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Brandan Wright

And-Ones: Cobbs, Bass, Wright, Casey

November 29th, 2014 at 3:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Justin Cobbs has signed a deal with the Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports (Twitter link). Cobbs was released yesterday by the German club VEF Riga after a one-month tryout. The 23-year-old point guard signed with Riga earlier this month shortly after the Hornets released him in advance of opening night.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Brandon Bass‘ minutes are down this season to 18.5 minutes per game from 27.6 last season, but the Celtics big man is still determined to be productive, Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com writes. “My mindset? It’s the same,” Bass said. “I’m just trying to get better, try to make the best of my opportunities. I try to be efficient and see how it goes.”
  • The Mavs’ Brandan Wright is on a record-breaking pace for field goal percentage in a season thus far, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. This increase in production comes at a good time for Wright, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. “Brandan’s come a long way,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s worked very hard since getting here. He’s gotten stronger, his shooting has gotten better. His free throw shooting has come light years. And he’s a smart player. He knows how to play within our system very well. And this year, he’s playing the four [power forward] pretty well, too. And that’s challenging without the spacing of a stretch-four out there beside him. We just need him to continue on the path he’s on, because he’s a very important guy for us.”
  • Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, whom the team re-signed to a three-year deal this offseason, has been garnering nothing but praise around the league for his work in Toronto the last two seasons, Eric Koreen of The National Post writes.
  • The Pistons have re-assigned forward Tony Mitchell to the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA D-League, the team announced in a press release. This will be Mitchell’s second trip to the D-League this season.
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Western Notes: Mavs, Warriors, Thunder

October 16th, 2014 at 8:56pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Dallas GM Donnie Nelson admits 5’7” point guard Yuki Togashi’s immediate future isn’t likely with the Mavs but rather with the team’s D-League affiliate, writes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Nelson explains, “I’d say it’s a long shot at best for him to make [an NBA regular season] roster right now. But it’s an opportunity for him to make his dream come true in reality to play for the Legends and, like so many guys before him, to use this as a springboard to get in the league.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Golden State’s decision to not include Klay Thompson in a Kevin Love trade will determine the fate of the Warriors, Cavs and Wolves, opines Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Golden State never wavered from its original stance of not breaking up its talented backcourt despite the appeal of bringing Love to the Bay Area, notes Bontemps.
  • Mavs big man Brandan Wright faces a pivotal year in his NBA career, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Wright, who is in the final season of a two year, $10MM contract, has carved out a nice niche as a role-player in Dallas.
  • Reggie Jackson is the biggest “winner” from Kevin Durant‘s injury, writes Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman. Jackson, who the Thunder have until October 31st to offer an extension, will have an opportunity to showcase himself on the offensive end in Durant’s absence.
  • Durant underwent successful surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot, the Thunder announced in a press release. According to the release, Durant will be re-evaluated in six weeks to determine his next step toward returning to action
  • The Wolves currently have a logjam at the small forward position and the team is rumored to be fielding offers for Chase Budinger to help pare down the roster to 15. One player who is looking likely to make the regular season roster is Glenn Robinson III, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities notes (Twitter link). According to Wolfson, Robinson, who is signed to a partially guaranteed deal,  has impressed the team during training camp.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

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Western Notes: Wright, Burke, Griffin, Gasol

October 10th, 2013 at 10:58pm CST by Alex Lee

We already covered the East, now let’s check in on what is happening around the league out West tonight:

  • Brandan Wright sustained a small, non-displaced fracture to his left shoulder that is unlikely to require surgery, the Mavericks announced today.  Wright, who re-signed with the team in July, is entering his sixth year in the league and third with the Mavs.  No timetable has been set for his return.
  • Rookie point guard Trey Burke is concentrating on making a good impression on his opponents as the Jazz‘s preseason gets into full swing, writes Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune.  Burke, who the Jazz took in June at No. 9, figures to run the point for a young but talented team in Utah.
  • Blake Griffin suffered a bone bruise in his left knee in a Wednesday night scrimmage while attempting to dunk, writes Broderick Turner of the L.A. Times.  Griffin’s precautionary MRI showed no structural damage, reports Turner, but the All-Star forward is still likely to miss an undisclosed amount of practice and preseason time.
  • If Pau Gasol, more physically and mentally ready than he’s been in years, has the type of season he expects to have in Los Angeles, he believes the Lakers will want to re-sign him in the offseason, writes Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News.  However, Gasol is unlikely to be willing to accept a significant pay cut to stay in the purple and gold, per Medina.  Gasol will make $19.3MM this year.
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Western Notes: Wright, Goodwin, Jensen

