A.J. Hammons

Heat, Mavs Nearing Josh McRoberts Trade

7:54pm: The Mavericks will use a trade exception to absorb McRoberts’ salary, tweets Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Dallas has a $6.6MM+ TPE that would fit McRoberts’ $6MM+ salary. The use of that exception signals that the Mavs intend to function as an over-the-cap team for now.

Meanwhile, Charania’s full report on the proposed deal also notes that the Mavs will receive cash from the Heat.

7:12pm: The Heat are working to trade Josh McRoberts to the Mavericks as they look to clear salary, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com tweets. Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (Twitter links) that Dallas will send A.J. Hammons to Miami in exchange for the power forward.

The Mavericks will also receive a future second-round pick from Miami, Charania adds. The Heat have already traded their second-round picks in each of the next four seasons, meaning the earliest pick Miami could offer would be the 2022 selection.

By removing McRoberts’ salary, which is approximately $6.02MM for the 2017/18 campaign, the Heat should be able to fit in the already agreed upon deals for Dion Waiters and Kelly Olynyk as well as a new contract for James Johnson, something that the team is still working on. Moving the Duke product should also allow the team to keep Wayne Ellington on the roster.

The Heat also have interest in bringing back Luke Babbitt, and figure to keep his cap hold on their books so that they can retain his Bird rights.

Mavs Notes: Curry, Noel, Hammons, Harris, Cuban

On the heels of a 33-49 season, the Mavericks will focus on improving their roster via free agency and the draft. Eddie Sefko of Dallas Morning News suggested two veteran FAs to provide an immediate boost: Serge Ibaka and J.J. Redick. Sefko explains that Ibaka is a “big-time rebounder” who is still relatively young, while Redick would help shore up the team’s mediocre shooting.

Sefko cautions against hoping for a point guard improvement through the draft. Unless the Mavs “get lucky” and secure one of the top two picks, they’re unlikely to obtain a top-shelf guard. In the event Dallas winds up with the 8, 9, or 10 pick, Sefko cites Jonathan Isaac, Miles Bridges, and Lauri Markkanen as potential fits.

More from Dallas…

  • Seth Curry, who missed the season’s final seven games due to a left shoulder injury, hopes to avoid undergoing surgery over the offseason. “It’s still a possibility, but I don’t think it’s necessary at this point,” Curry told Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
  • Former Purdue Boilermaker A.J. Hammons got his feet wet in the NBA this past season, scoring 43 points with 36 rebounds over 22 games. While Hammons’ contract is guaranteed over the next two seasons, Eddie Sefko of Dallas Morning News is skeptical of his role on the team in 2017/18. “I like the big guy, but I haven’t seen a passion for wanting to improve,” Sefko writes. “He loves to sit out there and launch jump shots. But I think his calling in this league has to be as a strong rebounder and rim protector. My bottom line: doubtful that he is here next season.”
  • While he appears set to enter the market as a restricted free agent, Nerlens Noel‘s recent remarks to Brad Townsend of Dallas Morning News imply he’d like another season in Dallas. “I love Dallas,” Noel said. “In my short time here, I’ve really enjoyed it. With the pieces that we have, and the opportunities we’ll be seeing in the near-future, I think there’s a lot to be excited for.” 
  • While Devin Harris isn’t a lock to start next season with Dallas, one thing is certain: the 34-year-old isn’t retiring. “Definitely not retiring,” Harris told Adam Grosbard of Dallas Morning News. The Mavs are unsure whether they will exercise Harris’ $4.4MM option for 2017/18. Harris averaged 16/7 minutes in 2016/17; the lowest total since his rookie season. “Ball’s in their court. I just let the chips fall where they may and try to make the best decision possible with the information that I have.”
  • In a 109-91 loss to the Nuggets- the Mavs’ penultimate game of the season- coach Rick Carlisle gave six players 25-years-old or younger significant playing time. Mark Cuban spoke to Adam Grosbard of Dallas Morning News, explaining the strategy of giving younger players minutes down the stretch. “When we were playing for it, we obviously had some bad games but it’s obvious our young guys are getting better. And that’s all you can ask for,” Cuban said. Dirk Nowtizki seconded Cuban’s remarks, adding “It’s been fun to watch these kids.”

