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Southwest Notes: Barnes, Benson, Jones

August 28th, 2016 at 6:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Harrison Barnes has a new $94MM contract, but he tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that he considers the Mavericks to still be Dirk Nowitzki‘s team. Barnes inked a four-year deal with Dallas in July after the Warriors signed Kevin Durant. Owner Mark Cuban has indicated that the Mavericks want Barnes to expand his game and claim a larger role of the offense than he did in Golden State. However, the 24-year-old small forward recognizes the special place that Nowitzki has earned during his 18 seasons in Dallas. “He’s put in the years and won a championship,” Barnes said. “But I have to go out and earn that. People assume that just because you get paid a lot of money and have a lot of attention that all of the sudden you’re guaranteed this many shots. I have to prove that every day in practice. I have to prove that to the coaching staff, and ultimately, if I’m going to be the guy taking shots, I’ve got to prove it to Dirk.”

There’s more news out of the Southwest Division:

  • December 8th has been set as the trial date for a suit filed by Tom Benson involving ownership of the Pelicans and Saints, according to Katherine Sayre of the Times-Picayune. The 89-year-old Benson sued last year to take ownership of the teams out of trust funds for his daughter and two grandchildren. In January of 2015, after a falling out with his heirs, Benson said he wanted to grant full ownership of the Pelicans and Saints to his wife, Gayle Benson. The move was blocked by attorneys who served as trustees for the trust funds. The trusts include 95% ownership of the Pelicans and 60% ownership of the Saints. The judge in the case has urged both sides to try to reach a settlement before the trial date.
  • New Pelicans power forward Terrence Jones can’t wait to reunite with former Kentucky teammate Anthony Davis, tweets Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate. “It’s amazing. The chemistry is just a winning vibe, and I’m very excited,” said the former Rocket, who signed with the Pelicans last month. “We’ve worked out this summer together and really are focused on setting goals and completing them. We really want to make it to the playoffs, and whatever we do in there, we think, is destiny. It’s going to be a great experience.” (Twitter link.)
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Southwest Notes: Nowitzki, Cuban, Jones, Stephens

July 17th, 2016 at 8:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

There was never a chance that Dirk Nowitzki would emulate Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade and leave his long-time team, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Nowitzki agreed to a two-year, $40MM deal to stay in Dallas, and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he never thought the situation would end differently. “Dirk wasn’t going anywhere,” Cuban said. “Dirk and Dallas, Dallas and Dirk, they’re synonymous. I understand and respect why D-Wade did what he did but there was never any doubt [about Nowitzki staying in Dallas], Dirk gets what Dirk wants.” 

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • Durant’s decision to join Golden State benefited the Mavericks, who were able to trade for Andrew Bogut and sign Harrison Barnes as the Warriors worked to clear cap space. Cuban likes the look of his new squad, Washburn writes in the same piece. “Yeah, Golden State south,” the owner said. “Harrison will get a chance to expand his game and [Wesley Matthews] will be fully healthy. Deron Williams, Harrison, Dirk, Andrew, that’s not a bad starting five, and we’ve got some of our guys coming back. So we’ll be all right.”
  • Jameel Warney is trying to decide whether to attend training camp with the Mavericks or accept an offer in South Korea, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Warney, a three-time America East Player of the Year at Stony Brook, was part of the Mavs’ Summer League team.
  • The Pelicans‘ Anthony Davis is happy to have Terrence Jones as a teammate again, he said in an interview with Nancy Armour of USA Today on NBA A to Z. New Orleans reached a deal with Jones on Thursday, signing the ex-Rocket for one year at the minimum salary. Houston elected not to submit a qualifying offer to the four-year veteran, making him an unrestricted free agent. ”He’s very physical and he can put the ball on the floor, great slasher and can drive to the basket,” Davis said. ”I think not a lot of bigs can guard him. I think me and him played very well with each other at Kentucky and hopefully we can do it here in New Orleans.” 
  • The Grizzlies will bring former University of Memphis guard D.J. Stephens to camp, new coach David Fizdale said in an interview on NBA.com. The 25-year-old Stephens has three games of NBA experience with Milwaukee in 2014.
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And-Ones: USA Basketball, Felder, Bentil, Draft

June 6th, 2016 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Following this morning’s report that Stephen Curry would skip the 2016 Olympics in Brazil for health reasons, the Warriors and Curry issued a statement confirming that decision. And, as ESPN’s Marc Stein tweets, Curry isn’t the only USA Basketball star who won’t be available this summer due to injury. Stein says that Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis, John Wall, and LaMarcus Aldridge, who is dealing with a recent finger/hand injury (Twitter link), also won’t be a part of Team USA’s roster.

