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Fraley On Dirk, Beaubois, Crowder, Mayo

October 19th, 2012 at 8:49pm CST by Sean Highkin

On Friday morning, the Dallas Mavericks announced that Dirk Nowitzki had undergone arthroscopic knee surgery, which will sideline him for up to six weeks. Gerry Fraley of SportsDayDFW.com has posted several new articles outlining various aspects of this Mavs season, including how the team will move forward after Nowitzki's injury and various new members of the roster.

Fraley and Brad Townsend write that new signees Chris Kaman and Elton Brand, as well as rookie Bernard James, are among the players who will be expected to step up in Nowitzki's absence.
Rodrigue Beaubois sprained his right ankle on Oct. 6 in an exhibition game, but is making progress in his recovery and has begun practicing again, Fraley writes.
Fraley says that the Mavs are impressed with the play of second-round pick Jae Crowder.
New guards O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison are having trouble getting to the free-throw line, Fraley writes.

Mavericks Links: Media Day, Dirk, Brand, Nash

September 28th, 2012 at 9:34pm CST by Alex Lee

As we saw yesterday, the Mavs look like they're putting the finishing touches on their training camp roster, adding Josh Akognon, D.J. Mbenga and Tu Holloway to what look to be non-guaranteed deals. The team, coming off a dissapointing offseason, held their media day on Friday. Here are some of the links that have come across the wire since:

Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram has some additional quotes from Rick Carlisle, who thinks that the Mavs have what it takes to win an NBA championship this season. Carlisle references the NFL and MLB as leagues where wild cards routinely win titles, and he likens it to his 2011 title team. It is a tough sell, as those leagues are parity striken unlike the NBA. But Carlisle's optimism should nevertheless be encouraging for the Mavericks faithful.

Earlier updates:

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News provides us with some more content from Rick Carlisle and Elton Brand. With the presence of Nowitzki and Kaman, Brand is excited to, for once, not draw the opposition's best defensive big. Carlisle expects good chemistry to develop between Brand and Kaman.
Dirk Nowitzki was predictably the most popular quote of the day. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas, Nowitzki addressed the loss of former running mates in Jason Terry and Jason Kidd, and was particularly surprised with Kidd's departure. Nowitzki said: “We won the championship together, so they’re like brothers to me. That was tough to see those two guys go somewhere else. It’s going to be weird to see them in different uniforms, for sure.”
MacMahon adds that Nowitzki said that the Mavs, despite missing out on Dwight Howard and Deron Williams, are still of a "heck of a team" without either of them.
After missing out on Howard and Williams, the Mavs added Elton Brand, Darren Collison, Chris Kaman and O.J. Mayo. Brand said that group could combine to give Dallas what adding two superstars could have, according to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. Earl Sneed of NBA.com tweets that Brand looks in "insane shape" entering camp.
Nowitzki also commented on the Lakers compilation of stars, and more specifically on their addition of his good friend and former teammate, Steve Nash, via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. “On paper, they’re really, really good,’’ he said. “You look at their starting lineup, it’s almost an All-Star Game starting lineup. They’re stacked. They’re going to be great. They’re going to be tough to beat if they stay injury free.’’

Southwest Notes: Spurs, Mavericks, Cuban, Davis

September 13th, 2012 at 10:17pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation interestingly points out that eleven NBA teams either have a coach, general manager, or both that have strong ties to the Spurs franchise. Former San Antonio assistant GM and current Thunder GM Sam Presti acknowledged t RC Buford, Gregg Popovich, and owner Pete Holt and the important role they played in his development as a front office executive, saying, "(They) have created an infrastructure that has afforded many of us tremendous learning and development opportunities…It is important to acknowledge that they generally have an even more profound impact on their people on a personal level than simply professionally.”

Here are other rumblings from the Southwest Division tonight…

Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW writes that both Chris Kaman and O.J. Mayo are ready to take advantage of their new opportunity with the Mavericks. Mayo has already started working out with head coach Rick Carlisle for the last month.
Sefko also documented some thoughts from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who implied that it's refreshing to observe practices and finally see centers on the team, namely Kaman and Elton Brand, being able to knock down a mid-range jump shot. Cuban also commented on the Lakers, adding that he's not sure "if all their guys want to be there."
Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated relayed Maurice Evans' take on Hornets number one pick Anthony Davis, saying that the hype surrounding the former Kentucky star has been "over the top" (Sulia link).

