Dirk Nowitzki Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Mavs, Dirk, Randolph, Grizzlies

May 5th, 2014 at 8:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest out of the Southwest Division..

Dirk Nowitzki is staying put this summer, Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson tells reporters, including Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. “Obviously, you know, Dirk’s not going anywhere,” Nelson said. “He’s built this franchise and he’s been with us since Day 1. Certainly, there’s a negotiation that’s going to take place, but he loves this city and he wants to call it his home. We certainly reciprocate those feelings, and our hope is that we’ll get something done that’s not only in Dirk’s best interest but also affects the flexibility of the future of the Mavericks.”
Count Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger among those hoping that Zach Randolph returns this summer, writes Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press. ”He knows he’s loved,” Joerger said Sunday. ”He knows he’s wanted here. We have a good relationship. A really, really good relationship. He was not difficult for me to coach at all. I really enjoyed coaching him. We’re really on the same page, so I hope we can continue that.” Randolph holds a player option worth $16.5MM. He led Memphis in scoring at 17.4 points per game and rebounding at 10.1 this season and was the team’s leading scorer against Oklahoma City with 18.2 points a game until his suspension.
While it seems likely that Randolph will stay in Memphis, Ed Davis’ future with the Grizzlies is up in the air, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. If Memphis brings Randolph back, they may be priced out of keeping the 24-year-old restricted free agent. The Grizzlies can’t afford to spend a ton of money on a backup big man, so while they would love to keep Davis and do have the option to match any contract he receives, they can’t afford to go into luxury tax territory.

Mavs Rumors: Bledsoe, Stephenson, ‘Melo, Dirk

May 5th, 2014 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mavs GM Donnie Nelson promises an “action-packed summer,” but he indicated today that he’s pleased with the roster as is, notes Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter links).

“I think if we had the same cast or crew come and lace ’em up next year, I’d feel real good about our chances,” he said.

Fellow ESPNDallas.com scribe Tim McMahon doesn’t buy it, writing that the Mavs front office knows it needs significant improvement to contend. There’s more from McMahon’s piece amid the latest on the Mavs:

McMahon throws Eric Bledsoe‘s name into the mix of likely targets that already included Marcin Gortat and Luol Deng, though he acknowledges that it’ll be “extremely difficult” to pry Bledsoe, or even Gortat, away from their respective teams. The Mavs are unlikely to make a run at Lance Stephenson, according to McMahon.
The Mavs would like to get involved in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, but not if he demands a max contract, McMahon writes.
Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs have made it clear that they fully intend to strike a new deal this summer. Nowitzki acknowledged today that he doesn’t think it will resemble Kobe Bryant‘s massive two-year, $48.5MM extension, but he does want the team to respect his continued on-court prowess in negotiations, as Gutierrez observes (Twitter links). McMahon, in his piece, suggests Nowitzki is likely to sign a three-year, $30MM deal.
Shawn Marion, who turns 36 on Wednesday, plans to play two more seasons, tweets Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com, noting that while there’s strong mutual interest in a return to the Mavs, the forward will also think about signing elsewhere. Still, he intends to retire as a Mav one way or another, Gutierrez notes (Twitter link).
Soon-to-be free agent DeJuan Blair is hopeful that he’ll re-sign with the Mavs this summer, as Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram chronicles.
We passed along news of the Mavs’ mutual interest in Devin Harris earlier today.

Western Notes: Warriors, Young, Lakers

April 10th, 2014 at 5:54pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob told reporters that he, coach Mark Jackson and GM Bob Myers all get along, refuting reported dysfunction within the team, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group transcribes. Lacob referred to the re-assignment of assistant coach Brian Scalabrine and the firing of fellow assistant Darren Erman as “minor setbacks.” A little over a week ago, Myers gave Jackson a public vote of support, saying that he’s done a tremendous job; however, we’ve also relayed the belief from some writers who think that Jackson’s future in Golden State could be tied to how the team fares in this year’s postseason.

