Dorian Finney-Smith Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Texas Notes: Spurs, Barnes, Finney-Smith, Harrison

March 23rd, 2018 at 5:11pm CST by clarkcrum

Yesterday, Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News relayed that the original narrative about the Spurs‘ players only meeting regarding Kawhi Leonard being tense was not accurate, writing that Leonard even received support from some teammates who urged him not to return until he feels healthy enough to do so.

Today, Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio-Express News seconded his colleague Young’s reporting, with quotes from Spurs’ veterans Danny Green and Tony Parker. Green, who tweeted a strong denial to the alleged tense nature of the meeting, said “(the report) was incorrect, wrong, false. I guess that’s the only way to put it. There was a meeting. That’s probably the only thing that was true in the article. Nobody in (the meeting) was frustrated or took it the wrong way. We were communicating like adults.”

For his part, Parker neither affirmed or denied the original report, essentially telling Spurs’ reporters that what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room. “You should know better that I can’t talk about that. That’s private stuff, locker room stuff. We always talk as a team, but you know we can’t talk about that.”

Interestingly however, Orsborn writes in another, related story that Parker contrasted his quadriceps injury from last season with Leonard’s injury this season in a thought-provoking manner, saying “I’ve been through it. It was a rehab for me for eight months. Same kind of injury, but mine was a hundred times worse, but the same kind of injury. You just stay positive.” Parker also spoke highly about the Spurs’ medical team, while Leonard received a second opinion from outside medical professionals.

Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News also has some news from Dallas:

The experiment of Harrison Barnes at power forward is over, and Barnes couldn’t be happier about it. Since the Mavericks returned Barnes to small forward four games ago, he has averaged 24.3 points per game and when asked about the move back, simply said, “I love it.” Barnes goal for the remainder of the season is to continue to work on his playmaking, which makes sense considering Barnes only averages 2.0 assists per game, which doesn’t even crack the top-20 for small forwards.
Dorian Finney-Smith is one of a handful or more of Mavericks‘ players who aren’t guaranteed a spot of the Dallas roster next season, with his 2018/19 contract of $1.54MM currently non-guaranteed. But luckily for Finney-Smith and the others, the Mavs’ down year has given them an opportunity to showcase their talents for potential suitors. “It’s tough, losing like this, (but) they’re doing a good job playing hard,” says veteran J.J. Barea. “You never know who’s looking. They’re getting opportunities to play, to show themselves to everybody, to get better at what they do.”
Faced with a glut of big men on their roster, the Mavericks signed former Kentucky stand-out Aaron Harrison to a 10-day contract yesterday, electing to let Jameel Warney return to the G League. Whereas Warney clogged an already crowded position, Harrison is now only the second healthy player on the team’s entire roster who could reasonably be classified as a shooting guard.

Southwest Notes: Spurs, Leonard, Mavericks, Evans

March 8th, 2018 at 8:09pm CST by clarkcrum

The Spurs have made the playoffs every year for the past 20 seasons and won five titles along the way, but as Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer writes, the NBA’s model franchise is in the midst of its worst season since 1996/97 – Tim Duncan‘s senior season at Wake Forest – and is in serious danger of missing the playoffs.

The Spurs have the NBA’s toughest remaining schedule, with two games left against the Rockets, Warriors, Pelicans, Thunder, and Wizards. Add in the fact that the team is 2-8 over its last 10 games and only 2.5 games ahead of the eight, ninth, and tenth place teams in the Western Conference, and one can see why fans in San Antonio may have reason to worry for the first time in two decades.

Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

In more positive Spurs‘ news, Michael C. Wright of ESPN is citing a highly knowledgeable source who tells him that Kawhi Leonard is working hard and putting himself through some “insane” workouts in an effort to return to action as quickly as possible.
In a Q&A session, columnist Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News answered some questions on Mavericks‘ owner Mark Cuban and whether NBA commissioner Adam Silver would step in and force Cuban to sell the team a la current Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson or former Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News is reporting that Mavericks‘ swingman Dorian Finney-Smith is expected to return to action this weekend for the first time since injuring his left knee/quadriceps in early November.
The Grizzlies are being cautious with Tyreke Evans‘ recovery from a rib injury, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Evans, who has been out since late February, remains day-to-day and will not play against the Jazz tomorrow night.

Southwest Notes: Aldridge, CP3, Grizzlies, Parsons

October 18th, 2017 at 9:50am CST by Luke Adams

LaMarcus Aldridge and the Spurs haven’t always seen eye to eye over the last two years, but in the wake of a contract agreement that extended Aldridge’s deal by an additional two years, the big man sounds as happy as he’s ever been in San Antonio. As Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News details, Aldridge says “everything is great” between him and the Spurs, and that both sides are pleased with the extension.

