Shawn Marion

Renounced Players: Thursday

Many of the agreements signed during the July moratorium were contingent on teams clearing cap space to accommodate them, and to do so, teams must sometimes renounce their Non-Bird, Early Bird or full Bird rights to their own free agents to erase their cap holds from the books. Teams that renounce those rights no longer have the ability to exceed the cap to re-sign those players unless they use an exception like the mid-level or the biannual. The end of the moratorium usually brings about a fair number of renouncements, so we’ll track today’s here, with the latest on top:

Mavs Rumors: Williams, Carter, Blair, Marion

There’s strong mutual interest between the Mavs and Mo Williams, with Mavs GM Donnie Nelson having called him “the perfect fit in many respects,” reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Presuming the Rockets don’t match the Mavs’ offer sheet to Chandler Parsons, Dallas would like to re-sign Vince Carter for the $2.732MM room exception, but if Carter doesn’t bite, the Mavs would strongly consider using it on Williams, MacMahon writes. There’s more on Williams amid the latest from Dallas:

  • If Carter does take that room exception, the Mavs are holding out hope that they can convince Williams to sign for the minimum salary, since he lives in the area and wants to be near his family, MacMahon tweets. Portland’s deal today with Steve Blake indeed gives the Blazers less of a shot to re-sign Williams, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, but Bartelstein cautioned that there’s still a chance the combo guard stays in Portland.
  • The Mavs are also targeting DeJuan Blair for the minimum, and that would be the only price they’d be willing to pay for him, MacMahon also tweets.
  • Teams have been checking in with Shawn Marion, but there’s been no movement of any substance toward a deal, and the Mavs will remain in play if they miss out on Parsons, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link).
  • Ivan Johnson is a part of the Mavs’ summer league team, but there’s mutual optimism that his relationship with the team will continue into the fall, MacMahon writes in a separate piece. “He’s more than just a summer league guy for us,” Mavs GM Donnie Nelson said. “We’re definitely taking a peak, and we like what we see.” 

Mavs Notes: Anthony, Hayward, Gasol

A source told Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Carmelo Anthony is going to re-sign with the Knicks and that his inclusion of the Mavericks on his recruiting trip was a “charade.” Anthony has also met with the Lakers, Bulls, and Rockets.

More from Dallas:

  • Price also tweets that between Vince Carter and Shawn Marion, the Mavs have a better chance at re-signing Carter, but they would like both players back.
  • The Mavericks still have Gordon Hayward on their free agent shopping list, reports Price  (Twitter link), but the Jazz have maintained they will match any offer sheet that Hayward signs.
  • The Mavs are also keeping a close watch on Pau Gasol, and envision him backing up both Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler, tweets Price.

And-Ones: Bogdanovic, Blatt, Anthony

Serbian shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, the 27th overall pick of the Suns,  is finalizing four-year deal with Fenerbahce, reports David Pick of Eurobasket. The deal contains an NBA escape clause after the second year, according to Pick.

Here’s more from around the league:

And-Ones: Gasol, Knicks, Lakers, Marion

There won’t be a decision from Pau Gasol anytime soon as to where he will be signing, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com. This is despite the pleas and pitches he has received from Carmelo Anthony and numerous teams, notes Aldridge.

More from around the league:

Heat Eyeing Marion, Carter, Blake

The Heat will pursue Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, and Steve Blake this summer, sources tell Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Marion, 36, wants to continue living in Dallas after his playing career is through, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that will retire in Dallas. Carter, 37, was mentioned as a possibility for Miami earlier today along with the Thunder, Blazers, Raptors, and the incumbent Mavericks. The Knicks and Wolves appear to have interest in Blake, too.

The Mavs have been worried that interest from other teams in Carter and Marion would compromise their cap space. The Warriors don’t seem to have keeping Blake a high priority, despite the way he quickly warmed to the franchise. Blake can also envision a return to the Lakers, who traded him to Golden State at the deadline.

Miami’s star trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have given team president Pat Riley a window of time to upgrade the team, and it appears Riley’s first forays will be with veterans. Blake, at 34, is the youngest of the three free agents that Deveney reports the Heat have an eye on.

Southwest Notes: Parsons, Nowitzki, Marion

Other teams have outsized expectations of what the Rockets can achieve in the player acquisition department based on Houston’s recent success, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. The Rockets have been leaning all year toward declining their option on Chandler Parsons, so this week’s news isn’t necessarily an indication that they suddenly have confidence that they’ll land another marquee player this summer, Lowe says. There’s plenty more on the Rockets in Lowe’s piece, and we’ll hit the highlights here amid the latest from the Southwest Division:

  • The Rockets asked Charlotte for the equivalent of three first-round picks in return for Omer Asik this season, Lowe also writes in the same piece. It’s unclear exactly what would qualify as the equivalent of a first-rounder, but perhaps Lowe is referring to a rookie fresh off having been a first-round pick, like Cody Zeller.
  • Parsons has repeatedly asked for a raise the past two years, leading Lowe to wonder if he’s promised to re-sign in exchange for the Rockets declining his option.
  • A new contract for Parsons this summer would most likely count at 50% of its value for outgoing salary-matching purposes in a sign-and-trade, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports explains in a piece for Hoop365. It’d count at full value for incoming salary in that scenario, one of the reasons why it will be difficult for the Rockets to pull off such a maneuver, Deeks adds.
  • Mavs owner Mark Cuban isn’t worried about a report identifying Dirk Nowitzki as a free agent target of the Rockets, telling Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that, “I don’t pay attention to that.”
  • Reports that Shawn Marion wants to finish his career as a member of the Mavericks misconstrued his meaning, as Marion said Wednesday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM that he merely meant to say that he wants to live in Dallas after he retires from playing. Still, he would prefer to re-sign with the Mavs this summer. Vince Marotta of ArizonaSports.com rounds up his comments.
  • Jarnell Stokes, K.J. McDaniels and Russ Smith will audition for the Grizzlies next week, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reports in a subscription-only piece.

