Luka Doncic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Brooks, Doncic, Bane, Mamukelashvili

August 4th, 2023 at 7:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Rockets wing Dillon Brooks recently discussed his offseason and playing for Team Canada in a conversation with Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Houston gave Brooks a four-year, $86MM+ deal as part of a complex five-team sign-and-trade.

“I’ve been chilling. I’ve working out, making sure I get my body right, keep my body right the whole time so I don’t have no drop off,” Brooks told Grange. “And then just focusing mostly on myself, staying off social media, working on my game, doing what I have to do.”

As Grange writes, Brooks has been a longtime member of the Canadian national team. The 27-year-old is looking forward to competing with his compatriots this month.

“Everyone that’s in the building, you came across when you were younger, grew up with or played against or with when you played up (an age group),” said Brooks. “It’s a family environment and everybody is here to win, get better and do something special for the country.”

Here’s more from the Southwest:

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic banged knees with an opponent in an exhibition game with Team Slovenia, but the Mavs have “no concerns” about the injury, a source tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). As with Brooks, Doncic is suiting up for his home country for the upcoming World Cup, which will take place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. He exited the loss against Greece as a precaution.
Grizzlies guard/forward Desmond Bane, who underwent toe surgery in May, says he hasn’t been cleared for 5-on-5 work yet, but he expects to be a full go for training camp next month, tweets Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian. “I’m not quite cleared to play contact yet, but as far as working out on the court, I feel like my body is in a pretty good spot,” Bane said, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Bane signed a massive rookie scale extension this summer that will go into effect in 2024/25.
Sandro Mamukelashvili re-signed with the Spurs on a guaranteed one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, but he confirmed he received interest from EuroLeague teams in free agency, according to Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews.com. “Definitely, I had multiple EuroLeague teams [interested in me], but I want to stay in the NBA,” the Georgian big man told BasketNews. “I want to show everybody that right now, I am an NBA player. European doors are never closed, and I love watching EuroLeague. I know how good the competition is. … Right now, my head is straight to the NBA to show everybody that I can be an NBA player and that I belong to this league.”

Southwest Notes: Eason, Doncic, Hardaway, K. Johnson

July 31st, 2023 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Rockets‘ free agent addition Dillon Brooks recently said he’s looking forward to teaming up with Tari Eason, and Eason tells Kelly Iko of The Athletic that the feeling is mutual. Eason gained a reputation as a tough, aggressive defender during his rookie season, and he wants to build on that with help from Brooks.

“He’s one of the best defenders around and I can learn so many things from him,” Eason said. “There are so many other things to defense besides just guarding your man. There are so many things I can get better at in defense. Just being able to be paired with him and his skill, his approach and how he sees things from a defensive standpoint. I’ll be able to pick his brain, learn and become a better defender.”

Eason quickly earned a rotation spot last season as a rookie on one of the worst teams in the league. Houston is expecting to be much better after signing Brooks and three other veteran free agents, and new coach Ime Udoka has emphasized to Eason that defense will be important for him to keep getting regular minutes.

“Just be vocal. Be in the right spots, things like that,” Eason said of Udoka’s message. “As far as my defensive approach, they want me to be locked in. We have an older team now so for me to be on the floor, I have to be one of the best defenders on the floor at all times. So just really being homed in on defense, that’s the biggest thing. Being able to knock down a consistent shot and play defense.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks likely have two more seasons to show Luka Doncic that they can build a contender around him before they have to worry about him leaving, Tim Cato of The Athletic writes in a mailbag column. Doncic can opt out of his current deal in 2026, and although Cato is skeptical that the Slovenian star would ask for a trade before then, he acknowledges that the organization is operating under a “Doomsday Clock.” Cato also points out that Dallas has amassed a wealth of young talent, draft assets and tradable contracts to bid for the next big star that becomes available.
Cato believes it’s probably a coin flip on whether the Mavericks will trade Tim Hardaway Jr. before training camp, but he says it should become more likely as the season wears on. He points out that the acquisition of Seth Curry makes Hardaway more expendable, and the team needs to find minutes for second-year guard Jaden Hardy.
Keldon Johnson has established himself as a starter with the Spurs, but the addition of No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama may push him into a sixth-man role, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “I just want to win,” Johnson said. “Whatever I got to do to win, I am looking forward to that, so we’ll see how it goes.”

