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World Cup Notes: Towns, Team USA, Barrett, Doncic

August 14th, 2023 at 10:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Karl-Anthony Towns‘ decision to represent the Dominican Republic in the FIBA World Cup is a way to honor his late mother, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, a Dominican native, died from COVID during the early stages of the pandemic. She helped to inspire the commitment from Towns, who hasn’t played in an international tournament for more than a decade.

“There was a lot that went into the decision,” the Timberwolves‘ forward/center said. “The timing is right. I didn’t put as much stress on my body this last season because of the (calf) injury. I’m feeling great now, I’m 100% and feeling like myself again. It’s a perfect time to work on some things in my game. And with my mom’s passing, I felt an urgency to do it.”

The Dominican team won’t have Al Horford or Chris Duarte, but Towns’ presence will give them a chance of advancing. They’ll start out in pool play with Italy, Angola and the Philippines, which will host the Americas region when the tournament begins August 26.

Towns is also hoping to use the World Cup as a springboard to a better season with Minnesota. He missed 51 straight games with the calf issue, and his late-season return wasn’t enough to help the team get past the first round of the playoffs.

“The (Wolves were) very supportive when I came to them to talk about playing,” Towns said. “There’s a lot of commitment to get better this season, and for all of us this will be a head start.”

There’s more on the World Cup:

Team USA got its first taste of adversity in Sunday’s game against the top-ranked Spanish team in Malaga, notes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The Americans faced a rabid crowd as Spain erased a 10-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the third quarter. “Atmosphere is contagious,” Mikal Bridges said. “And that’s funny. I was talking to my teammates about playing in the national championship, playing in the finals is just a different type of atmosphere. And this is like one thing that you dream of, and we aren’t even in the stadium in the Philippines (for the World Cup). But even coming here and being in Spain, this is ridiculous, man. I’m happy I’m a part of this, happy I’m going through this.”
While Jalen Brunson made all nine of his shots from the field as the U.S. pulled out a victory, Knicks teammate RJ Barrett scored 31 points in Canada’s overtime win over Germany in the finals of the DBB SuperCup tournament, per Christian Arnold of The New York Post. “(Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), (Kelly Olynyk) and the guys are out there making it easy for me to do my thing, but it’s been a lot of fun,” Barrett said.
Luka Doncic told reporters, including Cesare Milanti of Eurohoops, that he feels he has something to prove after Slovenia’s early exit in last year’s EuroBasket. “I disappointed my team. I let my whole country down. It was my fault,” Doncic said. “I’ll be back. I will always play for Slovenia if I am not injured.”

World Cup Notes: Doncic, Brunson, Ntilikina, Kerr

August 12th, 2023 at 11:37am CST by Tristan Tucker

Luka Doncic isn’t playing for the Slovenian national team when they take on the United States in tonight’s showcase game, the club announced (Twitter link). Doncic isn’t playing for precautionary reasons after suffering a blow to his left knee in the second quarter of a game against Spain on Friday.

Doncic’s injury likely isn’t serious, given that he completed the second half of the game in which he suffered the injury, finishing with 17 points in about 25 minutes. Still, it’s a disappointing result for Doncic, his team and even USA Basketball. Jalen Brunson, who is on the USA’s World Cup roster and played with Doncic from 2018 to 2022 on the Mavericks, was looking forward to squaring off against his former teammate.

“That’s my brother,” Brunson said of Doncic, per The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “We got drafted together. I’ve been watching him grow since meeting him for the first time, seeing the player he is now. He’s gotten better and better each year to the point where he’s a top-five player, an MVP candidate, year in and year out, so whenever I get a chance to share the court with him, either with him or against him, it’s always been special. I’ve got nothing but love for him.”

The exhibition game between Slovenia and the United States tips off today at 3:30 p.m. EST. Former NBA players Zoran Dragic and Mike Tobey are among the Slovenian players who will take the floor against the United States.

There are other notes from the World Cup:

New Hornets guard Frank Ntilikina will miss the 2023 FIBA World Cup after suffering an injury in a friendly between France and Lithuania, Eurohoops reports. Ntilikina injured his hamstring and no timetable was given for his return to play. Ntilikina signed a one-year contract with the Hornets earlier this month.
Thirty-seven years ago, Steve Kerr was a player for the 1986 USA Basketball World Championship Team, the precursor to the modern World Cup. Kerr’s team played in Malaga, Spain, where the USA is scheduled to play over the coming days. In another piece from Vardon, Kerr reminisces over the time he spent as a player in Malaga and said he wants the Team USA players he’s now coaching to take this experience all in. “Part of this experience has to be the cultural part of it,” Kerr said. “We’re getting to travel the world and see places we may never see again. So, you know, we are going to encourage our guys to get out. A lot of them have family in. Most of them went out to dinner with their families and friends last night. Yeah. We encourage that. It’s a great time to see the city of Malaga, but also prepare for a couple of important games.”
In case you missed it, Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t be playing in this year’s World Cup because he’s still recovering from a minor knee surgery.

World Cup Notes: Murray, Brissett, Schröder, Haliburton, Luka

August 9th, 2023 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

It’s still unclear whether or not Nuggets guard Jamal Murray will play for Team Canada when the World Cup tips off later this month, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, who reports that sources in Murray’s camp say the matter remains undecided.

Due to his championship run with Denver that extended into mid-June, the expectation was that Murray would be brought along slowly after reporting to the Canadian national team. But he’ll likely have to play in at least one or two of the team’s pre-World Cup exhibition games in order for Canada to feel comfortable having him suit up in Indonesia, Grange writes.

The Canadian team is currently in Germany for a series of three tune-up contests, then will travel to Spain to play two more exhibition games before continuing on to Jakarta. Murray didn’t accompany the team to Germany.

Here are a few more World Cup notes:

Within his Sportsnet.ca story, Grange says that new Celtics forward Oshae Brissett experienced some tightness during Team Canada’s practices and was held out as a precautionary measure, but didn’t suffer a knee injury as some reports suggested. Brissett simply wants to play it safe and focus on getting ready for training camp with a new team.
Raptors guard Dennis Schröder, a member of the German national team, is still recovering from an Achilles issue that he dealt with at the end of last season and isn’t 100%, he told reporters (story via BasketNews.com). However, he believes he’ll be ready to go for the World Cup.
Joe Vardon of The Athletic takes a closer look at the role that Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is playing for Team USA and the feedback Haliburton got from Chris Paul, who visited the club’s training camp in Las Vegas. “The way he plays just empowers everybody,” Austin Reaves said of his backcourt mate, lauding Haliburton’s ability to get everyone else involved.
Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who will play for Slovenia in the World Cup, already looks to be in midseason form. He poured in 34 points to go along with 14 assists and 13 rebounds in an exhibition win over Montenegro on Tuesday, as The Dallas Morning News relays.

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.