Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 26 – NBA Blog

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.

Mavs and Andrew Bogut never got to mesh

Here’s the Dallas Morning News discussing center Andrew Bogut, who never made his mark as a member of the Mavericks and is now set to be traded to the Sixers. Bogut played in 26 games for the Mavs, averaging 3.0 ppg and 8.3 rpg in 22.4 minutes per outing:

Andrew Bogut, we hardly knew ya.

The big Aussie with the bigger sense of humor blew through the Mavericks for two-thirds of a season, never quite fit on the court with Dirk Nowitzki and now is heading elsewhere, although nobody’s sure quite where.

It was a virtual guarantee that Philadelphia, to whom the Mavericks will trade Bogut as soon as the conference call with the NBA office takes place, will never put the 7-footer in a uniform. They will waive him if they can’t move him along. It’s likely the Mavericks are paying a chunk (if not all) of his remaining salary.
Bogut still has some tread on his tires, but it’s getting pretty well worn. The question is whether he can land in a place that can utilize him for 20 minutes a game and get the most of his skills.

Mavs release Pierre Jackson, sign Yogi Ferrell to 10-day contract

The Dallas Mavericks today released guard Pierre Jackson from his 10-day contract, and signed rookie guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell to a 10-day contract.

Jackson (5-11, 176) appeared in nine games (one start) for Dallas this season, averaging 3.9 points, 1.0 rebound and 2.1 assists in 9.3 minutes per game. He made his first career start in the Mavericks’ game at Oklahoma City on Thursday (Jan. 26), and recorded nine points, two rebounds and four assists in 13 minutes before leaving the game in the first half with a left hamstring strain.

Jackson was originally signed by Dallas on Dec. 27, before being waived by the team on Jan. 6 after appearing in four games. He then signed his first 10-day contract with Dallas on Jan. 15 and his second 10-day with the club on Jan. 25.

Before his first and second stints with Dallas this season, Jackson appeared in 13 games (all starts) for the Mavericks’ D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends. In those 13 contests, he averaged a league-high 29.6 points to go along with 4.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 37.4 minutes per game.

Justin Anderson fined for foul on Kris Dunn

Dallas Mavericks guard/forward Justin Anderson has been fined $25,000 for striking Minnesota Timberwolves guard Kris Dunn in the head, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which was called a Flagrant Foul 1 on the floor and upgraded to a Flagrant Foul 2 upon league office review, occurred with 10:45 remaining in the second quarter of the Timberwolves’ 101-92 victory over the Mavericks on Jan. 9 at Target Center.

Mavericks waive Pierre Jackson

The Dallas Mavericks have requested waivers on guard Pierre Jackson.

Jackson (5-11, 176) was originally signed by the Mavericks on December 27 and made his NBA debut that night against the Houston Rockets where he registered 7 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound in 11 minutes of action. Jackson averaged 3.0 points, 1.8 assists and 7.1 minutes in his 4 games with Dallas.

The Texas Legends call-up had appeared in 10 games (all starts) for the Mavericks’ D-League affiliate this season. He averaged 29.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.9 steals and 35.7 minutes per game while in Frisco.

Jackson holds career D-League averages of 25.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.7 steals and 36.9 minutes in 49 games (37 starts) with the Idaho Stampede and Texas Legends. On Feb. 4, 2014, he set the D-League single-game scoring record with 58 points against the Legends (Jordan McRae later broke it with a 61-point game in January 2016 and Russ Smith topped that with 65-point night in March 2016). Jackson was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game.