International Notes: Doncic, Embiid, Gobert, Lessort

July 30th, 2023 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks star Luka Doncic was introduced Saturday as the new captain of the Slovenian national team for the FIBA World Cup competition, writes Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. He takes over for Edo Muric, who will miss the tournament with a torn ACL.

“I am honored to be the captain. The coach and the rest of the players made the decision,” Doncic said. “It is a pleasure to play for the national team. I have not played since April 10, so I can’t wait for the games.”

At 24, Doncic is already a veteran of international competitions. He was among the stars at the last Summer Olympics and competed twice in EuroBasket, helping Slovenia capture the gold medal in 2017. His team failed to defend its title at last year’s tournament, getting upset by Poland in the quarterfinals.

“As in every tournament, the goal is to win the championship,” Doncic said. “Last year’s failure in the EuroBasket did not make (me) too angry, but instead motivated me. You must look ahead. We don’t care what happened last year. I feel better this year. It is apparent. Much praise to the fitness coach pushing me.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

After saying earlier this week that he’s hoping to have Sixers center Joel Embiid for the 2024 Olympics, Team USA managing director Grant Hill expanded on those comments Saturday on Marc Stein’s podcast (hat tip to HoopsHype). Hill expressed guarded optimism about landing Embiid, who also has citizenship with France and Cameroon, stating that talks will continue as he puts the team together. “Joel Embiid is an incredible talent and he has options,” Hill said. “And I guess that’s a good thing. I’ll just say this: I’ve had some discussions with him, and he knows our desire to have him a part of our program. So we’ll see sort of where that goes. But we’ll certainly, as we get through this World Cup and start to sort of plan for next summer, we’ll continue with those conversations, and hopefully by then, I’ll have some numbers and percentages to give you in terms of where the possibility stands.”
Rudy Gobert had doubts about participating in the World Cup after the season ended, but now he believes France has a good shot at a gold medal, according to Eurohoops. Gobert said he continued to work hard after the Timberwolves were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. “The break after the end of the season wasn’t one,” Gobert said. “I trained a lot in June and July, I feel good and that’s also why I’m here.”
France may be without draft-and-stash player Mathias Lessort, whose NBA rights are owned by the Knicks, Eurohoops reports. Lessort has an ankle issue that will force him to miss an exhibition game with Tunisia next week.

Texas Notes: Irving, Cuban, Gueye, Spurs

July 23rd, 2023 at 3:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban is confident that newly re-signed point guard Kyrie Irving understands his hierarchical relationship with regard to All-NBA teammate Luka Doncic.

Irving inked a three-year, $120MM+ deal to remain with Dallas this summer. Though he played well on offense, the Mavericks’ defense collapsed after trading for his services, and they finished outside of the play-in picture in the West.

Cuban spoke with NBASiriusXM Radio (YouTube video link) about the dynamics of his two All-Star backcourt.

“I think Kyrie is mature to the point now where he knows it’s Luka’s team,” Cuban said. “Luka knows this [too]. He knows, and that’s what’s important, and he’s willing to play more of a shooting guard role. When Luka is out, we have a point guard who can score and create for other guys, they’re both players who make their teammates better, and we didn’t have that before.”

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

The Mavericks‘ G League team, the Texas Legends, sent the returning player rights to combo forward Mouhamadou Gueye to the Raptors‘ NBAGL club, the Raptors 905, in exchange for a first-round selection in the 2024 G League draft, the team has announced in a press release. After going undrafted out of Pittsburgh, the 6’9″ forward averaged 8.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.9 BPG, and 1.5 APG across 29 contests with the Legends.
The doors are about to open on a spiffy new $500MM Spurs practice facility, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Team president RC Buford spoke about San Antonio’s fresh digs, dubbed The Rock at La Cantera. “We’re not trying to build this to be the best in the NBA,” Buford said. “We’re going to build this for our needs and to have the best environment we can to help develop the Spurs’ culture. It’s not about being better or worse than anybody.”
In case you missed it, 2021 No. 2 Rockets lottery pick Jalen Green was one of the intriguing young names added to the USA Select Team in the lead-up to this summer’s FIBA World Cup. Green is essentially an alternate for Team USA’s 12-man roster. The shooting guard could be pressed into service as an injury replacement when the action gets underway next month.