August 27th, 2013 at 10:07pm CST by Alex Lee

Let's round up a few links from around the Western Conference on Tuesday night:

  • Despite already inking a two-year year deal with the Mavericks last month, Brandan Wright has vowed to return to the court in the upcoming season as a drastically improved player, writes Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com.  Wright averaged career highs in points, rebounds, blocks and minutes last season and shot nearly 60 percent from the field.  At only 25, the Mavs are hoping he has finally tapped into the potential that made him a top-10 selection in 2007.
  • It's been two months since he was selected with the 29th pick in the draft, but Suns rookie Archie Goodwin says his existence as a player in the NBA has yet to sink in, writes Matt Petersen of Suns.com.  Goodwin, 19, was the youngest American player to declare for the draft and second youngest overall behind Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo.  He was drafted by Oklahoma City and then traded twice before ending up in Phoenix, where he signed on in July.
  • Despite his long list of Utah ties, Alex Jensen was added to the Jazz coaching staff on merit alone according to general manager Dennis Lindsey, writes Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune. Jensen, the reigning D-League Coach of the Year, was hired last month by Utah as a player development assistant.  Before coaching in the D-League, Jensen spent four years on Rick Majerus' staff at Saint Louis University.  He played for Majerus at Utah and grew up in the beehive state.
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Odds & Ends: James, Bobcats, Bucks, Cavs

August 10th, 2013 at 10:59pm CST by Spencer Lund

There are a lot of contenders to the Eastern Conference crown that LeBron James and his Heat teammates have worn the last three seasons. James knows he's got to keep getting better if he wants to remain on top next year and advance to his fourth NBA Finals in his four seasons in Miami.

Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel caught up James during his charity event in Akron today to discuss all the wheeling and dealing in the Eastern Conference this off-season. 

James is aware that the Heat face an even harder field in the Eastern Conference next season, and he's doing everything in his power to meet the challenge, telling Richardson, "I've seen what so many teams have done to get better. I've seen the moves that we've made, so I've got to do my part."

Here's what else is happening around the league on Saturday night:

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Mavs Notes: Cuban, Dirk, Dalembert, Kaman

August 10th, 2013 at 10:13pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Mavericks have made some summer off-season moves to better surround Dirk Nowitzki with a cast of players that can help the 35-year-old make one last push for a second NBA title. Mark Cuban joined Norm Hitzges on KTCK-AM radio, as transcribed by The Dallas Morning News, to talk about some of those additions.

  • Last season's hodge-podge of ancillary Mavs parts included oft-injured center Chris Kaman, who signed with the Lakers this summer. Cuban tells Hitzges that Kaman didn't pair well with Nowitzki last season because he continually dribbled during pick-and-roll sets with Dirk, instead of just picking and rolling to the rim or picking and popping for a jumper.
  • Cuban feels Brandan Wright–who the Mavs re-signed earlier this summer–worked the pick-and-roll a lot better with Nowitzki.
  • The Mavs owner also believes Dallas' signing of Samuel Dalembert will go better than the one-year Kaman experiment because Dalembert is primarily focused on rebounding and protecting the rim. 
  • The Cuban – Hitzges talk also touched on how Dirk wants to send a message next season that he's not done yet, and the Mavs can still be contenders for the Larry O'Brien Trophy despite two down seasons after their Finals win over the Heat in 2011.
  • Dirk is entering the final year of a contract that will pay him $22.721MM next season, but Cuban didn't offer up anything on what he'll likely pay his star forward next summer, despite assurances that he won't let the smooth-shooting German sign elsewhere.
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Mavericks Re-Sign Brandan Wright

July 25th, 2013 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 25th: The Mavs confirmed the move via press release.

