The Dallas Mavericks have been connected to a number of different players around the league in NBA trade rumors and speculation this year.
And then there’s the NBA Draft, free agency and so much more to chronicle. …
Here at DallasBasketball.com, we will keep you up to date on all Mavs-related trade rumors, reports, and speculation as the offseason progresses.
AUG 5 MCGEE WORKS WITH NBA PEERS
On Friday, Mavs’ newly-signed big man JaVale McGee was seen putting in work with some of his NBA peers, including Jrue Holiday, Caris LeVert and Jarred Vanderbilt. The run took place at GBG Hoops in Los Angeles.
Although this scene won’t generate as much buzz as Spencer Dinwiddie rubbing elbows with Kevin Durant last week, it’s still nice to see the 34-year-old training hard nearly two months before training camp begins. Christian Wood was the Mavs’ splashy offseason acquisition, but McGee is going to help out a lot as well with his lob catching and shot blocking.
AUG 5 TRADE RUMORS HEATING UP AGAIN?
The NBA offseason has slowed down significantly over the last few weeks, but that could be changing soon, as HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reports the Knicks have had three-way trade discussions with the Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers … and yes, Russell Westbrook is involved.
“The Lakers, Knicks, and Jazz discussed a three-team trade with Donovan Mitchell landing in New York, Patrick Beverley and another key Jazz player to the Lakers, Russell Westbrook on the move, and draft picks to Utah,” wrote Scotto.
Could the Mavs benefit from this potential situation? Read our full story here.
AUG 2 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KP!
On Tuesday, current Washington Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis celebrated his 27th birthday. The Dallas Mavericks traded him to the Wizards last season in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. Although things never worked out the way both sides intended, Porzingis had some nice moments as a Maverick that we wanted to shine some light on since it’s his birthday.
Porzingis averaged 20 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 134 regular-season games as a Maverick. He shot 44.8 percent from the field, including 34.5 percent from deep. In Dallas, Porzingis recorded single-game career highs in the following categories: minutes played (45), rebounds (18), assists (7), field goal attempts (28), 3-point attempts (14), 3-pointers made (8), and free throws made (12).
One of the best regular-season games Porzingis produced came on Feb. 12, 2021, when the Mavs defeated the New Orleans Pelicans at American Airlines Center, 143-130. Porzingis’ chemistry with Luka Doncic is as never perfect, but it was in that night, as the duo combined for 82 points. Porzingis finished with 36 points on 8-13 shooting from deep.
His best playoff moment as a Maverick came in the 2020 “Orlando Bubble” playoffs. In Game 3 of the Mavs’ first-round series against the high-powered Los Angeles Clippers, Porzingis poured in 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in 38 minutes of play. It was later revealed that Porzingis played Game 3, which was his last action of the series, while having a torn meniscus, squashing any questions that may have lingered about his toughness.
A number of unfortunate injuries kept the Mavs’ Porzingis era from being what it could’ve been, but hopefully he finds better fortune over the next few years in Washington D.C.
AUG 1 MOSES WRIGHT GOES TO CHINA
According to a report out of China, Moses Wright is leaving the NBA to join the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in the Chinese Basketball Association after not securing another big-league contract.
Last season, the Mavs had 23-year-old Wright on a two-way contract. Despite averaging 15.5 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 52.5 percent from the field in the Las Vegas Summer League, it wasn’t enough for Wright to get another two-way deal from Dallas.
As the calendar turns to August, the Mavs now have two roster spots to fill — one on the main 15-man roster and one two-way spot. After losing out on summer league standout A.J. Lawson to the Minnesota Timberwolves, could the Mavs turn to 6-1 guard Jerrick Harding for a their final two-way contract, or will there be another out-of-the-blue signing like current two-way man, Tyler Dorsey?
Harding, who is 24 years old, averaged 13.8 points and four assists for the Mavs in Las Vegas while shooting 50 percent from the field, including 36 percent from deep.
JULY 31 NBA LOSES A LEGEND
The family of Bill Russell has announced that the NBA legend died peacefully at the age of 88. To this day, Russell is often regarded as one of the greatest players in Association history, having guided the Boston Celtics to 11 championships (the last two as a player-coach) and earned 12 All-Star appearances and five Most Valuable Player Awards.
His defensive endeavors likewise became renowned throughout the basketball world, as did his efforts to fight racism (which were officially recognized with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011). The NBA Finals’ MVP Award was named in Russell’s honor in 2009.
“We hope each of us can find a new way to act or speak up with Bill’s uncompromising, dignfied, and always constructive commitment to principle,” the statement from Russell’s family reads. “That would be one last, and lasting, win for our beloved #6.”
JULY 28 GRINER LATEST
According to an exclusive report from CNN, the Biden administration has offered Russia a trade in order to get Brittney Griner back to the U.S. Griner has been detained in Russia for about five months now.
The proposed trade would be the U.S. getting Griner and Paul Whelan back, while Russia would get Viktor Bout, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. as a Russian arms trafficker. The report states that the Department of Justice is usually against prisoner trades, but Joe Biden’s support for the proposal “overrides” that opposition.
A senior administration official suggested Moscow has not been responsive to the “substantial offer” first presented in June, telling CNN “it takes two to tango.”
“We start all negotiations to bring home Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained with a bad actor on the other side. We start all of these with somebody who has taken a human being American and treated them as a bargaining chip,” the official said. “So in some ways, it’s not surprising, even if it’s disheartening, when those same actors don’t necessarily respond directly to our offers, don’t engage constructively in negotiations.”
So far, there is still no resolution to this matter in sight, but we’ll see if anything changes in coming weeks.
