Rick Carlisle Rumors | Hoops Rumors

DeMarcus Cousins Speaks Highly Of Mavs’ Organization

December 7th, 2016 at 7:56pm CST by ChrisCrouse

DeMarcus Cousins believes his brother, Jaleel, who plays for the Mavericks‘ D-League affiliate, is in a great situation, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes.

“It’s the Mavericks. It’s one of the best franchises in the league,” Cousins said. “[Mark] Cuban’s a great guy. [Rick Carlisle‘s] a great guy. [Jaleel is] under some good people. I’m confident in the franchise and I’m confident in his abilities, as well. I think it’s a good situation for him.”

The Mavs have inquired about the availability of Cousins in the past and they are expected to be among the teams expressing interest in the big man at the trade deadline should the Kings fall out of the playoff race, Townsend notes. It remains unlikely that the Mavs can acquire Cousins in a trade since they don’t have a ton of attractive assets.

Dallas could always attempt to sign Cousins during the summer of 2018 when the center will be an unrestricted free agent. Townsend notes that Cousins’ agent, Dan Fegan, has a strong working relationship with the franchise.

Cousins told Townsend that he has respect for the Mavs and added that it was “flattering” to hear that the they were interested in him. Townsend was dubious of his response, questioning the big man since he had apparently said in the past that he “liked” Sacramento as well. Cousins then corrected the reporter and exclaimed, “I love Sacramento.”

Mavericks Notes: Nowitzki, Bogut, Rondo, Barnes

December 4th, 2016 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Shortly after being ruled out indefinitely with a lingering Achilles problem, Dirk Nowitzki told reporters he is “all in” for the rest of the Mavericks’ season, relays Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Soreness in his right Achilles tendon has limited Nowitzki to five games this season. The problem began after he played 38 minutes on opening night. The veteran forward, who re-signed this summer for $50MM over two years, said he remains committed to this season despite the pain and Dallas’ 4-15 start. “This is obviously not a career-ending injury that I’ve got,” he said. “It’s something that just keeps lingering unfortunately. I can hopefully get over it. There’s still a lot of season left. December just started. We know that there’s a lot of games coming, so hopefully sometime soon I’ll be out there and then stay out there. I don’t want to jump in and out of the lineup with soreness or fight this whole year. I’d love to be healthy and stay out there once I go.”

There’s more from Dallas:

Center Andrew Bogut says the Mavericks have to turn things around quickly to have any hope for the playoffs, tweets Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star Telegram. “We probably honestly genuinely got about a month left to try and salvage this season,” Bogut said before Saturday’s win over the Bulls. The Mavericks’ performance over the next few weeks may determine if Bogut remains with the team all season. He will be a free agent next summer and could be traded before the February 23rd deadline if Dallas isn’t in contention.
Coach Rick Carlisle remains a supporter of Rajon Rondo even though they had a rocky relationship during the point guard’s time in Dallas, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Carlisle gave a glowing report about Rondo to the Bulls’ coaching staff when the team was considering making an offer to him in free agency. “I’ve recommended Rondo to a couple teams who have called me about him the last couple years,” Carlisle said. “As a competitor, you’re not going to find a guy better or more resourceful. It didn’t work out here for various reasons. It just was not a good fit. We did everything we could to make it work.”
Harrison Barnes is still adjusting to being a primary scorer after starting his career as a complementary piece in Golden State, writes Pat James of The Charlotte Observer. The Mavericks gave Barnes a four-year, $94MM contract this summer and promised him a larger role in the offense. “You just have to go and be aggressive,” he said. “That’s just the mentality coach has been trying to get me to be in this entire season. When he [Carlisle] draws up that play, it can’t be that I’m indecisive or thinking, ‘What play should I do?’ It’s just got be, ‘Make a read, and make or miss you live with the result.’ ”

Dirk Nowitzki Out Indefinitely

December 3rd, 2016 at 3:11pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Dirk Nowitzki has missed 11 of the last 13 games, including three straight, with a right Achilles strain and the Mavericks want to give him the best chance at returning to the floor and playing as much as possible without any lingering problems, Eddie Sefko The Dallas Morning News reports. When asked how long the big man will be out, coach Rick Carlisle said “indefinitely.”

“I talked to Casey [Smith, athletic trainer] about it [on Friday] and I think he’s going to be out for a while,” Carlisle said. “I think indefinitely is an accurate word until we tell you something. We’re not trying to hide anything here. But taking daily questions about it gets exhausting for him. If it’s not going to happen real soon, then what’s the point. Progress has been made, it’s just not there yet.”

