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Southwest Notes: Harden, Howard, Parsons

November 5th, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

James Harden insists he had no “beef” with former teammate Dwight Howard, relays Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Howard, who signed with the Hawks in the offseason, will face Harden and the Rockets tonight in Atlanta. There were many stories of discord between the two stars during last year’s 41-41 season, but Harden says there are no lingering bad feelings. “I know what the truth is,” Harden said. “There’s no beef. We never got into a heated argument or anything. It just didn’t work out.” 

There’s more news from the Southwest Division:

  • New Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who was hired at the start of June, never made an appeal to Howard to stay with the team, Feigen adds in the same piece. Houston focused on former Hawks center Al Horford in free agency, and there was a feeling that a low-post player like Howard wouldn’t be effective in D’Antoni’s system. “I don’t think I was the right guy to have conversations,” said D’Antoni, who briefly coached Howard with the Lakers. “I’m sure there were conversations with [GM] Daryl [Morey]. If he wanted to come back, great. That wasn’t my role to have conversations.”
  • Chandler Parsons is expected to play his first game for the Grizzlies on Tuesday, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. It will be the small forward’s first time on the court since undergoing right knee surgery in March when he was still with Dallas. Memphis signed Parsons to a four-year, $94MM contract this summer.
  • The Mavericks‘ Dirk Nowitzki will be “shut down” for at least a week after aggravating an Achilles problem Friday, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Nowitzki said he has been experiencing pain in that area since the season opener. “He’s going to be out for a while,” explained coach Rick Carlisle. “We’ll update [things] in about seven days. He didn’t reinjure the Achilles, it’s just lingering. It’s not getting better the way it needs to, so we got to shut him down. Is it bad news, yes. But we’ll get through it. His health is the most important thing. He’s more than willing to continue playing, but it’s pretty obvious that things just aren’t right. We’ve got to do the right thing here and get it fixed.”
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Southwest Notes: Nowitzki, Mavs, Pelicans, Forbes

October 13th, 2016 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Dirk Nowitzki isn’t thinking about retirement quite yet, but when he does decide to call it a career, he’ll have a standing offer with a team in Germany. As The Dallas Morning News notes, Uli Hoeness, the president of Bayern Munich’s basketball team, told German news outlet Bild that his club would “warmly welcome” Nowitzki if he has interest in an advisor role. Of course, if Nowitzki wants a coaching or front office role after his playing career is over, he should have no shortage of NBA opportunities either, particularly with the Mavericks.

Let’s check in on some other items from around the Southwest division…

  • Anthony Davis is about to start his fifth season with the Pelicans, and the franchise doesn’t seem any closer to title contention this year than in past years, writes Colin McGowan of RealGM.com. Davis is locked up for at least four more years, so he’s not going anywhere anytime soon, but McGowan wonders if the franchise big man will start to get restless if the team doesn’t show real signs of improvement soon.
  • The Spurs have five players battling for one roster spot, which means Bryn Forbes will have to beat out a handful of other camp invitees to make the team’s 15-man squad. However, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News outlines, Forbes’ perimeter shooting makes him an intriguing option for the team.
  • Matt Mosley of SportsDayDFW.com believes Harrison Barnes will be a fine addition for the Mavericks as long as he doesn’t get consumed with having to live up to his max contract, and suggests A.J. Hammons should get “plenty of chances” to deliver on his upside.
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Players Who Can Veto Trades

October 4th, 2016 at 10:14am CST by Luke Adams

No-trade clauses are rare in the NBA, and they became even rarer this offseason, when several players with those clauses in their contracts either called it a career or signed new deals. Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett, who all opted for retirement, had no-trade clauses last season, and so did Dwyane Wade, who doesn’t have the same protection on his new contract with the Bulls.

Nonethless, while the list of players with explicit no-trade clauses may be dwindling, there are still several players each year who have the ability to veto trades. A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract – or a two-year contract with an option clause – is given no-trade protection, and so is a player who signs an offer sheet and has that offer matched by his previous team. Players who accept qualifying offers after their rookie deals expire can also block deals, though no restricted free agents signed their QOs this year.

Taking into account that list of criteria, here are the players who must give their consent if their teams want to trade them during the 2016/17 league year:

No-trade clauses

Players whose offer sheets were matched

Players accepting qualifying offers

  • None

Players re-signing for one year (or two years including an option)

Information from Basketball Insiders and Yahoo! Sports was used in the creation of this post.