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/5/17

Here are the D-League transactions for Sunday:

  • The Mavericks recalled A.J. Hammons and Nicolas Brussino from the Texas Legends, the team announced in a press release. Brussino recorded a double-double last night for the Legends, whereas Hammons recorded 11 rebounds over 23 minutes.
  • The Kings recalled Georgios Papagiannis from the Reno Bighorns, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports (Twitter link). Papagiannis has appeared in six NBA games this season.
  • The Spurs assigned Davis Bertans and Dejounte Murray to the Austin Spurs, the team announced on its official website. Bertans and Murray will each be available for this afternoon’s match-up with the Salt Lake City Stars.
  • The Pelicans recalled Cheick Diallo from the Greensboro Swarm, the team announced in a press release.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/4/17

Here are the D-League transactions for Saturday:

  • The Mavericks sent center A.J. Hammons and swingman Nicolas Brussino to their Texas affiliate. Hammons has played 17 games for Dallas this season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per night. Brussino has appeared in 39 games for the Mavericks, averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 2/22/17

Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls:

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/27/17

Here are Friday’s NBA D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

  • Three Pistons players were assigned to the D-League today, with Henry Ellenson, Darrun Hilliard, and Michael Gbinije all joining the Grand Rapids Drive, per a team release. Detroit has a fully healthy roster for the time being, meaning there aren’t enough minutes to go around for the club’s young players. The plan is for them to remain in the D-League for two games, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
  • The Knicks assigned Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee to the D-League earlier today, according to the team (Twitter link). Ndour led the Westchester Knicks with 22 points tonight, while Plumlee grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds.
  • Rookie forward Joel Bolomboy was sent back to the Salt Lake City Stars by the Jazz, per a team press release. Bolomboy had 17 points and 15 boards for Utah’s NBADL affiliate tonight.
  • The Mavericks assigned A.J. Hammons and Nicolas Brussino to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Both players were in the starting lineup tonight for the Texas Legends, scoring a club-high 19 points apiece.
  • After being assigned to Long Island on Thursday, Chris McCullough was recalled by the Nets today, according to a press release. McCullough saw five minutes of action in Brooklyn’s loss against Cleveland tonight.
  • Semaj Christon and Josh Huestis were also recalled to the NBA after a one-day D-League assignment, the Thunder announced in a press release. The duo contributed to the Oklahoma City Blue’s home win over Iowa on Thursday.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/26/17

Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

7:49 PM

  • The Grizzlies assigned rookie forward Troy Williams to the Iowa Energy, the team posted on its website. Williams has appeared in nine games over two previous assignments with the Energy, averaging 15.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 1.3 APG in 21.5 minutes. He has appeared in 24 games for the Grizzlies, averaging 5.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG and 1.0 SPG in 17.4 minutes.
  • The Jazz recalled rookie forward Joel Bolomboy from the Salt Lake City Stars after assigning him to the D-League earlier in the day, the club announced in a press release. Although he has barely played for Utah this season, Bolomboy has been a double-double machine during his time in the D-League, averaging 15.2 PPG and 12.8 RPG in 13 games.

1:15 PM

  • The Thunder have assigned guard Semaj Christon and forward Josh Huestis to the D-League, the club announced today in a press release. Although Christon had a rotation role for Oklahoma City earlier this season, he has seen his NBA role reduced since Cameron Payne returned to the lineup.
  • The Mavericks have recalled A.J. Hammons from the D-League, according to a press release from the team. Hammons had eight points, five boards, and four blocks for the Texas Legends on Wednesday.
  • The Nets have sent Chris McCullough back to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. McCullough has spent a good chunk of the season with the Long Island Nets, averaging 19.0 PPG and 8.0 RPG in 25 contests for the club.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/8/17

Here are the D-League assignments and recalls from Sunday:

10:20pm:

  • The Spurs moved guard Dejounte Murray to the Austin Spurs of the D-League, the team announced on its website. The rookie guard has appeared in 19 games for San Antonio, averaging 2.3 points in 5.5 minutes.
  • The Mavs announced via press release that they have assigned center A.J. Hammons and guard-forward Nicolas Brussino to their D-League affiliate. Hammons has appeared in 17 games for the Mavericks this season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 4.5 minutes. Brussino has played in 27 games for Dallas this season, averaging 1.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.8 minutes.
  • The Nuggets recalled rookie guard Malik Beasley, Denver announced in a press release.

