Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 35 – NBA Blog

Jeremy Evans will sign with Mavericks

Jeremy Evans will sign with Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks have had an impressive offseason. And after striking agreements with starter-level talent these past few days, they’re solidifying their bench a bit. Here’s the Salt Lake Tribune reporting on an athletic former member of the Utah Jazz who will take his hops to Texas:

The Utah Jazz have lost their former NBA slam dunk champion.

A free agent forward, Jeremy Evans announced via Twitter on Sunday afternoon that he had reached a deal to join the Mavericks. According to an ESPN report, the deal is for two years at the league minimum.

The 27-year-old Evans was a second-round pick by the Jazz in 2010. But after being a regular rotation player two seasons ago for coach Tyrone Corbin, Evans saw his minutes and role dramatically reduced last season under new coach Quin Snyder.

“If I’m here, I’m going to be so happy,” Evans said during his exit interview in April. “I feel like this is my home. If not, I know it’s still going to be a bright future and wish everybody the best.”

DeAndre Jordan leaving Clippers to sign with Mavericks

Now this is a big one. Center DeAndre Jordan, he of massive hops, free throw struggles and impressive defensive ability, is leaving the Los Angeles Clippers and joining the Dallas Mavericks. Nobody expected this. Jordan fits in well on the Clippers, catching lobs from Chris Paul and having limited responsibility on offense while being part of a winning squad. But the Mavs offered monster money, and big DeAndre is reportedly accepting it. Here’s the Fort Worth Star-Telegram blog reporting:

Following a sluggish performance on the opening day of free agency, the Mavs rolled up their collective sleeves and have bounced back in a very big way.

First, early Friday morning, the Mavs convinced Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Wesley Matthews to agree in principle to a four-year free agent contract. Then, on Friday afternoon the Mavs beat the odds again and secured a verbal agreement from Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, who accepted a four-year, $81 million contract from the Mavs.

Thus, Jordan becomes the first marquee player – aka a big fish — from another team to sign a free agent contract with the Mavs in the team’s illustrious 35-year history.

Wooed aggressively by the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Clippers and Mavs, Jordan had narrowed his choices down to the Mavs and Clippers. And after mulling over what the Mavs and Clippers had to offer, Jordan decided he wanted to jump-start the rest of his career in Dallas.

Richard Jefferson staying with Mavs

Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting that veteran small forward Richard Jefferson, whose NBA career is winding down, will stick with the Mavericks next season:

Small forward Richard Jefferson has agreed to return to the Dallas Mavericks on a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, a source said.

Jefferson celebrated DeAndre Jordan’s decision to come to Dallas at a Manhattan Beach, Calif., bar Friday with a group including Mavs owner Mark Cuban and small forward Chandler Parsons.

In a video sent by Cuban on CyberDust, he laughed and asked Jefferson if he knew where he’d play next season. Jefferson joked: “We’ll see!”

Suns to add Tyson Chandler

Now this is big. Literally — because Tyson Chandler is really tall — and figuratively, because Chandler is good and as a defensive-minded center should bump the Suns up just enough to make more noise in the Western conference playoff race. The Suns still face a very uphill battle to qualify for the postseason in an incredibly difficult conference, but Chandler will be a very nice addition.

In this move, Phoenix is getting a nice, key piece. Here’s the Arizona Republic reporting:

The Suns wanted size, defense, rebounding and leadership and went for it in 32-year-old center Tyson Chandler.

The Suns kicked off free agency by setting on a five-year, $70 million contract with guard Brandon Knight, which matches Eric Bledsoe’s deal from September, and added Chandler to fortify their middle as they continued pursued of star free agent LaMarcus Aldridge.

Sources confirmed agreements for Knight and Chandler with ESPN.com reporting that Chandler’s deal will be worth $52 million over four years. The Suns entered free agency with $12 million of cap space but could create more space. They have $16.2 million in cap holds for Brandan Wright and Gerald Green and a $5.5 million trade exception from the Goran Dragic deal.

Chandler is a 14-year veteran who was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2011-12.

