Cuban: Mavs In Better Position Without D-Will
Although the Mavericks made a handful of smart, low-cost moves to fill out their 2012/13 roster and maintain flexibility going forward, the team was still widely considered one of the offseason's "losers," having missed out on top target Deron Williams. However, owner Mark Cuban, appearing on the Ben and Skin Show in Dallas, suggested he feels the Mavs are in better position having failed to sign Williams than they would have been with him (link via the Dallas Morning News).
"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."
Since deciding not to re-sign Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea last December, breaking up the squad that beat the Heat for the title in 2011, Cuban has repeatedly talked about adjusting to the new CBA, including the benefits of maintaing cap flexibility and avoiding expensive, long-term contracts. While it's easy to view his comments on Williams as spin, it's true that committing big money to D-Will would have prevented Dallas from making many other moves to complement its stars.
Cuban added that the Mavs' potential inability to make more moves after landing Williams likely influenced the point guard's decision to remain in Brooklyn: "Everybody talks about Dirk’s window, but not only would it have been difficult to add players, it also would have been difficult to trade players. In reality, that was the same problem that Deron had. Because he looked and saw the same thing and said, ‘Now what are you going to do?’"
Southwest Notes: Mavs, O’Brien, Rockets, Hornets
Let's round up a few items out of the Southwest, which was the NBA's second biggest-spending division in free agency this summer, as we outlined earlier today.
- The Mavericks have agreed to hire Jim O'Brien, former head coach of the Celtics, Sixers, and Pacers, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein. O'Brien will be Rick Carlisle's top assistant in Dallas.
- In other coaching news, former Rockets VP of player personnel Dean Cooper will rejoin the club as an assistant coach, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston.
- A handful of former NBA players that spoke to John Reid of the New Orleans Times Picayune were positive about the Hornets' direction and future.
- Darryl Watkins received a shot from the Hornets near the end of the 2011/12 season, but after playing just a few games with the team, it appears he'll be heading overseas for the coming year. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando passes along a report suggesting that Watkins has agreed to sign with a team in Bulgaria.
Latest On Howard, Mavericks, Lakers
Dwight Howard has been a Laker for just over a week, and all signs point to him staying in Los Angeles long-term. However, that has not put an end to the speculation that he may consider signing elsewhere next summer. Here's an update on Howard's situation as well as other notes concerning the Lakers and Mavs:
- Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW takes a look at the Mavs' case to lure Howard away from Los Angeles, noting that acquiring Howard in a trade will be difficult now that he is a Laker but pointing out that Dallas will have the cap room to offer him a max deal next summer.
- Sefko has a separate look at some of the other options the Mavs will have next summer during free agency.
- Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times praises the Lakers' acquisitions of Jodie Meeks and Antawn Jamison.
Page On Mavs, Lakers, Bulls
Derek Page of HoopsWorld conducted his weekly NBA chat Saturday, where he touched on several relevant topics, including the offseason moves and futures of the Mavs, Bulls, and Lakers, among other teams. Here are the highlights:
- Page thinks it is unlikely that the Mavericks will keep O.J. Mayo beyond this season, because if he plays well, he will command a higher salary than the Mavs would like to give him.
- He believes Antawn Jamison will be a better acquisition for the Lakers than Lamar Odom will be for the Clippers.
- Page doesn't foresee any more moves for the Lakers, who appear to have a set roster.
- It will be difficult for the Thunder to keep James Harden if he hits restricted free agency, writes Page.
- Page is surprised Leandro Barbosa has not been signed yet, pointing to the 29-year-old as a possible value signing.
- Page would like to see the present Bulls roster with a healthy Derrick Rose before weighing in on moves they should make.
Coaching Notes: Triano, Blazers, Mavs, O’Brien
As NBA's training camps approach, teams continue to fill out their coaching staffs with new hires — we heard last night that the Lakers have added a pair of assistants in Eddie Jordan and Bernie Bickerstaff, while Eastern Michigan's Rob Murphy elected to stay at EMU rather than joining the Magic's staff. We have a few more updates to round up this morning, so let's check out the latest:
- Former Raptors head coach Jay Triano is expected to land on Terry Stotts' staff with the Trail Blazers, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
- Triano figures to be one of a handful of new coaches hired by Stotts, who said earlier this week that he plans to add four assistants in addition to Kaleb Canales. The new coach in Portland said the new staff could be announced one at a time or as a group.