12:18pm:

  • The Sixers have recalled forward Richaun Holmes from their Delaware affiliate, the team announced in a press release. He had 10 points and eight rebounds in the 87ers’ win Saturday.
  • The Knicks have recalled Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee from their Westchester affiliate, the team tweeted.
  • The Bulls have recalled forward Paul Zipser from their Windy City affiliate, the team announced via press release. Zipser had played in the D-League team’s last two games, averaging 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.
  • The Celtics have assigned guard Demetrius Jackson to their affiliate in Maine, the team tweeted.
  • The Rockets have assigned forward Kyle Wiltjer to their affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, according to a tweet from the team.

Arthur Hill contributed to this report.

Mavericks Notes: Nowitzki, Bogut, Curry, Gibson

Mavericks veteran Dirk Nowitzki should be back for another season no matter how this one turns out, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. A strained Achilles has limited Nowitzki to just five games as the Mavs have stumbled to a 3-13 start. In a question-and-answer column, Sefko says the 38-year-old still has a strong desire to play and won’t want to walk away from the $25MM he is owed next season.

There’s more tonight out of Dallas:

  • Center Andrew Bogut understands that he will only be in Dallas for one season, and maybe less, Sefko adds in the same piece. The veteran center was acquired in an offseason deal with the Warriors when Golden State was shedding salary to sign Kevin Durant. Bogut has started all 13 games that he has played and is grabbing 10.5 rebounds per night, but his expiring contract may make him attractive to a contender before the February deadline.
  • Seth Curry will take time to develop as a point guard, Sefko cautions in a separate story. After signing a two-year, $6MM deal in July, Curry has been pressed into service because of injuries to Deron Williams, J.J. Barea and Devin Harris. Sefko says Curry works on ballhandling as much as his brother Stephen does, and just needs repetition and confidence to improve as a point guard.
  • Guard Jonathan Gibson and center A.J. Hammons are the players most likely to be let go if Dallas needs to open a roster spot, Sefko says later in the same story. Gibson re-signed with the Mavericks earlier this month after being waived during the preseason, and Hammons is a rookie second-round pick out of Purdue. Sefko adds that everyone except Nowitzki should be considered as trade candidates between now and the deadline.
  • We rounded up a few more Mavs notes earlier in the day.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 11/27/16

Here are Sunday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • Forwards Anthony Bennett and Chris McCullough were recalled by the Nets after being assigned to Long Island earlier today for the D-League team’s game against Grand Rapids, the team announced in an email. Bennett had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while McCullough put up 15 points and nine rebounds.
  • The Raptors have recalled Jakob Poeltl, Bruno Caboclo and Fred VanVleet from Raptors 905, according to The Toronto Sun. All three had been sent down to participate in Satuday’s game against Maine.
  • The Spurs assigned rookie guards Dejounte Murray, Bryn Forbes and Nicolas Laprovittola to Austin, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio News-Express. They are expected to be recalled in time for San Antonio’s game on Tuesday.
  • The Pelicans have recalled rookie forward Cheick Diallo from Austin, the team announced in an email. He has played six games in the D-League and just one for New Orleans.
  • The Mavericks recalled rookie center A.J. Hammons from the Texas Legends, according to an email from the team. He was assigned Saturday for a game against Salt Lake in which he scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds.
  • The Bulls have recalled forward/center Cristiano Felicio and guards Jerian Grant and R.J. Hunter from their Windy City affiliate, the team announced in an email.