but Doncic didn’t acknowledge Harrison and stated after the game that he didn’t see him, as ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne writes.
Shelburne also provides a few more details on Doncic’s first game against the Mavericks, such as Mark Cuban‘s admission that he “hated” rooting against his former franchise player. According to Shelburne, Doncic jokingly told Cuban to “shut up” after the Mavs’ former majority owner made a point of booing him.
Since January 15, the Lakers own the NBA’s best record (15-4) and No. 1 defensive rating (107.4), as Jovan Buha of The Athletic observes. While their roster has undergone significant changes during that time, the Lakers’ defensive rating during that time isn’t being buoyed by Anthony Davis‘ play — since his last game with the team on January 28, L.A.’s defensive rating is a league-best 105.9. Head coach J.J. Redick praised the Lakers for being “committed” to playing team defense and told reporters on Tuesday that James has been playing at “an All-NBA defense level” in recent weeks, according to Buha.

Southwest Notes: Powell, Christie, Smith Jr., Bagley

February 25th, 2025 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks won’t have Anthony Davis when they face the Lakers for the first time since the teams’ blockbuster deal that landed Luka Doncic in Los Angeles. They could get another big man back for the showdown. Dwight Powell, who has missed the last 16 games due to a hip injury, has been upgraded as questionable, Marc Stein tweets.

It’s expected that Powell will be active, Stein adds. Powell has appeared in 33 games off the bench this season, though he’s averaged just 7.6 minutes in those appearances.

The Lakers will honor Davis with a video tribute, NBA insider Chris Haynes tweets.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Another of the players the Mavericks acquired from the Lakers was guard Max Christie. He has given Dallas a boost since the deal, averaging 15.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists in eight games. Christie told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears he’ll looking forward to Tuesday’s game but harbors no ill will toward his former team. “I’m not even looking at this game as a ‘revenge game,’” Christie said. “I’m actually looking forward to it from a sense that I get to see old teammates, old colleagues, old coaches. I’m looking forward to just enjoying that game. I want to win, obviously. The Lakers are a playoff team. They’re really, really good. It’s a good test for us as a matchup, as a team as well. But I’m not going in there with any bad blood or any intention of trying to drop 40 on them. I’m just going in there to try to win the game, play my game and let the game come to me.”
Blending Jabari Smith Jr.‘s offensive skills with the current rotation will be a key to the Rockets’ postseason success, Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes. If Houston has any hope of making a deep run, Smith must become more of a focal offensive option, according to Iko. Smith has played two games since recovering from a fractured hand, an injury he suffered on New Year’s Day.
Big man Marvin Bagley III wound up with the Grizzlies in a three-team trade earlier this month. Bagley, the No. 2 pick of the 2018 draft, has only made one brief appearance with Memphis. Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal explores how Bagley might carve out a role with the Grizzlies, his fourth team since entering the league. He’ll be a free agent after the season.

Mavericks, Doncic’s Lakers Ready For ‘Weird’ Matchup

February 25th, 2025 at 1:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Almost immediately after word broke earlier this month that the Mavericks were sending Luka Doncic to the Lakers in the most shocking trade in recent NBA history, a steady flow of reports questioning Doncic’s weight and conditioning began leaking out of Dallas.

Although Doncic never publicly responded to those leaks, a source close to the five-time All-NBA guard tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN that they’ve been a motivating factor for Doncic as he settles into his new home.

“A beast was awakened inside him,” the source said to ESPN.

On Tuesday, Doncic will have the first opportunity to exact some level of revenge on the organization that traded him, as the Lakers tip off a six-game home stand by hosting the banged-up Mavericks. The Lakers are expecting it to be an emotional reunion, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

“I think he’ll be fine,” head coach J.J. Redick said of his newly added star. “Every day that he’s been with us it’s becoming a little more normal. I’ve been there. The first time you play your old team, particularly this close in time duration, it’s going to be weird. But he’ll be OK.”

While the matchup will mean more to Doncic than to the rest of the Lakers, his new teammates are all excited for it and will have his back as he faces his old team, according to Lakers forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who used to play with Luka in Dallas.

“I’m excited, man,” Finney-Smith said. “I know (Doncic is) gonna be ready but I try not to put too much pressure on him because at the end of the day, we just want to get the win. We get the win, I know he’s gonna be happy.”

Doncic didn’t look like his usual self in his first three games as a Laker after returning from a lengthy layoff due to a calf strain. He averaged just 14.7 points on 35.6% shooting in those three outings. But he showed on Saturday in Denver why the Mavericks’ decision to trade him was so stunning, going off for 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals in a 23-point win over a Nuggets team that has repeatedly stymied the Lakers in recent years.

Doncic’s former Mavs teammates are fully prepared to see that version of Luka on Tuesday, according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News.

“I expect him to bring his A-game,” Mavs forward P.J. Washington said. “Knowing just the player he is, the mentality he brings to the game, I know he’s going to be ready as soon as we get out there. We can’t wait to compete against him. We miss him, but at the end of the day, he’s our brother and we’re always going to love him but we just gotta go out there and compete against him.”

“I would love to get into the emotions after the game, but before the game it’s just about having fun and making sure that we lock in and have a deep focus,” Dallas guard Kyrie Irving said. “They’re going to come in and be ready to play against us. Luka’s obviously going to have a lot of confidence in that game. He played well the last game so he’s feeling good. We just have to be aware.”

Mavericks Notes: Kidd, Doncic, Nowitzki, Washington, Thompson

February 24th, 2025 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks guard Jason Kidd can relate to how his former star point guard Luka Doncic feels. Kidd was an All-Star entering his prime when Dallas dealt him to Phoenix in 1996.

“It shocks you because you don’t know about that side of the business,” Kidd told Christian Clark of The Athletic. “But you have to grow up fast. It is a business.”

Doncic never saw the trade to the Lakers coming, thinking he’d be signing a super-max extension after the season with Dallas.

“You believe you are going to be with the franchise forever,” Kidd said. “But the business of basketball sometimes gets in the way. Teams change. I’ve been involved in quite a few sales of the team. Any time there is a sale, there could be change. It just happens.”

We have more on the Mavericks:

Dallas legend Dirk Nowitzki was on vacation when news broke of the Doncic trade. Nowitzki didn’t see it coming either, he revealed on a Sportsradio 96.7 FM interview relayed by the Dallas Morning News. “I felt a little disappointed and sad for him. He obviously didn’t see this coming, so he invited me to come out to his first game in LA, and I felt like I had to support him,” Nowitzki said. “I felt like, I played with him in my last season, we’ve gotten close, I’ve tried to mentor him, I’ve tried to help him as much as I can the last few years and he’s a good kid. I felt like I had to go out there and support him in this new chapter, because I think and it was reported he was obviously pretty down and disappointed in how it went down. So I wanted to be there for him, I wanted to be there for his family and show support. But you guys saw my face, it was weird. It was surreal to see him play for the Lakers. I’ll never be a Laker fan, but I’ll always be a Luka fan.”
An ankle sprain limited P.J. Washington to one February game prior to the All-Star break. He came back strong on Friday with 24 points and seven rebounds against New Orleans. “He’s a budding star for our team, and he’s showcasing that,” Kyrie Irving said of Washington, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal. “His numbers have showcased that. So I think it’s about time we started furthering that conversation about P.J. Washington consistently doing these things and being a great asset for our team as one of our leaders and making money plays.” Washington added 17 points against Golden State on Sunday.
Klay Thompson’s technical foul on Sunday has been rescinded upon league office review, NBA Official tweets. Thompson was held to 11 points in the 24-point loss to Golden State.

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