Southwest Notes: G. Williams, Pelicans, Green, Morant

July 22nd, 2023 at 6:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

In an appearance on J.J. Redick’s “The Old Man and the Three” podcast, Grant Williams talked about the thrill of teaming up with Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (hat tip to Eurohoops). Williams, who was acquired from the Celtics in a sign-and-trade, is looking forward to the easy scoring opportunities that Doncic can create for him.

“Whenever you are open, he is going to find you,” Williams said. “I am excited just because he brings so much pressure and attention to himself. He does a good job of getting others involved. His growth and his next step is understanding that as much as that happens he also has to power others to play their games as well.”

Williams is part of a revamped roster in Dallas, which is hoping to bounce back after missing the playoffs last season. He will restore a defensive presence that the Mavs lacked after trading for Kyrie Irving in February, while Doncic and Irving will be counted on to power the offense.

“Kyrie has been in this league long enough that he knows how to make a tough shot and also get off the ball,” Williams told Redick. “And Luka does a good job of seeing the full court from the beginning.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The upcoming season will provide a good test of whether the Pelicans are willing to pay the luxury tax, writes Christian Clark of NOLA. New Orleans is currently about $3MM over the tax line after moving E.J. Liddell from a two-way contract to a standard roster spot. If the Pelicans remain at that figure when the tax is calculated after the end of the regular season, they will pay a $4.4MM penalty and won’t be able to share in the leaguewide distribution for non-taxpaying teams. New Orleans and 20 other clubs each received $17.3MM this summer. Sources told Clark that they believe owner Gayle Benson will eventually be willing to pay the tax, but they’re skeptical that she’ll do it this season with the Pelicans coming off a non-playoff year.
New Rockets head coach Ime Udoka wants to see Jalen Green start to build “winning habits,” per Michael Shapiro of The Houston Chronicle. Green has put up impressive scoring numbers in his first two seasons, but Udoka has instructed him to improve other aspects of his game. “The one thing we have stressed to him is being an all-around player,” Udoka said. “He is a natural scorer. But he has to do it on each side of the ball. He is a guy who can get anywhere on the court.”
Davonte Pack, a close friend of Grizzlies star Ja Morant, was arrested this week for misdemeanor assault stemming from a pick-up basketball game at Morant’s house last summer, according to Baxter Holmes of ESPN. Morant and others are involved in a civil lawsuit for allegedly striking a teenager during the game.

And-Ones: Terry, Doncic, Tatum, Wembanyama, Selden

June 18th, 2023 at 3:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Former Mavericks point guard Tyrell Terry, who retired from basketball after just two seasons due to mental health reasons, explained his decision more thoroughly during an interview with Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune.

The 22-year-old, selected with the No. 31 pick out of Stanford, is back in school following his brief pro stint, now majoring in Science, Technology and Society. Terry’s issues trying to gain weight at the next level prevented him from having the kind of on-court success he had enjoyed at the NCAA level.

“On a daily basis I was trying to convince myself that I loved basketball,” Terry said. “Trying to convince myself that people’s opinions didn’t matter. It became a game of trying to convince myself of something that I didn’t believe in. I realized that’s not how I want to live my life. It was like I was damaging myself.”

Terry took a two-month personal leave from the team during his rookie season in an effort to deal with persistent anxiety attacks. He also consulted with Dallas’ team therapist. The following year, he and his team eventually coordinated his release from the roster in training camp.

