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Mavs Notes: Williams, Mejri, Anderson, Nowitzki

April 24th, 2016 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Point guard Deron Williams is expected to be sidelined through the rest of the Mavericks’ playoff run, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. “I think he’s done for the year,” coach Rick Carlisle said after Saturday’s Game 4 loss to the Thunder. “… I don’t expect him to play in Game 5.” Williams appeared in 65 games this season after signing with the Mavericks last summer following a buyout with the Nets. He averaged 14.1 points and a team-leading 5.8 assists per game. Williams can opt out of his contract and become a free agent again this offseason.

There’s more news out of Dallas:

The Mavericks should start preparing for their future by giving Salah Mejri and Justin Anderson more playoff minutes, argues Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News. Gosselin says Dallas needs to focus on more players in their 20s rather than those over 30. He adds that Mejri gives the team its best chance to match the Thunder in rebounding. Both players are still on rookie deals, with Mejri, 29, signed through 2017/18, and Anderson, 22, under contract through 2018/19.
Dirk Nowitzki likely would be looking to leave Dallas if he hadn’t won a title in 2011, Gosselin contends in the same piece. The 18-year veteran has a player option for next season at $8,692,184 and could probably get much more to join a contender. But Gosselin thinks the idea of spending his entire career with one franchise is more appealing to Nowitzki than chasing a second ring.
Chandler Parsons expressed a desire to remain in Dallas during a Facebook chat earlier this week, The Dallas Morning News relays. Parsons has a player option worth a little more than $16MM next season. He is sitting out the series with the Thunder and may be done for the year after undergoing knee surgery in late March. “I love it here,” Parsons said. “My focus right now is to be healthy. The city has been great. I can see myself staying here and playing for a long time.”

Western Notes: Jazz, Anderson, Young

April 4th, 2016 at 8:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz will relocate their D-League affiliate from Boise, Idaho to Salt Lake City next season, as multiple sources told Adam Johnson of the D-League Digest and as the Jazz confirmed today. The team will be called the Salt Lake City Stars, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News tweets. The Jazz wanted to relocate to St. George in southern Utah but were unable to go through with that plan, according to Genessy, while Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey released a statement outlining the benefits of relocating the franchise closer to home (Twitter links).

In other news around the Western Conference:

Mavs rookie small forward Justin Anderson has made an impact with his shot-blocking and rebounding since he was inserted into the lineup four games ago, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle has also been impressed by Anderson’s hustle, as he told Sefko and the gathered media. “He’s a guy that just goes hard and he never gives up on a play,” Carlisle said. “In a transition situation, he sees it as an opportunity and a challenge and not something like, oh well, I guess he’s going to score. You love that fighting sort of spirit and that’s what we need right now.”
Lakers shooting guard Nick Young has lost his mental focus and dropped out of the team’s rotation as a result, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Young has kept a low profile since a gossip site leaked the video of rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell secretly taping him talking about his personal life. “Right now he’s not here with us mentally and there’s no need for me to put him out there on the floor as well,” Lakers coach Byron Scott told Bresnahan and other media members. The team shopped Young this season and will continue to do so in the offseason, Bresnahan adds.
Suns point guard Brandon Knight has been shut down the remainder of the season because of a sports hernia, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. Knight will get a second opinion this week to determine if surgery is needed for the injury, which has limited him to 52 games this season, Coro adds.

Southwest Notes: Barea, Anderson, Duncan

April 4th, 2016 at 2:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

Two moves the Mavericks made last summer are paying off in the stretch run, with free agent signee J.J. Barea and Justin Anderson, the 21st pick in the 2015 draft, delivering in prominent roles of late, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com examines. The NBA just named Barea the Western Conference Player of the Week. “Barea’s been here before,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s been heavily relied upon, and he’s had to fill in in big situations. So he knows what this is about. Anderson has learned gradually, and his teammates have been a big part of his development. He’s been an attentive learner, and he’s a really big part of what we’re doing right now.”