“I feel like the talks this summer (between Aldridge and the Spurs) were very constructive and were kind of needed, having a heart to heart where you just say how you feel,” Aldridge said. “And I feel like Pop (Gregg Popovich) has been great about the things that I said or kind of needed or wanted, and so far it’s been great.”

Asked by Jabari Young of The Express-News (Twitter link) if he hopes to finish his career with the Spurs, Aldridge said that would most likely be his preference. Still, his new deal doesn’t add a ton of new years to his contract. As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets, the extension adds one guaranteed year worth $26MM, then one additional season that’s partially guaranteed ($7MM of $24MM). The pact also features a 15% trade kicker, Woj adds.

Here’s more from around the Southwest division:

Troy Williams (Rockets) and Dorian Finney-Smith (Mavericks) saw the guarantees on their respective contracts increase this week, as our salary guarantee calendar shows. Williams’ salary for the season is now fully guaranteed.
In an in-depth feature for ESPN The Magazine, Jackie MacMullan provides an inside look at Chris Paul‘s decision to join the Rockets over the summer. Within the piece, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers admits that the relationship between him and Paul suffered toward the end.
After waiving Wade Baldwin and Rade Zagorac to set the regular season roster this week, Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace said those decisions were “extremely difficult,” per Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “If this was a normal year when we didn’t have extra players who were viable then Wade and Rade wouldn’t be released,” Wallace said. Zagorac isn’t eligible to head to the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, but the team thinks there’s a good chance they’ll bring him back down the road, tweets Tillery.
The Grizzlies‘ major free agent signing of 2016, Chandler Parsons, won’t be in the starting lineup to open the season, making him one of the NBA’s highest-paid bench players. Tillery has the details in another article for The Commercial Appeal.

Southwest Notes: Rondo, Rockets, Finney-Smith, Mavs

August 14th, 2017 at 8:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The pairing of Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo in the Pelicans’ backcourt should work out quite well and could turn New Orleans into a spoiler during the Western Conference playoffs next season, Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders argues. Holiday has never been hesitant to shoot and he’ll find plenty of good looks at shooting guard with defenses focusing on Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, Davies continues. Davies notes that Rondo has led the league in assists three times and is an underrated 3-point shooter and rebounder for his position who can also contribute defensively by making steals. A quality season would also help convince Cousins, who becomes an unrestricted free agent after the season, to stay put, Davies adds.

In other news around the Southwest Division:

Billionaire Dan Friedkin has expressed interest in buying the Rockets, Mark Berman of Fox26Houston.com reports. Friedkin is owner and CEO of Gulf States Toyota and the president and CEO of the Friedkin Group. Forbes lists his net worth at $3.1 billion. Owner Leslie Alexander announced last month that the team was up for sale.
Forward Dorian Finney-Smith will have to earn a roster spot with the Mavericks by showing improvement in two key areas, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Sefko believes Finney-Smith needs to become tougher around the boards and improve his 3-point shooting or else he’ll wind up in a salary-saving transaction. All but $100K of Finney-Smith’s $1.3MM salary is not guaranteed and the contract doesn’t fully guarantee unless he’s on the roster through January 10.
The Mavericks need to dramatically improve their rebounding to have any shot at a playoff berth next season, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. Dallas ranked last in overall rebounding and grabbed the fewest offensive rebounds in the league. Coach Rick Carlisle told Sneed his frontcourt players have to get more physical. “We’ve got to get some monsters that push and shove, throw people out of the way and go get the ball,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got to get more of those guys.”

Western Notes: Nuggets, Motiejunas, Mavs, Lakers

January 4th, 2017 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The race for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference is wide open, but the Nuggets were unable to grain ground on Tuesday night, losing their third straight game. Tuesday’s loss was particularly frustrating since it came at home against the Kings, the team ahead of Denver for that eighth seed in the West. In the wake of Denver’s defeat, Michael Malone was critical of his team’s performance and effort, telling reporters that the Nuggets have “the worst defense in the NBA.”

“Right now we have no leadership, we have no veteran leadership on this team stepping up,” said the Nuggets head coach, per Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “I don’t hear anybody speaking, taking the lead. We have two young guys trying to speak up on the team’s behalf, which you applaud them but you need some leadership to shine and step up when we are struggling, which we are.”

One person who didn’t agree with Malone’s assessment? Danilo Gallinari, who took exception to the idea that the Nuggets lack veteran leadership. “That’s definitely not the problem with this team,” Gallinari said, according to Dempsey. “Every veteran on this team can agree with me. So, I don’t agree with that.”

