Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mavericks Notes: Doncic, Dinwiddie, Wood, Kleber

November 21st, 2022 at 9:21am CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks star Luka Doncic will represent Slovenia next summer at the FIBA World Cup, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. Doncic has become a regular in international competitions, so the news isn’t surprising, but it was made official by Basketball Federation of Slovenia president Matej Erjavec.

“Luka confirmed his participation a minute after the game with Germany, when it was certain that we would go to the championship,” Erjavec said in an interview with RTV, the country’s national public broadcaster. “To be very honest, we were actually 99% sure already after the game against Israel and even then, it was a great joy and a reassurance at the same time. If Luka is healthy, there is no fear at all.”

Doncic has played for the national team since 2017 when Slovenia won the gold medal at EuroBasket, and he was a standout at the most recent Olympics. The 32-team World Cup will take place from August 25 to September 10 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

“The club, led by coach Jason Kidd and owner Mark Cuban, approves of this approach,” Erjavec added. “They approve of his participation.”

There’s more from Dallas:

Spencer Dinwiddie dislocated his left shoulder late in Sunday’s game, but he doesn’t believe the injury is serious, writes Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. Dinwiddie got hurt when Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. collided with him on a steal attempt. He collapsed to the court in pain and had to leave the game, but felt OK in the locker room, Caplan adds. “It just popped out,” Dinwiddie said. “It’s back in. It’s all good.”
After logging 17 minutes off the bench Sunday, including just 1:54 in the fourth quarter, Christian Wood expressed frustration about his inconsistent playing time, Caplan tweets. Wood, who expected to have a regular role after being acquired from the Rockets in an offseason trade, said the coaching staff doesn’t give him an indication each night about how many minutes to expect. “I would love to play more,” he said. “I’ve voiced that several times, but I just play my role.”
Maxi Kleber remains sidelined with a lower back contusion, but there’s optimism that he can return soon, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Kidd hopes Kleber can resume practicing on Tuesday and join the team for its upcoming road trip.

Mavs Notes: Campazzo, Ntilikina, Luka, Dinwiddie, Wood, McGee

November 19th, 2022 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

When Luka Doncic sat out on Wednesday vs. Houston, it gave backup Mavericks guards Facundo Campazzo and Frank Ntilikina a rare opportunity to see the court. Both players, who were only on the floor in garbage time in the first 13 games of the season, established season highs in minutes, with Campazzo logging 23 and Ntilikina playing 12.

Although Dallas lost the game and the duo was a combined 3-of-11 from the floor, both Campazzo and Ntilikina had positive net ratings on the night, and head coach Jason Kidd said before the game that it would be a boon if the team could rely on one or both players to help reduce the workloads being carried by Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie.

“We’re looking for them to run the team,” Kidd said of Campazzo and Ntilikina, according to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “We got to get other guys involved, especially with Spencer and LD and the load they’re carrying now. We got to find other options to get them a little rest during the game than just running those guys 40 minutes every night.”

Doncic was back in the lineup for Friday’s blowout win over Denver, so Campazzo and Ntilikina weren’t part of the regular rotation. However, the one-sided nature of the game allowed Kidd to get them on the floor in the fourth quarter, limiting Doncic and Dinwiddie to 35 and 26 minutes, respectively.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Christian Wood earned praise on Wednesday from both his former head coach (Stephen Silas) and his current head coach. As Sefko details, Silas said he was “proud” of the way Wood has matured over the course of his NBA career, while Kidd lauded the big man for his willingness to accept a reserve role so far in Dallas. “He’s done everything that we’ve asked, he’s been great,” Kidd said. “You look at accepting his role, coming off the bench. He and Timmy (Hardaway Jr.) could easily start for us. But we felt like having those two coming off the bench is something that gives us the advantage. And C-Wood has done an incredible job.”
Even though Wood isn’t starting or finishing games, is he the perfect pick-and-roll partner the Mavericks have long sought for Doncic? Michael Pina of The Ringer explores that question, noting that the team has a 123.1 offensive rating with Doncic and Wood on the court together. That’s the 13th-best mark out of 539 duos who have played at least 150 minutes together this season.
JaVale McGee joined the Mavericks as a free agent this past summer after the team promised him its starting center job, but he was moved to the bench after just seven starts and hasn’t seen much action as of late. Fortunately, McGee is taking the demotion in stride, tweets Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. “If they feel I shouldn’t be starting, I’ll cheer from the bench,” McGee said. “If they feel like I should start or however many minutes they think I should play, I’m going to play them my hardest.”

Luka Doncic To Rest On Wednesday

November 16th, 2022 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks star Luka Doncic will miss a game for the first time this season on Wednesday, with the club opting to give him a rest night vs. Houston (Twitter link). Doncic is averaging a career-high 37.2 minutes per game and played 40 minutes in the first half of the team’s back-to-back set on Tuesday, so this decision had been expected, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.