See more from the Southwest Division:

San Antonio’s success this year has come at a tangible cost, and part of that is a $750K bonus that Tim Duncan earned when the Spurs won their 62nd game of the season last week against Memphis, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. It means San Antonio is in line for an extra $1.5MM in projected tax penalties, which go on top of the $750K the Spurs have to shell out to Duncan. The win also inflated the cap figure for Duncan’s player option for next season to $6,393,750, since the league considers it likely he’d trigger the bonus against next season.
The Grizzlies appear to be exploring the feasibility of carrying more than 15 players on their playoff roster, though it seems unlikely the NBA would allow it, writes Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal in his Pick-and-Pop column. Memphis is at 17 players, including Xavier Munford, whose second 10-day contract runs out after Tuesday’s game. His minutes and production have increased, and he’s making a case for a deal that would keep him around for the rest of the season and the playoffs, as Herrington details. Such a move would likely necessitate offloading someone already signed through season’s end, and Herrington speculates that Ryan Hollins and P.J. Hairston are candidates to be cut.
A freewheeling offense and a lack of emphasis on defense provide the right environment for Michael Beasley to succeed with the Rockets, observes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The former No. 2 pick has put up strong numbers since Houston signed him a month ago, having averaged 14.1 points in just 19.8 minutes per game across 15 appearances.

Western Notes: Harrell, Foye, Burke

March 29th, 2016 at 7:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rockets rookie power forward Montrezl Harrell has been suspended five games without pay by the NBA D-League for shoving a referee to the floor in the midst of an altercation with another player during Rio Grande Valley’s contest on Saturday night, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report relays (on Twitter). The suspension will cost Harrell approximately $45K in salary and Houston will shave roughly $34K off its luxury tax bill as a result, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical (Twitter link). Harrell will not be eligible to be recalled from the D-League by the Rockets until the suspension is completed.

Here’s more from out West:

The Thunder sent Denver $1,169,559 as part of the trade that landed Randy Foye in Oklahoma City, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter).
The Mavericks have been struggling on the defensive end and coach Rick Carlisle plans on using Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson, the team’s youngest players, as starters the rest of the way to help provide a spark, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “Well, if you’re having an energy problem and you’re having a problem defending, then you need to get more energetic and better defenders in the game,” Carlisle said. “You’ve got to make the point, and I felt right now we’ve got to make the point that anything other than your best effort and your best energy is unacceptable. These two guys are going to go hard unconditionally, and they delivered tonight. … You know, you’re going to see some of these guys going forward. There’s no question about it.”
When the Jazz traded two draft picks to the Wolves in exchange for the rights to Trey Burke, the team thought it was a coup, but nearly three years later it would appear Minnesota came out on top in that transaction, Mike Sorensen of The Deseret News writes. Both players Minnesota acquired (Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad) have been productive, while Burke is stuck in a reserve role despite the run of backcourt injuries Utah has endured this season, Sorensen notes. Burke admits he wonders what his career would be like if he had gone to the Wolves, the scribe adds. “I think about it every time I play against them — it motivates me,” Burke said. “That’s one of the teams I play really well against. It’s just motivation, that’s how it’s been my whole life, the underdog who’s overlooked.”

And-Ones: Wolves, Joe Johnson, Rockets, Mavs

February 25th, 2016 at 2:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Timberwolves are at a “standstill” in talks with Grizzlies minority-share owner Steve Kaplan about a potential deal that would see Kaplan and his partners take 30% of the Minnesota franchise, Wolves owner Glen Taylor told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. The sides can’t proceed until Kaplan sells his stake in the Grizzlies, Taylor said to Zgoda, and Memphis principal owner Robert Pera isn’t making it easy, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (on Twitter). The deal had reportedly been on track to be complete by the end of this month, but Taylor, who remains optimistic it will ultimately get done, said it will probably take months, not weeks, Zgoda relays. That arrangement would reportedly involve Taylor eventually ceding control of the Wolves to Kaplan, but Taylor plans to remain the primary owner for another few years, Krawczynski tweets. See more from around the NBA:

New Nets GM Sean Marks essentially confirmed the reported buyout talks with Joe Johnson today in an appearance on the “Joe & Evan” show on CBS New York radio (Twitter transcription via Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game). Marks said the team would talk to Johnson to see “what he really wants to do,” adding that he thinks the 15th-year veteran has “deserved the right” to go to a playoff team if he wants.
The relationship between James Harden and soon-to-be free agent Dwight Howard is nuanced, but the idea of tension between the Rockets stars is overblown, as Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com examines.
The Mavericks didn’t really receive trade offers of picks likely to fall in the middle of the first-round for Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). That conflicts with an earlier report.

