Nowitzki Plans To Play For Several More Years
Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki's contract runs out after next season and some have wondered if he may be looking to call it a career in the near future. The big man told reporters back in November that he would likely stick around through 2016, but a frustrating, injury-filled season in Dallas led him to question his future once again. However, Nowitzki reiterated his desire to continue his career in Dallas earlier today, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
"When my [current] contract's up, I'm 36 and I'll definitely sign a couple more years," Nowitzki said after recording season highs of 30 points and 13 rebounds in today's loss to the Lakers. "It's still fun, but I don't know if I'll play until 40. But when I'm 36, definitely sign one more deal, maybe two or three years."
The 34-year-old laughed when asked if he expected to continue making superstar money on his next deal. Nowitzki is earning just under $21MM this season and will make nearly $23MM in his walk year. While his next deal won't be negotiated for some time, it's safe to assume that he'll see a pay cut.
Pacific Notes: Kobe, Cuban, O’Neal, Suns, Lakers
Mark Cuban has been known to start a tiff or two in his time as Mavs owner and players haven't been shy to respond to the outspoken owner with words of their own. Cuban recently suggested that the Lakers should use their amnesty clause on Kobe Bryant as he is owed roughly $30MM next season. Rather than shoot back with comments of his own, Bryant took out his frustrations on Dallas this afternoon, putting up 38 points, 12 boards, and seven dimes as he led the Lakers to victory. Here's more on the Lakers and the rest of the Pacific..
- Cuban walked back his comments to a degree today, claiming that he was just using Bryant as an example for a larger point, according to the Associated Press. "Whenever the commissioner or any other team talks about the CBA, they talk about Dallas and Tyson Chandler, or Dallas and Dirk [Nowitzki] and what's going to happen," Cuban said. "You've got to use examples. I was clear in saying it was hypothetical and I expected him to be in LA, but he was a good example because they have the highest payroll in the league."
- Suns big man Jermaine O'Neal finds himself at a career crossroads in 2013, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. For now, he is preparing as though he will return for next season but recurring injuries combined with personal matters may lead him to call it a career before 2013/14.
- Lakers forward Jordan Hill's season may not be over if the club can find a way to make a deep playoff run, tweets Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register.
Week In Review: 2/18/13 – 2/24/13
It's been a crazy week here at Hoops Rumors but have no fear, Week In Review is here to get you up to speed..
- The Magic traded J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon, and Ishmael Smith to the Bucks for Beno Udrih, Tobias Harris, and Doron Lamb. It initially appeared that Milwaukee was targeting Redick to replace Monta Ellis if Ellis was part of a Josh Smith trade, the club ultimately pulled the trigger on Redick anyway, meaning the sharpshooter will join a backcourt that features Ellis and Brandon Jennings.
- The Mavs didn't land Jennings at the deadline but it appears that there is mutual interest there.
- Surprisingly, Smith stayed in Atlanta when all was said and done. The forward is unlikely to re-sign with the Hawks. The Hawks had a deal on the table with the Bucks but ultimately got cold feet.
- Clippers guard Chris Paul made a serious pitch to Kevin Garnett to push for a trade to L.A. but the Celtics big man didn't go for it.
- The Knicks signed Kenyon Martin to a ten-day contract.
- The Rockets traded Marcus Morris to the Suns and Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, and Toney Douglas to the Kings for Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt, and a future second-round pick.
- The Heat traded Dexter Pittman and a future second-round pick to the Grizzlies for the rights to Ricky Sanchez and cash considerations.
- The Wizards traded Jordan Crawford to the Celtics for Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins.
- The Thunder traded Eric Maynor to the Blazers for a trade exception and the rights to Georgios Printezis. The Blazers waived Ronnie Price to clear a roster spot for Maynor.
- The Thunder also acquired Ronnie Brewer from the Knicks for a future second-round pick.
- The Hawks traded Anthony Morrow to the Mavericks for Dahntay Jones.
- The Bobcats couldn't find a team willing to give a first rounder for Gerald Henderson.
- The Suns traded Sebastian Telfair to the Raptors for Hamed Haddadi and a future second-round pick.
- The Magic traded Josh McRoberts to the Bobcats for Hakim Warrick. The Magic waived Warrick on Saturday.
- The Warriors traded Jeremy Tyler to the Hawks for a second-round pick. They also traded Charles Jenkins to the 76ers for an additional second-round pick.
- Jermaine O'Neal will stay put in Phoenix for the rest of the year. The Knicks had interest in him.
- No surprise here – Charlie Villanueva will exercise his $8.5MM option for 2013/14.
- The Pistons discussed deals for Jason Maxiell and Will Bynum.
- The Nuggets rebuffed an offer from the Timberwolves that would have sent Brandon Roy and a first-round draft pick to Denver in exchange for center Timofey Mozgov.
Sean Highkin contributed to this post.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 2/18/13 – 2/24/13
Here's a look back at the original analysis crafted by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- Luke Adams explained how deadline deals worked under the CBA rules.
- Chuck Myron recapped last year's key post-deadline transactions.
- Luke did a special pre-deadline edition of the chat and you can check out the transcript here. From now on, he'll be hosting the weekly chats on Mondays at 4pm CST.
- The Kings are the deadline's biggest losers, according to Hoops Rumors readers. Meanwhile, the Rockets are the biggest winners in the eyes of the Hoops Rumors commentariat.
- Most readers polled said that the most surprising non-deal was Josh Smith not being shipped out of Atlanta.
