Posted by Rob Mahoney on July 12, 2010 under The Grapevine | 
- Jason Terry on LeBron, Wade, and Bosh uniting in Miami (via Rey Moralde of The No Look Pass): “They gotta come through Texas first. We’ll see what happens. I’m still mad about the ’06 Finals. LeBron just walked into a fire he doesn’t know about.”
- Udonis Haslem, to whom the Mavs had reportedly offered their MLE, will re-sign with the Miami Heat for a significantly lesser salary. Hard to blame him, especially when he’s choosing both loyalty to the franchise/fan base and a better shot at a title over the extra coin.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas makes an interesting note about Ian Mahinmi’s future development with the Mavs: “One issue with Mahinmi: He’s played two years in the D-League already, so he can’t be shipped to Frisco. That means he’ll have to develop without getting many minutes.”
- Mark Cuban doesn’t seem too happy with the way the Superfriends assembled.
- The Mavs are apparently growing more amenable to the idea of parting with Erick Dampier’s contract to acquire Al Jefferson…as long as Minnesota is willing to also take on DeShawn Stevenson’s $4.2 million expiring contract and the $11.7 million left on Matt Caroll’s deal. If anything goes down regarding Jefferson and the Mavs, it will almost certainly a package of draft picks headed Minny’s way (likely with a few first rounders). However, Marc Stein reported a bit later that the Utah Jazz have moved to the front of the pack to acquire Al, which puts quite the damper on the Mavs’ plans.
- Dirk will officially sign with the Mavs later this week.
- Rick Carlisle on John Wall’s debut (via Kevin Arnovitz): “He has fantastic ability and tremendous upside. He’s a different version of Derrick Rose, a little different kind of player, a little different body type and a little different style of play. They both have a great ability to defend. As they learn more, they’ll both get better and better. Wall is a little longer athletically and maybe a little more of a scorer.”
- Mark Deeks/Sham Sports parses through the Mavs’ Summer League roster.
Tags: 2010 Free Agency, 2010 Summer League, Al Jefferson, Chris Bosh, DeShawn Stevenson, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Ian Mahinmi, Jason Terry, LeBron James, Mark Cuban, Matt Carroll, Udonis Haslem
Posted by Rob Mahoney on July 11, 2010 under The Grapevine |
- Mavs fans only saw a few different shades of Shawne Williams, and none of them were particularly pleasant. However, as is the case with most NBA players, his story is a bit more lush and complex than that.
- Sebastian Pruiti breaks down the tape of Dominique Jones’ first summer league game.
- John Hollinger weighs in on Brendan Haywood’s new deal with the Mavs: “Here’s the conundrum, however, if you’re Dallas: What were the alternatives? Haywood was getting serious attention from several contenders and was likely to get an outsized contract someplace, although only the Mavs could give him a six-year deal. And in a market where he, Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal were the only true centers, and with everybody wanting size to match up against the Lakers and Magic, there was no doubt he’d command a premium. Moreover, nabbing Haywood was the key to two other pieces of Dallas’ offseason strategy — trading Dampier’s non-guaranteed contract to a team looking to shed money, and using its midlevel exception to reel in still more talent. The Mavs couldn’t do the first without keeping Haywood to have their bases covered at center, and they couldn’t do the second without signing their own player (Haywood) rather than somebody else’s. So Haywood will be overpaid in 2010-11 and comically overpaid by 2015-16. It’s a bad contract, for sure, but it doesn’t necessarily make it a bad decision.”
- Gerald Green didn’t really seem to enjoy playing in Russia all that much.
- David Thorpe on Omar Samhan, specifically his performance in Game 2: “The thing I like best is that he’s emotionally engaged in the game. Everything means something to him — his teammates, how they’re playing, how he’s playing. He’s invested in the game — but not just how he’s doing. We all knew he had scoring talent and good hands, but unless he can improve his athleticism, it’s going to be hard for him to show those skills on a nightly basis.”
- Kevin Arnovitz on Rodrigue Beaubois, from the same SL Roundup: “So much of what Beaubois does off the dribble is predicated on the success of his quick release from long range. If he’s not hitting, defenders grow a lot more comfortable trying to contain him.”
Posted by Rob Mahoney on July 8, 2010 under The Grapevine |
- Mark Cuban explains why he thinks LeBron James will stay in Cleveland. His thesis: “When in doubt, go for the love.”
- Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas: “Asked his goals for the coming season, Haywood laid it out there: 12-10-2 — as in 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots a game (and he added that he’d like to get closer to 2.7 or 3.0 blocks a game). Haywood has averaged at least 2.0 blocks only in the past two seasons. So, all of his stated numbers, if reached, would be career numbers and the Mavs would be thrilled.”
- Count Rick Carlisle among those happy to have Haywood back.
- Eric Freeman of The Baseline thinks that the Mavs overpaid for Brendan Haywood, but with Mark Cuban cutting the checks, it hardly matters. I’d definitely agree than having Cuban as the owner gives the Mavs a hell of a fall-back plan. They’re always able to survive a bad contract or two by flat-out eating it, and that’s a luxury that only a few NBA teams can afford to do regularly.
- Drew Gooden will wear #0 for the Milwaukee Bucks.
- According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, the Wizards, Nets, Heat, Knicks, Kings, and Clippers are all interested in signing Josh Howard. New Jersey, with Avery in the saddle…seriously?
Posted by Rob Mahoney on July 6, 2010 under Rumors, The Grapevine |
- In ESPN’s Ultimate Team Standings (Insider), the Mavs came in as the 24th best franchise in all of professional sports. The only NBA orgs that rank ahead of Dallas are San Antonio, Orlando, and Cleveland. Not too shabby, Mark. Here’s the blurb: “…it’s easy to understand why owner Mark Cuban is appreciated by the Mavs faithful. Yes, the retooled Mavs — with recently acquired Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood — fizzled in a first-round exit, but the effort (and salary absorbed) can’t be faulted. In the meantime, the Mavs lowered their average ticket price by 7.5% (the highest slash by any team with a winning record last season) and offered a $59 Dr Pepper Family Night package, with tickets and food for four. Plus, as Cuban says, “we probably spend more on in-game video production than any team in the world.” It’s no surprise, then, that American Airlines Center was tops in the NBA for Stadium Experience, or that yet another early summer vacation hasn’t soured Mavs loyalists.”
- Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside goes through the the Mavs’ Summer League roster to better acquaint us with some of the relative unknowns. No Beaubois or DoJo here, just intros into the Eric Tramiels of the world.
- Bad luck for Shawn Marion.
- Dirk Nowitzki on free agency (via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News): “Obviously, a couple teams were interested,” he said. “But it never really got to the point where I was ready to listen. My heart’s here. To go through the whole process that everybody’s going through, I don’t like that. It was just weird. And to have two-hour presentations when I know I’m not really interested. I didn’t see any sense in that. It didn’t really get that far…When it was all said and done, to me, I feel like I started this thing here and after 12 years now, I feel like I got unfinished business here. I just wanted to not run away from something that’s right there. I met with Cuban, and he said: ‘You know we’re all in this together.’..And he’s right. We started this and it wouldn’t even feel right to go somewhere else and chase something that nobody can promise me.”
- Dan Feldman analyzed Brendan Haywood’s game as part of his free agency coverage over at Piston Powered, and asked me to chip in with a breakdown of Haywood. Check it out for more reasons why Dallas really needs to hold on to Brendan.
- Tough break for Dirk: the world’s most famous psychic octopus picked Spain to win out over Germany in the World Cup semi-finals.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on July 4, 2010 under The Grapevine |
- Kevin Arnovitz on the ongoing Clipper coaching interviews, which haven’t wrapped as quickly as anticipated: “[Dwane] Casey was thought to be the initial favorite, but a strong performance by Del Negro in the interview process tightened the horse race. According to sources, Del Negro surprised the Clippers with the blueprint he presented to management, specifically his level of organization and his plans for player development. Casey, who has long been on the Clippers’ radar, delivered precisely what the brass expected from a sharp, serious tactician. Despite his best efforts, Casey’s firm grasp of the game and his strong schematic vision for the Clippers weren’t enough to separate him from Del Negro.”
- From the fine creator of “The ‘Bron ‘Bron Song (C’mon LeBron)”, Ben Rogers, comes a new chart-topping number: “DFW Digs Dirk.” If you dig DFW digging Dirk, be sure to let him know @benandskin.
- Omar Samhan dispenses some Twitter wisdom.
- A flimsy suggestion that the Mavs’ pre and post-game shows on TXA21 could change for next season.