Sefko On Mavericks, Crowder, Dwight

July 31st, 2012 at 9:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW engaged in a chat with fans about the Mavericks' offseason. Among his more notable thoughts were that the team's interest in Steve Nash was never that serious, Mark Cuban deserves to be applauded for their attempt to land Deron Williams despite falling short, and that he gives the team a grade of "B" for their work this summer. Here are some more of the highlights:

The additions of Darren Collison, Dahntay Jones, O.J. Mayo, and Elton Brand should give Dirk Nowitzki plenty of reasons to be excited about the upcoming season.
Sefko has continued to hear good things about Jae Crowder (selected 34th overall in last month's draft) and thinks that Crowder, along with first-round pick Jared Cunningham, should receive long looks in training camp.
Being able to reserve cap room along with the collection of assets and one-year contracts that Dallas obtained this summer, he believes that the team still feels they have a shot at landing Dwight Howard, whether via trade or during free agency next summer.

Mavericks Claim Elton Brand

July 13th, 2012 at 5:38pm CST by Luke Adams

5:38pm: According to NBA.com's David Aldridge, the Mavericks have not yet decided on whether they'll place an amnesty bid on Luis Scola, and they'll wait to see if other prominent players are amnestied before making a decision. All teams have until 5 PM EST on Sunday to place a claim on Scola.

4:06pm: The Mavericks have submitted the winning bid and claimed Elton Brand off amnesty waivers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Brand and his $18.16MM salary were amnestied on Wednesday by the 76ers, giving under-the-cap two days to bid on him. The Mavs' winning bid was $2.1MM, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link), which will reduce the amount of money the Sixers owe the veteran big man to somewhere in the $16MM range.

Lakers Eyeing Jamison, Brand, Jermaine O’Neal

July 12th, 2012 at 8:04pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles reports that the Lakers are in the market for big men, with Antawn Jamison, Elton Brand, and Jermaine O'Neal on their short list of targets. While the team is still currently in negotiations with Jordan Hill, they also hope that the above listed players would be available for the veteran's minimum. Although the Lakers still have their $3MM mid-level exception to use, they would prefer to set it aside in the event that a deal for Dwight Howard gets done and a glaring void consequently arises.

Winning Bid For Brand To Be Announced Friday

July 12th, 2012 at 5:06pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The winner among teams that place a bid on recently-amnestied forward Elton Brand will be announced on Friday after 4:00pm CST (Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas reports). Only teams below the salary cap have the opportunity to bid. The Mavericks are expected to be "aggressive" suitors for the 13-year-veteran, who have high hopes of paring Brand with Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman. Other teams with cap space, such as the Suns and Trail Blazers, also have a chance to vie for Brand's services.

In the unlikely situation that no team places a bid, Brand would become an unrestricted free agent and could then sign with any team.

Elton Brand Hoping Mavs Claim Him

July 11th, 2012 at 10:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

Elton Brand, who was placed on waivers using the amnesty clause earlier tonight by the Sixers, wants the Mavs to put in a claim for him, reports David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link). Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com hears the Mavs will make a "very aggressive bid" for Brand.

Brand is owed $18.16MM for next season. Though it won't count on the salary cap for the Sixers, they'll still have to pay it unless a team puts in a claim for all or part of Brand's salary in the next week. If more than one team puts in a claim, the team that bids highest gets Brand, and the amount of the bid goes on that team's salary cap.

Earlier tonight, John Hollinger of ESPN.com estimated the amount the Mavs could bid at $9.2MM, but revised that to $4.3MM after the Mavs agreed to trade for Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones (Twitter links).

Sixers Amnesty Elton Brand

July 11th, 2012 at 7:00pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 11, 7:00pm: The Sixers have officially used the amnesty clause on Brand, David Aldridge of TNT reports (Twitter link). Teams can submit bids for Brand over the course of the next week for either his full $18.16MM salary or a portion of it. John Hollinger of ESPN.com says the Mavs are likely to make a bid, and can do so for up to $9.2MM (Twitter link).

JULY 6, 11:12am: The Mavericks are one under-the-cap team that will have interest in Brand, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. David Aldridge of TNT tweets that the Nets will be interested as well, but they wouldn't have a shot at the power forward unless he clears waivers.

Atlantic Notes: Allen, Celtics, Williams, Brand

July 6th, 2012 at 10:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this evening, Celtics fans were disappointed to learn that sharpshooter Ray Allen has opted to leave the C's for the Heat. The shooting guard turned down what was reportedly a two-year, $12MM offer to stay in Boston in favor of a three-year deal worth just over $9MM.

Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes that the loss of Allen is effectively a double-whammy for the C's as they cannot easily turn around and sign a similar player to offset the loss. This is because the Celtics only have the bi-annual exception available to lure a player in. Boston may also bring back swingman Mickael Pietrus, but for now it would seem that they'll have to bank on quality production and perimter shooting from Jason Terry to fill the gap. Here's more out of the Atlantic..