- The Mavericks had been eyeing Triano to replace Stotts on their own bench, according to Stein. Former Knicks assistant Phil Weber is still on Dallas' list of potential targets, as is Jim O'Brien, who was the head coach in Boston, Philadelphia, and Indiana (Twitter links).
Free Agent Spending By Division: Southwest
Our look at offseason spending continues today as we examine the fifth of six NBA divisions. So far, we've covered free agent expenditures in the Atlantic, Central and Southeast, and Northwest divisions, using Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker. The Southwest division is up next, and it includes a surprising pair of teams at the top and bottom.
Once again, these figures only take into account free agent signings, so salary absorbed in trades or money used to sign draft picks isn't included in this list. Additionally, not all of this salary is necessarily guaranteed, which we'll try to note as we go along. Here are this summer's Southwest Division free agent costs, sorted by player salary:
New Orleans Hornets: $108.948MM (Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Robin Lopez, Roger Mason)
It wasn't a surprise to see the Hornets match the Suns' max offer sheet for Gordon and bring him back on a four-year deal worth $58MM+. But I wasn't expecting the Hornets to splurge on a couple more free agents, as they did with Anderson and Lopez. To be fair, it appears only the first year of Lopez's three-year, $15MM+ contract is guaranteed, but Anderson's four-year, $34MM deal is fully guaranteed. With Gordon, Anderson, Anthony Davis, and Austin Rivers signing four-year deals this summer, the Hornets' core appears to be in place through at least 2016.
Houston Rockets: $56.248MM (Omer Asik, Carlos Delfino, Jeremy Lin)
It appeared for some time as if the Rockets would use their cap space to absorb salary in a major trade. Instead, they used it to sign a pair of players to offer sheets they may have thought would be matched. The "poison pill" included in both Asik's and Lin's offer sheets won't apply to Houston, since the Rockets have the ability to spread the two players' annual salaries out more evenly (about $8.3MM per year each). Still, the $25.1MM they'll spend on each player is a risky investment.
San Antonio Spurs: $52.697MM (Boris Diaw, Tim Duncan, Danny Green, Patty Mills)
The Spurs' offseason was fairly quiet, as the team simply re-signed its own free agents rather than exploring the market too extensively. All of these contracts except Green's include a player option in the final year, and all four of them are fully guaranteed, with Duncan's $30MM representing by far the largest commitment.
Memphis Grizzlies: $26.832MM (Darrell Arthur, Jerryd Bayless, Hamed Haddadi, Marreese Speights)
Like the Spurs, the Grizzlies focused primarily on re-signing their own free agents, with one notable exception: Memphis replaced the departing O.J. Mayo with Bayless. Mayo ended up signing for not much more than the two-year, $6.135MM deal Bayless inked with the Grizzlies, so it will be interesting to see if the minor savings are worth it.
Dallas Mavericks: $17.444MM (Chris Kaman, O.J. Mayo, Delonte West)
The Mavericks appeared prepared to offer Deron Williams a four-year, $73MM+ contract, which would have significantly altered their place on this list. But when D-Will opted to return to the Nets, the Mavs took a more cautious approach to free agency, committing to Kaman, Mayo, and West on short-term deals. Given the possibility that Mayo will opt out of his second year and the fact that West is on a minimum-salary deal, the total amount the Mavs spend on this summer's free agents could end up being less than $13MM.
Odds & Ends: Nuggets, Nelson, Van Gundy
Let's round up a few items of note from around the league on a Wednesday afternoon:
- Denver GM Masai Ujiri told KKFN in Denver (link via Sports Radio Interviews) that the Nuggets always had interest in Andre Iguodala and "kept poking" at the Magic's three-way Dwight Howard talks until they figured out a way to get involved and acquire him.
- Former NBA coach Don Nelson isn't interested in returning to a team's bench, even if someone calls, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Stan Van Gundy, meanwhile, recently said he still has the itch to coach, but has to weigh that desire against family considerations (link via Sports Radio Interviews).
- In an Insider piece for ESPN.com, Chad Ford and John Hollinger share their Future Power Rankings, from the Heat at No. 1 to the Bobcats at No. 30.