There’s more from around the basketball universe:

Young All-NBA stars Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum have both experienced significant team success during their early years in the league, but have yet to win the ultimate prize. Jared Weiss and Tim Cato of The Athletic examine the very divergent approaches their respective clubs, the Mavericks and Celtics, have taken to their offseasons in years past, and project what it could mean for the two players’ present and future.
Expected No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama has officially concluded his run with Metropolitans 92, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN details. Wembanyama and his French team fell 92-85 in the third game of their league’s title series to Monaco, a club loaded with ex-NBA players like Mike James, Elie Okobo, Jordan Loyd and Donatas Motiejunas. Wembanyama, the French League MVP, recorded 22 points, seven boards and four blocks in the loss.
Former NBA shooting guard Wayne Selden is joining Puerto Rican club Gigantes de Carolina, reports Dario Skerletic of Sportando. After going undrafted out of Kansas in 2016, the 6’4″ swingman enjoyed stints with the Pelicans, Grizzlies, Bulls, and Knicks, as well as several NBAGL clubs. After first dipping a toe into the international game with Israeli club Ironi Ness Ziona in 2020, Selden ditched the league for good in 2022. He has since played in Turkey, Italy, and Philippines.

“Unrealistic” For LeBron James To Get Traded To Mavs

June 5th, 2023 at 7:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It’s “unrealistic” that the Lakers would consider trading LeBron James to the Mavericks so that he could join forces with Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, a source told Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Irving, who is headed to free agency, reached out to his former Cavaliers teammate about the possibility of playing in Dallas. James has previously expressed his desire to play with Irving in Los Angeles and was believed to be disappointed when the Lakers didn’t acquire him at February’s trade deadline.

However, as Buha details, the Lakers aren’t interested in what the Mavericks might offer from their roster for their aging superstar, who hinted at retirement after the team was eliminated by Denver in the Western Conference Finals. Dallas doesn’t have the young talent outside of Doncic to entice the Lakers if James were to ask for a trade. Even multiple draft picks to sweeten the pot (Dallas owns the No. 10 pick) probably wouldn’t get the job done.

James isn’t using Irving’s interest in playing with him as leverage to try to force the Lakers front office to pursue a sign-and-trade for the free agent guard, according to Buha.

Irving’s recruitment of James suggests that he prefers to sign the Mavericks’ max offer (or something close to it) rather than taking less money from the Lakers, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News notes.

The Lakers could open up as much as $30-35MM in cap space to sign Irving but he apparently doesn’t want to take a discount. A sign-and-trade scenario would be much more appealing to Irving because he could get a higher salary.

Los Angeles, from all indications, is more focused on retaining some of its top free agents (Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves). Lakers sources reiterated to Buha on Monday they’re not looking to add Irving.

Outside of a trade, the only way James could join the Mavs would be via a buyout of his contract and that seems like an extreme long shot. James has one year remaining on his contract at $46.9MM and then a player option for the 2024/25 season worth $50.65MM.

Kyrie Irving Wants Mavericks To Pursue Trade For LeBron James

June 5th, 2023 at 11:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers may not have interest in a sign-and-trade deal for Kyrie Irving, but sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic that Irving has reached out to LeBron James to see if they can reunite in Dallas (Twitter link).

That report meshes with a story by Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, who hears from league sources that Irving wants the Mavericks to pursue an offseason trade for James to form a new Big Three alongside Luka Doncic.

Sources tell Haynes that Dallas was preparing to make an offer for James before this year’s trade deadline. However, that would not have been possible, as James was ineligible to be traded after signing an extension last summer.

James has dropped hints about wanting to play alongside Irving again, and the Lakers were reportedly strong candidates to acquire him when he considered opting out of his contract last summer and again when he asked the Nets for a trade in February.

L.A.’s asking price for James would surely be exorbitant if the team would consider a trade at all. He has one year remaining on his contract at $46.9MM and then a player option for the 2024/25 season worth $50.65MM.

Haynes points out that penalties imposed by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will make it extremely difficult for any team to carry three max-salary players. He states that Irving and James would both have to take significant pay cuts to make the arrangement work and suggests that the most viable path for James to get to Dallas would be to demand a buyout with the Lakers, which Haynes admits is extremely unlikely.

James has a good relationship with Doncic, so that wouldn’t be an impediment to a potential deal, Haynes adds. He’s also close with head coach Jason Kidd, who formerly served as a Lakers assistant, as well as assistant coach Jared Dudley, an ex-teammate.

