Dallas Mavericks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mavericks Hiring Popeye Jones, Phil Handy As Assistants

July 9th, 2025 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks are adding two more veteran assistants to their revamped coaching staff, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports (via Twitter) that Popeye Jones and Phil Handy have agreed to roles under head coach Jason Kidd.

A former NBA forward, Jones hasn’t worked with Kidd since they went into coaching but actually played alongside him for two seasons in Dallas from 1994-96. Since transitioning to coaching in 2007, Jones has spent time the Mavericks as a player development coach (2007-10) and with the Nets (2010-13), Pacers (2013-20), Sixers (2020-21), and Nuggets (2021-25) as an assistant.

Jones will be Kidd’s No. 3 assistant coach and will focus on defense, according to Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com.

Handy, meanwhile, is coming to the Mavericks after previous stints with the Lakers (2011-13), Cavaliers (2013-18), Raptors (2018-19), and Lakers again (2019-24). He and Kidd were both members of Frank Vogel‘s staff in Los Angeles when the Lakers won a championship in 2020.

According to Afseth, the expectation is that Handy will take over the player developmental role previously held by God Shammgod, who left Dallas this offseason for Orlando.

Kidd’s top assistants last season were Sean Sweeney, Alex Jensen, and Jared Dudley, but they’ve since departed for San Antonio, the University of Utah, and Denver, respectively. Two former NBA head coaches, Vogel and Jay Triano, have since been tabbed as Kidd’s new top two assistants, with shooting specialist Mike Penberthy also coming aboard.

Groups Set For 2025 NBA Cup

July 9th, 2025 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced the six groups of five teams apiece for the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup, also known as the in-season tournament (Twitter link).

In order to set the groups, the league splits the Western and Eastern Conferences into five three-team tiers based on last season’s regular season standings, with one club from each tier randomly drawn into each of the conference’s three groups.

For instance, the top three teams from the West will all be in separate groups, with each of those three groups also featuring one team in the 4-6 range, one in the 7-9 range, and so on.

Here are the groups for the 2025 NBA Cup:

West Group A: Oklahoma City Thunder (1), Minnesota Timberwolves (6), Sacramento Kings (9), Phoenix Suns (11), Utah Jazz (15)
West Group B: Los Angeles Lakers (3), Los Angeles Clippers (5), Memphis Grizzlies (8), Dallas Mavericks (10), New Orleans Pelicans (14)
West Group C: Houston Rockets (2), Denver Nuggets (4), Golden State Warriors (7), Portland Trail Blazers (12), San Antonio Spurs (13)
East Group A: Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Indiana Pacers (4), Atlanta Hawks (8), Toronto Raptors (11), Washington Wizards (15)
East Group B: Boston Celtics (2), Detroit Pistons (6), Orlando Magic (7), Brooklyn Nets (12), Philadelphia 76ers (13)
East Group C: New York Knicks (3), Milwaukee Bucks (5), Chicago Bulls (9), Miami Heat (10), Charlotte Hornets (14)

The round-robin group play games will be starting a little earlier than usual this season and will run from October 31 to November 28. Each team will face the other four clubs in its group once, with the winners of each group and one wild card team from each conference advancing to the eight-team, single-elimination knockout round.

The full schedule of group play games can be viewed right here.

The quarterfinals will be played on December 9-10, with the semifinals and final to follow on Dec. 13 and Dec. 16, respectively, in Las Vegas. The knockout round games will all be aired by one of the NBA’s new broadcasting partners, Amazon Prime.

The Bucks won last season’s NBA Cup, with star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo earning MVP honors after leading Milwaukee to a victory over the Thunder in the championship game.

Mavericks Sign Matthew Cleveland, Moussa Cisse

July 8th, 2025 at 9:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have officially signed guard/forward Matthew Cleveland and center Moussa Cisse, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). Both players went undrafted in June.

