Texas Notes: Cuban, Mekel, Rockets

Earlier tonight, the Spurs hoisted their newest championship banner and tried on their shiny new championship rings. Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News was on hand for the Spurs ring ceremony, which he says was shorter than most. I guess you don’t feel compelled to have an over-the-top celebration when you’ve won five titles since 1999.  More from the Lone Star State..

  • Mavs owner Mark Cuban says he talked to Gal Mekel for over an hour about the possibility of J.J. Barea joining the team, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  “He’s improved more than anybody on the team and he deserves a lot of respect. He’s earned it,” Cuban said (link).  Earlier tonight, Cuban confirmed that Mekel would be the odd man out if Barea was signed, though it sounds like he wishes he had an extra roster spot.
  • The Mavs‘ decision to keep Charlie Villanueva‘s non-guaranteed contract over Bernard James shows that they are willing to move on from a player with a guaranteed deal if it helps the team, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.  Of course, Mekel is the latest guaranteed contract player to find himself on the bubble.
  • The Rockets’ new reserve center, Tarik Black, is ecstatic to have made the final 15 player regular season roster, Feigen writes. “It feels awesome,” Black said. “It feels great. I put it out of my mind as far as pressure. Obviously, I knew I was on the chopping block and I was on a non-guaranteed contract. Now that it’s official that I’m actually on the team and I’ll spend the season here and I’ll have the opportunity, it feels great. It’s a dream come true.”

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

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