JULY 23rd: The Mavericks and Brandan Wright have reached an agreement on a new two-year deal for the big man, according to agent Jim Tanner. Tanner tells TNT's David Aldridge (Twitter link) that the two-year contract for his client will be worth a guaranteed $10MM, with an additional $1.1MM in incentives.

Wright, 25, had long been expected to return to the Mavs, with Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reporting earlier in the month that the two sides were discussing a possible two-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $4MM annually. When owner Mark Cuban talked about the club's offseason last week, he spoke as if Wright were already under contract.

In all likelihood, the Mavs simply had to keep Wright's small ($884,293) cap hold on the books until after the Monta Ellis signing was finalized, which happened today. With Wright's Early Bird rights in hand, the team can go over the cap to re-sign him.

Wright set career-highs in a number of categories last season for the Mavs, including PPG (8.5), RPG (4.1), and games played (64). The former eighth overall pick has a career PER of 19.7, having exhibited the ability to produce efficiently when he stays healthy.

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Mavs Sign Samuel Dalembert

July 19th, 2013 at 7:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 7:01pm: The Mavs have officially signed Dalembert, the team announced in a press release.

THURSDAY, 2:03pm: Dalembert will ink a two-year, $7.5MM deal with the Mavs, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, the second year will only be partially guaranteed.

WEDNESDAY, 6:58pm: The Mavs have reached a verbal agreement on a deal with Samuel Dalembert, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein reported earlier this evening that the two sides were close to an accord. Dallas and Dalembert's representatives from Pinnacle Management are continuing to hammer out the final details of his contract, and presumably that includes the financial specifics. The Mavs appear to have about $3.3MM of cap space available, and they can also use their $2.652MM room exception.

GM Donnie Nelson and company have thought about adding Dalembert for years, believing him to be an ideal fit with power forward Dirk Nowitzki. Dalembert is best on the defensive end, where he's averaged 2.6 blocks per 36 minutes for his career. His rate last season was virtually the same, even though he saw spotty playing time in Milwaukee.

The Mavs made Dalembert their primary target after missing out on Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum, but he's not the only free agent they've been eyeing. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News wrote earlier today that the team was expected to reach an agreement to re-sign Brandan Wright once it struck a deal with Dalembert. The team would like to sign Greg Oden as well, and Dallas remains high on Bernard James, who agreed to postpone the deadline for the Mavs to decide whether to guarantee his contract for this coming season. The Mavs are also discussing a new deal with Devin Harris, who consented to call off his initial three-year, $9MM deal with the team after suffering a toe injury.

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Southwest Notes: Rockets, Mavs, Asik, Lin

July 13th, 2013 at 7:00pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Rockets made a big splash signing Dwight Howard this summer, but now they're left to figure out what to do with Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, who they offered as part of a sign-and-trade for Josh Smith before he signed with the Pistons.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that Asik and Lin are "going to be here.” Morey has repeatedly said he doesn't want to move Lin and Asik, but he gave a more detailed reason why to Feigen today:

"The reality is James (Harden) and Dwight (Howard) want to play with Jeremy and Omer,” Morey stated. “I’ve been kicked down to assistant GM. They’re going to be here."

Here's more on the Rockets including an update on Asik's summer plans and updates from the Mavericks…

  • Feigen also tweets that Asik is in Turkey for national team workouts and will not be with the Rockets for at least a month. He also answers a cap question, via Twitter,  that the Rockets have the smaller "room" exception, instead of the full MLE.
  • Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com tweets that the Knicks don’t think they’re getting Brandan Wright because he’s close to re-signing with the Mavericks.
  • Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Mavericks are nearing a deal for free agent big man Samuel Dalembert. 
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Brandan Wright Likely To Return To Mavs

July 13th, 2013 at 12:46pm CST by Zachary Links

It's a virtual certainty that Brandan Wright returns to the Mavericks, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.  The sides are discussing a deal in $4MM per year range and it may wind up being a two-year pact.

A deal may not be imminent, however, as the Mavericks can go over the salary cap to keep him, MacMahon notes (Twitter link).  Dallas will instead focus on taking care of other business first this offseason, then move on to retaining the forward.

Wright is coming off of his best season to date, averaging 8.5 PPG with 4.1 RPG in 18 minutes per contest for Dallas.  The former eighth overall pick has great athleticism for his size, but has been limited by injuries in years past.

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