Nowitzki, who re-signed with the team on a two-year, $25MM deal, has only played in five games this season. In those contests, he averaged 12.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting only 35.8% from the field.

Mavericks Notes: Felton, Nowitzki, Matthews, Harris

November 23rd, 2016 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers point guard Raymond Felton returned to Dallas tonight, and the shorthanded Mavericks may be wishing they had kept him, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The team is playing without Deron Williams, J.J. Barea and Devin Harris, who have all been sidelined by injuries. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle called it a “franchise decision” to let Felton go, but he clearly misses having the veteran guard. “Felton played great for us, and I wish we would have brought him back,” Carlisle said. “He was a big difference-maker for us last year and probably one of the big reasons we got to the playoffs. You look at the whole year and everything that happened start to finish, Ray was filling in and starting. And we were winning a lot of those games because of what he was giving us. He’s a winner and was an ultimate pro here for two years. And the Clippers are very lucky to have him.” Felton, who got a one-year, minimum-salary deal from L.A., said the Mavericks were always his first choice. “I made it clear where I wanted to be,” he said. “Sometimes, things just don’t work out.”

The Mavericks welcomed Dirk Nowitzki back tonight in a move that should take the burden off some of the other starters, Sefko writes in a separate story. Harrison Barnes is second in the NBA in minutes played at 38.1 per game, and teammate Wesley Matthews is fourth at 36.9. The Mavs are always concerned about Matthews after the torn Achilles he suffered in 2015. “It’s not the injury history, it’s the length of the season,” Carlisle said. “There’s a cumulative effect of guys being out there too much. But there’s no substitute for a warrior like him who is the best perimeter defender we’ve got and hits big shots. His value to our team is unmistakable. I just got to find a little more rest for him, that’s all.”
Sefko suggested the Bucks’ Khris Middleton as a potential trade target if the Mavericks are able to make a playoff push. In a question-and-answer session, the writer said Middleton would be the kind of building block Dallas needs, but added that he had no inside information to suggest that such a deal had been discussed.
The team is hoping Harris will be back in a week to 10 days, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Harris hasn’t played yet this season because of a sprained right big toe and he will wear a carbon plate in his shoe for protection.

Bogut Explains Decision To Join Mavs Over Rockets

October 28th, 2016 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Andrew Bogut wasn’t a free agent this summer, but he did have some agency when it came to deciding his new team. Multiple reports throughout the offseason indicated that the Warriors could have sent Bogut to a number of different teams in a salary-shedding trade to clear cap room for Kevin Durant. Golden State reportedly allowed the former first overall pick to pick his destination from a list of clubs that included the Mavericks, Rockets, and the Sixers, and Bogut chose Dallas.

According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, Bogut viewed the Mavericks as the best fit for him, and wanted to land with a team he could potentially re-sign with in 2017. The veteran center cited culture, coaching, and his agent’s familiarity with the Mavs as reasons why Dallas made more sense than Houston, per MacMahon.

“I’m not saying Houston has a bad culture by any means, but my agent (David Bauman) has a familiarity here,” Bogut said. “I’ve known a lot of players that have been pretty happy here when they were here. Richard Jefferson was one of them. And then the city — I like the city, so it all made sense.

“Rick Carlisle is also one of the best coaches in the league,” Bogut continued. “He knows how to get the best out of his players. He’s very, very smart and makes great adjustments. He’s a guy you want to play for. Obviously, [Mike] D’Antoni is a pretty good coach, too, but probably not suited for my style of play. I would have probably had to drop about 20 pounds to play in his system. They play a tough system, get up and down the court.”

Bogut, who is in a contract year, said back in September that he would have asked for a buyout if he ended up with a team besides the Mavs. However, he clarified those comments today, walking them back slightly by saying a buyout would have been “an option” and not necessarily something he would have forced. As MacMahon details, Bogut also said he was referring to “a different team, not Houston,” when he talked about that option. The Sixers were likely the club in question.

