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NBA Nixed Idea Of Tony Romo Signing Contract

April 12th, 2017 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

Longtime Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was a Maverick for a day on Tuesday, but only ceremonially. According to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, Mavs owner Mark Cuban initially intended to formally sign Romo to a contract and perhaps even get him into last night’s game, suggesting he was willing to accept a fine from the NBA to do so. However, commissioner Adam Silver nixed that idea, telling Cuban that such a contract wouldn’t be honored, per Archer.

“Signing him and stuff like that, would have been too much for a lot of reasons,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged after the game. “No. 1, he’s a football athlete that’s not ready to play in an NBA game. That’s very risky. No. 2, to sign a guy with all of our requirements from a physical standpoint with the hours and hours of screening and all that kinds of other stuff, it just wasn’t worth going there. And that’s not really what this is about.”

Carlisle didn’t get into it, but formally signing and playing Romo may have also been viewed as a sign of disrespect toward players more deserving of a spot on an NBA roster, particularly those who have been playing well for the Mavericks’ D-League affiliate all season long.

Even though the Mavs didn’t officially sign Romo, he participated in the team’s Tuesday shootaround and was in uniform for the game, with the franchise honoring him for his 14 years with the Cowboys and his support of the Mavs over the years. The move was panned by some observers, but Cuban dismissed those criticisms, as Archer details.

“Anybody who thinks a layup line is disrespectful hasn’t watched an NBA game,” Cuban said. “We’ve got people shooting half-court shots at every break, we’ve got kids for ball boys … We’re entertainment. And if they’re so self-important they can’t recognize that, it’s on them. Not me.”

Ultimately, rather than signing Romo with the open roster spot on their 15-man squad, the Mavs used the slot to claim DeAndre Liggins off waivers from the Cavaliers. Liggins’ contract includes a team option for 2017/18, so he could stick with Dallas through the summer.

Mavs Claim DeAndre Liggins Off Waivers

April 11th, 2017 at 4:10pm CST by Austin Kent

The Mavs have claimed DeAndre Liggins off waivers, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). Liggins was waived by the Cavaliers on Sunday.

In Liggins the Mavs get a journeyman two-guard most known for his defense. He played in 59 contest for the reigning champion Cavaliers this season, starting 19 of them at one point while filling in for an injured J.R. Smith.

On the season, Liggins has averaged 2.4 points in 12.3 minutes per game. His deal, Charania notes, isn’t guaranteed for the 2017/18 campaign. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News adds that there’s a team option on Liggins’ deal, so the Mavs will get the opportunity to choose whether they’d like to keep him on board.

By claiming Liggins, the Mavericks will save the Cavs $2.5MM in luxury tax, Bobby Marks of The Vertical tweets. That means, as we relayed at the time of Liggins’ release, the 28 other teams that are below the luxury tax will receive roughly $44K less in tax distribution.

The Mavs were the only team with a roster spot open at this point in the season.

Worth noting is that Dallas claiming Liggins precludes them from signing recently retired Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to a one-day deal, as had been speculated.

Though the Pro Bowler will still be honored during the Mavs’ final home game, he’ll be ineligible to see any official court time. Sure, the Mavs had previously said that Romo wouldn’t actually play, but now it’s outright forbidden.

Southwest Notes: Romo, Cuban, Popovich, Anderson

April 8th, 2017 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is taking some heat for his plan to honor Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo by letting him fill a roster spot for the team’s final home game. Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle calls the proposed move a “pitiful little circus” and says NBA Commissioner Adam Silver should block it. However, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told The Dallas Morning News that he is looking forward to hosting Romo, who frequently sits behind the bench at Mavs games.

There’s more tonight from the Southwest Division:

Cuban offered a solution to the NBA’s problem of star players being rested, relays Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Cuban, who attended the board of governors meeting this week, suggests shortening the preseason and setting up the schedule so that teams in nationally televised games have days of rest built in. “It really comes down more to a scheduling issue than anything else, and my contribution was that, when you schedule marquee games for TV, look at the schedule first and don’t put somebody who has been on a long trip, traveled a lot of miles or obviously going to be less than fresh, because when we schedule those games, it’s on us,” Cuban said. “I remember [years ago] we were on TNT on the fourth game in five nights. Who’s dumb enough to schedule that? That’s just stupid.”
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich won’t rest anyone during the team’s final two games, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Popovich made the comments after tonight’s loss to the Clippers, adding that he was upset that his team wasn’t physical enough.
Rockets forward Ryan Anderson, who returned to the court Friday following an ankle injury, plans to use the rest of the season to get in rhythm for the playoffs, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. In his first season with Houston after signing as a free agent last summer, Anderson is averaging 13.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in 69 games. “It’s real important to be playing at your highest level coming into the playoffs,” he said. “This is a year we can do something special. I want to be prepared.”

Tony Romo To Be ‘Maverick For A Day’

April 8th, 2017 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has suggested multiple times this week that his team needs to add a “pass-first” point guard, but his solution probably isn’t what most fans had in mind. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Mavs intend to honor longtime Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo at their home finale on Tuesday night by making Romo a “Maverick for a day.”

Romo, who recently retired from the NFL and landed a broadcasting job with CBS, will sit on Dallas’ bench during its last home game of the season. Having not played competitive basketball since high school, Romo isn’t expected to get on the court, but the Mavs intend to treat him like an actual player, according to Stein.

ESPN’s report doesn’t mention anything about whether or not Romo will technically sign a player contract with the Mavs, but I’d assume that will be part of becoming a Mav for a day. While it would be odd to see Romo’s name on Dallas’ end-of-season salary cap breakdown, the team does have an open spot on its 15-man roster, and a two-day minimum salary contract to close the season would represent a drop in the bucket.

So is Romo the “pass-first” point guard that Cuban has been hinting at this week? Stein’s contacts within the organization suggest that it very well could be. Still, I’ll point out that Cuban’s initial comments about adding a pass-first point guard included his suggestion that the Mavs will explore the draft and free agency. As such, it sounds like it will be a legit offseason priority for the team, rather than just a wink toward honoring Romo.

Stein adds, unsurprisingly, that the Mavericks would not have considered honoring Romo in this fashion if the club had still been in playoff contention.

Austin Kent contributed to this post.