Mavs To Pursue ‘Melo, Tyson Chandler

The Mavs are optimistic that they’ll be on the list of teams that Carmelo Anthony plans to meet with this summer and that he’ll give them legitimate consideration, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Dallas will also try to acquire another Knick, with Stein asserting that they’ll be first in line should New York make Tyson Chandler available via trade. The Mavs will attempt to court LeBron James, too, though Stein suggests that’s a longshot effort.

Dallas only has about $28.2MM in commitments for next season, but that doesn’t include the roughly $2MM non-guaranteed portion of Samuel Dalembert‘s contract or new deals for Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter and Devin Harris. The team has expressed interest in keeping all of them, and the team’s “working assumption,” according to Stein, is that Nowitzki will sign for $10-12MM per year. That doesn’t leave much wiggle room for a max offer to Anthony, who can draw a starting salary of up to $22,458,401. Still, Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com wrote Monday that the Mavs wouldn’t have interest in ‘Melo if he demands his max.

While the Mavs could net Chandler as part of a sign-and-trade involving Anthony, that would be extremely difficult, given Chandler’s salary of nearly $14.6MM next season. The reacquisition of the center who was the defensive anchor of the Mavs’ 2011 title team would probably preclude Anthony from heading to Dallas, and it would make it difficult for the Mavs to accommodate any other marquee free agent this summer. Stein reiterates McMahon’s report from yesterday indicating that the Mavs will likely target Luol Deng but take a pass on any pursuit of Lance Stephenson.

The Mavs have some concern about their ability to keep a couple of their own free agents, too, according to Stein. They’re worried that they’d have to cut deeply into their cap flexibility to fend off suitors for Vince Carter and, in particular, Shawn Marion. Carter and Marion have expressed their preference to re-sign, though such statements are commonplace for soon-to-be free agents at this time of year, and they don’t always translate into a new deal that keeps them in place.

Mavs Rumors: Bledsoe, Stephenson, ‘Melo, Dirk

Mavs GM Donnie Nelson promises an “action-packed summer,” but he indicated today that he’s pleased with the roster as is, notes Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter links).

“I think if we had the same cast or crew come and lace ’em up next year, I’d feel real good about our chances,” he said.

Fellow ESPNDallas.com scribe Tim McMahon doesn’t buy it, writing that the Mavs front office knows it needs significant improvement to contend. There’s more from McMahon’s piece amid the latest on the Mavs:

  • McMahon throws Eric Bledsoe‘s name into the mix of likely targets that already included Marcin Gortat and Luol Deng, though he acknowledges that it’ll be “extremely difficult” to pry Bledsoe, or even Gortat, away from their respective teams. The Mavs are unlikely to make a run at Lance Stephenson, according to McMahon.
  • The Mavs would like to get involved in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, but not if he demands a max contract, McMahon writes.
  • Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs have made it clear that they fully intend to strike a new deal this summer. Nowitzki acknowledged today that he doesn’t think it will resemble Kobe Bryant‘s massive two-year, $48.5MM extension, but he does want the team to respect his continued on-court prowess in negotiations, as Gutierrez observes (Twitter links). McMahon, in his piece, suggests Nowitzki is likely to sign a three-year, $30MM deal.
  • Shawn Marion, who turns 36 on Wednesday, plans to play two more seasons, tweets Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com, noting that while there’s strong mutual interest in a return to the Mavs, the forward will also think about signing elsewhere. Still, he intends to retire as a Mav one way or another, Gutierrez notes (Twitter link).
  • Soon-to-be free agent DeJuan Blair is hopeful that he’ll re-sign with the Mavs this summer, as Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram chronicles.
  • We passed along news of the Mavs’ mutual interest in Devin Harris earlier today.

Mavs, Devin Harris Share Interest In Return

Point guard Devin Harris demonstrated his value to the Mavs in their seven-game challenge of the Spurs, scoring 11.4 points in 25.1 minutes per game and nailing 44.0% of his three-point attempts. That no doubt plays a role in his inclusion as part of Tim McMahon’s short list on ESPNDallas.com of Mavs free agents with whom the team has mutual interest.

Harris returned to Dallas, where he had played his first three and a half seasons, on a one-year contract for the minimum salary this past summer. It was supposed to be a three-year, $9MM pact, but a toe injury scuttled those plans and kept him out until January 18th. He returned to a role that was his most marginalized on an NBA team since his rookie season, scoring 7.9 points in 20.5 minutes per game with career-worst 37.8% shooting from the floor. The 10th-year veteran nonetheless compiled his best assists-to-turnover ratio, averaging 4.5 dimes and 1.5 turnovers per game.

McMahon reported the Mavs’ mutual interest with Shawn Marion last week, and Marion said this weekend that he would indeed like to come back to Dallas, though he added that he’s “weighing my options,” as fellow ESPNDallas.com scribe Bryan Gutierrez observes. The other Mav on McMahon’s list is Vince Carter, and Dallas GM Donnie Nelson said a month ago that he wants Carter back. Marc Stein of ESPN.com emphasizes Carter’s contentment in Dallas in passing along that the Raptors are considering the idea of pursuing the 37-year-old Carter in the offseason.

Harris probably won’t attract too much attention on the free agent market given his regular season numbers, but Dallas has his Non-Bird rights to trump any minimum-salary suitors. The Mavs can give him a contract of up to four years, with a starting salary of $1,526,735, or 120% of his pay this season. That’s only slightly more than the minimum, but it does provide for higher raises than a straight minimum-salary arrangement would, which might prove a key selling point for the Excel Sports Management client.