Southwest Notes: Curry, Carlisle, Asik, Anderson

September 28th, 2016 at 6:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

With a famous father and an even more famous brother, Seth Curry is working to build his own reputation in his first season with the Mavericks, writes Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. After limited opportunities with three teams, Curry began to show what he can do in 44 games with the Kings last season, averaging 6.8 points per night and shooting 45% from 3-point range. That potential turned into a two-year, $6MM offer from Dallas and the chance for an expanded role with a veteran team. The son of 16-year veteran Dell Curry and brother of two-time MVP Stephen Curry, Seth has the family pedigree to be a great NBA shooter. “He could legitimately play both guard positions, and he’s going to be a factor for us,” said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. “He’s better than I thought he was, and he’s at an age where he’s still getting better really at both positions, so I’m excited about him.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Carlisle says seven players are competing for two open roster spots, Sneed relays (Twitter link). Dallas has 14 players in camp with fully guaranteed contracts, but it sounds like at least one – likely Jonathan Gibson – has yet to lock up a regular-season job.
Pelicans center Omer Asik started 64 of the 68 games he appeared in last season, but that number will drop this year, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune. Coach Alvin Gentry said today that he plans to use Anthony Davis in the post more often and not worry about having a traditional center. Alexis Ajinca and Terrence Jones may also be used in the starting lineup, depending on the opponent. That means fewer minutes for Asik, who is still guaranteed more than $32MM over the next three seasons on the contract he signed last summer. ”Last season really left a bad taste, so we are really working hard to change that,” Asik said. ”My whole focus this summer was to get better physically and get stronger.”
New Rockets power forward Ryan Anderson is happy to leave behind the Pelicans‘ offense, writes Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports. Anderson, one of the league’s best shooting stretch fours, saw his average of 3-point shots dip to 5.6 per game over the last two years after being close to 7.0 the three previous seasons. That number should rise dramatically now that he is playing for coach Mike D’Antoni in Houston. “I’ve had more wide-open looks in our pickup games here than I’ve had in the past four years, probably,” Anderson said.

Western Rumors: Thunder, McCollum, Suns, Barnes

July 30th, 2016 at 9:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Thunder still need to address their perimeter shooting, according to Eric Horne of The Oklahoman. Free agent Dorell Wright could be an option at small forward, Horne speculates, but the club is taking a cautious approach with its payroll. Not only are the Thunder hoping that Russell Westbrook signs an extension but they also have to plan on commitments to Steven Adams, Andre Roberson and Victor Oladipo, who are also eligible for extensions and can become restricted free agents next summer, Horne adds.

In other doings concerning the Western Conference:

C.J. McCollum‘s contract extension with the Blazers falls shy of the maximum, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. McCollum agreed to an extension that kicks in for the 2017/18 season and is worth $106MM over those four years.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle helped convince the Suns to claim John Jenkins off waivers in February, Jenkins told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. When Dallas needed to create roster space after the trade deadline, Jenkins became the odd man out. He wound up appearing in 22 games with the Suns, averaging 5.0 points in 13.0 minutes, and remains on their roster for next season. “I was waiting for the waiver period to pass to see if my contract would be cleared and if I’d become a free agent,” Jenkins told Kennedy of his time on waivers. “Then, I was told by my agent that Coach Carlisle called the Phoenix Suns on my behalf and spoke highly of me. He looked out for me big time and I really appreciate that.”
Harrison Barnes finds himself in an awkward spot with Team USA, playing alongside ex-Warriors teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and his replacement Kevin Durant, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com reports. Barnes signed a four-year, $95MM offer sheet to join the Mavericks after Durant committed to Golden State. “It’s weird. It’s like the last chapter we’ll play together in our basketball careers. But we’re embracing it,” Thompson told Aschburner. “HB’s a great guy. … He’s only scratched the surface of what he can do. I’m happy for him, and me and Draymond are happy for one more go-round because he really is a great teammate.”

And-Ones: Pachulia, Powell, Bogut

July 16th, 2016 at 10:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wizards were close to an agreement with Zaza Pachulia on a two-year deal worth $20MM, sources tell J. Michael of Comcast Sportsnet. According to Michael, Washington became noncommittal, which caused the big man to look elsewhere. Pachulia ended up signing a one-year, $2.9MM contract with the Warriors and the Wizards signed Ian Mahinmi.

Here’s more from around the league:

