Mavs Notes: Free Agency, Cap, Chris Wright
The Mavericks' 12-year playoff streak may have come to an end this season, but the team did win its last game of the year to reach .500. That's likely of little consolation for Mark Cuban and the Mavs, who have a big offseason ahead of them as they look to build a team capable of returning to the postseason in 2013/14. Here's the latest out of Dallas:
- Last offseason, most of the Mavericks' signings came aboard on one-year contracts, but Cuban isn't sure that will be the case this year, as Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes. "We’re going to be opportunistic and try to improve the team," Cuban said. "I don’t see us just signing just one-year deals anymore. I think we want to grab onto some people to be part of a longer-term solution and see what happens."
- Cuban also intends to operate with more transparency for the sake of the team's fans, says Townsend.
- While a .500 season may be acceptable in some NBA cities, it's a disaster in Dallas, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com, who says major changes are on the way for the Mavericks.
- MacMahon also takes a look at the Mavericks' financial forecast, with an assist from cap expert Larry Coon.
- After a brief stint with the Mavs in March, Chris Wright is headed to Puerto Rico, having signed with Capitanes de Arecibo, according to a Sportando report.
Odds & Ends: Jeffries, Coaches, Kahn, Raptors
Blazers owner Paul Allen spoke to reporters this evening about the offseason for his team, which begins tomorrow, and it seems one decision will have to be made fairly quickly. Jared Jeffries is under contract for the next two seasons, but neither is guaranteed. Next season would become guaranteed if he's not waived by the fifth day following Portland's final game this season, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com believes it's likely that Jeffries won't be back, judging by the 31-year-old's lack of playing time this season, so it appears the Blazers could be cutting him loose soon. Jeffries wants to remain in the NBA next season, however, and tells Haynes that he'll be looking for more playing time wherever he winds up.
As we wait to learn the fate of Jeffries and others as the offseason begins for nearly half the league, there's plenty more NBA news:
- Sam Amick of USA Today examines which coaches are most likely to be out of work soon, placing Mike Dunlap among those in the greatest danger of losing their jobs, along with Keith Smart, Byron Scott and Lawrence Frank. He also suggests that if Rick Adelman returns to the Wolves, GM David Kahn will as well, but if the coach isn't back, Kahn may be on the outs, too.
- Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo insists to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun that he never tried to fire coach Dwane Casey this season, as Simmons had previously reported.
- Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, speaking with the team's broadcasters during tonight's game, said retaining unrestricted free agent Martell Webster will be key, confirming a pair of recent reports. CSNWashington.com has the video, in which Leonsis also expresses a desire to keep John Wall long-term.
- Executives around the league who spoke to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game are widely split on how much O.J. Mayo could command if he turns down his $4.2MM option for next season. Some figure he can't expect much of a raise, and others believe he could easily make $10MM-$12MM (Sulia link).
- Point guard Josiah Turner, who played professionally in Canada this year after leaving the University of Arizona, will enter the draft, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Neither DraftExpress nor ESPN.com rate Turner as a top 100 prospect.
Southwest Notes: Hornets, Mayo, Brand, Spurs
As we look forward to the last night of the NBA's 2012/13 regular season, let's round up a few items out of the Southwest Division….
- Although the Hornets will finish as one of the bottom three teams in the Western Conference, coach Monty Williams is encouraged by the strides some of his players made this season. "There are a lot of positives," Williams told John Reid of the Times-Picayune. "We firmly believe that guys who come here have a great chance to improve their game because of our program and the things we do. I think it’s just going to get better as we add experience and start to bring in more talent in the next few years."
- O.J. Mayo, who has a player option for 2013/14, says he'd like to return to the Mavericks next season, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. I'd still be surprised if Mayo exercises the option rather than exploring the market.
- Elton Brand also expressed a desire to return to the Mavs next season, though he said "we'll see what happens in the summer," as Price tweets.
- Writing for The Basketball Jones, Mark Deeks of ShamSports notes how unusual it is for established NBA players like Tracy McGrady to sign deals at the end of the regular season. For the Spurs, there may not be much potential reward, but there's no risk either, says Deeks.
- The Grizzlies inked a pair of free agents earlier today, adding Donte Greene and Willie Reed.
Western Notes: Mayo, Blazers, Clark, Prince
We rounded up a few items from out of the Eastern Conference earlier in the day. Now let's head west….
- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle had harsh words for O.J. Mayo during and after last night's game against the Grizzlies, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com details. Mayo is widely expected to decline his 2013/14 player option and test free agency this summer, though MacMahon notes that the USC product recently told ESPNDallas.com he has yet to make a decision on the option.
- Carlisle's comments on Mayo show why the Trail Blazers shouldn't consider pursuing the shooting guard if he hits free agency this summer, says Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com.