While the terms of their deals weren’t disclosed, Cleveland and Cisse almost certainly signed Exhibit 10 contracts. In fact, Cisse’s Exhibit 10 agreement was reported last month, shortly after the draft ended.

Exhibit 10 contracts are non-guaranteed minimum-salary deals that entitle players to bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they’re waived before the regular season and spend at least 60 days with their team’s G league affiliate. They can also be converted to two-way deals before the regular season begins, and Cisse, at least, is expected to have the opportunity to compete for a two-way spot in Dallas.

Cleveland played his last two college seasons at Miami after spending his first two years at Florida State. In 2024/25, he averaged 17.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game with a .511/.382/.776 shooting line in 29 outings for the Hurricanes.

Cisse, meanwhile, started and ended his college career at Memphis, sandwiching stints with Oklahoma State and Ole Miss. The Guinean big man blocked 1.7 shots per game in 150 career college contests despite averaging fewer than 20 minutes per game.

Mavs’ Anthony Davis Undergoes Procedure On Eye

July 8th, 2025 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks star Anthony Davis has undergone a procedure to repair a detached retina, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The expectation is that he’ll be fully recovered for training camp, Charania adds.

While it’s unclear exactly when the injury first occurred, Charania notes that Davis played through “multiple hits to the face” last season.

Most notably, the big man visited an ophthalmologist last November after getting poked in the left eye — reporting at the time indicated he was experiencing swelling and had difficulty keeping the eye open. That injury, which occurred when Davis was a Laker, was referred to last fall as a corneal abrasion and didn’t cost him any games.

Davis, who was traded from Los Angeles to Dallas in the controversial Luka Doncic blockbuster in February, was only able to make nine appearances during his first half-season as a Maverick due to an adductor injury.

The 32-year-old averaged 20.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.2 blocks in just 29.6 minutes per night in those nine outings, generating excitement about what he might be able to do after spending the offseason getting fully healthy and acclimating to his new team.

Contract Details: Turner, Robinson, Mitchell, NAW, Kyrie, Jones

July 8th, 2025 at 6:53am CST by Luke Adams

Myles Turner‘s new four-year contract with the Bucks came in a little higher than expected, as cap expert Yossi Gozlan notes (via Twitter).

Using the cap room left over after waiving and Damian Lillard and buying out Vasilije Micic (via the stretch provision), Milwaukee was able to give Turner a starting salary of $25,318,251. With annual 5% raises, his deal is worth a total of approximately $108.87MM. As previously reported, the contract also includes a fourth-year player option and a 15% trade kicker.

Here are a few more details on contracts officially signed around the NBA in recent days:

Using Simone Fontecchio‘s outgoing salary ($8,307,692) and the expanded traded player exception ($8,527,000), the Pistons were able to take back a maximum of $16,834,692 in incoming salary. Not coincidentally, that’s exactly the starting salary that Duncan Robinson got on his new deal with Detroit via sign-and-trade (Twitter link via Gozlan). Robinson’s three-year deal has a declining structure and offers few guarantees after the first year — just $2MM of his $15.99MM salary in 2026/27 is guaranteed, and his entire $15.15MM salary for ’27/28 is non-guaranteed.
Ajay Mitchell‘s new three-year deal with the Thunder came in a little lower than expected, at $8.7MM, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. It includes a fully guaranteed $3MM salary for 2025/26, replacing the team option Oklahoma City turned down that was worth the same amount. His $2.85MM salary for ’26/27 is partially guaranteed for $1.5MM, while ’27/28 is a $2.85MM team option.
Reported to be worth $62MM over four years, Nickeil Alexander-Walker‘s new contract with the Hawks came in at $60,647,200, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. It includes a fourth-year player option and a 7.5% trade kicker. It also declines in year two (from $15,161,800 to $14,403,710) before ascending again in year three ($15,161,800) and four ($15,919,890).
The three-year deal between Kyrie Irving and the Mavericks is worth $118,473,846, with a third-year player option and a 15% trade kicker, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. It starts at $36,566,002, with annual 8% raises.
Tre Jones‘ three-year, $24MM contract with the Bulls has a flat structure, with annual cap hits of $8MM, and a third-year team option, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.

