Southwest Notes: Mavs, Nelson, Spurs, Rockets
Former Mavericks head coach Don Nelson is set to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame on September 7th and tells the Associated Press that he is enjoying his retirement more than he ever anticipated. After enduring the grueling and stressful life of an NBA coach for a number of years, Nelson is happy to be in Hawaii, where he has taken up botany, poker, and of course, golf. Could the eccentric offensive guru be lured out of retirement with an attractive coaching opportunity? ''I'd say I'm retired,'' Nelson said. ''I'm done, I'm cooked. It's over.'' Here's more out of the Southwest division..
- The Spurs announced on their website that former player Ime Udoka has been hired as an assistant coach. The forward spent parts of seven seasons in the Association with three seasons in San Antonio. Udoka, 35, was waived by the Nets just prior to the start of the 2011/12 campaign and hooked on with Spanish ACB League team UCAM Murcia.
- Even though the Rockets like 2009 second-round pick Sergio Llull a great deal, they had no plans to bring him over for the 2012/13 season, tweets Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. We learned earlier today that the combo guard is happy playing with Real Madrid and intends to finish out his contract.
- Rockets rookie forward Donatas Motiejunas believes that he is getting a healthy challenge by practicing against the recently-acquired Omer Asik, writes Jason Friedman of Rockets.com. The Lithuanian knows that he will have to adjust to the pace of the NBA but says that the cultural adjustment is going swimmingly.
- Earlier tonight, we learned that the Rockets waived center Sean Williams rather than guarantee his $916K salary for next season.
Magic, Mavs Had Interest In Vorontsevich
Back in June, reports surfaced suggesting that the Thunder may have reached a verbal agreement with Russian forward Andrey Vorontsevich. However, last month, CSKA Moscow announced that Vorontsevich decided not to use his NBA opt-out and would remain in Russia for the coming season.
Evan Dunlap of Orlando Pinstriped Post passes along a story from Basketnews.lt that indicates the Thunder weren't the only team interested in luring Vorontsevich stateside — according to the report, the Magic and Mavs had interest in the 25-year-old as well. Vorontsevich is entering the second year of a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow, so he could consider his NBA options again in the summer of 2014, or even in 2013, if his deal allows him the opportunity to opt out again next summer.
As part of a statement released last month when he made his decision to remain in Russia, the longtime CSKA Moscow forward said: "I am glad to see the interest from NBA clubs but I think it is better for me from professional point of view to stay with CSKA."
Dirk Nowitzki Discusses Future
On Sunday, Dirk Nowitzki answered a series of questions from fans on his Twitter page. During this Q&A session, he was asked how long he planned on playing, and responded that he planned to play out the final two years of his contract and then make a decision beyond that.
Nowitzki, 34, signed a four-year, $80MM contract with the Mavericks in 2010. He is scheduled to make $20.9MM in 2012/13 and $22.7MM in 2013/14. He averaged 21.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 2.2 APG last season.
Michael Finley Joins Mavericks’ Front Office
Michael Finley never formally announced his retirement as an NBA player, and was still working out for teams as recently as earlier this year. However, it appears his playing days are over. The Mavericks announced today at Eduardo Najera's introductory press conference that Finley has also joined the team's front office (Twitter link via Marc Stein of ESPN.com).
Finley doesn't yet have an official title with the Mavs, but GM Donnie Nelson suggested at today's presser that owner Mark Cuban isn't "big on titles" (Twitter link via Stein). Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets that Finley and Najera figure to have similar roles — while Finley obviously won't be coaching the D-League's Texas Legends like Najera is, it sounds as if both former Mavs will assist in making basketball decisions. Najera and Finley will be part of Dallas' draft-day decision-making as well, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
In Finley's 15-year playing career, he racked up over 17,300 career points for the Suns, Mavericks, Spurs, and Celtics. He played in 129 postseason games, winning a title with the Spurs in 2007, and earned over $138MM over the course of his career, according to Basketball-Reference.
Eduardo Najera Retires, Will Coach In D-League
FRIDAY, 10:20am: Najera was introduced today as the new Legends' head coach, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. According to Legends owner and Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, Najera will assist him in making basketball decisions for the Mavs, tweets Sneed.
THURSDAY, 10:52am: The Legends will introduce Najera at a press conference tomorrow morning, according to a team release. Team owner Donnie Nelson and GM Del Harris will be on hand.
TUESDAY, 2:29pm: Eduardo Najera is ending his NBA playing career, retiring to become a head coach in the D-League, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. According to Stein, Najera will become the coach and part-owner of the Texas Legends, the Mavericks' D-League affiliate. Del Harris, who had been coaching the Legends, will transition back into his original role as the team's general manager and will mentor Najera, who has no previous coaching appearance, says Stein.
