Mavs Sign Shane Larkin
The Mavericks announced via press release that they have signed 18th overall pick Shane Larkin. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Mavs acquired the draft rights to the Miami point guard from the Hawks in exchange for Jared Cunningham, the draft rights to No. 44 overall pick Mike Muscala and the draft rights to No. 16 pick Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira. Noguiera, meanwhile, came to the Mavs with two 2014 second rounders from the C's in exchange for the draft rights to No. 13 pick Kelly Olynyk.
Larkin led the Hurricanes to the ACC regular season and postseason championships last season en route to being named the ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, Lute Olsen National Player of the Year, and Second Team All-American by Associated Press. The sophomore averaged 14.5 points, 4.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals in 36 games.
Larkin did not participate with the Mavericks at the Las Vegas Summer League after sustaining an injury to his right ankle in practice. Larkin underwent ankle surgery on July 16th, putting him in line for a comeback right around the start of the regular season.
Texas Notes: Oden, Mavs, Manu, Rockets
Earlier today, Chuck Myron ran down each team's most expensive signings from this summer. The Rockets were among the league's heavyweights with their four-year, $88MM committment to Dwight Howard. Meanwhile, the Mavericks had high hopes for this offseason but their heftiest contract went to Jose Calderon, who got a four-year, $29MM deal. Here's the latest out of the Lone Star State..
- A Friday report indicated that the Mavs had sent representatives to Indianapolis to watch Greg Oden work out, but Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that it isn't the case. Dallas still remains among the teams interested in the oft-injured big man, whom Stein hears is looking lean and moving well as he auditions for teams. Stein expects teams to make formal offers early this week in advance of Oden's decision by the end of the week (Twitter links).
- Manu Ginobili is glad to be back in black (and silver), writes Mike Monroe of the Express News. Ginobili celebrates his 36th birthday today and he is sure that the two-year, $14MM deal he signed with the Spurs this offseason will be his last.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey doesn't view the raiding of his front office as a sign of success, writes Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle. "I don't feel we accomplished much, yet," Morey said. "I'll take more pride when we've actually had more results than before. It's a results league. It should be. Everyone, including ourselves, will be looking at what should be a step forward this year in hopefully a big way. … I'm trying to make sure we actually have some results before we get too excited."
Odds & Ends: Pacers, Billups, Mavs, Reinsdorf
The Mavs have had a busy offseason, since there was so much turnaround after loading up on expiring contracts last season with a chance to nab Dwight Howard or Josh Smith in free agency this summer. Since they failed to land any of the upper-tier free agents, they decided to surround 35-year-old Dirk Nowitzki with mid-tier acquisitions in an attempt to get Dirk a second title, but without spending their way out of contending for the free agents next summer when Dirk, Shawn Marion and others have their contract's expire.
Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram listed all the Mavericks from last season who will be playing on different rosters next season (Twitter): O.J. Mayo is on the Bucks, Elton Brand and Jared Cunningham joined the Hawks, Darren Collison signed with the Clippers, Chris Kaman joined the Lakers after they failed to re-sign Howard, and Anthony Morrow joined an improved Pelicans team. Two former Mavs are still unsigned, though, as Price tweets: Rodrigue Beaubois and Mike James.
Here are a few more tidbits as the NBA comes up on the end of the free agency period…
- Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press tweets that the Pistons have talked with recent free agent signee Chauncey Billups about joining the front office in Detroit after he retires
- The Pacers are “going for it” with their recent trade for Luis Scola, writes Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star.
- Kyrie Irving has been impressing once again at Team USA tryouts in Las Vegas this past week. Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer talked with the 2012 Rookie of the Year about what he's trying to improve as he comes up on his third season in the league with a much-improved Cavs team.
- Melissa Harris and Jared S. Hopkins of the Chicago Tribune profile Bulls COO, Michael Reinsdorf, the son of Bulls owner, Jerry Reinsdorf. The younger Reinsdorf is seen as his father's successor with the team.
