Category: Dallas Mavericks Blog

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Rumor: Heat, Suns talking Shaq trade

The Miami Herald (Barry Jackson) reports: The Heat has told center Shaquille O’Neal’s representation that it is talking about trading him and he should be prepared for the possibility of a deal, according to two officials close to the situation. Phoenix has discussed sending forward Shawn Marion and point guard Marcus Banks to the Heat in return for O’Neal. Asked for confirmation, one of O’Neal’s representatives said O’Neal has been made aware that discussions with Phoenix are serious and ongoing, but that a deal was not definite. Dallas also has been mentioned as a potential destination, though the Heat had not immediately informed O’Neal of that possibility. O’Neal, 35, was shocked by the turn of events, an associate said.

The East Valley Tribune (Scott Burdow) writes: The Miami Herald is reporting that the Suns are trying to acquire center Shaquille O’Neal from the Miami Heat for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. I know this is the time for rumors, what with the NBA trading deadline on Feb. 21, but I can’t believe this is true. O’Neal is old and broken down. He would fit into Mike D’Antoni’s system about as well as  a tank on the Autobahn. Plus, he’s owed $40 million over the next two years, which would put owner Robert Sarver into luxury tax territory.

Devin Harris out 2-3 weeks

Mavericks guard Devin Harris underwent an MRI today on his left ankle. The results revealed a left ankle bone bruise. There is no additional structural damage. He is anticipated to return to activity in 2-3 weeks.

Harris suffered the injury at the 7:53 mark of the fourth quarter in last night’s game vs. Denver. In 39 games this season, Harris has averaged career-highs 14.4 points, 5.3 assists and 1.44 steals. He is also shooting 48.3% from the field, a career-high 35.7% from 3-point range and 82.1% from the free throw line.

He did not travel with the team to Memphis for tonight’s game.

Readers pick Suns over Mavs

InsideHoops.com polled our readers, who are a national and worldwide fan base, asking who would win a seven-game playoff series between the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks, assuming both teams were healthy and at full strength.

Right now, our readers prefer the Suns, with 63% feeling Phoenix wins it, and 37% liking Dallas.

Breaking it down further, 51% of our readers felt the Suns would win in 6 or 7 games, 13% saying the Suns would win in 4 or 5 games. As for fans who picked the Mavs, 33% said they’d win in 6 or 7 games, 3% picked 4 or 5 games.

Over 400 fans voted in the 36-hour poll.

Mavericks recall Maurice Ager from D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have recalled guard Maurice Ager from the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League.

Ager (6-5, 202) is being recalled for the first time this season after recently being assigned to Tulsa on December 16.  He has played in 8 games for the 66ers and averaged 17.4 points and 2.3 assists in 33.4 minutes per game.

Ager, who was drafted by Dallas with the 28th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, has played in 7 games for the Mavericks this season and holds averages of 2.1 points and 0.6 rebounds. He is scheduled to meet the team in Minnesota today for the Mavericks game against the Timberwolves on Sunday, Jan. 6.

Mavs sending Mo Ager to D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have assigned guard Maurice Ager to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

The one-year pro has seen action in seven games this season starting three times.  He has averages of 2.1 points and 0.6 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game.  Against San Antonio (11/5), he finished with a season-high 5 points, 2 rebounds and a career-high 3 assists.

The 66ers will be in action on Dec. 19 when they host the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Devean George happy to finally play

MavsCourtsideView reports: Devean George felt good about his first appearance of the season Thursday night. The veteran swingman returned to the lineup against Denver and played in short spurts totaling seven minutes. “I was trying to be active, but at the same time knowing my timing was off and not really trying to do too much,” he said today. “Not try to force the issue and slowly get my way back in.”

NBA denies Mavs protest

The NBA today denied a game protest filed by the Dallas Mavericks over their 111-107 loss to the Indiana Pacers on November 23.

The Mavericks filed the protest because a basket by Indiana’s Troy Murphy with 9:59 remaining in the second quarter was mistakenly recorded as a 3-point field goal instead of a 2-point field goal (making the score 41-25 in Indiana’s favor), and the Mavericks contended that this extra point had a clear impact on the outcome of the game.

The NBA’s review confirmed that Murphy’s shot was mistakenly recorded; the Official Scorer erroneously believed that one or more referees had given the signal for a 3-point field goal. In fact, no referee made such a signal, nor was any referee aware until after the game that the Official Scorer had awarded 3 points to Indiana as a result of Murphy’s shot.

Although he concluded that an inadvertent error was made by the Official Scorer, NBA Commissioner David Stern determined that it did not have such a clear impact on the outcome of the game that a replay of the contest should be ordered. Murphy’s shot occurred with almost 34 minutes of regulation time remaining in the game, providing Dallas with a substantial opportunity to overcome the 1-point error. Dallas lost the game by four points.

Although NBA rules would have allowed the game officials to correct the scoring error at any time prior to the end of the game, it was not brought to their attention until after the game.