Najera, 36, played 12 seasons in the NBA, averaging 4.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game over the course of 619 career contests. A good chunk of those games, plus all 59 of his postseason contests, came with the Nuggets and Mavericks, though the forward also spent time with the Warriors, Nets, and Bobcats. According to Basketball-Reference, Najera earned over $36MM during his playing career.
Peter Vecsey of the New York Post reported earlier this month that Najera was planning to retire to coach in the D-League.
Southwest Rumors: Rookies, Mavs, Lopez, Duncan
NBA.com conducted a survey of 39 rookies, and to no one's surprise, Anthony Davis was the pick for Rookie of the Year, as NBA.com's John Schuhmann writes. The No. 1 overall pick by the Hornets also topped the list of rookies who'll have the best career, but lost the best defensive honors to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of the Bobcats. Perhaps most revelatory is the ranking of players who are most overlooked. Tony Wroten of the Grizzlies tied for first with Draymond Green of the Warriors, Perry Jones of the Thunder and Andrew Nicholson of the Magic. Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com takes a look at how Mavericks rookies fared in the survey, and we have plenty more from Dallas and the rest of the Southwest Division:
- Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com wonders whether the Mavericks might shift their focus for next summer from pursuing marquee free agents to a plan that involves re-signing their own players and going after second-tier stars, a la Josh Smith.
- Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com takes a stab at guessing the framework of the aborted Mavs–Lakers deal from 2007 that would have brought Kobe Bryant to Dallas, which Mavs owner Mark Cuban made public earlier this week. Jason Terry, Josh Howard and Devin Harris seem the most likely players to have been headed to L.A. in that near-deal, Kamenetzky says.
- We heard a little from Robin Lopez earlier, but the 7'0" center had more to say Thursday as he met with New Orleans media for the first time. He said he hopes to bring some intensity, fire and toughness to the Hornets, as Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com chronicles, and had high praise for Anthony Davis, saying, "From what I’ve seen, he looks like a great player, with great instincts, and he’s freakishly athletic. I’m especially looking forward to playing with him on the defensive end. I think we both can definitely make a strong impact there."
- Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News notes that Tim Duncan's per-36-minute stats last season were remarkably similar to those from his rookie year, one possible reason the Spurs were willing to offer Duncan the three-year, $30MM deal he signed last month.
Odds & Ends: Lakers, Mavs, Curry, Hudson
Congratulations to Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside, who has been hired by the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League as the team's director of basketball operations. We wish Schroeder the best of luck with the Skyforce, the squad that will serve as the D-League affiliate for the Magic, Heat, Timberwolves, and 76ers this season. Let's round up a few more Wednesday odds and ends….
- Lakers coach Mike Brown spoke to Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com in an extensive Q&A, discussing the Princeton offense, the team's new acquisitions, and the expectations heading into 2012/13.
- SI.com's Zach Lowe explains how Mark Cuban's comments about the Mavs being in better position without Deron Williams make some sense. Still, it seems like most fans still view Cuban's argument as spin — in this morning's poll, over 78% of you said the Mavs would be better off if they'd signed D-Will.
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com wonders what a "reasonable" extension offer by the Warriors to Stephen Curry would look like.
- In a tweet, Lester Hudson shot down rumors suggesting he'd be signing with Partizan in Serbia.
- Vinny Del Negro and Avery Johnson are among the coaches who could be on the hot seat with slow starts this season, writes Lang Greene of HoopsWorld.
- Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal Constitution examines how free agent signee Lou Williams will fit into the Hawks' lineup.
- Wes Unseld Jr. is a candidate to join the Magic coaching staff, tweets Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.
Poll: Are Mavs Better Off Without Deron Williams?
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is never shy about voicing his opinions, and he had plenty to say yesterday about his team's present, past, and future. Among the topics he discussed was the Mavs' failed pursuit of Deron Williams, who ultimately returned to the Nets. The move was viewed as a major blow to the Mavs' offseason plans, but Cuban insisted yesterday that the team might be in better position without Williams.
"In hindsight, I don’t know if I would have been happy," Cuban said of signing D-Will to a max-salary deal. "I think we’re in better position now then we would’ve been if we’d gotten him…. I don’t want to pick on Deron Williams because he’s a great, great, great, great player, so it’s not necessarily him, per se. Obviously the decision was to go for him. But the conversation was, 'OK, once you take $17.1MM in salary to what we have with Dirk [Nowitzki] and [Shawn Marion], then what do you do?' That’s your squad. And it’s not just your squad for this year, it’s your squad for next year, other than the $3.3MM mini mid-level."
It's easy to react to Cuban's comments by rolling your eyes and accusing him of trying to spin a negative into a positive. Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPNDallas.com was one scribe who wasn't buying what Cuban was selling, arguing that the owner's comments are "a lie at worst and disingeuous at best." Saying that the Mavs are better off without Williams is simply not true, according to Taylor.
