Mark Cuban Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Parsons, Capela, Selden

November 10th, 2017 at 7:59pm CST by Austin Kent

The Grizzlies have a welcomed dilemma on their hands with Chandler Parsons. The forward’s long road to recovery from knee injuries has tainted his tenure with the Memphis franchise but, as Michael Wallace of Grind City Media writes, he’s finding a niche and helping the team win.

“I’ve definitely lost some sleep at night, trying to figure out how to put it all together and get the most out of him,” head coach David Fizdale said. “That’s what it’s about – putting him in a situation to help us. So, right now, that’s where the niche has been filled, with him coming off the bench and giving that second unit a big boost.”

In nine games with the Grizzlies this season, Parsons – now suiting up at the four – has averaged 7.7 points per game. His ability to connect from beyond the arc to the tune of .484 has made the team’s second unit more dangerous.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Blame team owner Mark Cuban for the current state of the Mavs, Matt Mosley of The Dallas Morning News writes. The team’s decision to go after big fish free agents has left them lacking a core capable of carrying the team to a better record.
The Rockets appreciate the asset on their hands in Clint Capela and don’t appear to be afraid of investing in him when he hits free agency. “We’ll have him here as long as he’ll have us,” general manager Daryl Morey tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “He couldn’t price himself out.“
It won’t be long before Wayne Selden makes his season debut for the Grizzlies. As Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes, the guard who has dealt with a quad injury will suit up for the team’s G League affiliate in a rehab start tonight.

Cuban: Mavs Not Tanking, Can Turn Things Around

November 9th, 2017 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have been the NBA’s worst team so far, with their 2-10 record placing them at the top of our 2017/18 Reverse Standings. However, owner Mark Cuban believes his club is capable of bouncing back from its slow start, as Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News writes.

“I still think we can turn this around,” Cuban said. “We’ve been in 1-9 stretches during various parts of various seasons in the past, so it’s not like we haven’t been here before. It’s just that you never want to start the season like that.”

Dallas’ slow start this season is reminiscent of the first month of the team’s 2016/17 campaign. A year ago, the club opened by losing 17 of its first 21 games, and in the midst of that stretch, Cuban said publicly that the team had no interest in tanking. In May, Cuban admitted that the club did end up tanking near the end of the season, but he added an important caveat to that statement this week

“Not until we were eliminated,” Cuban said, in reference to last year’s tanking efforts. “And until we’re eliminated, we ain’t tanking [this year], either.”

While the Maveericks weren’t expecting to be a contender this season, there was some hope that they could improve upon last season’s 33-49 record. That’s still possible, but the team faces a serious uphill climb. And while president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson says it’s mostly a matter of the Mavs needing more out of their current players, he acknowledges that he’ll be keeping an eye out for potential roster changes, per Townsend.

“I think it’s too early in the game to make any broad, sweeping analyses,” Nelson said. “That being said, as you look across the board, do we have any glaring weaknesses? You can always upgrade. We’re all in the upgrade business.”

Southwest Notes: Jackson, Evans, Cuban, James

November 4th, 2017 at 9:52am CST by marksuleymanov

Unless it actually happens, rumors of Reggie Jackson joining the Pelicans may persist for years to come. A reported three-team deal that would have sent Suns’ point guard Eric Bledsoe to the Pistons and Jackson to the Pelicans fell through this week. As Bryan Kalborsky of HoopsHype writes, interest in Jackson by people within the Pelicans organization goes back to the 2014/15 season.

Pelicans’ assistant coach Darren Erman was the Celtics’ director of NBA scouting during the 2o14/15 campaign. Boston reportedly had interest in Jackson that trade deadline, according to MassLive. Fast forward two years, Jackson has been connected to New Orleans in some form since February of this year. In mid-June, the Pistons and Pelicans discussed a deal that would send Jackson to New Orleans for E’Twaun Moore and Alexis Ajinca, per Basketball Insiders.

The Pelicans have since re-signed Jrue Holliday to a long-term contract, have veteran Rajon Rondo on the shelf, and recently added Jameer Nelson. Jackson, still just 27 years old, may remain on the Pelicans’ radar until he’s actually wearing their uniform at some point in the future.