- According to a Sports Business Daily report passed along by HoopsHype, Earl Clark has changed agents, making the transition from Happy Walters of Relativity Sports to Kevin Bradbury at BDA Sports.
- Having been acquired by the Grizzlies in January's Rudy Gay blockbuster, Tayshaun Prince is excited to be back in the postseason, and tells Derek Page of HoopsWorld he's happy for Ed Davis and Austin Daye, who also came to Memphis in the deal.
Odds & Ends: Bullock, Blazers, Noah, Nowitzki
A few Monday odds and ends from around the Association:
- North Carolina junior Reggie Bullock is "leaning strongly" toward going pro, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Bullock, who is ranked 35th on Jonathan Givony's big board at DraftExpress.com, is expected to finalize his decision today, according to Wojnarowski.
- The Nuggets team that beat the Trail Blazers in Denver last night may serve as a blueprint for the Blazers' rebuilding process, writes Joe Freeman of the Oregonian.
- Bulls big man Joakim Noah will be represented by Bill Duffy and BDA Management going forward, the agency announced today on its website. As our agency database shows, Steve Nash, Rajon Rondo, and Goran Dragic are among BDA's other NBA clients.
- In other agency news, Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal reports that Jay-Z Roc Nation Sports won't work with any other agencies besides CAA. Roc Nation will hire established agents for multiple sports and will have its own employees, including Jay-Z, certified, Mullen adds (Twitter links).
- Dirk Nowitzki scored the 25,000th point of his NBA career last night, and intends to "be around" long enough to make a run at 30,000, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.
- Although it seems as if Doug Collins will coach his last games for the Sixers this week, many of his players would like to see him back next season, as Lang Greene of HoopsWorld details.
Odds & Ends: T’Wolves, Temple, Magic, Mavs
Kevin Love seemed optimistic about being able to bounce back from a difficult season with the best offseason of his life, writes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. He also spoke about his desire for Rick Adelman to continue coaching the team, saying: "We need to have him back…I know his family comes first, but hopefully we can sit down and talk to him. This year has given us a lot of perspective, and hopefully he can see we have the making of a very good team here. We can make a push and have a special year next year…I think he’ll come back.”
You can find more of tonight's miscellaneous links below:
- According to Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press, Rick Adelman has deemed finding a quality shooting guard among the top of Minnesota's priorities this offseason.
- Garrett Temple hopes to have found a home with the Wizards, telling J. Michael of CSN Washington that he'd "love" to be back with them next year.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel thinks that the Magic should look to move Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson, and/or Glen Davis (at least one of them) in order to continue creating cap space for the future.
- Jan Hubbard of Sheridan Hoops wonders if a 35-year-old Dirk Nowitzki will have to endure another season like this one, especially if the Mavericks are unable to hit a home run in free agency for the second straight year after breaking up their championship roster.
- Though Mark Cuban isn't happy that Dallas is going to miss the postseason, he vouched for coach Rick Carlisle: "Rick’s a great coach…We obviously didn’t have what we thought we would have, but we obviously should have had more. I don’t know if we could have, but we should have, so it’s all on me. If that means I let Rick down, I let Rick down" (Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram reports).
- Jeff McDonald of Spurs Nation writes that Manu Ginobili has been "progressing" in rehab according to coach Gregg Popovich, and that the Spurs veteran shooting guard could be cleared for full contact soon. On a more unfortunate note, Boris Diaw is expected to miss three-to-f0ur weeks (including the start of the playoffs) after the forward underwent a procedure to remove a synovial cyst that had been bothering his spine.
Odds & Ends: Coaches, Mavericks, Pacers
The NBA has its first official playoff matchup cemented in the postseason schedule, as the Bucks' loss to the Bobcats tonight guaranteed them a first round dance with the Heat. Now that Boston is a lock for seventh place, five of the remaining playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference are still yet to be determined. We've got plenty of miscellaneous links to share tonight, and you can find them below:
- Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune thinks Tyrone Corbin will face plenty of scrutiny next season from the Jazz front office. Corbin appears likely to keep his job regardless of whether the team captures the final playoff spot this year.
- Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times figures on at least six coaching vacancies in the offseason, with the Pistons most likely to have one of them. Woelfel hears Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson is already drawing serious consideration from a couple of teams. Sampson was recently linked to the Bucks, where coach Jim Boylan appears on unsteady footing.
- According to Paul Franklin of The Times of Trenton, Lakers assistant coach Eddie Jordan is expected to be announced as the new head basketball coach at Rutgers University. Tom Luicci of the Star-Ledger heard about the possibility earlier this afternoon (Twitter link).