- Though Joe Johnson was seriously weighing offers from the Knicks and the Bulls before accepting a max deal with the Hawks, he apparently didn’t give the Mavs serious consideration. Even if Joe wasn’t your personal choice for an off-season score, this is not a good thing.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston grades Michael Finley’s short season with the Celtics.
- Mike Miller has been thrown around as a potential MLE target, but such a signing would be very ill-advised. Though Dallas does need to clean up the shooting guard position in a general sense, signing Miller to a sizable deal makes very little sense at this point in his career. Not necessarily because he’s aging, but simply because Mike has elected to take his most beneficial skill, douse it in gasoline, and set it on fire. Tom Ziller explains: “For the first eight seasons of his NBA career, he was a great scorer, able to fill the bucket from range consistently. If you had a guard taking 10 or 15 shots a night, you wanted it to be someone as deadly efficient as Miller. But that was, essentially, Miller’s only elite skill. He was an average rebounder, an efforted but often overmatched defender and an only slightly effective passer. He shot, and well, and that’s all you really wanted. Everything changed when Miller was traded to Minnesota in 2008. He went from a deadly gunner to a … wannabe Scottie Pippen? A performance artist protesting the commodization of his pure stroke? I just don’t know.”
Posted by Rob Mahoney on July 1, 2010 under The Grapevine |
- Regardless of whether Nowitzki wants fanfare or not, the Mavs have launched DFWDigsDirk.com for fans to show support for ze German. Nothing too special, but the Mavs’ official store is offering a 41% discount on all Dirk merch as part of Dirk’s honorary week.
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News: “…I would be shocked if the Mavericks don’t hang around the hoop and try to get a rebound in the Chris Bosh situation. People have been downplaying Bosh because he may end up being a package deal with LeBron James. But Bosh met early today with Houston GM Daryl Morey and if the Rockets are making a push for Bosh on the basis of pairing him with a perhaps-healthy Yao Ming, the Mavericks can do better than that. If the package deal with LeBron falls through, the Mavericks should be in the hunt for the 6-10 hometown kid, even if he’s a little reluctant to play in his backyard and put that extra pressure on himself. Dirk would help him alleviate it.”
Even though the Mavs may look like a better team on paper, the Rox are far and away the more likely Bosh destination. For one, Houston has a plethora of interesting assets (their own draft picks, the Knicks’ draft picks, young talent, expiring contracts) that could tempt the Raptors in a sign-and-trade, but the bigger issue is Bosh’s willingness to suit up for Houston. He’s a far more natural fit alongside Yao than he is alongside Nowitzki, and don’t think for a second that Chris doesn’t know that. Considering how set he is on playing power forward, he may be the least attainable free agent out there.
- Even though the summer’s premier free agents give the Mavs a nice pipe dream to chase, the far more realistic option is an Al Jefferson/Andre Iguodala style trade without the red tape of free agency.
- The Nets have signed Brian Zoubek to a make good contract, which guarantees him a spot in training camp but not a roster spot. Bummer. Devan Downey (Sacramento) and Mac Koshwal (Detroit) have also been picked up for Vegas Summer League.
- According to ESPN Dallas’ Tim MacMahon, the Mavs were one of the teams to contact Matt Bonner. He wouldn’t be a bad get as far as bench bigs go, really.
- Keep this page bookmarked, it will no doubt come in handy. This one, too.
- Ken Berger of CBS Sports reported that Miami and Cleveland have legitimate interest in Brendan Haywood, which appears to be true. However, he also reported (as did Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer) that there was potential for a double sign-and-trade involving Brendan Haywood and Shaquille O’Neal, which was denied by Marc Stein. It makes sense; sources with the Cavs might indicate that a trade was in the works, because it’s likely that Cleveland would initiate such discussions. However, there would be no reason at all for the Mavs to entertain the idea of bringing in O’Neal.
- In case you didn’t hear, Josh Howard is an unrestricted free agent. Sign-and-trade???
- Two days later, and this is still hilarious.
- Donnie Nelson clearly prefers veteran free agents to undrafted ones, and for obvious reasons. There are a number of intriguing veteran options to be had on the market for a chunk of the Mavs’ MLE, but I can’t help but wonder: does that also open the door for a D-Leaguer or two?