I don't think the argument is quite that one-sided though. While it's true that pairing Williams with Nowitzki would have made the Mavericks' 2012/13 roster more dangerous, Dirk's best days are likely behind him. His production figures to decline sometime in the not-so-distant future, and when it does, the huge contracts doled out to Nowitzki and Williams would make it difficult for the team to add complementary pieces around its stars. At least without D-Will, the Mavs were able to maintain future cap flexibility, and could be in play for a maximum-salary player again next summer if they so choose.
So what do you think? Would the Mavs have been better off landing Williams and hoping they had enough pieces around their two stars to contend for a title? Or were they better off acquiring a handful of cheaper players on shorter-term contracts, hoping to stay competitive and flexibile going forward?
Would the Mavs have been in better long-term shape with or without Deron Williams?
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They'd be better off with him 76% (431)
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They're better off without him 24% (137)
Total votes: 568
Cuban On Offseason Additions, Rebuilding
This afternoon, we relayed some notes from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's interview on the Ben and Skin show on 103.3 ESPN Dallas. After the show, Mike Heika of SportsDay DFW caught up with Cuban to ask some follow up questions on the team's recent additions, the team's future, and the approach they took heading into the 2012 offseason. Here are some highlights:
When asked if the team will be building on a year-to-year basis in terms of handing out one-year deals:
No. We will do things like we always have done. We will be opportunistic. I'm not sure why everyone is dismissing the players we signed and traded for as if they don’t count. My hope is that we can stick with the guys we have and develop them and this team into champions. Nothing would make me happier than for OJ and DC to be the nucleus of our back court for years to come and Dahntay , Elton and Chris Kaman to play for the Mavs for years to come.
Once we see the identity our team takes, and our strengths and weaknesses we will look to fill in pieces from there…Most likely those changes will come from trades, just as we have done for the last 12 years, but we will have the additional option of using cap room to facilitate trades or signings. Or we can use our cap room to re-sign our own guys, which is what I really hope we have to do.
On whether or not the team will try to re-stock with high draft picks moving forward:
"We approach things the same way every year. That won’t change. We will be opportunistic. THere are too many things that change year to year to set your sites on one player, or one way of doing things. That said, the one thing you can’t change is players don’t get younger. You have to take into account the age of your team and the impact that has on where you are and where you will be… At some point you have to get younger, so we planned to have most of our contracts expire over 2 years. We stuck to that plan to get younger. But within that, as always we try to be opportunistic and I think we have done a good job over the years."
On the team's approach to plan for roster flexibility this summer after winning the championship in 2011:
"…we would not have traded for Tyson or signed Peja or others if they had more than 1 year deals. That was our plan and we stuck to it…And one more point. Just to be clear to all Mavs fans. The one thing we DON’T do is set our sites on some future free agent. We haven’t, don’t and won’t have a specific future free agent as our goal. That is just plain stupidity. Whenever you read or hear that the Mavs have their eyes on such and such a free agent next summer, its a lie. The person saying it is making it up or has gotten it from someone who has made it up. We don’t and won’t work that way."
Mark Cuban On Kidd, Kobe, Nowitzki
Earlier today, we passed along comments from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban about the team's failed pursuit of Deron Williams, with Cuban insisting the Mavs were in better position after having missed out on the summer's top free agent. As it turns out, Cuban had plenty more to say during his appearance on the Ben and Skin Show on 103.3 FM in Dallas, so let's round up his other comments of note right here:
- Cuban is still upset by Jason Kidd's last-minute decision to back out of a potential three-year contract agreement with the Mavs and accept essentially the same deal from the Knicks, as ESPNDallas.com's Jeff Caplan writes. "I was more than upset. I thought he was coming. I was pissed," Cuban said. "J-Kidd is a big boy; he can do whatever he wants. But you don't change your mind like that…. It hurt my feelings, period, because I felt that we had developed a relationship, and I thought that he was committed to the organization."
- According to Cuban, the Mavericks nearly completed a trade for Kobe Bryant in the summer of 2007 (link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News). Cuban said today that the proposed deal didn't involve Dirk Nowitzki, and that he was discussing it in between rehearsals for 'Dancing With the Stars': "Literally, between 'Dancing with the Stars' practices I had thought we traded for Kobe Bryant. I even talked to their owner and thought we were going to have a done deal, and [Lakers GM] Mitch Kupchak changed [Kobe’s] mind and brought him back."
- As for whether he'd consider trading Dirk if the franchise begins a full-fledged rebuild in the near future, Cuban answered with an emphatic no, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. If Nowitzki were to request a deal, that may change the equation, but the Mavs owner can't see that happening: "I know Dirk; he wouldn't."