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Mavericks Notes: Gibson, Harris, Barnes

October 1st, 2016 at 6:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

After traveling the world to play basketball, the Mavericks’ Jonathan Gibson may be looking at his best shot at making an NBA roster, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. The 27-year-old point guard is among seven players fighting for the last two spots on the Mavs’ roster. He entered camp with a fully guaranteed rookie salary of $543K and the knowledge that Dallas is looking for a younger guard to help back up Deron Williams. Gibson played last season in China, where he averaged 42 points per game but finished second to Jordan Crawford in the scoring race. Basketball has taken him to five countries, including a 37-day stay in Iran. “The people were nice,” Gibson said. “It wasn’t like it looks on TV. Going over there, I was [worried]. But once I got there, it was OK.”

There’s more news out of Dallas:

  • Quickness is the main concern for veteran guard Devin Harris after undergoing three offseason surgeries, Sefko writes in a separate piece. Harris began the summer by having his left foot repaired, along with ligaments in his left thumb, then later had another surgery on his foot to straighten his big toe. “I’m in decent shape, but the first couple days out here, I was watching and thought, ‘These guys are moving fast,'” Harris said. “I haven’t gone that fast in a while. So I just have to get back to that speed. It’s different doing sprints as opposed to getting in real game shape.” Harris is confident that he will be fully ready by opening night.
  • The Mavericks made a huge financial commitment to Harrison Barnes even though he wasn’t their first choice in free agency, notes Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer. Dallas entered July hoping to land Mike Conley, Nicolas Batum and Hassan Whiteside, but when they all made other choices, the Mavericks turned to Barnes and are now hoping he can become the star he was projected to be out of high school.
  • Despite their additions over the past two seasons, the Mavericks don’t look like a team that can contend after Dirk Nowitzki retires, contends Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News.
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Nowitzki Could Play Beyond Two-Year Deal

September 15th, 2016 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Dirk Nowitzki has not ruled out playing beyond the two-year contract he signed with the Mavericks this summer, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com tweets. Nowitzki will see how his body responds this season before making any decisions on his future, he told MacMahon and other media members. Nowitzki will receive $25MM this season, with a $25MM team option on the second year, including a $5MM guarantee. “Obviously, I would love to play the next two years and then just see how it goes,” he said. Nowitzki averaged a team-high 18.3 points last season in 75 games.

In other highlights of the interview:

  • Team owner Mark Cuban actually gave Nowitzki a bigger raise than he was expecting. Nowitzki waited until the Mavs finished their off-season business before signing his deal to give them cap flexibility, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. “We had settled on a number,” Nowitzki said. “And then Mark actually said, ‘OK, everybody’s signed, and we actually have this much money to give you.’ So, he actually gave me another raise, which was obviously nice for him, and he’s been incredibly loyal to me. And I’ve shown, obviously, that I’ve wanted to be here the last couple years. I think he wanted to reward me in a way.”
  • Nowitzki was impressed by the additions of small forward Harrison Barnes and center Andrew Bogut from the Warriors, MacMahon relays: “They’re champions,” he said. “They’re great players.”
  • Nowitzki has noted Barnes’ desire to become a better all-around player in the wake of his huge payday, as MacMahon reports. Barnes received a four-year, $94MM contract. “A lot of guys come here, sign here or get traded here and they’re telling me they’re gym rats, but I haven’t really seen many in my 18 years, but he’s the one guy that walks the walk,” Nowitzki said. “He’s there in the morning, we’re working out with the guys, he goes back at night and he wants to get better.”
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Southwest Notes: Nowitzki, Duncan, Rockets

September 15th, 2016 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Responding to a Twitter follower who recently encouraged him to retire, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki jokingly tweeted, “I will, my man (in a few years).” The exact number of years Nowitzki has left remains unknown, but that reply suggests he’s not entering his age-38 season expecting it to be his last. During an appearance on KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan in Dallas (link via Dallas Morning News), the 18-year NBA veteran admitted he’s getting a little “nervous and anxious” to get training camp started, adding that he’ll probably know it’s time to call it a career when he doesn’t experience those feelings as a new season approaches.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • For the first time in nearly two decades, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is preparing for a season without Tim Duncan on his roster, and he tells Buck Harvey of The San Antonio Express-News that he has a “hole in his gut” as a result of the future Hall-of-Famer’s absence. According to Harvey, many people within the Spurs organization believe Duncan will eventually join the team in a full-time role, perhaps focusing on personnel rather than coaching.
  • In his review of the Rockets‘ offseason, Shaun Powell of NBA.com notes that the team emphasized offense by extending James Harden and hiring Mike D’Antoni, which was probably the right choice but could “backfire spectacularly.”
  • After having outperformed his previous contract, Mavericks big man Dwight Powell will be under more pressure this season, as he attempts to make good on his new four-year, $37MM+ deal, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
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Southwest Notes: Barnes, Benson, Jones

August 28th, 2016 at 6:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Harrison Barnes has a new $94MM contract, but he tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that he considers the Mavericks to still be Dirk Nowitzki‘s team. Barnes inked a four-year deal with Dallas in July after the Warriors signed Kevin Durant. Owner Mark Cuban has indicated that the Mavericks want Barnes to expand his game and claim a larger role of the offense than he did in Golden State. However, the 24-year-old small forward recognizes the special place that Nowitzki has earned during his 18 seasons in Dallas. “He’s put in the years and won a championship,” Barnes said. “But I have to go out and earn that. People assume that just because you get paid a lot of money and have a lot of attention that all of the sudden you’re guaranteed this many shots. I have to prove that every day in practice. I have to prove that to the coaching staff, and ultimately, if I’m going to be the guy taking shots, I’ve got to prove it to Dirk.”

