Matthews Promises Big Things This Season
Wesley Matthews says he is fully recovered from the Achilles tear he suffered in 2015 and predicts much stronger results for his second campaign with the Mavericks, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays. “I want the season to start now,” Matthews said. “I’m a whole different person. I’m a whole different player, and I’m really just excited to get out there and show it, and just to be who I know I can be and just to continue to grow. Obviously, it was different coming off of an Achilles [injury] and not having four or five months to prepare and all that stuff, and jumping right into the season being physically able to play every single game and play heavy minutes. It took until about after the All-Star break for me to get my legs back, because I play both ends of the court. And I feel better than when I got hurt.”
Williams: James Has Solidified His Legacy
- Mavs guard Deron Williams believes LeBron James solidified his legacy by winning a championship with the Cavaliers, he said in an NBC Radio interview that was excerpted by the Dallas Morning News. James formed a “super team” with the Heat but proved he could win it all with an arguable lesser cast, according to Williams. “He went back to a team that won – what? – 20 games before he got there, and took them to the Finals, and now they won a championship,” Williams said. “And if you take him off that team, I don’t know where they’d be, they’d still be a good team, but they wouldn’t be competing for a championship.”
Maverick Notes: New Additions, Barnes, Powell
The Mavericks made several new additions this offseason and coach Rick Carlisle envisions the team playing a different style than it did last season, as he said on 103.3FM ESPN (h/t to Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com). “We’re more physical,” Carlisle said. “You know, [Chandler] Parsons was a guy that is a different kind of player than Barnes, and Parsons was a very good ball-handler and playmaker. You know, I think [Harrison] Barnes can develop into a playmaker, but that has not been his DNA and that has not been what’s been asked of him in Golden State. What I found spending five days in the gym working out with him is that he’s a better ball-handler than most of us would expect, but we’re going to have to ease him into those situations and just kind of go from there.”
Here’s more out of Dallas:
- Dwight Powell signed a four-year deal worth $37MM this offseason, but he remains motivated to improve his game, as Sneed writes in a separate piece. “My job is to be ready for whatever opportunity I find myself presented with and be ready to perform at the highest level,” Powell said. “For me, it’s business as usual. Just in the gym grinding. Hopefully it says that I’m an NBA player, that I belong in the league and that I’m able to perform. I’m willing to work and do whatever it takes to get better. I’m willing to put in the time and the effort and sacrifice to do that to help a team win. Hopefully it’s a positive. I mean, I do work. That’s something I’ve done my whole life and something I was taught at a young age, so it’s part of who I am.”
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News takes a look back at the key members of the Mavericks‘ 2011 championship team and examines where they are in their careers now.
And-Ones: Cotton, Thomas, Mavericks
The Hawks currently have 17 players on their roster, which is three below the preseason maximum, and Atlanta is likely to add to that total prior to the start of training camp, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. The team would like to add another point guard and possibly more frontcourt depth, notes Vivlamore. One possibility, as far as backcourt help goes, is unrestricted free agent Bryce Cotton, adds the scribe. Cotton played well on the Hawks’ Las Vegas Summer League squad, appearing in five games and averaging 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 19.6 minutes.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Former NBA player Adonis Thomas has signed with agent Jim Tanner and Tandem Sports, Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal tweets. Thomas last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 campaign when he briefly played for both the Sixers and the Magic.
- Available roster spots are becoming scarce around the league, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes in his rundown of where each team currently stands as far as roster counts go.
- The Mavs‘ roster looks markedly different from a season ago and team executive Donnie Nelson believes the changes made are for the better, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “You know, we’re excited. I think we’re better than we were last year,” Nelson explained. “We also have some really nice young pieces, and I think at the start of training camp we’ll have some really solid veteran leadership in the starting positions laced with guys in their mid-20s. So, it’s a really nice complement of Mavericks that have carried that baton for years and a young complement of Maverick young guns that will be positioning themselves for roster minutes.”
What Can Mavericks Expect From Harrison Barnes?