The Nuggets have frequently been mentioned as one of the teams most likely to make a move before the trade deadline, so the situation in Denver will be worth monitoring in the coming weeks. Let’s round up a few more notes from out of the Western Conference…

After signing on Tuesday with the Pelicans, Donatas Motiejunas confirmed today that he has been medically cleared by the team (Twitter link via Scott Kushner of The Advocate). Head coach Alvin Gentry indicated that he expects Motiejunas to play primarily at center in New Orleans (Twitter link via Kushner).
The Mavericks have a pair of players on non-guaranteed contracts, but Dorian Finney-Smith is safe, and Pierre Jackson looks like a good bet to stick on the roster past the salary guarantee deadline as well, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The Mavs like what they’ve seen from Jackson so far, so the only reason to cut him would be to maintain roster flexibility going forward.
In Larry Nance’s absence, the Lakers have explored using Thomas Robinson and Tarik Black on the floor at the same time, and are intrigued by the pairing, per Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Both Robinson and Black signed new contracts with Los Angeles during the offseason.

Southwest Notes: Finney-Smith, Harrell, Forbes

January 2nd, 2017 at 10:38pm CST by Austin Kent

Undrafted Mavericks rookie Dorian Finney-Smith has started 25 games so far this season despite barely making Dallas’ roster out of training camp. With the former Florida Gator’s partially-guaranteed contract set to guarantee on January 5, the fact that he’s managed to hold onto his spot in the starting lineup even with Dirk Nowitzki healthy bodes well.

In 22.8 minutes per game this season, the 23-year-old Finney-Smith has emerged as a capable perimeter defender for the Mavericks – even if that means being thrown into the deep end against NBA superstars like Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.

“It’s great experience for young guys,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said of his rookie’s recent baptism by fire. “They learn a lot in a very short period of time. And some of it is very painful. But this is how you get better.”

As Eddie Sefko of Dallas News writes in the same article, the 15th and final addition to the Mavericks roster last fall has already beaten the odds.

That’s not all out of the Southwest Division:

Veteran Gary Neal, who signed a contract to play in the D-League last month, has been traded to the Texas Legends says Chris Reichert of The Step Back. The Legends are the affiliate of the Mavericks.
Rockets big man Montrezl Harrell has filled in admirably for the injured Clint Capela and head coach Mike D’Antoni is pleased with what he’s seen so far. A video published by ESPN’s Alykhan Bijani over Twitter shows the Houston coach shutting down any concerns that he’s worried about the center’s relatively low rebounding numbers (7.8 rebounds per 36 minutes versus Capela’s 12.0).
Undrafted rookie Bryn Forbes has thrived with the D-League affiliate of the Spurs this season, writes Jeff Garcia of News 4 San Antonio. In games for Austin, the Michigan State product is averaging 23.4 points per game and shooting an impressive .563 from the field. Forbes remains behind Danny Green, Manu Ginobili and Jonathon Simmons on the depth chart, but will likely see time in and out of San Antonio as the year progresses.

Mavs Notes: Finney-Smith, Nowitzki, Matthews

December 13th, 2016 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Dorian Finney-Smith has been a pleasant surprise for the Mavericks this season, starting 16 games for the team and contributing 21.1 minutes per game. After Monday night’s win over the Nuggets, in which Finney-Smith contributed 13 points and nine boards, Deron Williams suggested that the undrafted rookie is “putting himself in a good position to get a long-term contract next year from somebody” (Twitter link via Earl K. Sneed of Mavericks.com).

Perhaps the veteran point guard was projecting — while Williams’ deal with the Mavs expires next summer, Finney-Smith is under contract with the team for two more non-guaranteed seasons, so Dallas shouldn’t have to worry about losing him to a rival suitor anytime soon.

Here are a few more Mavericks-related notes:

In a conversation with Chris Mannix (Twitter video link), Bobby Marks of The Vertical discusses the outlook for the Mavs, including addressing whether it might be time for the club to consider trading Dirk Nowitzki.
Since joining the Mavericks in the summer of 2015, Wesley Matthews hasn’t looked like the same player he was in Portland, but his performance recently suggests he may finally be shedding the effects of his Achilles injury and playing up to his potential, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.
Speaking of injuries, Nowitzki and J.J. Barea are expected to ramp up their activity this week, but it’s still not clear when they’ll get back on the court for the Mavs, says Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
In a chat for The Morning News, Sefko offered some thoughts on where he’d start if he were tasked with fixing the Mavs, and explored how the team might be able to add a second first-round pick for 2017.

Southwest Notes: Finney-Smith, Randolph, Grizzlies

December 6th, 2016 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Dorian Finney-Smith‘s contract with the Mavericks called for the partial guarantee on his minimum salary to increase to $200K if he remained with the team beyond December 5, as our schedule of guarantee dates shows. There has been no word about that deadline changing, and Dallas’ decision-makers are “pretty high” on Finney-Smith, as Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes, so it’s probably safe to assume he received that increased guarantee. The young forward will have his full $543K salary guaranteed if he remains under contract through January 10.