Here are a few other notes to pass along out of the Western Conference this evening:

Lakers swingman Nick Young is “very confident” that he’ll reach an agreement to remain with the team beyond this summer, reports Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News. This isn’t the first time that the Los Angeles native has gone on record saying he’d like to stay, but he also hinted that it could be difficult to pass up a hefty pay raise somewhere else if the opportunity presented itself.
Some members of Lakers brass are high on the idea of bringing in a young, up-and-coming head coach who wouldn’t command too much money, making him cheap to get rid of if he doesn’t pan out, according to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding.
In addition to making the argument that Dirk Nowitzki ranks among one of the NBA’s 12 greatest players, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle thinks that Dirk – currently the 10th highest scorer in NBA history – has plenty left in the tank to surpass a few more names on that list: “He’s got a lot more good basketball left in him…A lot more great basketball. So I think he’s going to pick off a few more guys going up the ladder” (ESPN’s Marc Stein reports).
The Kings have assigned Willie Reed to their D-League affiliate in Reno, according to GM Pete D’Alessandro.
Former Spurs training camp invitee Courtney Fells has signed a deal with Bucaneiros de la Guaira in Venezuela, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Fells played in 47 games for the Spurs’ D-League affiliate in 2013/14, averaging 20.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 40.4 MPG.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Nowitzki, Draft, Parker

March 31st, 2014 at 7:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Dirk Nowitzki eschews an agent and has mentor Holger Geschwinder negotiate his contracts for him, but the Mavs star isn’t fond of free agency, as he tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Nowitzki reiterates that he fully intends to re-sign with Dallas this summer.

Western Notes: Love, Papanikolaou, Jazz

March 28th, 2014 at 7:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There are rumors circulating that the Lakers will attempt to use this year’s high lottery pick to assemble the sort of trade package that finally convinces the Timberwolves to part with Kevin Love and end the uncertainty that hangs over this franchise even before the 25-year-old enters the final year of his contract, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Many in NBA circles believe that Love will eventually end up in Los Angeles, either via trade or free agency. He grew up in California, attended UCLA and his father, Stan, played for the Lakers, notes Stein.

Western Notes: Mavs, D-League, Iguodala

March 1st, 2014 at 6:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mark Cuban was in the news today for his thoughts on the possibility of the NBA raising the age requirement for players entering the league. Cuban took it further, and believes that if the minimum age isn’t raised then the NBA D-League should work to convince players to play there instead of a single college season, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Cuban stated, “I think what will end up happening — and this is my opinion, not that of the league — is if the colleges don’t change from the one-and-done, we’ll go after the one. The NCAA rules are so hypocritical, there’s absolutely no reason for a kid to go [to college], because he’s not going to class [and] he’s actually not even able to take advantage of all the fun because the first semester he starts playing basketball. So if the goal is just to graduate to the NBA or be an NBA player, go to the D-League.”

Odds & Ends: Nowitzki, Colangelo, Fredette

February 28th, 2014 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rockets GM Daryl Morey said today that he asked Mark Cuban about acquiring Dirk Nowitzki this summer out of fears the Warriors would keep Dwight Howard from coming to Houston, according to ESPN (Twitter link). Cuban didn’t realize Howard hadn’t committed to the Rockets, and interpreted the proposal as a taunt over the Mavs‘ failed pursuit of Howard. Morey made his remarks at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, and we’ve got more from that meeting of the minds as we pass along the latest from the NBA:

Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo admitted that he attempted to tank a few seasons ago, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Presumably, that happened during his Raptors tenure.
Jimmer Fredette piqued the interest of the Celtics, but it “wasn’t a good fit for either side,” as president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told reporters today, including Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
The Timberwolves have no interest in Fredette for “myriad reasons,” according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
Some within the Lakers organization wanted to retain Pau Gasol through the trade deadline to keep his Bird Rights, but Gasol writes in his blog that L.A.’s financial advantage to re-sign him won’t play into his decision (translation via HoopsHype). The 7-footer says he wants to go where he can help a team win a title, but he’s not ruling out a return to the Lakers.
Caron Butler‘s role on the Heat would have been similar to the one Mike Miller played in recent years, and part of his decision to instead join the Thunder centered on the chance for more playing time, notes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter links).
The top half of the lottery picks in this year’s draft will be a star-studded bunch, but there are still other potential franchise-changing players in the mix, writes Zach Harper of CBSSports.com, who examines five potential steals.