There’s more news out of the Southwest Division:

  • December 8th has been set as the trial date for a suit filed by Tom Benson involving ownership of the Pelicans and Saints, according to Katherine Sayre of the Times-Picayune. The 89-year-old Benson sued last year to take ownership of the teams out of trust funds for his daughter and two grandchildren. In January of 2015, after a falling out with his heirs, Benson said he wanted to grant full ownership of the Pelicans and Saints to his wife, Gayle Benson. The move was blocked by attorneys who served as trustees for the trust funds. The trusts include 95% ownership of the Pelicans and 60% ownership of the Saints. The judge in the case has urged both sides to try to reach a settlement before the trial date.
  • New Pelicans power forward Terrence Jones can’t wait to reunite with former Kentucky teammate Anthony Davis, tweets Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate. “It’s amazing. The chemistry is just a winning vibe, and I’m very excited,” said the former Rocket, who signed with the Pelicans last month. “We’ve worked out this summer together and really are focused on setting goals and completing them. We really want to make it to the playoffs, and whatever we do in there, we think, is destiny. It’s going to be a great experience.” (Twitter link.)
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Western Notes: Nowitzki, Wiggins, Knight

August 3rd, 2016 at 7:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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!’

We wanted to make it a two-year deal with a team option so that people wouldn’t speculate that he was going to retire because Dirk is the type of guy, he’s just a good guy. He would hate going city to city to city and everyone asking him if he was going to retire because he has no intention of retiring after this year and, with the team option that we have, he gave us the flexibility that said ‘if we find somebody that we can send the money to that he likes, we all like, then let’s do it and if not, let’s give the money to Dirk again which I’m fine with too.”

Here’s more from out West:

  • Andrew Wiggins expects big things this season from himself and his Wolves teammates, adding that the addition of Tom Thibodeau as coach and executive will make him a better player, Martin Rickman of Dime Magazine relays. “We’ve done a lot of good things this year. And we beat a lot of good teams – we can beat any team out there on a given day,” Wiggins told Rickman. “But we’re getting stronger. We’re getting older. We’re getting more experienced. And we’re building chemistry. We’re just getting better every game. We have a lot of things to accomplish this coming year. We’re all looking forward to it, and our expectations are getting higher. We want more. We’re young, and hungry, and we want to see the playoffs.“
  • The Suns are excited about what Brandon Knight can do in 2016/17 if he remains healthy, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays. “He has the ability to play either guard spot,” Suns GM Ryan McDonough said of Knight. “He can play the 1. He can play the 2. He’s an elite shooter. People who just saw Brandon playing last year when he was a little bit banged up and wasn’t 100% probably don’t realize how well he shoots the ball when he’s healthy and right. We think, with our top four or five guards, they will be interchangeable. They’ll be able to play either spot. We have at least four, maybe five guys now, who can get in the paint, break down defenses and kick to open shooters.“
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Southwest Notes: Bogut, Simmons, Hield, Nowitzki

July 31st, 2016 at 8:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

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.
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Southwest Notes: Parker, Nowitzki, Dedmon

July 28th, 2016 at 7:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the retirement of Tim Duncan this summer, point guard Tony Parker still believes the Spurs will be a factor in the championship hunt in 2016/17, Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “Obviously, we are going to miss him a lot,” Parker said of Duncan. “You can’t replace a guy like Timmy. But we will try to do our best to keep the Spurs going and to keep winning. I’m just going to try to be a good leader and welcome all the new guys and try to help them as much as I can and just show them the Spurs culture and what we do here.”

Here’s more from out of the Southwest Division:

  • Former Providence point guard God Shammgod has joined the Mavericks‘ staff as an assistant coach in charge of player development, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com tweets.
  • Dirk Nowitzki‘s contract with the Mavs calls for him to earn $25MM per season, includes a no-trade clause and the second year is a team option with no guaranteed money, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter links).
  • Center Dewayne Dedmon said his two best options this offseason were the Spurs and the Warriors, adding he chose San Antonio in order to have a shot a beating Golden State, Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News relays (Subscription required). The soon-to-be 27-year-old inked a two-year deal with the Spurs this offseason.
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