- Caron Butler on Twitter, back on Tuesday a little before midnight: “About to check out twilight ill get back and let you’ll know what’s good holla”
Tags: Al Jefferson, Andre Iguodala, Brendan Haywood, Brian Zoubek, Caron Butler, Chris Bosh, Devan Downey, Dirk Nowitzki, Donnie Nelson, Joe Johnson, Josh Howard, LeBron James, Mac Koshwal, Matt Bonner, Shaquille O'Neal, Yao Ming
Posted by Rob Mahoney on June 29, 2010 under The Grapevine |
- According to Rick Bucher, the Cavs won’t be having any part of a potential sign-and-trade for LeBron. It’s understandable; no one wants to play a part in their own franchise’s demise, or be known as the guy that opened the door for LeBron on the way out.
- NBA owners have perhaps the most underrated role in free agent recruiting. Every free agent looking to cash in this summer, be it LeBron James or Joel Anthony, would be wise to properly evaluate the role of ownership in each prospective franchise. Henry Abbott ranked the owners by their appeal to this summer’s top free agents, and it should come as little surprise that Mark Cuban came in as the second most appealing owner (behind only the Lakers’ Jerry Buss): “He has built his brand over a decade, as a loud and loyal who will do anything in his power to win, including employing his fearlessly deep pockets. Cuban says there is a cardinal rule in being the kind of owner who appeals to free agents: ‘Never quit on a season to save money … free agents who place a priority on winning don’t want to go to teams where there is a history and significant risk that if things don’t go according to plan, the owner would demand a huge salary dump that kills the current and future for the team.’ Cuban has gone to great lengths through the years to treat his players with respect. That starts with a famously classy locker room and plane, but continues to meaningful things like helping Avery Johnson transition from player to coach, being the de facto president of the Dirk Nowitzki fan club, and developing meaningful relationships with many of his past and present players.”
- Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution seems to like the idea of getting Caron Butler in return for Joe Johnson. However, Bradley is proposing a deal of Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood for Joe Johnson, which is too steep a price considering the Mavs’ probable lack of a center rotation.
- Our old friend Quinton Ross is on the move again: According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Q has been sent to New Jersey in exchange for Yi Jianlian.
- TMZ talked to Mark Cuban about his approach to free agency this year: “This crop of free agents is taking a much more sophisticated approach than other years. I think that helps the Mavs.” Cuban adds, “Less BS and more business.” But Cube wasn’t joking about the jet-setting — saying, “Since we can’t talk to agents ’til [Thursday] it’s up in the air, but I have two jets fueled and ready to go if we need to.”
Posted by Rob Mahoney on June 27, 2010 under The Grapevine |
- The Mavs were able to sell their second round pick to the Raptors because of Toronto’s interest in Solomon Alabi. Interestingly, he may only have slipped to No. 50 because of a health concern, a rather serious one in fact: Hepatitis B.
- Another player out of the running for the Mavs’ summer league team: Charles Garcia, who will be suiting up (supposing that wearing a practice jersey really qualifies as “suiting up”) for the Knicks.
- Donnie Nelson with a dose of realism on Dominique Jones (via Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas): “”How many rookies are going to be impact guys? Not many. The rookies that make an impact generally are on bad teams, right? So, for us to expect him to walk into significant minutes, it’s not fair to him and he’s got a bunch of really good players playing in front of him. But, I think what it does is it gives us a foundation in the backcourt for a future. You’ve got Roddy and you’ve got some building blocks that you can get excited about internally.”
- SMU’s Mouhammad Faye, Oklahoma’s Tony Crocker, and North Texas’ Eric Tramiel will be among those brought in for the Mavs’ pre-Summer League mini-camp.
- LeBron James is set to meet with representatives from six teams to determine his future: the Cavs, Knicks, Nets, Clippers, Bulls, and Heat. Notice any teams missing in there?
UPDATE (2:58 PM CST):
Posted by Rob Mahoney on June 25, 2010 under The Grapevine |
- Apparently the Mavs were offered a lottery pick for Rodrigue Beaubois last night, but didn’t even flirt with the idea. Good move; even though I think this draft class is pretty deep with contributing talent, there really aren’t many prospects with star potential. Beaubois has that, and do give that up this early in Beaubois’ career for some mid-summer excitement would be a shame.
- Dominique Jones described his game to the Dallas media after being drafted (via Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas): “Just getting in the lane, strong body, getting contact, and-1s. And, I feel like the D-Wade style, which is transition, getting out in transition, one-on-one transition, you know, basically being unguardable.” (Emphasis mine.)
- Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie graded the Mavs with a C, but does concede that Jones could become an immediate factor: “Jones seems like a weird fit, because doesn’t Rodrique Beaubois already provide the same services? And that’s assuming Jones’ best case scenario comes through. Even if he is a bit superfluous, Dallas can use all the depth it can get at this point, so cheers to them for paying the cash to pull in a possible rotation contributor.”
- Who knew Mark Cuban and Michael Heisley were best buds?
- Greg Auman of the St. Petersberg Times: “Jones, a 6-foot-5 guard who led the Big East in scoring as a junior, became the Bulls’ first NBA first-round pick, taken by the Grizzlies at No. 25. Barely 20 minutes later, word had spread that the Grizzlies had drafted Jones on behalf of the Mavericks. And Dallas is where his NBA career will begin. ‘The emotions come out because you’ve got your foot in the door. This is just my beginning,’ said Jones, who walked through a crowd of supporters and laid his head on the hood of his Chevy Tahoe, overcome by a dream come true. Jones could have spent draft night in New York, where picks dressed in new suits smile for ESPN cameras, but he chose to stay in Lake Wales, proud of his roots in this small town in Polk County.”
- A report that David Wesley will be a coach for the Texas Legends.
- Jones again, this time responding to the Mavs paying $3 million just to pick him (via Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas): “That must mean they have some high expectations, and I don’t like letting people down.”
- According to the tremendous @mavstats, Dominique was the only player in the country to average 21 points, six rebounds and three assists last season.
- Don’t get too attached to that 2013 second rounder the Mavs acquired in exchange for the draft rights for Solomon Alabi. Donnie Nelson thinks it could make for a nice topping for an off-season trade. I certainly hope so, because Alabi seems like the kind of project the Mavs could have used. Then again, maybe Toronto was where he was supposed to be all along.
- Mary Buckhelt has a cool feature on ESPN.com about the various LeBron anthems being written this off-season, including “The Bron Bron Song (C’mon LeBron)” by ESPN Radio’s own Ben Rogers (he of the Ben & Skin Show). In the extremely slim chance that you haven’t heard it yet, check out Ben’s ditty at LeBrontotheMavs.com.
- Per Kevin Pelton’s similarity scores at Basketball Prospectus, the player most similar to Dominique Jones (in terms of production) at his age was Chris Douglas-Roberts. Not too bad.
- Video proof that Rick Carlisle wears shorts. Oh, and a nice walk-and-talk with Donnie Nelson.
Posted by Rob Mahoney on June 23, 2010 under The Grapevine |
- Marquis Daniels is one of the coolest guys that Nate Robinson knows.
- According to Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com, Darrell Armstrong and Monte Mathis will be coaching the Mavs’ summer league team.
- Yahoo’s Marc J. Spears confirms that the New Jersey Nets have agreed — in principle — to bring in Popeye Jones as an assistant. Popeye, to Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com: “I came to the Mavs as a team that just had a disappointing loss in the Finals, but I was very blessed to be brought into a winning franchise as a coach,” Jones says. “My four years with the Mavs were great. I learned a lot about coaching and I made some great relationships here. It’s a franchise that I will always hold close to my heart.”
- Ed Welland of Hoops Analyst on Trevor Booker: “Any team looking for a player in round two who might provide something in the way of immediate help should take a long look at Booker. He isn’t much of a scorer, but he has good defensive numbers and his role in Clemson’s full court press suggests his defensive abilities extend to the perimeter…Not great, but he does show a decent skill set. The scoring is low in both efficiency and frequency, but it isn’t terrible. The rebounding is adequate and the defense is strong. He’s probably about where Patterson and Aminu are as a 3-point shooter in that he’s shown some promise, but with limited attempts we really don’t know how good he is. I’ll just say that like the ability to defend the perimeter, getting his outside shot to fall will be a key for Booker.”
- Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas looks at the two ingredients necessary for a Mavs-Brendan Haywood reunion. Re-signing Haywood shouldn’t be rocket science, and what he’d want out of a new deal doesn’t look to be any kind of surprise. That said, the Mavs need to nail the formula regardless of its simplicity; Haywood remains an essential part of the Mavs’ off-season plans.
- The Mavs’ own Casey Smith will again be on the training staff for Team USA basketball.
- An anonymous scout, via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, on draft prospect Brian Zoubek: “He’s a nonstop worker who can rebound really well and sets a good, hard screen. He needs to work a lot on his offensive game, but he’s a really good offensive rebounder.”
- Take a gander at the Mavs’ official draft hat. I like.