- The bizarre Tennesse "Jock Tax" that Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote about a couple weeks ago, is something NBA millionaires can afford, writes Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal.
- Pablo Prigioni is "really excited" to come back to the Knicks next year reports Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
Odds & Ends: Nash, Oden, Henderson, Cousins
Italian soccer power Inter Milan will give Steve Nash a tryout next week, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, but it's clear that even after a frustrating season with the Lakers, the two-time MVP won't be giving up on basketball anytime soon. He expressed his eagerness to return to the hardwood even as he prepared to lace up his cleats. We're only about two months away from the start of training camps as we pass along the latest from a whirlwind summer:
- Greg Oden could decide on his next team by as early as Monday, reports Steve Aschburner of NBA.com, who adds the Mavs to the list of teams that have sent contingents to Indianapolis to watch Oden work out this week. The Spurs, Pelicans, Hawks, Kings and Heat are the others on that list.
- Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson are on board with the Pelicans' pursuit of Oden, as they tell Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
- Though the Bobcats were reported to be seeking sign-and-trade options at one point in their negotiations with Gerald Henderson, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that the team always planned to re-sign him. The two sides agreed to a deal tonight.
- DeMarcus Cousins and his representatives met with the Kings multiple times recently in Las Vegas, and the team is making it clear that he's a priority, a source tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).
- A lucrative, long-term extension for the volatile Cousins might not strike Kings fans as the wisest move, but SB Nation's Tom Ziller argues that, at worst, there will be plenty of teams eager to trade for Cousins if the Kings eventually want to get rid of him.
- The Mavs have been talking up their summer acquisitions, but HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram isn't nearly as optimistic, opining in his NBA PM piece that Dirk Nowitzki's supporting cast has never been weaker.
Mavericks Sign Wayne Ellington
JULY 26TH: The Mavericks have finally made the deal with Ellington official, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 9TH: Wayne Ellington has reached an agreement on a two-year, $5MM contract with the Mavericks, according to Yahoo! NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski.
His fourth team in five seasons, Ellington spent half of last year with the Grizzlies before getting traded to the Cavaliers. While in Cleveland, Ellington saw the most playing time of his career, running for 25.9MPG and averaging 10.4PPG.
With news earlier in the night that Mavericks free agent Anthony Morrow had signed a two-year deal with the Pelicans, it's probable that Dallas views Ellington as a replacement from the viewpoint that he can also shoot threes while providing more versatility with the ball.
Mavericks Re-Sign Bernard James
JULY 26TH: The Mavericks have officially re-signed James, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 22ND: Having cleared waivers yesterday after being released by the Mavericks last week, Bernard James is expected to return to Dallas, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com).
The Mavericks had previously pushed back James' contract guarantee date in hopes of keeping him on the roster, but ultimately needed to waive him to clear about $300K in cap room to help sign Monta Ellis. James had been on a minimum-salary ($789K) contract, whereas an empty roster spot only has a cap hold of about $490K.
When Ellis signs, the path will be clear for the Mavs to re-sign James to another minimum-salary deal, since teams are permitted to go over the cap for minimum deals. According to Stein, the two sides have an agreement in principle to complete a new contract once Ellis officially inks his deal.
FA Rumors: Maggette, Blair, Telfair, Tinsley
Restricted free agents like Nikola Pekovic, Brandon Jennings, and Gerald Henderson represent the most intriguing names left on the free agent market, but in his latest piece for HoopsWorld, Alex Kennedy takes a look at a few unrestricted free agents who have flown more under the radar. Here are some highlights from Kennedy:
- Corey Maggette considered retiring to pursue a front office job, but it looks like he'll postpone that plan for at least a year. Maggette would like to play for a contender, and could likely be had for a one-year, minimum-salary deal.
- Although more than a dozen teams, including the Bulls and Clippers, have expressed some level of interest in DeJuan Blair, the big man still hasn't been able to secure the sort of multiyear offer he's seeking.