Bertans Plays It Cautious With Knee Injury

November 14th, 2022 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks forward Davis Bertans is close to returning from his injury but he’s been understandably cautious after undergoing two major surgeries on his knee, according to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “Every small thing can leave some effect on it,” Bertans said. “Maybe I could have been back a little sooner, but we wanted to be as cautious as possible. We got a deep roster, and we were just making sure this is the only time I miss games this season.”

Bertans Participates In Full Practice

November 14th, 2022 at 6:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mavericks forward Davis Bertans, who has been sidelined with a right knee injury, participated in his first full practice on Monday since early in training camp, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Bertans is still listed out for the team’s game against the Clippers on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets.

Stein’s Latest: Simmons, Mavs, Lakers, Freedom, I. Thomas

November 14th, 2022 at 4:22pm CST by Rory Maher

“Contrary to recent reports,” the Mavericks have no interest in trading for Nets swingman Ben Simmons, league sources tell Marc Stein in his latest post at Substack.

A couple of weeks ago, Ian Begley of SNY.tv reported that the Nets had “cursory” trade talks with a Western Conference team, then later said those discussions were about a veteran shooter, and Simmons’ name came up. Begley cautioned that those talks may not have advanced beyond the exploratory stage, but Brooklyn was rumored to be “aggressive” in its pursuit of shooting.

On the heels of Begley’s reports, a Western Conference executive told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney last week that the Mavericks might be worth watching.

“Dallas is a team to watch, Simmons would be an interesting fit next to Luka (Doncic) if the Nets were willing to take back (Tim) Hardaway and (Davis) Bertans. I am not sure how much higher the Mavs could go in terms of an offer but that would definitely be interesting for Luka.”

Stein says the Mavericks may have been mentioned “to try to create some sort of market for Simmons,” who has yet to regain his old form after missing all of last season. Simmons missed his fifth game of 2022/23 Sunday with knee soreness, though he seems confident it won’t be a long-term injury.

Here’s more from Stein:

The Lakers have taken a look at some free agents, but Stein gets the sense that they’ll wait until Dennis Schröder and Thomas Bryant return before making any roster changes. Both players have yet to make their season debuts after each had thumb surgery last month, but they’re expected to play on Friday. The Lakers are hopeful Schröder can provide an offensive boost, Stein adds.
After Dwight Howard signed a seven-figure deal to join the Taoyuan Leopards, other Taiwanese clubs are looking at veteran NBA free agents, according to Stein, who writes that Enes Freedom and Isaiah Thomas are among the targets.
Carmelo Anthony is another veteran being pursued by a Taiwanese team, but “it’s widely presumed” that the 38-year-old “is holding out for another NBA opportunity,” says Stein. Anthony averaged 13.3 points and 4.2 rebounds on .441/.375/.830 shooting in 69 games (26.0 minutes) for the Lakers last season.

Doncic's Usage Rate Is Through The Roof

November 13th, 2022 at 5:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Luka Doncic‘s usage rate is higher than any other player in the league, prompting Tim Cato of The Athletic to consider whether Doncic can keep going at this pace. The Mavericks star admitted after a loss this week, “I’m just feeling more tired on the court these last two games than anything,” and his shooting percentages in the fourth quarter are much lower than in any other quarter. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today explores the same topic, noting that Doncic is playing a career-high 36.9 MPG and has a usage rate of 39.14%, which would be the third-highest all-time behind Russell Westbrook’s 41.65% in 2016/17 and James Harden’s 40.47 in 2018/19.

Texas Notes: Wood, Doncic, Garuba, Spurs

November 10th, 2022 at 8:44pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-Star Mavericks guard Luka Doncic is off to a high-scoring start for Dallas, but it hasn’t entirely translated to team success for the 6-5 club. Seth Partnow of The Athletic explores whether Doncic may be carrying too big a burden for the Mavericks in the team’s heliocentric offense.

Through 11 games, Doncic is averaging 33.6 PPG for the club. Partnow notes that so much of the Mavericks’ offensive attack revolves around Doncic, operating as the team’s primary play-maker and scorer, that he is already showing signs of exhaustion late in games. Partnow writes that the effects of handling so much of the team’s offense are even visible in the second halves of recent games, when Doncic’s output subsides somewhat.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