Check out other news out of the Southwest Division:

Tyreke Evans had a near-historic performance off the Grizzlies’ bench on Wednesday, scoring 32 points. As Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal writes, it may be time to accept that Evans’ shooting — once considered a weak point of his game — has improved.
Through the Mavericks‘ first nine games, the team owns an abysmal 1-8 record. However, owner Mark Cuban feels the team is a lot better than the record indicates, Eddie Sefko of Dallas Morning News writes.
Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated examines LeBron James‘ possible thinking as he faces free agency next offseason. A lot has been made of James possibly considering Los Angeles as a place of interest but Golliver looks at the Rockets and Spurs as two possibilities for King James.

Southwest Notes: Rondo, Curry, Pelicans

November 2nd, 2017 at 6:59pm CST by Austin Kent

Offseason addition Rajon Rondo has stepped as one of the vocal leaders in the Pelicans locker room despite the fact that he hasn’t suited up for a single game this season, William Guillory of The Times-Picayune writes.

The 31-year-old playmaker will slot into a frontcourt-heavy Pelicans lineup that could benefit from reinforcements on the perimeter. That doesn’t mean the veteran is going to rush back from the core muscle injury that has sidelined him since undergoing surgery in mid-October.

“I wake up and I feel pretty good everyday. We take for granted that we can get out of bed on the regular, for the couple weeks I was down, I couldn’t. I’m just happy I can get out of bed without having assistance or not having to roll over to my side and get up,” the Pelicans guard said.

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry mentioned November 17 as a possible return date but Rondo will be particularly cautious about making his debut. “I want to play the rest of the [season]. I don’t want to come back and play two games, then I’m sitting out for another two weeks,” he said.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Don’t expect the Mavs to instantly turn their season around once Seth Curry makes his 2017/18 debut but the sharp-shooting guard can help create space with his .432 career three-point shooting abilities, Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News writes in a question-and-answer feature with readers.
Shaky perimeter play has limited the Pelicans this season, William Guillory of The Times-Picayune writes, and that was on display yet again this week. The team has struggled in 2017/18 in part because they rely too heavily on their star-studded frontcourt for offense.
Count Mavs owner Mark Cuban among those excited about Dennis Smith Jr. Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes that Cuban thinks the rookie guard needs to work on his shot but has the strength and attitude to thrive in the NBA.

And-Ones: Lottery Ideas, White, BIG3

October 20th, 2017 at 10:00pm CST by Austin Kent

While the NBA recently voted to approve changes to the league’s draft lottery rules, Mavs owner Mark Cuban had a pair of other ideas to dissuade teams from tanking. Neither gained traction but the details that Cuban shared with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon are admittedly intriguing.

One of Cuban’s proposals would see the NBA draft eliminated outright with teams, instead, getting an allotted budget from the league to sign draft eligible players as free agents. The teams with the worse records would have the biggest budgets but wouldn’t necessarily be a lock to land the top talent if they don’t position themselves as an appealing destination.

“The team with the worst record gets the most money and the team with the best record gets the least money,” Cuban said. “It’s like a free agency. It makes it a lot harder to tank because you don’t know if you get the best players if you’re horrible all the time. Nobody liked that at all, not a single person.”

Cuban pitched the idea to the league’s board of governors but the concept didn’t have much of an impact.

The other idea that Cuban had was to lock the team with the worst record into a single draft position, potentially third or fourth. Doing so, Cuban argues, would give teams incentive to compete down the stretch to ensure that they didn’t finish the regular season with the worst record. By avoiding finishing 30th of all 30 teams, a team would effectively keep their chances of snagging the top pick in the draft alive.

Tuck the two Cuban ideas up on a shelf beside The Wheel for future speculation, however, considering that the league moved quickly and enthusiastically to adopts its relatively modest rejigging of the traditional draft lottery format.

There’s more news from around the league:

The NBA didn’t set a record for international players on opening day rosters but it came close. A total of 108 international players from 42 countries suited up for Game 1, Michael Yuan of ESPN writes, that’s down from 113 international players from 41 countries in 2016/17.
The G League returning rights to Heat forward Okaro White were acquired by the Long Island Nets in a trade with the Memphis Hustle, a press release on the Nets’ affiliate’s site reports.
The BIG3 will expand its rosters ahead of its second season of operation, the league announced. This year teams will have one additional slot for a co-captain… which could come in handy.

