Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 103 – NBA Blog

Memphis Grizzlies renounce rights to Chris Mihm, Darius Miles and Mike Wilks

The Memphis Grizzlies have renounced their rights to free agents Chris Mihm, Darius Miles and Mike Wilks, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

Mihm, a 7-0, 265-pound center, averaged 2.0 points and 1.9 rebounds in 5.8 minutes in 18 games last season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Acquired by the Grizzlies along with cash considerations on Feb. 18 in exchange for a 2013 protected second round draft pick, Mihm did not appear in a game with Memphis and underwent successful right ankle surgery on March 3, ending his season. The eight-year NBA veteran holds career averages of 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in 436 games (256 starts) with the Lakers, the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Miles, a 6-9, 235-pound forward, averaged 3.5 points and 1.7 rebounds in 8.8 minutes in 34 games last season with Memphis, who originally signed him as a free agent on Dec. 13, 2008. The seven-year NBA veteran owns career averages of 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in 446 games (190 starts) with the Grizzlies, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Wilks, a 5-10, 180-pound guard, was acquired by the Grizzlies on Feb. 19 from the Orlando Magic along with Orlando’s 2009 first round draft pick (DeMarre Carroll, 27th overall), Adonal Foyle and cash considerations as a part of a three-team trade (also including the Houston Rockets) that sent Kyle Lowry and Brian Cook to Houston and Rafer Alston to Orlando.

After signing with the Magic as a free agent on Sept. 25, 2008, Wilks tore his ACL in his right knee in a preseason game on Oct. 16, 2008 and missed the entire regular season. The seven-year NBA veteran holds career averages of 2.5 points and 1.2 assists in 229 games (11 starts) with the Atlanta Hawks, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs, the Cavaliers, the Seattle SuperSonics (twice), the Denver Nuggets and the Washington Wizards.

Per the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, a renounced player no longer counts toward team salary, so teams use renouncement to gain additional cap room. After renouncing a player, the team is still permitted to re-sign such player, but the team must either have enough salary cap room to fit the salary, or sign the player using the Minimum Salary exception. After renouncing a player, a team can still trade the player in a sign-and-trade agreement.

Dallas Mavericks sign Quinton Ross

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed Quinton Ross. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ross (6-6, 193) joins the Mavericks after spending the 2008-09 season with Memphis. He averaged 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 17.1 minutes in 68 games (seven starts) with the Grizzlies. The five-year NBA veteran, who began his career as a rookie free agent with the L.A. Clippers, owns career averages of 4.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 20.4 minutes in 370 games (158 starts).

“Quinton has been part of the Dallas basketball fabric for many years,” President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson said. “He played his high school ball under Royce Johnson at Kimball before attending Southern Methodist University. We are happy and proud to bring him home. His athleticism, defensive versatility and experience will add depth to our backcourt.”

A native of Dallas, Ross averaged 14.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 119 games at SMU. He finished his four-year career as the school’s fourth all-time scoring leader (1,763 points).

InsideHoops.com editor says: Perfectly good backup to play limited minutes off the bench as a 9th – 12th man.

Read basketball fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Dallas Mavericks sign first round draft pick Rodrigue Beaubois

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed rookie Rodrigue Beaubois. As per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Beaubois (6-2, 182) was selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. He was acquired, along with a second round pick, from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the Mavericks’ 24th overall selection B.J. Mullens.

The Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe native appeared in 29 French Pro A games in 2008-09 and averaged 10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 22.3 minutes per game. Beaubois showed marked improvement from his 2007-08 campaign when he averaged 5.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 15.1 minutes per contest.

Beaubois is a member of the Mavericks Summer League Team. Dallas will play in the 2009 NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports. The squad will see its first action on Friday, July 10 when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks at COX Pavilion in Las Vegas.

Jason Kidd to re-sign with Dallas Mavericks

Free agent point guard Jason Kidd will re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks, according to several ESPN reporters.

The deal will reportedly be for three years and in the neighborhood of $25 million.

The NBA’s free agent negotiation period began Wednesday, July 1. Players can sign contracts beginning Wednesday, July 8.

Kidd, who turned 36 in March, averaged just 9.0 points per game last season, the lowest of his entire NBA career. He shot 41.6%, slightly above his career average. Kidd has been shooting very well from three-point range in the two seasons he’s been on the Mavericks.

Last season he also averaged 6.2 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game.

Kidd has shown his age in the past year or two, especially on the defensive end, and should continue to slow down next season. It’s surprising to me that the Mavericks will keep him for three years. I thought if they were going to re-sign him it would be for perhaps one year, two at the most.

