Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 25 – NBA Blog

Nerlens Noel a starter as Mavs beat Clippers

As the NBA regular season begins to wrap up, it’ll be fun keeping an eye on Nerlens Noel as he learns to fit in with the Mavericks. Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram with the latest:

For the second time since trading for Nerlens Noel on Feb. 23, the Dallas Mavericks used a starting lineup that included the 6-11 center.

And for the second time, the Mavs won that game with Noel starting in the middle and creating all sorts of havoc for the opponent.

With Noel starting, Dirk Nowitzki was pushed from playing center to his customary power forward spot, and Harrison Barnes shifted from power forward to his customary small forward position.

The new strategy also moved Wesley Matthews from small forward to his customary shooting guard spot, while Seth Curry shifted from shooting guard to point guard, and Yogi Ferrell was relegated to coming off the bench.

All of the moves paid off handsomely as the Mavs did what they needed to do to hang on and defeat the Los Angeles Clippers, 97-95, before a Thursday night sellout crowd of 19,703 at American Airlines Center.

Mavericks sign Manny Harris and Jarrod Uthoff to second 10-day contracts

The Dallas Mavericks have signed guard Manny Harris and forward Jarrod Uthoff to second 10-day contracts.

Harris (6-5, 185) has appeared in three games for Dallas this season, averaging 2.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game.

Uthoff (6-9, 220) has seen action in two games for the Mavericks this year and has logged a total of 5 minutes.

Harris and Uthoff signed their initial 10-day contracts with Dallas on March 9.

Both players had stints with the Mavericks’ D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, this year. Harris averaged 26.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.1 steals and 38.9 minutes in 39 games (38 starts) for the Legends this season. Uthoff appeared in one game for the Legends against the Delaware 87ers on March 11 and had 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes.

Mavericks sign Manny Harris and Jarrod Uthoff to 10-day contracts

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed guard Manny Harris and forward Jarrod Uthoff to 10-day contracts.

Harris (6-5, 185) is a three-year veteran with career averages of 6.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 17.6 minutes in 89 games (20 starts) with Cleveland and the L.A. Lakers. After going undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft, Harris signed as a rookie free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He saw action in 54 games (15 starts) during his rookie campaign with Cleveland and averaged 5.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 17.3 minutes. Harris was waived by the Cavaliers following his second season in Cleveland and spent the 2012-13 season in Ukraine with BC Azovmash. In 2013-14, he had a short stint back in the NBA with the Lakers that saw him average 8.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in just nine games.

Most recently, Harris was with the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League where he has averaged 26.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.2 steals and 39.2 minutes in 37 games (36 starts) this season.

The Detroit native was an early entry candidate into the NBA Draft after three collegiate seasons at Michigan where he averaged 17.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 34.0 minutes in 98 career games (97 starts).

Uthoff (6-9, 220) went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft and signed as a rookie free agent with the Toronto Raptors. He appeared in one preseason game for the Raptors before being waived on Oct. 22. He was acquired by Raptors 905 of the NBA Development League on Oct. 30 and was traded the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Jan. 27. In a combined 35 games (7 starts) in the D-League this season, Uthoff is averaging 10.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 23.9 minutes per contest.

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native played collegiately at the University of Iowa and, as a senior, earned First Team All-Big Ten and Second Team All-America honors while averaging 18.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.6 blocks. Uthoff joins Yogi Ferrell and A.J. Hammons as the third Maverick from the 2016 All-Big Ten First Team.

Harris will wear No. 6 and Uthoff will wear No. 19 for the Mavericks.

Dirk Nowitzki passes 30,000 NBA points scored

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporting on Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, who has now scored over 30,000 points in the NBA:

Dirk Nowitzki didn’t waste any time giving the people what they wanted. Poised to etch his name in the history books alongside some NBA legends, Nowitzki poured in 25 points Tuesday night to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 122-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers before an energetic American Airlines Center sellout crowd of 20,484.

Along the way, Nowitzki became only the sixth player in NBA history to score at least 30,000 points for his career. And it was the way Nowitzki reached his milestone that had the crowd in an electrifying mood.

Anxious to reach his appointed destination with history in a hurry, Nowitzki came out firing. Needing just 20 points to reach the 30,000 barrier, the 19-year veteran popped in 18 points in during a red-hot first quarter in which he made his first six shots, including 2-of-2 from 3-point territory.

Those were the most points in a quarter by a Mavs player this season.

Yogi Ferrell given amazing opportunity with Mavs

Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporting on a fun Mavericks-related underdog story:

The recognition just keeps coming for Yogi Ferrell.

A week after being named the Dallas Mavericks’ starting point guard, Ferrell was selected Thursday as the Western Conference rookie of the month for February.

This is the first time a Mavericks’ player was chosen rookie of the month since Devin Harris in November of 2004.

In 11 games last month, Ferrell averaged 12 points, 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds, shot 41.1 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from 3-point range…

After Ferrell sparked the Mavericks to victories over San Antonio, Cleveland and Philadelphia, owner Mark Cuban skipped a second 10-day contract and instead signed Ferrell to a deal worth $208,000 the rest of this season and $1.3 million next season.

Dirk Nowitzki, basketball legend

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki begins the week on the verge of a major milestone.