Southwest Notes: Gasol, Nowitzki, Mills, Pelicans

September 26th, 2017 at 9:00pm CST by marksuleymanov

Despite an injury to his left ankle at Eurobasket, Grizzlies center Marc Gasol says he is healthy and prepared to start the season, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes.

“My body feels really good,” Gasol said. “It was a freak accident. A guy dived for the ball and landed on my leg. It was kind of a sprain on my left ankle but it’s fine. For 15-20 minutes, I wasn’t sure if I would continue to play but it worked out great.”

In the same story, Tillery writes that Brandan Wright is in good standing with the Grizzlies after seemingly being displeased with the team following an early playoff exit last season. The team created playing time for Wright by not re-signing veteran Zach Randolph. Now, the team enters the new season with a rejuvenated confidence from two of its key assets.

Read about more happenings around the Southwest Division:

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes 2017/18 could be Dirk Nowitzki‘s final season. However, the outspoken Cuban also feels Nowitzki may want to surpass Kobe Bryant‘s record of 20 straight seasons with one franchise, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link). The coming season will be Nowitzki’s 20th in Dallas.
Pau Gasol has shed 10 pounds since last season ended and the 37-year-old is looking forward to helping the Spurs this season, Tom Orsborn of San Antonio Express-News writes. As Gasol explains, his free agency didn’t involve “a whole lot of flirting with other teams,” since potential suitors knew he wanted to return to San Antonio.
The Spurs re-signed Patty Mills quickly after the conclusion of last season. Mills believes the swift move was an indicator of his importance to the team, Melissa Rohlin of San Antonio Express-News writes.
The Pelicans have DeMarcus Cousins, a slew of veterans, and a young stalwart in Anthony Davis entering the new season. Larry Holder of NOLA.com writes that the team understands it is either now or never if the team wants to win since Cousins and the veterans may be gone next year.
Former North Carolina coach Mark Gottfried will be a scout for the Mavericks this season, per ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link).

Mavericks Notes: Powell, Curry, Noel, Cuban

September 14th, 2017 at 10:42am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks’ decision to sign Dwight Powell to a four-year, $37MM contract last summer raised eyebrows around the NBA, and while Powell had a decent season in 2016/17, he still needs to increase his production in order to make good on that deal. As Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com details, Dallas has high hopes for Powell this season, with the team hoping to see him take on a bigger role and improve his outside shooting.

“Expanding my range and continuing to develop all facets of the game offensively and defensively is a long process, and I’m just going to keep working at it,” Powell said. “Obviously, I had higher expectations for myself. I wanted to help this team more, and I wanted to win more. … Whatever it takes to help this team win and to put myself in a situation to be successful and help our team be successful, I’m willing to do whatever role [Rick Carlisle] wants me to do.”

Here’s more out of Dallas:

Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News identifies Powell and Seth Curry as a pair of Mavs who could surprise fans in 2017/18. It will be a big year for Curry, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2018.
After a disappointing free agency outcome for Nerlens Noel, the relationship between the big man and the Mavs may be a little strained, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be salvaged, Sefko writes for The Dallas Morning News.
Speaking to Dalton Trigg of Mavs Moneyball, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggests new Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta got a bargain at $2.2 billion, and reiterates that he has no plans to sell his own team for any amount of money, even if he runs for office in 2020. “I wouldn’t sell it. I would let Donnie [Nelson] run it,” Cuban said.
The Basketball Insiders staff is bearish on the Mavericks’ chances to make noise in the Western Conference in 2017/18. Of the five Basketball Insiders writers to weigh in, all five expect Dallas to finish dead last in the Southwest division.

Mark Cuban Talks Nerlens Noel, Restricted Free Agency

September 8th, 2017 at 4:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

After the Mavericks acquired Nerlens Noel at last season’s trade deadline, many assumed the team would follow up the transaction by locking up the center to a long-term deal. Noel ended up signing his qualifying offer, which will allow him to hit the market again next summer, but this time, as an unrestricted free agent. Owner Mark Cuban said he was satisfied with the result, though he would have rather inked the Kentucky product to a longer deal, as he tells Tim Cowlishaw on his local radio program (h/t Dallas Morning News).