Mavericks reserve center Christian Wood missed his second consecutive game tonight due to a left knee sprain, the team announced (via Twitter). Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News writes that Wood injured his knee in the second half of the team’s 96-94 win against the Nets on Monday, and did not travel with Dallas for its back-to-back road games against the Magic and Wizards, both losses.
Rockets backup big man Usman Garuba, who played for Spain in the EuroBasket tournament earlier this year, spoke with Toni Canyameras of Mundo Deportivo about his current role in Houston. “They told me that if I played as in the EuroBasket, with that intensity, I would be playing minutes and it is what I am doing, trying to give everything on the court and improving, knowing that I can give more and improve and be ready for everything,” Garuba said. The 6’8″ 20-year-old is averaging 3.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.2 APG, and 0.4 BPG through the team’s first 10 contests.
Young Spurs swingmen Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell have been struggling to convert their jump shots in key moments recently, but both players are hoping to learn from their misses, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. “I’ll be in the gym tomorrow,” Vassell said after missing an overtime buzzer-beater try against the Grizzlies last night. “Don’t worry about it.” Both players are averaging over 20 PPG for the first time in their NBA careers, having become primary focal points in San Antonio’s offense.

Southeast Notes: Banchero, Bol, Hachimura, Cain, Time Change

November 8th, 2022 at 8:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Top pick Paolo Banchero is off to a terrific start for the Magic but he might miss a game for the first time on Wednesday. He’s questionable to play against Dallas due to a left ankle sprain, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.

Banchero is averaging 23.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game for the 2-9 Magic, who already have a handful of players out due to injuries.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Bol Bol has emerged as a candidate for the league’s Most Improved Player award, Josh Cohen of the team’s website writes. The 22-year-old big man played in just 14 games for Denver last season but has seen action in all of the Magic‘s games this season, including six starts. He’s averaging 11.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per night. “I think there’s so much more that he can show, but the one thing that I really appreciate about him and what he’s done is he’s just accepted whatever we are asking him to do, and he does it willingly,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said. Bol, acquired from Boston last season, is on a two-year contract but his $2.2MM salary for next season is not guaranteed.
Rui Hachimura has looked more comfortable coming off the bench this season, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. The Wizards forward contributed 16 points in 26 minutes against Charlotte on Monday. For the season, he’s shooting 46.2% from the field. He’ll be a restricted free agent next summer if the team extends a qualifying offer.
Miami rookie Jamal Cain is on a tw0-way contract and he will have to get used to bouncing back and forth between the NBA and G League, as Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel details. The Heat‘s G League team is in Sioux Falls. “It tests you mentally,” Caleb Martin said. “You might be going down and playing 30-plus minutes and you might be coming up and watching the whole game. It’s just a good way to keep your mind ready.”
Due to tropical storm Nicole, the Magic-Mavericks game on Wednesday has been moved up to 5:30 p.m. ET, the Magic’s PR department tweets.

Mavs Notes: Powell, McGee, Dinwiddie, Campazzo, Doncic

November 5th, 2022 at 12:00pm CST by Luke Adams

As speculated, the Mavericks made a change to their starting lineup for Friday’s game vs. Toronto, replacing center JaVale McGee with Dwight Powell. Head coach Jason Kidd told reporters before the game that it wouldn’t necessarily be a permanent move.

“This is something for us to look at,” Kidd said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). “(Powell) has been playing extremely well. … We’ll take it one game at a time for now.”

McGee signed with the Mavericks as a free agent this past offseason after being promised the starting center job, but the team has performed better with Powell manning that spot in the early going this season. That didn’t change on Friday.

Against the Raptors, both Powell (plus-8) and McGee (plus-6) had positive on-court ratings in the same game for just the second time this season. The first time it happened, on October 22, Dallas blew out Memphis by 41 points. On Friday, the Mavs won by just a single point.

Here’s more out of Dallas:

Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie alleged that veteran referee Tony Brothers referred to him as a “b–ch ass motherf—er” during Friday’s game. As MacMahon writes in a full ESPN.com story, Dinwiddie, who protested when Brothers called him for a technical foul, said that a teammate informed him of Brothers’ comment. “I’m not even mad at the language,” Dinwiddie said. “Everybody has said things before when they are upset or feeling sensitive or hurt. That’s fine. Just say it to my face. … I would like to not be called a b–ch ass motherf—er to my teammates.”
Speaking to Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News, veteran point guard Facundo Campazzo said he was close to resuming his career in Europe when he received an offer from the Mavericks. “When the Mavs’ offer came, I mean, I didn’t hesitate. I just said yes at the first question they did, and that’s it,” Campazzo said. “I was in Argentina with my family and said, ‘OK, we are moving to Dallas.’ That was a Thursday, and they asked me if I can fly Friday, the next day. I said, ‘I need a little bit more time. I have to move a lot of things,’ so we flew in that Saturday and stayed in the hotel and started this journey.”
Luka Doncic made NBA history on Friday by becoming the second player to ever start a season by scoring at least 30 points in each of his first eight games. Wilt Chamberlain was the only other player in league history to accomplish the feat, according to Caplan.