Former Maverick Devin Harris, traded to the Nets for Kidd, has done very well in New Jersey, though the Nets offense really centered almost entirely around the young, scoring point guard, so his stats were slightly inflated. But still, while Harris looks like he will flirt with making the NBA All-Star team for years to come, Kidd’s career is wrapping up.

NBA team, D-League team affiliations announced

The National Basketball Association and the NBA Development League, the official minor league of the NBA, today announced the affiliation system for the 2009-10 season, including the announcement of a direct single-affiliation partnership between the Houston Rockets and Rio Grande Valley Vipers. For the fifth consecutive year, each NBA team has one NBA D-League affiliate to which it may assign players in their first or second NBA season.

The Rockets became the first NBA team to enter into a direct single-affiliation partnership with an NBA D-League team, granting the Rockets full control over the basketball operations of the Vipers. With the move, the Rockets will be the only parent-club of the team.

In a structure similar to other minor leagues, this new partnership model, previously referred to as the “hybrid affiliation,” allows for NBA teams to secure control over and cover the expenses related to the basketball operations of an NBA D-League team, while partnering with existing local ownership, who maintain responsibility for the off-the-court business operations of the team.

The list of affiliations is on our NBA D-League page.

Timberwolves trade Nick Calathes to Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have selected forward Ahmad Nivins with the 56th overall selection of the 2009 NBA Draft and have acquired 45th pick Nick Calathes from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for the future second round pick of the Portland Trailblazers that the Mavericks obtained in a trade on June 24, 2009.

Nivins (6-9, 242) finished his career as the third-leading scorer in the history of Saint Josheph’s University with 1,789 points. He was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year following his senior season after averaging 19.2 points and 11.8 rebounds while shooting .612 from the field and starting all 32 games. Nivins was All-America honorable mention and became just the second player in A-10 history to lead the league in field goal percentage for three consecutive seasons.

Thunder trade Rodrigue Beaubois, future 2nd rounder to Mavericks for BJ Mullens

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have acquired guard Rodrigue Beaubois and a future second round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the Mavericks’ 24th overall selection B.J. Mullens. Beaubois (6-2, 182) was selected with the 25th overall pick.

The 21-year-old (2/24/88) point guard has participated as a member of France’s junior national team and was discovered at a basketball camp by current Orlando Magic guard Mickael Pietrus.

“We could not be happier with the addition of Rodrigue,” President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson said. “His dynamic athleticism will add versatility and energy to our backcourt. He was one of the highest-rated athletes this draft.”

Mavericks trade no.22 to Blazers for no.24, no.56, 2010 second rounder

The Portland Trail Blazers moved up two spots in the 2009 NBA Draft, acquiring the 22nd overall selection from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the 24th pick, 56th pick, and a second-round pick in 2010, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.

With Wednesday’s transaction, the Trail Blazers now hold the 22nd, 33rd, 38th and 55th overall selections in Thursday’s NBA Draft.

The 2010 second-round pick sent to Dallas will be the worse of the two picks Portland currently owns in next year’s NBA Draft, which are the team’s own selection and Chicago’s. The Trail Blazers acquired the Chicago pick in a three-way draft day trade in 2008.

“The depth of the second tier in this year’s draft has given us the opportunity to trade down, pick up two second round picks and not lose ground in terms of talent,” said Mavericks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Donnie Nelson. “This will give us added flexibility for the future.”

Dirk Nowitzki is heartbroken

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Eddie Sefko) reports: Dirk Nowitzki said in a German publication that he still wants to have a family, but that “it will not be easy to win my heart” after his relationship with former fiancée Cristal Taylor ended with a rocky, emotional split. Nowitzki spoke openly about his romance with Taylor for the first time to Bild Magazine. He covered numerous aspects of their time together, including how they met and their wedding plans, in question-and-answer format… “In the beginning, I was very down and disappointed, sad and furious,” Nowitzki said. “But I made a few steps forward and I think someday I will be over it totally.”

2009 Mavericks free agent camp

The Dallas Mavericks free agent mini-camp will take place June 11 and 12, 2009.

Click that link to see more info and a list of the players involved.

There are 20 free agents playing at it. I would guess that the best player, or couple of players, will have a good shot at being invited onto the Mavericks summer league team. And if one guy really stands out, perhaps the team will offer him a contract; probably something short, like one year, maybe two at the most, probably nonguaranteed.

Most of the players on the list are known guys.