JULY 27 WARRIORS’ LAST DANCE?
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The Chicago Bulls knew the writing was on the wall when they entered the 1997-98 season. Their dynasty, led by the great Michael Jordan, was coming to an end, and they even documented that final journey and labeled it as “The Last Dance.”
Now, 25 years later, it appears that the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty could be in its last days as well. According to a report from The Athletic, Draymond Green, who is the heart and soul of the Warriors’ defense, believes he deserves a max contract when he becomes eligible for an extension on August 3rd.
A Green max contract would be for $164 million over the next five years. The Warriors already have the league’s second-largest payroll at $186 million, so one must wonder how far into the luxury tax owner Joe Lacob is willing to go. We’ll find out if this situation has any negative lingering affects on next season, assuming Green doesn’t sign an extension before then.
JULY 26 LOOKING BACK AT LUKA-LYMPICS
As Mavericks fans impatiently wait to see superstar Luka Doncic suit up for the Slovenian national team at EuroBasket 2022 later this summer, they can pass the time by looking back at Doncic’s stellar Tokyo Olympics debut from this time last year.
In Slovenia’s first match against Argentina, Doncic simply couldn’t be stopped en route to a 48-point, 11-rebound, five-assist performance while shooting 18-29 from the field. It was the second-most points scored in Olympics history. Doncic could’ve gunned for Oscar Schmidt’s record of 55 points, but he didn’t play in the remaining five minutes of Slovenia’s 118-100 win.
Doncic led Slovenia all the way to the medal rounds before ultimately falling to France in the Bronze Medal Game. Doncic later got some revenge on French big man Rudy Gobert, though, as he helped the Mavs eliminate the Utah Jazz in the first round of the NBA playoffs last season. The Jazz have been in rebuilding mode ever since.
JULY 25 THE LATEST ON KD, MITCHELL
In the early hours of Monday morning, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped the latest details in the Kevin Durant trade saga. The Boston Celtics have made their bid.
“The Celtics appear no closer to acquiring Durant than others in discussions with the Nets, but Boston’s ability to include All-Star forward Jaylen Brown as a centerpiece in offers does help make the team formidable in its pursuit, sources said,” writes Woj.
Meanwhile, on the Donovan Mitchell trade front, the New York Knicks are still widely believed to be the favorites to land the All-Star guard, but The Athletic’s Shams Shanaria reports that other teams have now entered the mix.
“Along with New York, several other teams have expressed interest to the Jazz when it comes to [Donovan] Mitchell, such as Washington, Miami, Toronto, Charlotte, Sacramento and Atlanta,” writes Shams.
Although things have been quiet lately in the NBA offseason, that could be changing soon … and the Dallas Mavericks will be patiently waiting to see what opportunities might pop up in the aftermath of these potential mega-trades.
JULY 24 CURRY ON CURRY Brooklyn Nets guard Seth Curry, the former Mavs sharpshooter, loves his family.
But he likes to keep his on-court, same-team distance.
“I’ve thought about it as people bring it up, but to me personally, I enjoy kind of being away from him, trying to create my own path and do my own thing,” Seth told Warriors insider Monte Poole, via NBC Sports, when asked if he’d like to play alongside his brother Steph Curry on the Golden State Warriors.
Seth’s “own thing” hasn’t quite raised him to Steph’s level – especially, of course, when it comes to championship rings. But if you’ve got a successful big brother? You probably understand his sentiment.
JULY 23 LAKERS OUT? Two names that have often been mentioned as being on thx Mavs’ radar might now no longer be on the Lakers’.
Apparently, talks between Los Angeles and Indiana – with a salary dump of Russell Westbrook as part of it – are “dead,” per The Athletic.
Involved in the talks: the Pacers’ Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.
The problem? The Lakers are willing to part with one first-round draft pick, but not two, per the report.
Westbrook exercised his $47.1 million player option with the Lakers last month, among the reasons Dallas views his acquisition with a firm “he’ll no.”
JULY 16: JET FLIES TO UTAH
On Saturday, The Athletic reported that former Dallas Mavericks champion Jason Terry is joining the Utah Jazz as an assistant coach on Will Hardy’s staff.
But shortly after that note, a source close to the situation tells DallasBasketball.com that the report is “premature.”
On Sunday at 3:41 p.m. CT, Terry was on the way to Utah to finalize a deal, per our source.
There were rumors last summer that Terry could potentially join Jason Kidd’s staff after the Mavs hired Kidd to replace long-tenured coach Rick Carlisle, but Terry instead agreed to become the head coach of the NBA G League Grand Rapids.
For Terry, this is just the next step for him toward eventually getting an opportunity as a head coach in the league. The Mavs and Jazz had many fun battles last season, and those matchups will now feature a warm, familiar face this year.
JULY 16: LEBRON SUMMER For the first time in more than 10 years, LeBron James is making a return to the Drew League.
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, James is expected to play in the annual Pro-Am showcase in Los Angeles on Saturday for the first time since 2011 – when he and other stars participated during the NBA lockout.
To build the anticipation even further, it seems
The Drew League was established in 1973 and has long-featured good talent. But James taking his talents there? That’s next level.
Noah Lyles previously caused a stir by stating that NBA teams that won the Finals should not be called “world champions.” NBA players immediately responded,
There hasn’t been a more dominating and fearsome NBA lineup than the Warriors’ “Death Lineup”. The original Death Lineup consisted of Curry, Klay, Green
Victor Wembanyama will be aiming for the gold medal with France at the Paris Olympics. The San Antonio Spurs rookie reaffirmed his commitment
