Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Gal Mekel

Mavericks Sign Gal Mekel

July 11th, 2013 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 11TH: The Mavericks have officially signed Mekel, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 1ST: The Mavericks have reached a verbal agreement on a multiyear deal with Israeli point guard Gal Mekel, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Once the July moratorium is lifted, Mekel will sign a guaranteed minimum-salary contract with the Mavs, according to Stein. Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com reports (via Twitter) that the pact will be for three years.

Stein reported a week ago that the Mavs were leading the charge among the NBA teams interested in Mekel, with the Raptors, Bucks, Hawks, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Jazz also registering some level of interest. At the time, Stein wrote that the 25-year-old had begun to convince NBA talent evaluators that he could immediately produce as a rotation player, especially after Pablo Prigioni successfully made the leap to the Association last season after a career overseas.

Mekel, a former Wichita State guard, averaged 13.3 PPG and 5.4 APG in Israel in 2012/13, leading Maccabi Haifa to a championship and earning league MVP honors for the second time in the last four years. For the Mavs, agreeing to add Mekel doesn't get in the way of a pursuit of Dwight Howard, since the point guard will be signing for the minimum.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Devin Harris To Sign With Mavs

July 6th, 2013 at 8:04pm CST by Spencer Lund

10:27pm: Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reiterates our contention that Harris will likely spend a lot of time at shooting guard next to Calderon in the Mavs' backcourt. MacMahon notes that Harris spent half his time next to Jeff Teague at shooting guard last season with the Hawks, so the transition won't be difficult. Acquiring Harris also allows the Mavs to bring their rookie guards, Shane Larkin and Gal Mekel, along more slowly. 

8:04pm: Although the deal can't be made official until Wednesday when the NBA's July moratorium is lifted, ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon says the Mavs struck a deal today to bring Devin Harris back to Dallas for a three-year deal in excess of $9MM. With Harris' and Jose Calderon's deal, the Mavs have solved their backcourt problems from last year. 

The 30-year-old Harris averaged 9.9 PPG and 3.4 APG in 24.5 MPG during part-time starting duties with the Hawks last year. But Harris primarily played as the off-guard when Jeff Teague was in the game at the same time. This might be how the Mavs choose to use him in conjunction with Calderon.

6:40pm: Marc Stein of ESPN.com is hearing that Hawks unrestricted free agent Devin Harris is "closing in" on a deal to go back to the Mavs for a three-year deal worth $9MM plus (Twitter).

Harris is repped by Excel Sports Management, as shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: McLemore, Draft, Kings, Jackson

June 25th, 2013 at 10:31pm CST by Michael Pina

A few random notes from around the league.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Mavs, Raptors, Others Interested In Gal Mekel

June 24th, 2013 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

After leading Maccabi Haifa to an upset win for the Israeli championship, Gal Mekel may be ticketed for an NBA roster this coming year. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the list of NBA teams eyeing the Israeli point guard continues to grow, with the Raptors and Mavericks among the latest teams to show interest.

On the heels of what Stein's sources call an "eye-opening" workout with the Bucks, Mekel will audition for the Mavs today, according to Stein. It's not clear whether the 25-year-old has workouts lined up with the Raptors or any other team, but Stein says the Hawks, Pacers, and Grizzlies have also registered some level of interest. The Jazz, who invited Mekel to training camp last fall, continue to monitor his progress as well.

According to Stein, Mekel has begun to convince NBA talent evaluators that he could immediately produce as a rotation player, especially after Pablo Prigioni successfully made the leap to the Association last season after a career overseas. Mekel, a former Wichita State guard, averaged 13.3 PPG and 5.4 APG in Israel in 2012/13, earning league MVP honors for the second time in the last four years.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Gal Mekel To Audition For Bucks, Others

June 10th, 2013 at 5:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Israeli point guard Gal Mekel drew attention from the Jazz last offseason and after another impressive year overseas, he could finally have his NBA opportunity in 2013/14.  After Thursday's Israeli title game, Mekel will come to the United States to audition for the Bucks and other teams, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

The 25-year-old has good size for the one-guard position and is quite impressive in pick-and-roll sets (link).  Given his ability, the Maccabi Haifa star has a good chance to join Omri Casspi as the only Israelis in the NBA.  Mekel will try and finish out his Haifa career with a bang by leading his team to a championship victory over Maccabi Electra this week.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Stein On Bynum, Knicks, Curry, Mekel, Kirilenko

November 23rd, 2012 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

It's Friday afternoon, which means, even on Thanksgiving weekend, Marc Stein has published his Weekend Dime on ESPN.com. Let's dive right into the highlights from this week's column….

  • Stein asked executives from five teams about Andrew Bynum's health issues and how they'd affect his contract offers next summer. One GM, noting that the NBA is a "desperate league," pointed to max offers this past offseason for Eric Gordon and Brook Lopez and said Bynum should still land a maximum-salary contract, even considering his knee problems. Other execs weren't so sure though, with one suggesting Bynum could count on "maybe a one- or two-year (max offer). You won't be able to get insurance coverage on his knees."
  • While some pundits panned the Knicks this summer for adding so many aging veteran players, Carmelo Anthony wasn't among the critics. In Carmelo's view, players like Marcus Camby, Rasheed Wallace, and Kurt Thomas are helping him improve. "I have no complaints," Anthony said. "What our front office did this offseason, acquiring those guys we did, I have no complaints about that."
  • China's Foshan Dralions aggressively pursued Eddy Curry after he was waived by the Mavericks, but Curry turned them down in hopes of landing an NBA roster spot.
  • Israeli point guard Gal Mekel, who drew offseason interest from the Jazz, is playing in Israel this season, but hopes to earn a spot on an NBA team next season with a strong summer league performance.
  • Andrei Kirilenko tells Stein that while there was a possibility he remained in Russia for more than one season, he only returned there because of the NBA lockout, and his plan always involved returning to the NBA.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Jazz Eyeing Gal Mekel

October 1st, 2012 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

After an impressive workout, Israeli point guard Gal Mekel has received an unexpected training camp invitation from the Jazz, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. However, according to Stein, visa issues may make it impossible for Mekel to arrive at camp on time, meaning he'd miss a handful of practices and be at a disadvantage when it comes to earning a roster spot.

Due to those visa issues, the most likely scenario involves Mekel playing in Europe for another season, then arriving in North America next July to participate in summer league action. Mekel, 24, would become Israel's second-ever NBA player, if he were to earn a roster spot with a team this year or next. Cleveland's Omri Casspi was the first.

Mekel played college ball in America at Wichita State from 2006 to 2008 before heading to Israel to play professionally. He played for Maccabi Tel Aviv and Gilboa Galil Elyon, winning the Israel Super League's rookie of the year honors in 2009 and MVP in 2011. Last season, the 6'4" point guard played in Italy for Benetton Treviso.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0