- We put together a trade deadline primer in advance of Thursday afternoon.
- Nearly 70% of Hoops Rumors readers thought the Suns should have moved Jared Dudley. Phoenix didn't agree, however, and wound up hanging on to the Boston College product.
Celtics, Nets Have Discussed Paul Pierce
5:31pm: A source with ties to the Nets indicates to Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld the team is unlikely to acquire Pierce.
4:25pm: The Celtics and Nets have discussed a trade for Celtics star Paul Pierce, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. However, the Celtics want a better package than what Brooklyn is currently offering, according to the sources.
The Nets' offer centered on forward Kris Humphries, guard MarShon Brooks and a first-round draft pick. "The Celtics still highly value Pierce and it wouldn't make sense to trade him for that kind of a package if they're keeping Kevin Garnett," one league source said.
Boston has shown interest in forward Mirza Teletovic and securing another possible first-round pick, but the Nets don't seem willing to pay that kind of price for the 35-year-old guard. Boston had interest in guard C.J. Watson in a separate deal, but GM Billy King & Co. don't want to part with him, sources said.
The Nets and Celtics discussed a deal for Pierce at last year's deadline, but the C's decided to keep him for another playoff run. The veteran is averaging 18 PPG for the Celtics this season while shooting just 41% from the floor, his worst percentage in the past eight seasons.
Wojnarowski On Wolves, Smith, Nets, Bell
Here's the latest news from around the league courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski with all links going to Twitter..
- The Wolves have been aggressive in offering multiple first-round picks for established talent, according to league sources (Twitter link). We've heard some trade buzz around Minnesota in recent weeks, but it has mostly concerned guard Luke Ridnour.
- The Celtics are on several fronts, including discussions on Josh Smith, Wojnarowski tweets. They've got plenty of competition, however, as the Nets are solely focused on making a deal for Smith, despite being linked to a few other big names in recent weeks.
- Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni has remained intrigued with bringing exiled Jazz guard Raja Bell to Lakers, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Jazz would be delighted to put a bow on their saga with the disgruntled guard.
- League GMs believe that the Hawks, Bucks, and Suns will make significant moves before the trade deadline.
- The Trail Blazers are still willing to move J.J. Hickson, but haven't found an appealing offer yet.
- Teams trying to trade for J.J. Redick of the Magic are surveying the cost of re-signing him this summer, Wojnarowski tweets. If Bucks move a starting guard, he'll be a major target for them.
Latest On Hawks, Josh Smith
The Hawks have convinced numerous teams that Josh Smith will be moved between now and Thursday's 2PM CST deadline, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The question, of course, remains where exactly the forward will be sent.
The Celtics are exploring their options to land Smith and they may need a third team to get involved in order to swing a trade. Kevin Garnett won't waive his no-trade clause to go to Atlanta and Stein can't see the C's trading Paul Pierce there to get a deal done (Twitter links). That presumably means finding a third team to get involved and send something desirable to the Hawks to get them to send Smith to Boston.
Odds & Ends: Luxury Tax, Mavs, Draft, Wiggins
Tonight's look around the Association as we approach Thursday's trade deadline..
- In his latest blog entry on CBA FAQ, Larry Coon looks at the cumulative effects of the luxury tax on teams. Going back to 2002, the Warriors, Bobcats, and Bulls have been the biggest beneficiaries of the tax pool. Meanwhile, the Mavericks and Knicks have been amongst the most penalized in the league, paying $192.8MM and $150.4MM, respecitvely.
- The 2013 NBA Draft class is so weak that more than a half dozen prospects from the 2014 Draft class would go No. 1 this year, one NBA GM told Adam Zagoria of SNY. “It’s a historically weak draft that, as a result, you’re going to see a lot more guys putting their name in knowing they’ll go higher in this draft, even though they may not be ready, just because next year’s class has such incredible depth that they could actually play better and improve and drop their draft status next year,” said the GM.
- Speaking of the 2014 draft, Canada's Andrew Wiggins figures to be the top selection. The 6-foot-8 forward could just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to strong talent from north of the border, Zagoria writes.
Heat Re-Assign Dexter Pittman To D-League
Tonight's D-League assignments..
- The Heat announced that they have re-assigned center Dexter Pittman to the Sioux Falls SkyForce of the D-League. Pittman, 24, was just recalled from Sioux Falls on Wednesday. After seeing time in 35 games last season, Pittman has seen action in just four contests this year.
Magic Open To Re-Signing J.J. Redick
Tomorrow night's game against the Bobcats could be J.J. Redick's last home game as a member of the Magic but the shooting guard has reason to be optimistic about his future in Orlando. Redick says that General Manager Rob Hennigan has told him that the team is "open" to re-signing him when he becomes a free agent this summer, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
The guard went on to say that Hennigan has stayed in touch with Redick and his agent, Arn Tellem, in recent weeks. At the same time, he says that he is only cautiously optimistic and refuses to get his hopes up about a lucrative new deal in Orlando.
“This is a business. I have to make a business decision. And I know this from experience, regardless of any personal feelings or any emotional attachment to anything, a team is going to do what they feel is best for the team. And there won’t be any hard feelings if I get traded in three days or if they elect not to re-sign me this summer," the 28-year-old said.
Earlier today, Robbins' colleague Brian Schmitz wrote that the Magic would be more willing to move Redick if a team was willing to take on Al Harrington and/or Hedo Turkoglu in a deal. Of course, the odds of that happening aren't great.