Stein: Mavs "Batting Away" Offers For Wesley Matthews
- Stein is also told that Mavericks swingman Wesley Matthews isn’t currently on the trade block. Sources tell Stein that Dallas has been “batting away pitches” for Matthews.
[SOURCE LINK]
Mavs Waive Pierre Jackson
5:14pm: According to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News, the Mavs may look to reacquire Jackson after he clears waivers. They’ll be eligible to sign him to a 10-day contract on January 14, provided he clears waivers on Tuesday.
4:19pm: The Mavs have waived Pierre Jackson, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. The point guard played just four games with Dallas after signing on with the club on December 27. Used sparingly during his brief tenure in Texas, Jackson averaged 3.0 points and 1.8 assists per game.
Prior to inking the two-year deal with the Mavs, Jackson thrived with Dallas’ D-League affiliate. The 25-year-old was a 42nd overall pick by the Sixers in 2013, but hadn’t tasted NBA action until making his debut in December.
Latest On Andrew Bogut
Mavericks center Andrew Bogut made headlines on Wednesday, after he suggested in an interview with an Australian radio station that he doesn’t expect his time in Dallas to last a whole lot longer. Noting that his expiring contract and his skill set made him a potentially valuable trade chip, Bogut said that he’ll likely only have “a couple of months more” with the Mavs.
Those comments were the primary topic of discussion today when local reporters spoke to Bogut and Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. The former No. 1 pick went into more detail about his expectations for the coming weeks and months, while Carlisle weighed in on the topic as well. Here are some of Bogut’s key quotes from today’s media session, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com:
On why he said he expects to be traded:
“I’m not silly. I’ve been in this league long enough. I’m an expiring contract. I haven’t asked for a trade, but I know in this league we’re 11-24, and I was being honest. There’s a chance that I get traded. That turned out into a headline that says ‘Bogut wants out,’ which is false, but it’s just one of the things you have to deal with in this league. … Like I said, they can obviously get some picks back and build for the future by trading some of the veteran guys, and I could be one of them. Hint and emphasis on ‘could.’
On whether he wants to be traded:
“Look, if there’s an opportunity to go somewhere and they want to do it, I’m not going to beg them to not trade me. But I have not gone to the [front] office and asked for a trade. That’s probably the best answer that I can give you. It’s been a tough season for everybody involved, but it’s far from the truth that I’ve gone to management and asked for a trade.”
On whether he thinks he could stay with the Mavs and re-sign with the team in the summer:
“If you’re asking me today and I had to put my house on it, I’d say no, just because if there was an opportunity for me to come back, there would have been at least extension talks, which I’m not bitter about. I’m not mad about it. It’s just the reality of it. It’s the writing on the wall. … The Mavs eventually have to start rebuilding, too. There’s no point in bringing back a 33-year-old center if you’re in rebuild mode. … I just don’t see it.”
On whether he wants a contract buyout:
“If I was going to push for a buyout, I would have done it weeks ago and tried to get on a team and get solidified.”
Check out MacMahon’s full piece for more from Bogut, along with quotes from Carlisle, who suggests that the Mavs view re-signing the center as “a real possibility.”
Andrew Bogut Unlikely To Remain In Dallas?
JANUARY 5, 11:07am: Speaking today to reporters, including Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), Bogut said that he hasn’t requested a trade, but he also hasn’t begged the Mavs to keep him. The veteran center does have personal reasons for wanting to stay in Dallas, per Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (Twitter link).
It’s worth noting that Bogut was given the opportunity to pick his destination when the Warriors traded him last summer, and reportedly chose Dallas over Houston and Philadelphia. Of course, at that time, he expected the Mavs to be a contending team this season.
JANUARY 4, 9:36pm: After an offseason trade from the Warriors last summer, Australian center Andrew Bogut is likely to leave Dallas. The veteran Mavs big man spoke over the phone with Australia’s Sky Sports Radio:
“Thankfully I’m a free agent here so I only have a couple of months more here and then will most likely move on. I don’t see myself hanging around with everything that’s gone on. It will be an interesting six months ahead.”
In 18 healthy games with the Mavericks this season, Bogut has averaged a career low 3.3 points per game. In December, the 32-year-old missed three weeks with a right knee injury.
Relegated to the bench ever since Dirk Nowitzki returned to the lineup, a move that ESPN says he initiated, Bogut has seen his role shrink dramatically. He’s scored just two points in the three games since he returned to action on December 27.
Considering the big man’s expiring contract, it’s well within reason that he gets moved prior to the trade deadline in February and his contributions as a defensive presence in the paint will make him that much more appealing to club’s looking to stock up for the final stretch of the regular season.
“I’ve got a valuable contract … having four months left on my contract I’m a valuable commodity to be moved,” he said in the same interview.
Last October, Carson LaCava of Fansided’s Mavs Moneyball speculated that Bogut’s tenure in Dallas wouldn’t last long. In the 17 seasons since Nowitzki was drafted, LaCava writes, Dallas has started nine different centers for at least half a season.