The 13-time NBA All-Star from Germany needs 67 points to reach 30,000 for his career, a mark achieved by only the five players ahead of him on the league’s all-time scoring list: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

Nowitzki, the NBA’s active scoring leader and the highest-scoring player born outside the United States, is set to join Malone and Bryant as the only players to score 30,000 points with one franchise. The 38-year-old Nowitzki has spent his entire 19-year career with the Mavericks; the only player in NBA history with a longer tenure with one team is Bryant, who played 20 seasons with the Lakers.

Dallas plays six of its next seven games at home, beginning tonight against Miami at American Airlines Center. Nowitzki is averaging 18.1 points over his last seven games, putting his season average at 13.8 points.

— Via NBA Newsletter

Mavericks sign Quinn Cook to 10-day contract

The Dallas Mavericks have signed rookie guard Quinn Cook to a 10-day contract.

Cook (6-2, 180) went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft and signed as an rookie free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played in six preseason games for the Cavaliers before being waived on Oct. 24. He played the 2015-16 season with the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League and averaged 19.6 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 33.8 minutes in 43 games (37 starts) on his way to being named a 2016 D-League All-Star, Third Team All NBA D-League and the 2016 D-League Rookie of the Year.

Cook was recently named Most Valuable Player of the D-League All Star Game last weekend in New Orleans. This season, he is averaging 26.1 points, 6.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 38.9 minutes in 35 games with Canton.

The Washington, D.C., native was a four-year player at Duke University and, as a senior, helped lead the Blue Devils to the 2015 National Championship. He played 143 games (112 starts) while at Duke and had career collegiate averages of 10.9 points, 3.7 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 27.8 minutes per contest.

Cook will wear number 2 for the Mavericks.

Mavericks sign Ben Bentil to 10-day contract

The Dallas Mavericks have signed rookie forward Ben Bentil to a 10-day contract.

Bentil (6-9, 235) was drafted by Boston in the second round (51st overall pick) of the 2016 NBA Draft. He signed with the Celtics on July 27, 2016, but was later waived by the club on Oct. 21 after appearing in three preseason games with the team.

On Oct. 31, Bentil was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. After appearing in just one D-League game for the Mad Ants, he left the team in mid-November to play in China for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. On Jan. 16, Bentil returned to the Mad Ants after appearing in 11 games for Xinjiang.

In 13 D-League games (three starts) for the Mad Ants this season, Bentil averaged 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 24.1 minutes per game.

A native of Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, Bentil played two seasons at Providence from 2014-16. As a sophomore in 2015-16, he led the Big East in scoring (21.1 ppg), field goals made (246) and free throws made (194) en route to earning First Team All-Big East and Big East Most Improved Player honors. Bentil declared for the NBA Draft following his sophomore season.

Bentil will wear No. 42 for the Mavericks.

Sixers trade Nerlens Noel to Mavericks for Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson, pick

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have acquired forward-center Nerlens Noel from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for guard Justin Anderson, center Andrew Bogut and a 2017 protected first-round pick.

Noel (6-11, 220) holds career averages of 10.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.6 blocks and 28.3 minutes per game in 171 games (140 starts) with Philadelphia.

The third-year man out of Kentucky is averaging 8.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 0.9 blocks and 19.4 minutes per game in 29 games (seven starts) this season. He is shooting 61.1 percent (107-of-175) from the field this year.

A native of Malden, Mass., Noel was originally selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. His rights were later traded to Philadelphia along with a future first-round pick in exchange for Jrue Holiday and Pierre Jackson.

In his lone season at Kentucky (2012-13), Noel averaged 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 2.1 steals, 4.4 blocks and 31.9 minutes per game en route to earning First Team All-SEC, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and SEC Rookie of the Year honors. On Jan. 29, 2013, Noel set the UK single-game record with 12 blocked shots in a victory over No. 16 Ole Miss.

Noel suffered a torn ACL in a game against the Florida Gators on Feb. 12, 2013, ending his 2012-13 season. Despite the injury, Noel declared for the 2013 NBA Draft following his freshman year. He missed the entire 2013-14 NBA season recovering from knee surgery.

As a rookie in 2014-15, Noel averaged 9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.9 blocks and 30.8 minutes per game in 75 games (71 starts) while garnering NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.

The 22-year-old Noel was the top-rated player by both ESPNU recruiting and Scout.com coming out of high school and was rated the second-best prospect by Rivals.com. He will wear No. 3 with the Mavericks.

Anderson (6-6, 228) was drafted by Dallas with the 21st overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. In 106 games (11 starts) with the Mavericks, he averaged 5.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game.

Bogut (7-0, 260) was acquired by Dallas along with a future second-round pick from the Golden State Warriors on July 7, 2016 in exchange for a future conditional second-round pick. He averaged 3.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.0 block and 22.4 minutes per game in 26 games (21 starts) with the Mavericks this season.

Mavericks waive Deron Williams

The Dallas Mavericks waived guard Deron Williams today.

Williams (6-3, 200) is a 12-year veteran who re-signed with the Mavericks on July 8, 2016. This season, he averaged 13.1 points, 6.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 29.3 minutes in 40 games (all starts). Among qualifiers, Williams ranks 10th in the NBA in assists per game.

Last season with Dallas, Williams averaged 14.1 points, a team-high 5.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 32.4 minutes in 65 games (63 starts). He shot .414 from the field (321-775 FGs), .344 (97-282 3FGs) from three-point range and a career-high .869 (179-206 FTs) from the free throw line. Among league leaders, he ranked 19th in assists and 15th in free throw percentage.