As we wait to see which other players may drop out of the 2016 Olympics due to health or safety concerns, let’s round up some odds and ends from around the NBA…

  • Former Oakland University point guard Kay Felder is working out for the Lakers today, and has a workout with the Pistons lined up for next Wednesday, tweets Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.
  • Former Providence forward Ben Bentil will work out for the Magic this Friday after having worked out for the Hawks and Bulls, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
  • Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon and Louisville’s Chinanu Onuaku are among the draft prospects whom Sam Vecenie of CBSSports.com views as potential second-round steals later this month. Vecenie also identifies three other players who fit that bill.
  • Former Michigan State forward Deyonta Davis has hired BDA Sports for representation, according to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link). Hoops Rumors readers voted on Sunday to send Davis to Chicago with the 14th overall pick in our community mock draft.
  • In other player representation news, Serbian bigs Miroslav Raduljica and Ognjen Kuzmic have hired agent Chris Patrick of Relativity Sports for representation, per HoopsHype (Twitter link).
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And-Ones: Rose Rule, Noah, Draft, Roc Nation

May 27th, 2016 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

Two standout NBA players were significantly impacted by Thursday’s announcement of this year’s All-NBA teams, with Damian Lillard receiving some good news while Anthony Davis got hit with bad news. By earning a spot on the All-NBA second team, Lillard ensured that his max extension, which goes into effect for the coming season, would increase from 25% of the Trail Blazers‘ cap to 27.5%, guaranteeing him an extra $12MM+ over the life of the deal. Conversely, since he missed out on All-NBA honors this year, Davis will have his max extension count for 25% of the Pelicans‘ cap rather than 30%, costing him nearly $25MM over the next five years.

In a column for The Vertical, Bobby Marks takes a closer at Lillard’s and Davis’ situations with the Blazers and Pelicans, respectively, and argues that the NBA needs to revamp what’s known as the Derrick Rose Rule. As Marks points out, the criteria for the Rose Rule hinges on fan and media votes, and it doesn’t seem right that those votes should have such a huge impact on a player’s earnings.

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from across the NBA…

  • Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders identifies five potential landing spots for Joakim Noah if he leaves the Bulls, starting with Minnesota, where Noah’s former coach Tom Thibodeau is set to take the reins.
  • Chad Ford’s latest Insider-only dispatch at ESPN.com includes plenty of interesting notes on prospects like Buddy Hield, Kris Dunn, Marquese Chriss, and others. Among Ford’s tidbits: Chriss is generally viewed as a candidate to be picked in the No. 7-10 range, but teams as high as the Suns (No. 4) are considering the power forward out of Washington.
  • Within an in-depth look at Roc Nation Sports, Jay-Z’s sports agency, Rick Maese of The Washington Post speaks to Rich Kleiman, Kevin Durant‘s agent at Roc Nation. “We know this is a big deal and a big moment in his career,” Kleiman said of Durant’s impending free agency. “We also have to be his guiding light in this. We can’t let the pressure of the situation be bigger than it is. Obviously, we understand all eyes are looking at him and looking at his decisions, and people want to see how we’re going to handle it, too.”
  • In a piece for Basketball Insiders, Eric Pincus takes an in-depth look at how the NBA’s playoff pool works, and which teams are benefiting most from the postseason bonus money.
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Curry, LeBron, Westbrook Headline All-NBA Teams

May 26th, 2016 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has announced its three All-NBA teams for the 2015/16 season, with unanimous MVP Stephen Curry also leading the way in first-team nods (129) and overall points (645). After Curry, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook were the leading vote-getters, followed by Kawhi Leonard. DeAndre Jordan also earned a spot on the All-NBA first team.

Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard landed on the All-NBA second team, triggering the Derrick Rose Rule and ensuring that the max extension he signed last summer will be worth more than 25% of the salary cap. Per Danny Leroux of RealGM and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the terms of Lillard’s contract dictate that his extension will be worth 27.5%, rather than the full 30% allowable by the Rose Rule.

As for Anthony Davis, he just missed the cut for the All-NBA third team, so the Rose Rule won’t apply to his max extension with the Pelicans, costing him an extra $20MM+ over the life of his contract.

Here are all three All-NBA teams for the 2015/16 season, with voting point totals in parentheses:

All-NBA First Team:

  • Forward: LeBron James, Cavaliers (637)
  • Forward: Kawhi Leonard, Spurs (575)
  • Center: DeAndre Jordan, Clippers (317)
  • Guard: Stephen Curry, Warriors (645)
  • Guard: Russell Westbrook, Thunder (627)

All-NBA Second Team:

All-NBA Third Team:

James Harden, Paul Millsap, Anthony Davis, and Al Horford also received more than 75 voting points.