Re-signing Irving remains Dallas’ top priority for the offseason, sources tell Haynes. Even though they missed the playoffs, the Mavs see a bright future for their All-Star backcourt and are determined to keep Irving after giving up two rotation players and three future draft picks to acquire the 31-year-old guard from Brooklyn.

“Handshake Deal” For Kyrie Irving In Dallas?

May 22nd, 2023 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Representatives of rival teams at last week’s NBA Draft Combine expect Kyrie Irving to re-sign with the Mavericks this summer, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Dallas missed the playoffs after acquiring Irving from Brooklyn in a February trade and he often appeared to be an awkward fit alongside Luka Doncic, but sources tell Pincus that the Mavs didn’t trade for Irving as a short-term experiment.

“I hear they had a handshake deal before the trade,” one of Pincus’ sources said. “And Kyrie wouldn’t have said yes to anything less than the max.”

Irving will be eligible for a new five-year contract in Dallas that could be worth $272MM, Pincus adds. Although he was an All-Star this season for the 10th time in his career, off-court incidents in Brooklyn — and Boston and Cleveland before that — may limit the number of teams interested in signing him.

“I’m not sure what the market is for Kyrie, but no one with cap room is giving it to Kyrie,” another source told Pincus. “He comes with too much drama.”

Pincus talked to an agent who expects Irving to receive a four-year deal with a player option on the final season. It would be worth about $201MM in guaranteed money and would line up with Doncic, who can opt out of his current contract in 2026.

In an appearance Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up,” Brian Windhorst suggested that the Lakers shouldn’t be dismissed as a possible Irving suitor (video link). L.A. was reportedly interested in Irving when he considered opting out of his contract last summer and again when he submitted a trade request to the Nets in February.

Windhorst admits the Lakers would have to give up most of the assets they just acquired in order to sign Irving outright, but he says the landscape could be more favorable if Dallas would agree to a sign-and-trade. Regardless, Windhorst added that it helps Irving’s negotiating position if he can convince the Mavericks that L.A. is interested.

Pincus also talked with several sources who expect Dallas to be a potential landing spot for Suns center Deandre Ayton, who shares an agent with Doncic.

“The Suns need depth,” a source told Pincus. “I can see them getting Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale (McGee) back, Josh Green and No. 10 (draft pick). Phoenix would probably flip the pick to another team for depth, or maybe it’d be a big multi-team deal.”

Pincus lists Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, Reggie Bullock and Jaden Hardy as other players who might be moved in a hypothetical Ayton trade, but he notes that Kleber is among Doncic’s best friends on the team, which gives Dallas incentive to keep him.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Doncic, Markkanen, Murray, Roy

May 15th, 2023 at 10:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Is it within the realm of possibility that the Jazz could trade for Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic? Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune ponders that topic. Larsen confirms an earlier report the Jazz are keenly interested in Doncic. The Jazz would either have to deal All-Star Lauri Markkanen and a smaller assortment of picks and players, or give up a boatload of picks for Doncic, in Larsen’s estimation.

However, as Larsen acknowledges, Doncic would first have to request a trade and the Jazz’s draft assets from Cleveland and Minnesota aren’t all that attractive since both are playoff teams, though the Timberwolves could fall back to the lottery pack in the near future.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Speaking of Markkanen, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News notes that he displayed star power in his first year with the Jazz. After his breakthrough campaign, Markkanen can still build on his game by improving his ball-handling, defense, footwork and aggressiveness, Todd writes.
Jamal Murray is officially listed as questionable to play in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday due to a non-COVID illness. However, the Nuggets’ point guard intends to play, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets.
Former Trail Blazers star Brandon Roy will represent the team at the draft lottery on Tuesday. The Athletic’s Jason Quick writes that Roy, who retired at 28 due to knee issues, would like to return to the organization in an official capacity. “I do have confidence in myself in coaching, and I feel there is a lot I can offer,” Roy said. “But sometimes, I think about personnel, and what first, what works … and I think I’m good with chemistry and fit and understanding guys, so front office, scouting … or do something like Hersey Hawkins did when he was with the Blazers, mentoring and talking to guys. I’ve lived and experienced a lot of things, and I think I can help and give back to the younger players.’’