Kyrie Irving: ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’ On Return By Playoffs

July 7th, 2025 at 8:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks reportedly have some optimism that Kyrie Irving might resume playing as soon as January, but the star guard urged caution during a recent interview (YouTube link). Responding to questions from viewers, Irving refused to guarantee that he’ll be available by playoff time (hat tip to HoopsHype).

“Don’t hold your breath on that,” he said. “You know what I’m saying? That doesn’t mean I won’t be back, it’s just — I don’t want to make any predictions on when I’m going to be back. I just want to be back 150,000% better.”

A firm recovery timeline hasn’t been set for the 33-year-old guard, who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on March 3 and underwent surgery about three weeks later. It’s not uncommon for players to take a year or more to recover from ACL tears, although it can vary according to the severity of the injury.

Losing Irving was part of a run of bad luck that affected Dallas in the wake of the Luka Doncic trade, but the team’s fortunes turned around by winning the lottery and drafting Cooper Flagg. The star rookie has rekindled the Mavs’ dreams of becoming a contender again in a tough Western Conference, but they’ll almost certainly need a full recovery from Irving to make a long playoff run.

“So I’m taking my time right now to really get healthy,” Irving continued. “I’m taking my time to get my body right — other portions of my body right — and really just enjoy this recovery process. Man, it’s not pretty. Yes, it is a beautiful struggle, but I go through kind of the mental roller coaster ride of every day. I just want to be back out there.”

Irving recently declined his $43MM player option and signed a new three-year, $119MM contract that runs through 2027/28. It starts at an estimated $36.7MM for next season, which enabled Dallas to duck below the second apron and use its $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception to add D’Angelo Russell, who will take over the lead guard duties until Irving can return.

Irving addressed a few other topics in the interview, including an upcoming game in Mexico City, his plans for a Kobe Bryant-inspired basketball shoe and the nervous feeling he still gets before games.

“Being judged for who you are — it’s an honor,” he said. “Now, it’s up to you whether or not you pay attention to those judgments. But with all the mental stuff people go through, I’ve learned to expand and focus on what I can control in the moment — to be better, rather than afraid of being uncomfortable or facing confrontation.”

God Shammgod Reflects On Memories In Dallas

July 5th, 2025 at 9:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

God Shammgod talked to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News about his decision to leave the Mavericks‘ coaching staff and join his friend Jamahl Mosley with the Magic. Shammgod is among four assistants Dallas is losing this offseason. He has been with the organization since 2016 and said he never expected to make such a move a month ago. “I’ve been very fortunate, being under a great coach like Rick Carlisle, and then going to another good coach like (Jason Kidd) and being a part of one of the best organizations in the world,” Shammgod said. “And Mark Cuban, you know, probably one of the greatest owners in sports — but, to me, an even better person. There will always be a love relationship for me here in Dallas. I just appreciate everything Dallas did for me, as a coach and as a person.”

Mavericks Adding Mike Penberthy To Coaching Staff

July 5th, 2025 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks are hiring Mike Penberthy to their coaching staff, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link).

NBA insider Marc Stein first mentioned Penberthy as a target for the Mavericks’ staff on Wednesday, while Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com later referred to the team’s interest as “serious.”

Penberthy, who has spent the past three seasons with the Nuggets, is known as a shooting specialist and has earned praise from Mavericks star Anthony Davis for helping him improve as a shooter, Afseth notes. Davis and Penberthy worked together in Los Angeles from 2019-22, when Penberthy was an assistant under Frank Vogel.

The Mavericks are reuniting several members of that Lakers coaching staff for the coming season. Current Dallas head coach Jason Kidd was also an assistant from 2019-21 under Vogel, who will serve as Kidd’s lead assistant in 2025/26. Kidd, Vogel, and Penberthy won a championship together in L.A. in 2020.