Western Notes: Jazz, Varejao, Lakers

February 21st, 2016 at 10:44pm CST by Will Joseph

The Jazz acquired Shelvin Mack because he can defend bigger guards and can handle the ball, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News relays (on Twitter). Mack is in line for playing time with Utah, Genessy tweets. “We traded for him to help us — and he is different than the other guys, so he’s going to play,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Mack averaged only 7.5 minutes in 24 games with the Hawks, but he doesn’t believe conditioning will be an issue, per Genessy (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The most significant reason why Anderson Varejao agreed to sign with the Warriors was Golden State assistant Luke Walton, a former teammate of Varejao’s, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets.
Lakers star Kobe Bryant gave coach Byron Scott a vote of confidence days after Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak declined to comment on Scott’s future, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com relays. “I think he’s been channeling his inner Zen,” Bryant said. “It’s been very tough for him. It’s been very tough. I think he’s managing it very well. He’s remaining consistent and continuing to try to bring the best out of these young guys and demanding the best from them. He’s doing the best that he can in the situation.”
Scott said today that D’Angelo Russell will start for the rest of the season, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets.
The Wolves‘ needs for this summer after not striking a deal at the deadline consist of a veteran athletic wing who can defend and shoot, another athletic big man and a scoring point guard, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes.
The Thunder recalled Mitch McGary from the D-League, the team announced via press release.
The Mavs recalled Jeremy Evans and Justin Anderson from their D-League affiliate, Dallas announced in an emailed press release.

Western Notes: Lee, Davis, Stepheson, Nuggets

February 20th, 2016 at 10:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks will need more than just David Lee to start moving in the right direction, contends Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Dallas is considered a heavy favorite to sign Lee once he clears waivers at 3 pm Central Time on Sunday, and Sefko says the Mavericks are believed to have a deal ready to present to him. Lee, who was waived Friday by the Celtics after falling out of their rotation, hasn’t played since January 10th. Sefko warns that Lee has lost some of the skills that made him a two-time All-Star and says other players will have to step up their games to keep the Mavericks from falling out of the playoff picture.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

Jeremy Evans and Justin Anderson have been sent to the Mavericks‘ D-League affiliate, the team announced today. Evans has played in 29 games for Dallas, averaging 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds, while Anderson has been in 34 games, averaging 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds.
Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry laughed at a report that the organization had trade talks with the Celtics about Anthony Davis, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune. New Orleans gave Davis an extension last summer that will amount to the richest contract in league history, five years at $145MM.
Alex Stepheson, who signed a 10-day contract with the Clippers earlier today, can’t wait to play in his first NBA game, according to Robert Morales of The Long Beach Press-Telegram. The 28-year-old was the D-League’s leading rebounder with the Iowa Energy, the affiliate of the Grizzlies. “I’m excited,” Stepheson said. “I’m a little bit nervous. I think basketball-wise, I kind of know what I can do and can’t do, so I don’t think I’m going to be too nervous on the basketball court. Just being out there playing for the Clippers and stuff like that, man, it’s pretty big.”
The Nuggets created a tiny trade exception worth $135K from Thursday’s trade, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s of such diminutive value that it’s virtually unusable, but nonetheless, it comes via the difference between Randy Foye‘s $3.135MM salary and D.J. Augustin‘s $3MM pay. Denver took Steve Novak‘s $3,750,001 salary into its disabled player exception for Wilson Chandler, as I noted here and as Pincus confirms (on Twitter). The disabled player exception is thus extinguished, Pincus adds.

Texas Notes: Howard, Foye, Powell, Anderson

February 19th, 2016 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavericks and Bulls were among the teams the Rockets spoke to about Dwight Howard in the days leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, reiterating earlier reports that Houston talked with the Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Heat and Bucks. The Rockets held out for one “frontline player” and a first-round pick in return, sources told Stein, though it’s not entirely clear whether he means “frontline” as in “frontcourt” or as in “of importance.” GM Daryl Morey provided a hint, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays.

“It was going to have to take something significant to make us look at anything and even then we probably wouldn’t have,” Morey said in part.

Morey also said that he believes in the combo of Howard and James Harden and was never close to trading Howard, Feigen notes, but according to Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, the Rockets understand that Howard and Harden are simply a poor fit on the court. The Rockets and other teams had considerable differences about what a Howard trade would look like, even though executives around the league believe Howard is a better scorer than his numbers in Houston show, Mannix writes. See more from the Texas Triangle:

The Mavericks had some level of interest in Randy Foye before the Nuggets traded him to the Thunder instead Thursday, but the Mavs weren’t going to offer either Devin Harris or Raymond Felton for him, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
The Mavs are always looking for another shooter, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, according to Sefko, who indicates in the same piece that the team wouldn’t mind signing a big man, either, as the post-deadline buyout market develops.
Teams offered picks likely to fall in the middle of the first-round to the Mavs for Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson, a source tells Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Presumably that means each of them would have netted that sort of pick individually, and not the two of them as a package.
Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News wouldn’t be surprised to see the Spurs replace former assistant GM Sean Marks with Spurs D-League GM Brian Pauga, also noting that ex-Spurs executive Danny Ferry has been hanging around the team of late (Twitter links). Young made his remarks on the evening before the Nets hired Marks as their GM.