Barnes Turns Corner As Playmaker
- It was no secret that Harrison Barnes would see plenty of opportunities to score with the Mavs, but it’s been his evolution as a playmaker that has stood out to teammates in Dallas. “He’s starting to see other guys [out of double teams] and get shots for open guys,” guard Devin Harris tells Eddie Sefko of Dallas News. “[That] takes his game to another level.”
Pierre Jackson's Roster Spot Safe In Dallas?
- The Mavericks have a pair of players on non-guaranteed contracts, but Dorian Finney-Smith is safe, and Pierre Jackson looks like a good bet to stick on the roster past the salary guarantee deadline as well, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The Mavs like what they’ve seen from Jackson so far, so the only reason to cut him would be to maintain roster flexibility going forward.
Bogut Saying The Right Things
- Andrew Bogut acknowledges that coming off the bench can be a “little disparaging,” but he’s willing to try new things if it helps the Mavericks win more games, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com passes along. “If that’s the way things are going to go to try to get us wins, I’m all for it. If it doesn’t get us wins, then we have a conversation in five or six games,” Bogut said. “It’s no secret that that lineup just doesn’t work. [Harrison Barnes] at the 4 with Dirk at the 5 or myself at the 5 is way more effective. You don’t have to look at analytics to see that. You can see that with the way the floor spacing is and all of that. We’ll give it a shot and see how it goes.”
Finney-Smith Close To Guaranteed Deal; Mavs Affiliate Trades For Neal
Undrafted Mavericks rookie Dorian Finney-Smith has started 25 games so far this season despite barely making Dallas’ roster out of training camp. With the former Florida Gator’s partially-guaranteed contract set to guarantee on January 5, the fact that he’s managed to hold onto his spot in the starting lineup even with Dirk Nowitzki healthy bodes well.
In 22.8 minutes per game this season, the 23-year-old Finney-Smith has emerged as a capable perimeter defender for the Mavericks – even if that means being thrown into the deep end against NBA superstars like Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson.
“It’s great experience for young guys,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said of his rookie’s recent baptism by fire. “They learn a lot in a very short period of time. And some of it is very painful. But this is how you get better.”
As Eddie Sefko of Dallas News writes in the same article, the 15th and final addition to the Mavericks roster last fall has already beaten the odds.
- Veteran Gary Neal, who signed a contract to play in the D-League last month, has been traded to the Texas Legends says Chris Reichert of The Step Back. The Legends are the affiliate of the Mavericks.
Mavericks Notes: Barnes, Jackson, Draft
Harrison Barnes left the Warriors, a team that sits atop the Western Conference, to join the Mavericks, a team that owns the worst record in the conference, but the lack of success hasn’t made him regret his free agency decision, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Sporting News writes.
“Dallas was the right thing for me from the day I signed here,” Barnes said. “You know, I’m happy to be in this process, in this challenge, every single night — pushed out of my comfort zone to become a better basketball player. And I’m excited for what the future has in store.”
Here’s more from Dallas:
- Barnes has developed into a featured player with the Mavericks, something he would not have been able to do with the Warriors, as Sefko adds in the same piece. Taking on a featured role came with added media attention and Barnes is hoping to emulate Dirk Nowitzki‘s approach to dealing with that aspect of the game. “I’ve talked to Dirk and, in my opinion, for a guy who has been through the ups and downs he’s been through, in all of sports, I think he’s one of the model guys you look to. I just really respect his demeanor, his approach, his ability to accept criticism, own it and get better from it. That’s what I want to try to do,” Barnes said.
- Pierre Jackson signed with the Mavs earlier in the week, but Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News doesn’t expect the point guard to make a major impact with the team. The 25-year-old has played in two games for Dallas and he’s averaging 5.0 points and 3.5 assists in 11.5 minutes per contest.
- The Mavs currently reside in fourth place in our reverse standings, meaning they are likely to land one of the top college prospects in the draft. Matt Mosley of the Dallas Morning News examines what the team may do with its first-round pick.
Andrew Bogut Agrees To Come Off Bench
Mavs center Andrew Bogut is willing to come off the bench, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports. That would allow coach Rick Carlisle to start Dirk Nowitzki at center. “He offered to come off the bench, if that’s a better situation for us,” Carlisle told Sefko. “You don’t often get a player of his stature offering to come off the bench for the betterment of the team. But because of his suggestion and this situation, we have that as an option.” Nowitzki faces difficult defense challenges playing power forward against more mobile players and is not used to coming off the bench. The downside is that Bogut is generally considered one of the league’s premier defensive big men.
- There will be no suspensions or fines regarding the altercation on Tuesday between Rockets forward Trevor Ariza and Mavs center Salah Mejri, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26. Ariza was ejected after taking exception to something that Mejri said. After the game, Ariza and some of his teammates tried unsuccessfully to confront Mejri outside the Dallas locker room. The game was also marred by eight technical fouls and two flagrant fouls.