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News takes a look at what the Mavericks can expect from their new max-contract free agent addition, Harrison Barnes.
Wild Offseason For Barnes; Mavs OK'd Bogut For Olympics
Harrison Barnes is competing in his first Olympics, but he had plenty of offseason excitement before the Summer Games started, writes Joe Rexrode of The Des Moines Register. After being a key part of a Warriors team that set a league record with 73 wins in a season, Barnes found himself cut free when Golden State needed his cap room to sign Kevin Durant. Barnes wound up inking a four-year $94MM deal with the Mavericks, who plan to make him one of the focal points of their offense. “I think Harrison wants an opportunity to go to a team and be the guy,” said fellow Team USA member and former Warriors teammate Draymond Green, “and he has that opportunity, which I’m not mad at him about. He already has a championship, and that’s what he’ll be remembered as. He’s a champion, and no one can ever take that away.”
- The Mavericks didn’t try to stop newly acquired center Andrew Bogut from playing in the Olympics, according to Kareem Copeland of The Associated Press. Bogut, who came to Dallas in a trade last month, is still recovering from a hyperextended knee he suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. At age 31, Bogut believes this is his last shot at the Olympics and he feared the Mavericks might ask him to sit out and rest the knee, but he said the team approved as long as he was healthy. “I was like, I don’t want it to end that way where I’m just sitting at home with ice on my knee if I can give it a crack,” Bogut said after leading Australia past France today. “I didn’t want it taken away that easily. I said I’ll give it a crack up until this day. If it wasn’t right yesterday, I’d put my hand up and I’m on a flight back home.”
And-Ones: New Orleans, Bogut, Gabriel
The NBA formally removed the All Star Game from Charlotte on July 22nd because of concerns about North Carolina’s House Bill 2, which eliminated anti-discrimination protections for those who fall into the LGBT demographic. It appears the event is close to landing a new venue, with the league closing in on a deal with New Orleans to act as host, Scott Kushner and Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate relay. The 2016/17 NBA All-Star game is scheduled for February 19th, 2017.
Here’s more of the latest from around the league:
- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is excited about the team’s addition of Andrew Bogut, who fills a big need for the team at center if he can remain healthy, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “You know, it gives us not only a legitimate starting center, but it gives us one of the best centers in the game,” Carlisle said of the trade with the Warriors. “I’m looking forward to getting to know Andrew. He’s overseas in Australia with their national team. And you know, it will be a lot happening quick.”
- Forward Kenny Gabriel, who played for the summer league squads of both the Cavs and the Heat this offseason, has signed a one-year deal that will pay him in excess of $1MM with the Russian club Kuban, international journalist David Pick tweets.
- Kansas swingman Josh Jackson tops the first Big Board for the 2017 NBA Draft from ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required). Rounding out Ford’s top three are Duke freshman Harry Giles and Washington guard Markelle Fultz.
Salary Cap Snapshot: Dallas Mavericks
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors ware tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once new financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. The next franchise we’ll be looking at are the Dallas Mavericks, who currently are well over the league’s salary cap of $94,143,000 for the 2016/17 season. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Mavericks’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Mavs currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Dirk Nowitzki — $25,000,000
- Harrison Barnes — $22,116,750 [Deal includes 8% Trade Kicker]
- Wesley Matthews — $17,145,838
- Deron Williams — $9,000,000 [Waived by team]
- Dwight Powell — $8,375,000
- Nerlens Noel —$4,384,490
- Devin Harris — $4,227,996
- J.J. Barea — $4,096,950
- Seth Curry — $2,898,000
- DeAndre Liggins —$1,015,696
- Salah Mejri — $874,636
- A.J. Hammons — $650,000
- Quincy Acy — $593,233 [Waived by team; $1,050,961 cap hit reduced by setoff]