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Western Notes: Walton, Pelicans, Gallinari, Paul

March 29th, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors assistant Luke Walton is reportedly poised to become a top candidate for the Knicks coaching vacancy, and the Lakers, Suns, Rockets and Kings are expected to target him, too, but former colleague Alvin Gentry thinks Walton still doesn’t gets the credit he deserves, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Gentry, now head coach of the Pelicans, was on Golden State’s staff last year with Walton, who inherited Gentry’s role as lead assistant and guided the Warriors to a 39-4 record while head coach Steve Kerr recovered from back surgeries. “Luke did an unbelievable job of managing egos, of rotations he played,” Gentry said. “Everything that happened there, he pushed the right buttons, so I was disappointed when people said anybody can coach that team. That’s not true at all. He has an unbelievable understanding of the game. I think [Knicks president] Phil [Jackson] knows that. [Luke] stayed in the league for a long time because of the basketball IQ he has. He gets along great with players. He’s going to be a terrific coach in the league – I really do think that.”

See more from the Western Conference:

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Southwest Notes: Lee, Dwight, Dirk, Davis

March 28th, 2016 at 10:51am CST by Chuck Myron
David Lee admits he thought about what it would be like to return to the Warriors, but NBA rules prevent him from going back to Golden State this season, and he’s content with the Mavericks, as Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group details. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders recently cleared up some confusion regarding Lee’s contract with Dallas, which runs only until season’s end instead of covering next season with non-guaranteed salary. “In my opinion, I’m playing as good a ball as I’ve played in a number of years,” Lee said. “After really getting back into shape, I feel great out there. I think I have three, four years left, one more deal, then we’ll see from there.” Lee could return to the Warriors this summer if he wants to and Golden State is willing, though the same is true of Lee and the Mavs. See more from around the Southwest Division:
  • No teams see Dwight Howard as a plan A for free agency this summer, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher (video link). Howard would prefer to re-sign with the Rockets, but he finds the prospect of a return to the Magic intriguing, as Bucher reported last week.
  • Dirk Nowitzki reiterated that the idea of playing 20 seasons in the NBA appeals to him in an appearance Sunday on ESPN Radio’s “NBA Insiders” show, echoing comments he made in December, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays. The 37-year-old who’s in his 18th season in the league addressed his future as it relates to the Mavericks last week.
  • The premature end of Anthony Davis‘ season and his lack of progress this year serve as reminders that it’s still uncertain whether he’ll fulfill his potential as a superstar, argues Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. A five-year extension with the Pelicans will kick in for Davis next year, so questions about Davis inexorably become questions about New Orleans. Still, Davis said he’s played with a torn labrum in his shoulder for the past three seasons, so it’s fair to wonder if he’ll improve markedly when fully healthy.
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And-Ones: Anthony, Stepheson, Dunleavy Sr.

March 25th, 2016 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Cavs shooting guard J.R. Smith feels for his former Knicks teammate Carmelo Anthony and the struggles he’s endured, but he firmly believes that ‘Melo wants to stick it out and make things work in New York, Peter Botte of The New York Daily News writes. “I know it’s been hard on him,” Smith said. “It’s one of those situations when you’re a great player in the league and you just don’t have the support system, that cast that you’ve been accustomed to like when we were in Denver or the earlier years when he got to New York. I know it’s been a frustrating process, but if anybody can get through it, it will be Melo.”

“And I know he absolutely wants to make it work here [New York],” Smith continued. “This is everything he asked for, I mean, except for not making the playoffs and stuff like that. But everything he’s doing for the city and for the Knicks, I think it’s harder for him now more than anything. He doesn’t have the whole supporting cast yet, but this year has been better than last year and I think they will continue to improve. And the way I know him, he’s committed there, for sure.”