Despite doling out a four-year, $64MM deal to Mahinmi, the Wizards don’t have any plans to trade starting center Marcin Gortat, Michael reports in the same piece.
The Nets considered making a four-year, $48MM offer to Dwight Powell, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports. Powell ended up re-signing with the Mavericks on a four-year, $37MM deal and the team has high hopes for the big man. “The last two years we’ve been working toward this period where we could get him signed to a longer-term deal and integrate him to our everyday rotation,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
The Rockets were willing to make the same deal that Dallas made for Andrew Bogut and the Warriors allowed Bogut to choose which team he wanted to go to, sources tell MacMahon. MacMahon adds that although the Sixers were very interested in acquiring Bogut, Golden State never seriously considered sending the Australian to Philadelphia.
Executives around the league are giving mixed reviews on the Mavericks‘ plan to heavily utilize Harrison Barnes on the offensive end with one anonymous Western Conference executive saying Barnes is “at best a third option,” MacMahon adds in the same piece.
Shabazz Napier, who was recently traded to the Blazers, is hoping to find a long-term home in Portland, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. Napier also acknowledged that he got off to a rough start to his career because of the circumstances in which the Heat drafted him. “We all understood why I got drafted to the Miami Heat. It was to keep one of the best players on the team,” Napier said. “I think that’s what kind of started off this rough patch, but with every closed door another one opens.”

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Anderson, Terry

May 18th, 2016 at 4:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies spoke with at least two candidates today as their search for a new coach heats up. Heat assistant David Fizdale came to Memphis for an interview, tweets Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com., as did Portland assistant Nate Tibbetts, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Both had been previously named as candidates for the job.

Spurs assistant James Borrego impressed Grizzlies officials during his interview earlier this week, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Memphis has also held interviews with Spurs assistant Ettore Messina, Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing and recently fired Pacers coach Frank Vogel (Twitter link). The Grizzlies have significant interest in Vogel, according to ESPN, but so does Orlando (Twitter link).

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

Pelicans free agent Ryan Anderson says he was nearly traded to Cleveland at the deadline, relays Brett Dawson of The Advocate. Appearing on “The Vertical Podcast,” Anderson contends the Cavaliers were trying to work out a deal for him before they picked up Channing Frye from Orlando. “There was a very last-minute phone call that I could have gone to Cleveland,” Anderson said. “I would be playing for the Cavs right now.” Anderson said he didn’t ask the Pelicans to trade him because he wants to have the option in free agency of staying in New Orleans. Anderson’s last experience as a free agent came in 2012 when he was restricted and Orlando swung a deal to send him to the Pelicans. This time, he likes the feeling of being in complete control. “I want to enjoy this process and see where New Orleans is at this summer,” Anderson said. “I want to see where, I don’t know, Houston is at or Sacramento or Washington.”
The Spurs could be interested in power forward Thomas Robinson if he opts out of his deal with the Nets, according to Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Robinson would give up a little more than $980K by opting out, but he stands to make much more on the open market with the expected jump in the salary cap. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has talked about the need to rebuild the bench with younger players, and the 25-year-old Robinson, a former teammate of LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland, could be a possibility.
Rockets point guard Jason Terry thinks Dwight Howard would be a “great fit” with the Mavericks, but only if he adapts to coach Rick Carlisle, according to The Dallas Morning News. “Whatever [Howard’s] role is, he would have to be the one to buy in first, and then you go from there,” Terry said on ESPN Radio’s Cowlishaw and Mosley show. “But he and Dirk [Nowitzki] together? That’s a powerful combination.” The 38-year-old Terry adds that he hopes to play one more season before retiring.

Western Notes: Bickerstaff, Prince, Carlisle

April 13th, 2016 at 7:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If the Rockets are able to clinch a playoff berth this evening, it would greatly enhance the chances of interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff earning the post on a full-time basis, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays in a series of tweets. Houston does have interest in Scott Brooks and Tom Thibodeau, who are likely to be two of the more sought-after coaches this offseason, Stein adds. The Rockets are intrigued by the discipline and structure that Thibodeau could bring, but Brooks, who played for the Rockets, has an excellent familiarity with James Harden from their time spent together with the Thunder, Stein notes.

Here’s more from out West:

Wolves small forward Tayshaun Prince intends to play next season, telling reporters, “I’m not going to retire,” Kyle Ratke of NBA.com tweets. The 36-year-old, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent, appeared in 77 games and averaged 2.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per outing for Minnesota on the season.
Rick Carlisle, who is in his eighth season as Mavericks coach, has given the organization an uncommon stability during his tenure, Colin McGowan of RealGM writes. Carlisle deserves credit for making the most out of the talent he has been afforded, and the organization also deserves praise for sticking with the coach despite a few rocky seasons, McGowan adds.
Brandan Wright was limited to just 12 games for the Grizzlies this season, which likely diminishes his value as a potential trade chip and increases the likelihood Wright will be on Memphis’ roster next season, opines Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal. The big man inked a three-year, $18MM with the Grizzlies last summer.
The Pelicans will finish the 2015/16 campaign with 351 games missed due to injury and illness, the most in the NBA in the past six years, Justin Verrier of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link).