- There continues to be mutual interest between the Knicks and Sebastian Telfair, who has also attracted some interest from contenders like the Heat and Thunder.
- The Nets nearly signed Jamaal Tinsley earlier in the offseason, but opted for Shaun Livingston instead. Tinsley is now considering teams like the Mavericks, Rockets, Bobcats, and Suns.
- Keyon Dooling still appears likely to make a decision on a team within the next week, and he figures to land a one-year contract worth the veteran's minimum.
- After turning down the Bobcats last summer to join an apparent contender (the Lakers), Antawn Jamison could end up returning home to Charlotte this time around, according to Kennedy.
Odds & Ends: Hill, Team USA, Cousins
Opting to stick around for youth basketball camps he sponsored in Texas, Pacers guard George Hill understands that his decision to forego his commitment to Team USA training camp on short notice could hurt his chances at future invitations (IndyStar.com). USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo's reacted to Hill's decision: "We expected him here, and he withdrew…Until I really get the answer, I don't know what else to tell you. I just don't think it's fair to comment one way or the other until I have facts, out of courtesy and respect."
Here are a few more miscellaneous rumblings to pass along from tonight:
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter) hears that the Kings will be meeting with DeMarcus Cousins' agent Dan Fegan in the near future to discuss a contract extension.
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets that early next year, Colangelo will announce another pool of 25-28 players for next summer's World Cup competition.
- Though he almost chose the Mavericks at the request of his son, Jermaine O'Neal passed on the chance to return home and ultimately chose to join the Warriors for the opportunity to be a part of something special (Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News).
- Eric Koreen of the National Post introduces us to Bill Bayno, Jesse Murmuys, and Jama Mahlalela – some of the new faces on the Raptors' assistant coaching staff. In another piece, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun gathers some of head coach Dwane Casey's thoughts on Jonas Valanciunas and DeMar DeRozan and their improvement this summer.
- Zach Harper of CBS Sports is puzzled by Cavaliers center Andrew Bynum's statement to Cleveland media that he's never played for a city that really supported their team, coming from someone who developed and enjoyed plenty of success with the Lakers.
Mavericks Re-Sign Brandan Wright
JULY 25th: The Mavs confirmed the move via press release.
JULY 23rd: The Mavericks and Brandan Wright have reached an agreement on a new two-year deal for the big man, according to agent Jim Tanner. Tanner tells TNT's David Aldridge (Twitter link) that the two-year contract for his client will be worth a guaranteed $10MM, with an additional $1.1MM in incentives.
Wright, 25, had long been expected to return to the Mavs, with Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reporting earlier in the month that the two sides were discussing a possible two-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $4MM annually. When owner Mark Cuban talked about the club's offseason last week, he spoke as if Wright were already under contract.
In all likelihood, the Mavs simply had to keep Wright's small ($884,293) cap hold on the books until after the Monta Ellis signing was finalized, which happened today. With Wright's Early Bird rights in hand, the team can go over the cap to re-sign him.
Wright set career-highs in a number of categories last season for the Mavs, including PPG (8.5), RPG (4.1), and games played (64). The former eighth overall pick has a career PER of 19.7, having exhibited the ability to produce efficiently when he stays healthy.
Odds & Ends: Team USA, Clippers, Ledo
A few random notes from around the NBA.
- ESPN.com's Marc Stein writes about Team USA and its long time head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was wary of staying on to coach the team through the 2016 Olympics but now appears committed to the task.
- Grantland.com's Zach Lowe has further information on rookie guard Ricky Ledo's contract with the Mavericks. It's a four-year deal, with the last two years non-guaranteed, Lowe tweets.
- According to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com, John Lucas III's contract with the Jazz is a two-year deal, with the second year being completely non-guaranteed. The first year is for $1.6MM.
- Also from Deeks, in a tweet, the Clippers currently have the highest total committed future salary in the NBA. The Mavericks have the lowest.