Another former Lakers assistant, Phil Handy, who was with the team from 2019-24, is also considered a candidate to join Kidd’s staff, though he’s drawing interest from New York too.

The Mavericks, whose assistants weren’t under contract beyond the 2024/25 season, have been overhauling Kidd’s staff since the season ended. All three of Dallas’ top assistants from last season have found new jobs in recent months, with Sean Sweeney joining the division-rival Spurs as associate head coach, Alex Jensen becoming the head coach at the University of Utah, and Dudley heading to Denver. Player development assistant God Shammgod, who has been with the Mavs since 2019, was also hired away by the Magic.

The Mavericks replaced Sweeney with Vogel, while ex-Raptors and Suns coach Jay Triano is the new No. 2 assistant.

Stein/Fischer’s Latest: Beal, Suns, CP3, Bucks, Lillard, Heat

July 3rd, 2025 at 10:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns and Heat had exploratory talks this week about the possibility of a Bradley Beal trade, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). However, those discussions “ultimately collapsed,” resulting in a rising belief that the veteran guard will ultimately be bought out by Phoenix.

If the two sides do end up working out a buyout agreement, expect the Heat to show interest in signing Beal as a free agent, per Fischer and Stein, who say the Bucks would also be interested in adding the three-time All-Star if he reaches free agency.

Here’s more from The Stein Line duo:

In addition to looking more seriously at a possible Beal buyout, the Suns have also engaged in conversations with teams about various trade scenarios involving center Nick Richards and wings Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, Stein and Fischer say.
After turning away interest from the Mavericks and Hornets earlier in free agency, Chris Paul continues to consider the Suns and Clippers. Stein and Fischer confirm he’s also receiving interest from the Bucks, who have been on the lookout for another point guard in the hopes of filling the sizable hole left by Damian Lillard‘s Achilles injury (and impending release). ESPN’s Shams Charania said during a Thursday SportsCenter appearance that Paul, who is known to prefer playing closer to his family in Los Angeles, spoke to Bucks officials on Wednesday (hat tip to Scott Polacek of Bleacher Report).
Speaking of Lillard, Stein and Fischer classify the Heat‘s interest in signing the Oakland native as “serious,” but acknowledge that the injured star will likely be in no rush to sign his next contract.
The Pacers, Kings, and Pelicans are among the other teams who remain on the hunt for another point guard, Stein and Fischer write.

Nuggets To Hire Jared Dudley As Top Assistant Coach

July 3rd, 2025 at 12:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA forward Jared Dudley has agreed to a contract with the Nuggets that will make him the top assistant coach on David Adelman‘s staff, agent Andy Miller tells ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).

Marc Stein of The Stein Line first reported that Dudley was drawing interest from Memphis, Cleveland and Denver, and also reported over the weekend that the Nuggets were granted permission to Dudley.

A 14-year veteran as a player who won a title with the Lakers in 2020, Dudley has been an assistant with the Mavericks for the past four seasons, including acting in a front-of-bench role in 2024/25.

As Stein notes (via Twitter), all three of Dallas’ top assistants from last season have found new jobs in recent months, with Sean Sweeney joining the division-rival Spurs as associate head coach, Alex Jensen becoming the head coach at the University of Utah, and Dudley heading to Denver. Player development assistant God Shammgod, who has been with the Mavs since 2019, was also hired away by the Magic.

The Mavericks replaced Sweeney with new associate head coach Frank Vogel, a longtime former head coach, while ex-Raptors and Suns coach Jay Triano is the new No. 2 assistant. Stein reported that Dallas is eyeing veteran assistants Phil Handy and Mike Penberthy to join Jason Kidd‘s staff, though Handy is also drawing interest from New York.

According to Adam Mares of ALLCITY (Twitter link), Dudley is well liked and respected by coaches and players around the NBA, including several of the league’s top stars. The former first-round pick turns 40 years old next week.