The Dallas Mavericks, meanwhile, are in serious transition and face a lot of difficult decisions as Dirk Nowitzki’s career starts to wind down.

India native Satnam Singh selected in NBA Draft by Mavs

The Dallas Mavericks announced that they have selected center Satnam Singh with the 52nd overall selection of the 2015 NBA Draft.

Singh (7-2, 290) last played for IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), where he averaged 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game during the 2014-15 season.

A native of Chawke, India, Singh has represented the India national basketball team at the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship and the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

Monta Ellis to enter free agency

Mavs guard Monta Ellis to enter free agency

Monta Ellis is an excellent scorer but it remains to be seen if he can help raise a team to a higher level of winning basketball. Here’s ESPN.com with an update on the Dallas Mavericks backcourt:

Shooting guard Monta Ellis has decided to opt out of the final season of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks, agent Jeff Fried said.

“This decision was made because it’s in the best interest of Monta,” Fried said. “It was more about him taking his future into his own hands.”

The Mavericks do not intend to attempt to re-sign Ellis despite the fact he averaged 18.9 points last season to become the first player other than Dirk Nowitzki to lead them in scoring since 1999-2000…

Ellis, 29, had a Wednesday deadline to determine whether he wanted to make $8.7 million in the final season of a three-year, $25 million offer or test the free-agent market. If Ellis had opted in, the Mavs would have attempted to trade him for a first-round pick to clear cap space, sources told ESPN.com.

Uncertain future for Monta Ellis in Dallas

Uncertain future for Monta Ellis in Dallas

Here’s the Dallas Morning News with some insight on the Mavericks, who face many difficult decisions, many of which hinge on what Monta Ellis decides to do:

Monta Ellis has a decision to make. Most people think they know what he’s going to do, but until he makes it official, the Mavericks are forced to have two plans of attack ready to implement.

It boils down to whether Ellis opts out of the final season of his contract.

If Ellis does, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team in the league, presumably whoever is the highest bidder.

That likely would not be the Mavericks.

If Ellis doesn’t opt out, he will play the final year of his contract with the Mavericks, making about $9 million in the 2015-16 season.

The smart money is on Ellis opting out of his contract.

Dick Motta honored with Chuck Daly Award

Dick Motta honored with Chuck Daly Award

Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting on a solid coaching honor for a name long-time NBA fans will recognize:

Congratulations to the original Dallas Mavericks’ coach, Dick Motta, for winning the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015.

The honor, presented by the National Basketball Coaches Association, is given annually to honor the memory of Hall of Famer Chuck Daly, who throughout his NBA coaching career embodied the standards of high integrity, competitive excellence and tireless promotion of the league.

“Dick Motta was a true NBA coaching pioneer who brought to the game a great basketball mind, with a competitive toughness,” said Mavericks’ coach Rick Carlisle, who is president of the NBCA.

No Dirk Nowitzki retirement plans yet

No Dirk Nowitzki retirement plans yet

Here’s SportsDayDFW.com reporting what aging Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki recently said on KTCK-AM 1310:

On possibly retiring this offseason:

Dirk Nowitzki: “No. I definitely want to fulfill my contract. I signed on for three years last summer and I’m not going to retire after the first year. If I commit to something, I commit to it fully. I’ve got two more years and hopefully make it count, make it good ones. Hopefully deep playoff runs, that’s what we wanted this year. We wanted homecourt advantage to set us up for a nice little run, we just weren’t consistent enough to really get there, so, we’ll see how the next few years play out.”

Chandler Parsons undergoes knee surgery

Chandler Parsons undergoes knee surgery

The Dallas Mavericks have announced that forward Chandler Parsons underwent arthroscopic surgery today to address a cartilage injury to his right knee. The surgery was performed by Dr. T.O. Souryal at Texas Sports Medicine. A timetable for his return to basketball activities will be determined in the future.

Parsons (6-10, 230) played in 66 games (all starts) in his first season with the Mavericks and averaged of 15.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 33.1 minutes per game.