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Alex Stepheson has returned to the Iowa Energy, which is the D-League affiliate of Memphis, after the Grizzlies declined to sign him to a second 10-day contract, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (Twitter link). The 28-year-old made four appearances for Memphis and averaged 5.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per outing.
  • The fact that Pelicans big man Anthony Davis has played the past three seasons with a shoulder injury makes his performance all the more impressive, though it does raise questions about whether he is more injury-prone than previously believed, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report writes. The scribe posits that New Orleans may need to rest Davis more often in the future to help maintain his health but also points to Dwight Howard, who has dealt with similar shoulder issues since 2013, as a reason to believe Davis can continue to log significant minutes without being coddled.
  • Former NBA coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. has a verbal agreement in place to become the next head coach of Tulane University, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com reports. Dunleavy has zero college coaching experience but owns a career NBA mark of 613-716 from his stints with the Lakers, Bucks, Trail Blazers and Clippers.
  • The Hawks have recalled Lamar Patterson from the D-League, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Patterson was assigned to the Canton Charge, the affiliate of the Cavs, via the flexible assignment rule.
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Southwest Notes: Nowitzki, Conley, Davis

March 25th, 2016 at 8:40am CST by Chuck Myron

Dirk Nowitzki wouldn’t say anything definitive when asked recently whether he would leave the Mavericks if they went into rebuilding mode. The 37-year-old who has a player option worth only about $8.7MM for next season fielded the query on the “Ben and Skin Show” on KRLD-FM, as the Dallas Morning News transcribes.

“You know, that’s something I’ll focus on from summer to summer,” Nowitzki said. “I’m in the midst of chasing the playoffs here and trying to play well and compete every night. That’s something we’ll revisit this summer. Obviously I still have a year on the contract. I could choose to opt out. I think that’s in my contract. Honestly, I haven’t really spent a lot of thought on that at all. Like I said, I want to really make the playoffs bad. I think our fan base deserves that. It’s always a fun part of the year. The competition is high. We’d love to be a part of that. Everything else we can, you know, come together and talk about after. There’s just not enough thought put into it right now. Hopefully we can squeeze in the playoffs and then we can talk about all that stuff later.”

Nowitzki simply appears to be putting off conversations about his contract until the team is done with its playoff push, though a clear assertion that he’ll remain in Dallas, as expected, would probably have better served to short-circuit any chatter. In any case, see more on Nowitzki amid news from the Southwest Division:

  • Rick Carlisle isn’t at all worried about Nowitzki’s future with the Mavericks, as the coach said earlier this week, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “He’s playing for this franchise,” Carlisle said. “It’s pretty clear. His loyalty to [owner] Mark [Cuban] and the Mavericks has been undying. Very atypical for a player of his magnitude and his greatness. There’s probably three or four guys on our team that would not be here had he not made certain financial sacrifices. It’s pretty amazing, what he’s done and what he’s given up, so that we can compete.”
  • Soon-to-be free agent Mike Conley isn’t expected to have his sore left Achilles re-evaluated until the end of the regular season, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, presumably meaning he’s out until the playoffs, at least. That’s led the Grizzlies to turn to recent signees Ray McCallum, Jordan Farmar and Xavier Munford at the point, as Tillery examines. GM Chris Wallace is a fan of McCallum’s versatility, shooting range and ability to run a team, Tillery notes.
  • A straw poll of 28 of 129 All-NBA Team voters shows the majority are at least somewhat likely to vote Anthony Davis to one of the teams, which would allow him to trigger the Derrick Rose Rule and make more on the extension he signed with the Pelicans last summer, reveals Justin Verrier of ESPN.com.
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Anthony Davis Out For The Season

March 24th, 2016 at 7:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

THURSDAY, 7:37pm: Davis underwent successful surgery today on his left knee, the team announced via press release. The power forward won’t require surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder, the team also relayed. The timetable given for Davis’ return to action is three to four months, per the release.

5:37pm: Davis has been diagnosed with a torn labrum in his left shoulder and a left knee injury, tweets Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. He will have surgeries on both.

SUNDAY, 3:35pm: The Pelicans will shut down Anthony Davis for the remainder of the season, tweets John Reid of The New Orleans Times Picayune. Coach Alvin Gentry made the announcement this afternoon after reviewing medical information on the injured big man.

New Orleans has been considering the move since Davis banged his left knee while setting a pick in Friday’s game. Add that to a shoulder problem that has been bothering Davis for weeks, and the Pelicans decided it was best to shut him down now, rather than take any chances with his long-term health. New Orleans’ disappointing season may also have factored into the move. At 25-43, the Pelicans are eight and a half games out of the final playoff spot in the West.

Gentry said Davis will undergo surgery that could affect his participation in this summer’s Olympics, tweets Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate. “That I don’t know,” Gentry said, “but if I was a betting man, probably so.” The coach refused to be specific about which procedures Davis might have done on his knee or shoulder (Twitter link).

After earning first-team All-NBA honors last season, Davis signed a maximum extension over the summer worth about $145MM. He has put up virtually identical numbers to a year ago, averaging 24.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per night, but injuries ended his season after just 61 games.

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