- Having added two centers this summer, the Pistons may ask Greg Monroe to play at power forward, and the big man tells Keith Langlois of Pistons.com he's ready for it.
- Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com examines what all the offseason additions mean for the Mavericks' rotation.
Southwest Notes: Wright, Grizzlies, Jordan
When the "Dwightmare" was in full swing, perhaps no division in the NBA seemed a more likely landing spot for Dwight Howard than the Southwest. The Rockets made no secret about their relentless pursuit of the former Defensive Player of the Year, a position that general manager Daryl Morey has continued to embrace even with Howard now in purple and gold. The Mavericks were in the same boat, clearing out cap space last offseason in preparation of their pursuit of multiple free agent superstars. Both teams struck out and for now, the only team in the division that appears to have significantly improved is the Hornets. Lets take a look at some other links from the Southwest division:
- Last week we took a look at some of the issues holding up the Grizzlies' ownership transition from current owner Michael Heisley to tech industry billionaire Robert Pera. Matt Moore hits on many of the same points in a post today, pulling out several quotes from a piece in the Sporting News. It looks like there may be more than just stock price obstacles in this deal for Pera.
- Jeff Caplan from ESPN Dallas analyzes how Brandan Wright will fit in with the Mavericks this season in what is a contract year for the center. Caplan said that Wright's athleticism was an asset on offense for Dallas, but that wiry 7-footer was a liability on the defensive end. With a salary less than $1MM, the Mavericks will live with his ups and downs, but Wright is only 24 and it will be interesting to see how he performs approaching free agency and with veteran Chris Kaman eating up most of the minutes in the middle in Dallas.
- After being shipped from New York to Houston in the Marcus Camby deal, Jerome Jordan was promptly cut by the Rockets. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld caught up with Jordan, now an unrestricted free agent, in Los Angeles where the Tulsa product is working out in hopes of landing a back-up role.
Odds & Ends: O.J. Mayo, Kyrie Irving, Nuggets
The value Andre Iguodala brings to the Nuggets goes beyond the swingman's stat line, writes Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post. Thanks to his strong defense and myriad intangibles, Iguodala made the All-Star team during the 2011/12 season even though he averaged just 12.4 PPG. Here's the latest news and headlines from around the NBA…
- Mavs shooting guard O.J. Mayo seems excited about taking his talents to Dallas and is poised for a breakout year, writes Derek Page of HoopsWorld. “I felt like Dallas was the best situation for me,” Mayo said. "They have a good team, they have a great player in Dirk Nowitzki, they have a terrific owner with Mark Cuban."
- Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving has been warning rookies about the rigors of head coach Byron Scott's training camp nicknamed "Camp Scott," says Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. "All the warnings don't amount to much until you experience Camp Scott for yourself," Irving said. "You have to deal with it. He's a hard-nosed coach, and he's trying to get the most out of you."
- Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops examines the Nuggets' offseason and analyzes the moves the team made and how the roster looks heading in the 2012/13 season. He predicts Denver will make the playoffs but is not ready to compete for a championship as it doesn't have enough talent at this point.
Odds & Ends: Suns, Courtney Lee, Greene, Mavs
All non-Dwight Howard NBA news is something of an afterthought today, as we wait to see if the four teams involved in Howard trade talks will finally officially consummate a deal, having reached a tentative agreement last night. As we wait, let's round up a few other Friday odds and ends from around the NBA….
- Joking that Howard is now out of the mix for the Suns' backup center and 13th-man opening, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines a few other options for the spot, including Jerome Jordan, Hassan Whiteside, and Shelden Williams.
- Courtney Lee tells Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com that joining the Celtics was a "no-brainer" for him.
- Former Kings forward Donte Greene was planning a charity game at a college in Sacramento, but the league has forced its cancellation, citing stipulations in the collective bargaining agreeement, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Jonathan Santiago of Cowbell Kingdom adds detail, including word from Greene's Twitter account that players who took part without league approval would face suspensions and fines. Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas was one of the players scheduled to take part.
- Tim Colishaw of the Dallas Morning News argues that there would have been just as much risk for the Mavericks to keep their 2011 title team together as there was in breaking up the roster in an effort to land Deron Williams and/or Howard.