“We made what we thought was a significant offer,” Cuban said. “Nerlens decided to bet on himself and now we’re in a position where if everybody comes out ahead this coming season, he’ll get paid, we’ll be happy and we’ll go on with life. He’s not going to be the first player to bet on himself and he won’t be the last.”

Cuban believes this year’s crop of restricted free agents were unfortunate because many teams over-spent last offseason. The salary cap was expected to go significantly this offseason, though that didn’t happen and many players saw less than desirable offers because teams didn’t plan for that scenario. Cuban added that Noel understands the market and despite being unable to land a massive deal, the big man has remained positive.

“I’ve talked to him since and he’s like, ‘I’m ready to do this. Let’s go out and have a great year.’ He’s just got that positive attitude and that’s been great. Look, the whole time–I’ve got to give Nerlens props–while all of this was going on, he was very positive. It was like look, ‘Our agents are our agents and they’re doing their thing but I’m excited.’ So I give him a ton of credit,” Cuban said.

Southwest Notes: Nowitzki, Olajuwon, Spurs

August 4th, 2017 at 4:31pm CST by Austin Kent

The give-and-take relationship that Dirk Nowitzki and Mavs owner Mark Cuban have has never been on clearer display than when the 39-year-old took a $20MM pay cut between this year and last, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes.

“Mark and I obviously have a close, close relationship,” Nowitzki said. Last year, he really, really took care of me as we all know […] and it was my time to show again that I love being [with the Mavs]. I gave him a little bit of a deal, maybe.”

The big man is optimistic about the Mavs’ young core built around Harrison Barnes, Dennis Smith Jr. and, hopefully, Nerlens Noel, suggesting that he’s hopeful to leave the franchise in as good a position as possible when he retires after this season or next.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Spurs have named Blake Ahearn the new head coach of their G League affiliate, the team announced in a press release on its website. Ahearn, who played briefly in the NBA, will be at the helm of the Austin Spurs in 2017/18.
Count Hakeem Olajuwon among those interested in buying a portion of the Rockets. The franchise Hall of Famer has been approached by several groups that want him involved in a potential purchase, Mark Woods reports for ESPN.
The Mavs have a young core in place that they’re happy with and aren’t afraid to let it develop organically. “I think that young core is what we want to continue to build on, grow with and hopefully surprise a lot of people,” owner Mark Cuban told Earl Sneed of Dallas’ official website. “I think Dennis [Smith Jr.] is going to be able to come in, play and hopefully have an impact his first year, and we don’t want to take anything away from that.“

And-Ones: Conference Disparity, Summer League

July 7th, 2017 at 10:08pm CST by Austin Kent

For nearly two decades the Western Conference has been regarded as superior to the Eastern Conference and that hasn’t changed this offseason with players like Paul George and Jimmy Butler migrating to the left side of the map.

At what point, however, should the league take action to at least restore a semblance of fairness, if not balance? An excerpt from the latest Zach Lowe feature on ESPN details a few ideas that teams have had over the course of the last few seasons to address the issue.

Suns owner Robert Sarver has suggested that the league seed playoff teams 1-16, rather than 1-8 in each conference. Mavs owner Mark Cuban even went so far as to pitch a temporary realignment plan.

While no changes appear imminent, the concerns don’t seem to be going away. A concern of Cuban’s centers around the fact that the teams in the Western Conference already occupy smaller markets and can’t afford to field anything less than competitive rosters if they want to succeed as a business.

Some Eastern Conference teams in big markets, like Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia, on the other hand, can get away with years of sub-optimal performance knowing that the end goal, a rebuild, will be ultimately worth it.

There’s more from the NBA world:

The revitilization of a beloved Lakers–Celtics rivalry has propelled summer league basketball to new heights. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes that Saturday’s session of the Las Vegas Summer League was sold out by noon on Friday. This marks the first time in 14 years that an entire day session of summer league basketball has sold out of tickets in advance.
Former Spurs guard Nicolas Laprovittola has left his EuroLeague team to sign with Zenit St. Petersburg, international basketball reporter David Pick tweets.
As the NBA offseason progresses, a succession of relevant contract deadlines will soon pass, dates that represent full or partial guarantees for players. By remaining with the Heat through today, for example, Wayne Ellington‘s 2017/18 contract will become officially guaranteed. To track all of these big days, follow along with our NBA Salary Guarantee Dates tracker.