Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 26 – NBA Blog

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.

Dirk Nowitzki open to come off bench for Mavs

The Mavs are having a mess of a season. With an 11-25 record, through Thursday’s games they have the fourth worst record in the NBA, and the worst in the Western conference. Dirk Nowitzki, as legendary as he is, has declined. Here’s ESPN.com with more:

The sixth-leading scorer in NBA history would have no problem accepting a sixth-man role if it could help the Dallas Mavericks salvage their season.

Dirk Nowitzki starting at center, as Dallas has done recently with coach Rick Carlisle opting to bring Andrew Bogut off the bench, has not proved to be a solution for the Mavs. That starting five has the worst plus-minus of any Dallas lineup this season, getting outscored by 49 points in 48 minutes. The Mavs’ lineup with the best plus-minus features Bogut with the other four starters (plus-27 in 54 minutes).

Without hesitation, Nowitzki said he would be on board with coming off the bench while Bogut started when asked about the situation following Thursday’s 102-95 home loss to the Phoenix Suns that dropped Dallas (11-25) to last place in the Western Conference standings.

Mavericks waive Jonathan Gibson, sign Pierre Jackson

The Dallas Mavericks announced yesterday (Tuesday) that they have signed free agent guard Pierre Jackson.

In a related move, the Mavericks also requested waivers on guard Jonathan Gibson.

Jackson (5-11, 176) has appeared in 10 games (all starts) for the Mavericks’ D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, this season. He averaged 29.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.9 steals and 35.7 minutes per game in those 10 contests.

A native of Las Vegas, Jackson is no stranger to Texas after transferring from College of Southern Idaho to play the final two years of his collegiate career at Baylor University in Waco. While at Baylor, Jackson averaged 16.7 points, 6.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 74 games while earning Second Team All-Big 12 twice and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America in 2012.

Jackson was drafted in the second round (No. 42 overall) by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2013 NBA Draft and had his draft rights, along with Jrue Holiday, traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Nerlens Noel. Jackson spent the 2013-14 campaign with ASVEL Basket in France. He returned from overseas to compete with the Pelicans Summer League squad in the summer of 2014, but suffered a ruptured right Achilles that cost him the season. Jackson played with the 76ers Summer League team in 2015, but was later waived after appearing in three preseason games for Philadelphia.

Jackson will wear No. 55 for the Mavericks.

Dallas Mavericks health update

Both J.J. Barea and Dirk Nowitzki could ramp up their physical activity this week, although both remain out indefinitely, coach Rick Carlisle said Monday morning.

Owner Mark Cuban hinted last week that Nowitzki, out for virtually the last month with a sore right Achilles, could begin practicing at some point this week. Carlisle said that’s possible, but indicated that it’s not a definite.

“He took a few days of doing very little in terms of on-court activity to let the Achilles heal up and feel better,” Carlisle said. “And he’s ramping up his activity at the beginning of the week. We certainly hope he can get back into practice. But I don’t know of any definites. There’s nothing imminent. There’s no stopwatch ticking.”

— Dallas Morning News

Quick Take: The Mavs are 5-18, which is the worst record in the Western conference, and close to the Sixers for worst in the league. Their defense has been bad, and their offense has been worse. Eventually getting Dirk Nowitzki and Jose Juan Barea back should obviously help, but to what extent is hard to predict. No matter what, it looks like a serious uphill battle for the Mavs this season.

Dwight Powell steps up in Mavs win vs Bulls

All it took for Dwight Powell to play his best NBA game was to be patient and not get ahead of himself.

Powell used that strategy to tally a career-high 17 points and pull down eight rebounds Saturday night as the Dallas Mavericks crushed the Chicago Bulls 107-82. It was just the fourth win of the season for the Mavs, who entertain the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night at American Airlines Center.

The Mavs have been searching for this production out of Powell ever since they signed him to a four-year, $37 million contract July 8. And they believe they’ve figured out a way to squeeze the best out of Powell — a third-year pro described as a gym rat by the coaching staff.

“He is just getting better and getting more experience,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He is recognizing situations a little bit better.”

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Quick Take: The Mavs have been one of the worst teams in the league so far this season, with a 4-15 record through Sunday’s games. With Dirk Nowitzki mostly watching from the sideline this season, Deron Williams missing a lot of time, Jose Barea out and lots of other stuff going wrong, there’s nowhere to go but up. Maybe. Hopefully.

Dirk Nowitzki still recovering from injury

Dirk Nowitzki’s recovery from right Achilles soreness will not be an overnight process, coach Rick Carlisle said, as news broke that Nowitzki will miss Sunday’s game against New Orleans.

“This is part of the recovery,” Carlisle said. “Getting him better, we’re going to have to take it incrementally. There’s not like there was any big setback. It’s just not the right thing to play him tonight.”

Carlisle said the process is going to go into December and sitting out occasional games is just part of the necessary strategy to get Nowitzki fully healed from the strained right Achilles he’s been fighting since the season began.

— Dallas Morning News

Quick Reaction: The Mavs have the worst record in the NBA through Saturday’s games. There’s no reason for Dirk Nowitzki to rush back at this point. He should take his time and make sure he’s fully healthy before returning.

Mavericks waive Quincy Acy, sign Jonathan Gibson

The Dallas Mavericks have signed free agent guard Jonathan Gibson. And in a related move, the Mavericks also requested waivers on forward Quincy Acy.

Gibson (6-2, 185) was a standout for the Mavericks at the Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and received an invite to Mavericks training camp in Dallas. He averaged 7.1 points, 3.0 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 14.8 minutes in seven preseason contests with the Mavericks.

The native of West Covina, Calif., spent last season with the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles in China. He averaged 42.0 points in 36 games with the Eagles. In addition to his incredible scoring production, he registered 6.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting .509 from the field, .413 from behind-the-arc and .861 from the free throw line in Qingdao.

Gibson went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft after four successful seasons at New Mexico State where he averaged 11.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 131 career collegiate games. In his senior season with the Aggies, Gibson averaged 17.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 34 games on his way to All-WAC Second Team honors.

Gibson will wear No. 3 for the Mavericks.

Acy (6-7, 240) was originally signed by Dallas on July 20, 2016 and saw action in six games this season. He averaged 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per game.