- Dirk Nowitzki believes the outcome of the Mavericks' attempt to retool this summer might determine the effectiveness of Mark Cuban's decision to break up his 2011 championship team, observes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- Even without a superstar, the well-balanced Pacers appear to be primed as a dangerous post-season matchup, writes Zach Schonbrun of the New York Times.
- Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register tweets that Kobe Bryant will likely seek advice from soccer star and friend David Beckham, who also suffered an Achilles injury but returned after six months. Dan Woike (also of the OC Register) says that Clippers guard Chauncey Billups – who also suffered the same injury last season – is also willing to lend his support (Twitter link). Lastly, the LA Times' Sam Farmer and Broderick Turner gathered some thoughts from NFL star Terrell Suggs, who shed some light on the process of recovery.
Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.
Mavs Re-Sign Josh Akognon
1:52pm: The Mavericks officially announced the signing in a press release.
1:15pm: The Mavs and Josh Akognon are lining up a deal that would keep him on the team for the rest of the season and include a team option for 2013/14, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Akognon's 10-day contract with the team expired last night.
The 5'11" guard made just a single four-minute appearance for Dallas during his 10-day deal, but the Mavs have apparently seen enough to settle on the 27-year-old journeyman for their final roster spot heading into the offseason. Dallas also signed Chris Wright and Justin Dentmon to 10-day contracts in recent weeks, but didn't re-sign either player.
Akognon was in training camp with the Mavs this past fall, but spent the season in China with the Liaoning Jiebao Hunters, for whom he averaged a team-high 29.0 points per game. It was the second straight year Akognon made his mark in the Chinese league, after posting 28.2 PPG for the DongGuan New Century Leopards in 2011/12.
Odds & Ends: Mavs, Collins, Jackson, Jordan
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban takes the blame for his team's subpar season, saying he failed to construct an adequate roster and promising he'll be more attentive this summer, observes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. "I'm not making any predictions," the owner said. "All I'm saying is we're not going to do a traditional rebuild. That's (why) we got all this cap room, so we wouldn't. We're going to be opportunistic."
Cuban also made headlines this evening for his desire to keep Vince Carter for years to come, but there are plenty of other newsmakers tonight:
- Contradicting a report from earlier this week, John Finger of CSNPhilly.com writes that Sixers management wants to keep Doug Collins for as long as he has a desire to coach.
- Collins will still receive his $4.5MM salary for next season if the Sixers fire him, but he won't get the money if he quits, notes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- Stephen Jackson's discontent, which was apparently at the root of his release from the Spurs, didn't stem from the lack of a contract extension, but simply a desire for more playing time, according to Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News.
- Lakers assistant coach Eddie Jordan is nearing a deal to become the next head coach at Rutgers, tweets Chick Hernandez of CSNWashington.com. Jordan is willing to take the job even if it means he'd have to leave the Lakers right away, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times.
- Mike Woodson has interest in Kurt Thomas rejoining the Knicks as an assistant coach next season, as Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal notes via Twitter.
- North Carolina announced sophomore swingman P.J. Hairston is returning to school, tweets Andy Katz of ESPN.com. Hairston is No. 40 on Chad Ford's list of prospects for ESPN.com, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com has Hairston at No. 14 on his 2014 mock draft.
- Before he gets into the latest edition of his mock draft, Chris Mannix of SI.com discusses Louisville's Russ Smith, whom coach Rick Pitino now says is "50-50" to go pro after it seemed earlier that he would enter the draft. At least one scout who spoke to Mannix thinks Smith would go undrafted in June.
Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.
Cuban Wants To Keep Vince Carter Long-Term
Vince Carter, unlike most of his Mavericks teammates, isn't set to hit free agency this summer. The 36-year-old is signed through 2014, but Mavs owner Mark Cuban hopes the team can keep him beyond next season, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Cuban has no concerns about Carter's game declining after a bounceback season this year, and would like to see Carter eventually retire as a Mav.
"He can play for more than a year, easily," Cuban said. "He’ll be cranking those motorcycle handles for a while."
Carter's scoring average is up to 13.2 points per game this year, more than three points higher than last season's mark in essentially the same amount of playing time. He's taking more shots, but his field-goal percentage is higher, and his three-point shooting, at 39.8%, is the best it's been since 2004/05.
Coach Rick Carlisle has used Carter as a sixth man this season, and it's the first time in the 15th-year veteran's career that he hasn't started at least half of his team's games. Carter is making $3.09MM this season and $3.18MM in 2013/14, so whatever he makes on his next contract couldn't be too much of a paycut.
Cuban's comments seem, at least on the surface, to indicate the Mavs won't look to trade him to free up cap space in pursuit of a marquee free agent this summer. Of course, Cuban might just be trying to talk up Carter's trade value, so nothing's certain. Carter was reportedly part of a proposed Josh Smith trade at the deadline.