Here’s more from around the NBA’s Southwest division:

Asked again about the possibility of trading veterans and looking ahead to next season, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the team would probably know its direction within a month or so, but he isn’t ready to discuss it yet, per Sefko. “What’s the point of addressing this now?” Cuban said. “We’ll know when we know and it won’t be a surprise. If we’re not winning games, it’ll be one thing. If we’re winning a bunch of games … we’ll have a different attitude. It just depends on the circumstance.”
Zach Randolph, who has missed the last seven games following the death of his mother, has returned to the Grizzlies and is expected to suit up for the team tonight against Philadelphia, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.
Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal provided an injury update for a pair of Grizzlies players on Monday, tweeting that James Ennis and Chandler Parsons will be re-evaluated in a week to 10 days.
Check out our story from earlier today for the latest details on Donatas Motiejunas‘ situation with the Rockets.

Western Notes: Thompson, Rubio, Finney-Smith

November 7th, 2016 at 6:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson denied a suggestion that his early season struggles were a result of the team’s offseason addition of Kevin Durant, Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com relays. “Not at all,” Thompson said when asked if his cold spell had anything to do with Durant. “I struggled last year for the first 20 games, and Kevin wasn’t here. So it has nothing to do with Kevin. So last year I struggled, then I went on a tear, so it’s just like any other season. Obviously we have different players, but I’m still getting the shots I always got before he was here, so it’s not on Kevin at all.” Thompson, who made 42.5% of his three-point shots during the 2015/16 campaign, has shot only 19.6% from beyond the arc through the Warriors’ first six outings.

Here’s more from out West:

Ricky Rubio, who has missed the Wolves‘ last three contests due to a sprained right elbow, is making steady progress in his recovery, according to coach/executive Tom Thibodeau, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune relays. No timetable has been relayed regarding when the point guard can return to action, Zgoda adds.
Spurs rookie Dejounte Murray credits much of his success and development to the influence of Clippers veteran Jamal Crawford, who has mentored the rookie for years, writes Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. “It means a lot,” Murray said of Crawford’s assistance. “When you’re successful, a professional athlete, you can help a lot of others. That’s one thing he did, is help me get to where I’m at today. I’m trying to have a long career like he has. He’s 36, he’s played a lot of years. He’s successful, and he’s still climbing in that top 100 scoring list. He’s a great dude.”
Mavericks rookie Dorian Finney-Smith has been pressed into action due to injuries on the team, but he is quickly earning the trust of the coaching staff with his strong play, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders writes. “Finney-Smith is a more-experienced player in the American game,” coach Rick Carlisle said after Tuesday night’s game. “He’s an excellent defender. We don’t normally do it, but he got the game ball tonight. He was plus-19 when he was on the floor and Milwaukee was only 0.56 points per possession when he was on the floor. Other guys are doing it too, but it’s not a coincidence that the game changed on some level when he was out there.”

Cap Details: Sixers, Heat, Pelicans, Warriors

October 28th, 2016 at 10:13am CST by Luke Adams

With regular-season rosters now set, Bobby Marks of The Vertical and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders have been working hard to update details for recent signings, cuts, guarantee dates, and other aspects of the salary cap. Listed below are a few of their latest reports, which we’ve included in our latest updates of our own 2016/17 salary cap snapshots. Let’s dive in…

Dionte Christmas recently signed a contract with the Sixers that allowed the team to secure his D-League rights. Although he was waived almost immediately after signing that deal, Christmas landed a $50K guarantee from Philadelphia, per Marks and Pincus.
Filling in the blanks on a summer trade, Pincus tweets that the Heat sent $400K to the Pelicans in the deal that saw Luke Babbitt land in Miami.
According to both Marks and Pincus, the following players received increased guarantees for surviving preseason roster cuts: Dorian Finney-Smith (Mavericks) now has a $150K guarantee, Rodney McGruder (Heat) has a $300K guarantee, and John Jenkins (Suns) has a fully guaranteed $1.051MM salary.
Meanwhile, both Marks and Pincus now list Joffrey Lauvergne‘s $1.71MM salary with the Thunder as fully guaranteed. It was previously believed to be partially guaranteed.
According to Marks, Matt Costello got $31.5K guaranteed from the Grizzlies, Lamar Patterson received a $100K guarantee from the Kings, and JaVale McGee has a $250K partial guarantee from the Warriors. Marks indicates that McGee’s guarantee will increase to $500K if he’s still under contract through December 1.