Southwest Rumors: Nowitzki, Grizzlies, Daye

February 24th, 2014 at 2:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets are apparently on the mind of Charlie Villanueva as the possibility of a buyout from the Pistons looms, while the Grizzlies are interested in Lester Hudson, who last played in the NBA two years ago with Memphis. Here’s the rest of what we’re hearing from the Southwest Division:

Dirk Nowitzki said last month that he’ll probably re-sign with the Mavericks on a two- or three-year deal this summer, but the 35-year-old can envision a series of one-year deals after that, keeping him in the NBA past his 40th birthday. Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the details.
The Grizzlies were willing to make a trade that put them a hair over the tax line, but they weren’t going to give up Ed Davis, an object of desire for many teams, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his latest “Morning Tip” column for NBA.com.
Austin Daye was overjoyed when he heard about Thursday’s trade that sent him to the Spurs, telling reporters, including Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, that he screamed into his pillow in a moment of exuberance upon hearing the news. Daye, whose contract is partially guaranteed for next season, said the Spurs have been one of his favorite teams since childhood, McDonald adds (Twitter links).

Western Notes: Ellington, Ellis, Warriors

February 12th, 2014 at 12:03am CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are some miscellaneous tidbits to share out of the Western Conference tonight:

It doesn’t seem likely that the Mavericks would part with any of their rotation players in a deal right now, according to Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW. One player who does appear to be available is Wayne Ellington, who hasn’t been able to find significant playing time and is owed $2.5MM next season.
Sefko also doesn’t believe there’s any chance that Dallas would consider trading Monta Ellis, adding that the team thinks Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki will make a good recruiting tandem this summer for prospective free agents.
Earlier today, the Warriors announced that they assigned Kent Bazemore, MarShon Brooks, and Ognjen Kuzmic to their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
The out-of-town owners of the property needed for the new Kings arena are seeking a change of venue in the city’s eminent domain lawsuit, reports Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. City officials recognize that the Kings need swift access to the property and will fight the attempt to move the suit. Kasler adds that the new arena is expected to be completed in 2016; if the building doesn’t open by 2017, the NBA has the right to buy the team and move them out of Sacramento.
Spurs guard Tony Parker told French website BMFT that he’d like to continue playing in the NBA for another six or seven years (hat tip to Michael Rehome of Project Spurs).

Dirk Nowitzki Will Likely Re-Sign With Mavs

January 20th, 2014 at 4:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is one of many big names who will hit the open market in 2014, but don’t expect him to change uniforms in the fall. Nowitzki told Sport1 in a recent interview that he will likely re-sign with Dallas on a two or three year deal, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter).

“In the summer I will be free agent and likely extend the contract for two or three years,” Nowitzki told the German TV outlet, according to Sportando’s translation. “As long as the body supports me, it is still fun to play basketball. After the new contract I will be 38 or 39 and I will probably stop. For a few years it will work out all right.”

Recently, outspoken Mavs owner Mark Cuban said that he didn’t expect Nowitzki to ask for too much money on his next contract and added that he would do everything in his power to keep him “forever.” The former regular season MVP and NBA Finals MVP also touched on his relationship with Cuban in the interview.

“It is clear that our relationship is amicable. We had so many ups and downs together. The championship was the best part. Mark has always supported me. Even when things were not going well, he has always told me: ‘You are and will remain my franchise player,'” the 35-year-old said.

The 7-footer is averaging 21.2 PPG with 5.8 RPG per contest this season and is showing no signs of slowing down. Nowitzki’s PER of 23.5 is his best in years, even edging his 2010/11 mark.