- Nicolas Brussino — $543,471
- Dorian Finney-Smith — $543,471
- Jonathan Gibson — $543,471 [Waived by team (Oct 22)]
- Maurice Ndour — $437,318 [Waived by team]
- Gal Mekel — $315,759 [Waived via Stretch Provision]
- Yogi Ferrell — $207,798
- Jonathan Gibson — $137,466 [Waived by team (Dec 27)]
- Kyle Collinsworth — $70,000 [Waived by team]
- Manny Harris — $57,672 [10-day contract (Mar 9); actual salary — $59,747]
- Manny Harris — $57,672 [10-day contract (Mar 19); actual salary — $59,747]
- Jarrod Uthoff — $47,953
- Pierre Jackson — $41,560 [Waived by team (Jan 6)]
- Pierre Jackson — $31,969 [10-day contract (Jan 15)]
- Pierre Jackson — $31,969 [10-day contract (Jan 25)]
- Yogi Ferrell — $31,969 [10-day contract (Jan 28)]
- Ben Bentil — $31,969 [10-day contract (Feb 26)]
- Quinn Cook — $31,969 [10-day contract (Feb 26)]
- Jarrod Uthoff — $31,969 [10-day contract (Mar 9)]
- Jarrod Uthoff — $31,969 [10-day contract (Mar 19)]
- Jameel Warney — $20,000 [Waived by team]
Total Guaranteed Salary= $103,625,983
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: Sent $3,227,286 to Jazz as part of Jeremy Evans trade [Amount Remaining $272,714]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Trade Exception: $6,642,537 (Andrew Bogut trade) — Expires on 2/23/18
- Trade Exception: $1,514,160 (Justin Anderson trade) — Expires on 2/23/18
- Room Exception: $0 (used on Seth Curry)
Total Projected Payroll: $103,625,983
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Available Cap Space: –$9,482,983
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Estimated Amount Below Luxury Tax: $9,661,017
Last Updated: 4/15/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Cuban Never Doubted Nowitzki Would Re-Sign
Mavs owner Mark Cuban was never concerned that Dirk Nowitzki would elect to head elsewhere this offseason, as he detailed to Brandon Robinson of CBSSports.com. “Dirk wasn’t even in the country and people couldn’t even reach him when free agency started,” Cuban told Robinson “I basically told him, look, you tell me the price and it actually started lower. His agent said ‘how about this much’ and we said ‘we’ll have a little more money, we’ll give you more’ and as the numbers started getting bigger and bigger, it was like ‘what about this number?’ ‘We’ll give you more.’ Finally, it was like ‘this is what we got left, take it!’
Southwest Notes: Bogut, Simmons, Hield, Nowitzki
New Mavericks center Andrew Bogut was back on the court today for the first time since hurting his left knee in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, reports ESPN.com. Bogut played nine minutes for the Australian National Team in an Oympic tune-up against China. He wore a brace on his knee as he registered three rebounds and an assist. “I think his first game back from an injury is always difficult,” said Australian assistant coach Luc Longley. “We’re fairly happy with how he moved, how he looked on the court and will build from that.”
There’s more news from the Southwest Division:
- Jonathon Simmons‘ contract with the Spurs is now fully guaranteed for next season, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The second-year shooting guard will make $847,636 after the guarantee deadline passed Saturday.
- The Pelicans expect first-round pick Buddy Hield to have ups and downs during his rookie season, writes Ian Thomsen of NBA.com. Hield struggled with his shot in his first summer league experience, connecting on just 33% from the field and 23% from 3-point range. New Orleans is counting on Hield to replace Eric Gordon, who signed with the Rockets in free agency. “With him it’s never going to be about effort,” said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry. “It’s just going to be about the experience of learning, and if that’s all you’ve got to worry about then I think he’s going to be a very good player. It’s going to be a roller coaster season for him. He’s going to have some 30-point games, he’s also going to have some 3-for-15 games. That’s all a part of learning as a rookie. But you tell me a rookie that’s come in this league that hasn’t done that.”
- After years of being paid below his market value, the Mavericks‘ Dirk Nowitzki deserves the two-year, $50MM deal he signed this summer, contends Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Nowitzki said he took less in previous years to help Dallas assemble the best possible team and noted that the Mavericks were able to trade for Tyson Chandler and sign Chandler Parsons because of it.