Western Notes: Gasol, Harden, Chalmers

February 10th, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rockets shooting guard James Harden is growing increasingly frustrated with the team’s up-and-down play this season, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com notes. “Yeah, because my first year was different,” Harden said. “We weren’t as talented and we still made playoffs, which was a big step for us. We have a lot of talent in this locker room, of course, coming off the Western Conference finals and being in the seventh spot right now. It’s frustrating, but we still have opportunities.”

Harden has come under fire for being careless with his turnovers and not being more of a playmaker, but interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff says that the swingman has shown marked improvement this season in both areas, Watkins adds. “One thing, his turnovers are down dramatically,” Bickerstaff said. “If his turnovers are down, then his assists are up. That’s one of the things he said he wanted to improve on, and obviously he’s done it, the decision-making … the creativity has been there. It’s been outstanding the last month. It’s not surprising, we knew he could do it.” It should be noted that despite Bickerstaff’s praise, Harden is still averaging 4.4 turnovers per game on the year, which would be a career high if he were to finish the season with that mark.

Here’s more from out West:

The Grizzlies have been second-guessed for not resting Marc Gasol when he complained of foot soreness, but doing so would only likely have delayed his injury, not prevented it, Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal opines. The center is out indefinitely with a broken foot, though Herrington speculates Gasol won’t return to action this season, which goes along with an earlier report from Marca.com that indicated the Spaniard would miss four to six months of action.
Mario Chalmers has solidified the Grizzlies’ bench with his play as reserve point guard since arriving via trade earlier this season from Miami, but when the Heat were looking to find a taker for the veteran, a number of teams, including the Jazz, were turned off by Chalmers’ stubborn personality and propensity to make poor decisions on the court, notes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com.
The Mavs are pleased with the development of 2015 first-rounder Justin Anderson, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. “He’s not putting up big numbers or anything like that, but he’s playing solid within the system and has had some good plus-minus stretches,” coach Rick Carlisle said of the young swingman. “So he’s making progress. He’s learned a lot over the last three months. He’s doing what he needs to do. Generally, he’s in there with other primary guys and playmakers. Many of his shot opportunities will come off of other activity. But defensively, he’s made progress. Where we are right now, we need him.“
Nuggets camp cut Matt Janning‘s deal with the Russian club Lokomotiv Cuban includes a team option for 2016/17, international journalist David Pick informed Hoops Rumors.

Texas Notes: Lawson, Smith, Aldridge, Mavs

January 22nd, 2016 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets expect to hang on to Ty Lawson through the trade deadline, as USA Today’s Sam Amick hears (Twitter link). The Bucks have been linked to Lawson of late, as Amick says, echoing a recent report from Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who said a trade to Milwaukee was nonetheless unlikely. Houston had reportedly been exploring the market for Lawson as the point guard’s camp sought a way for him to see more playing time elsewhere, but the market proved slow. Houston instead struck a deal to acquire Josh Smith from the Clippers. See more on that amid the latest from Texas:

Smith called the idea of returning to the Rockets “amazing” and said in an interview with Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that he hopes to deliver leadership to the Rockets and relieve pressure from James Harden and Dwight Howard (All Twitter links here). “I look at that team as being right there, just missing a couple of pieces and I feel like I’m one of those missing pieces,” Smith said to Berman.
LaMarcus Aldridge confirmed that the Suns were the last team other than the Spurs that he considered in free agency this past summer and said that while he enjoyed being the focal point of the Trail Blazers, he’s undergone a change that allows him to take a back seat on the Spurs. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio News-Express has the details. “I don’t see myself being that guy here,” Aldridge said. “This is more Kawhi [Leonard]’s team, and we all fit in around him and try to make his life a little easier. If I was trying to be that guy still, I should have not come. I’m OK trying to help Kawhi be great every night.”
The Mavericks have recalled Justin Anderson, Jeremy Evans and Salah Mejri from the D-League, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. The team had just sent the trio on assignment Thursday.