Category: Dallas Mavericks Blog

Mavs sign Bernard James to 10-day contract

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed center Bernard James to a 10-day contract.

James (6-10, 235) was originally drafted by the Mavericks with the 33rd overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. He averaged 2.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 0.6 blocks and 7.9 minutes in 76 career games (11 starts) with Dallas.

The Savannah, Ga., native spent training camp with the Mavericks this preseason when he averaged 2.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in 5 games. He most recently played in China for the Shanghai Sharks.

James will wear number 55.

Al-Farouq Aminu playing well for Mavs

The 33-17 Dallas Mavericks are enjoying some solid production from Al-Farouq Aminu these days. Here’s ESPN Dallas reporting:

Al-Farouq Aminu is doing everything he can to earn an exemption from the fickle nature of Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle’s bench rotation.

As Aminu stuffs the box score and provides highlight reel material, it’s almost hard to believe he picked up six DNP-CDs and had a couple other one-minute outings in a recent span of a month and a half. At this point, Aminu is arguably the Mavs’ most indispensable reserve.

His seven-point, five-rebound, two-steal, two-block, two-assist performance in Monday’s 100-94 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves epitomized the Aminu experience of late. He packed all kinds of energy and a few of the night’s most spectacular moments — a fast-break finish of an alley-oop from Raymond Felton, a chasedown swat of Andrew Wiggins and a two-handed slam over Gorgui Dieng — into his 21 minutes.

Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting that the Mavericks visited an important cultural spot Sunday before facing the Grizzlies Monday:

When the Mavericks arrived in Memphis on Sunday, they went directly to the [National] Civil Rights Museum for a private tour in advance of MLK Day.

“Every now and then, you have to remind yourself and educate yourself about the history,” Tyson Chandler said. “You got to look into his life and what it means. For me, it’s just being thankful that I live in a day that I can play this game I love, that I can go into restaurants, that I can watch my children go to a school that looks like a melting pot and have experiences that little black boys and little black girls didn’t experience in his time.”

Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting on former NBA center Roy Tarpley, who sadly passed away recently:

Former Maverick Roy Tarpley, who died last Friday at the age of 50, will be buried Saturday morning in Mobile, Ala.

Assistant general manager Keith Grant and director of basketball development Rolando Blackman will represent the Mavericks at the private ceremony.

“I think it’s important for me, as a person, and for the franchise,” Grant said Friday. “I spent a lot of time with Roy. There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears on both sides there. I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting, sadly, that former Mavericks center Roy Tarpley has passed away:

Former Mavericks’ center Roy Tarpley has died at age 50. Cause of death was not immediately known although when the Mavericks arrived in Los Angeles for their game Saturday against the Clippers, several members of the traveling party had been informed that liver failure was at least partly to blame.

The 6-11 Tarpley was the seventh pick in the 1986 draft by the Mavericks out of Michigan. In his second season, he was the NBA’s sixth man of the year before drugs and controversy shrouded the rest of his six seasons in the league.

According to a medical examiner’s report, Tarpley’s death happened at Texas Arlington Health Memorial Hospital. It is a sad ending to one of the most gifted talents ever to play for the franchise. Tarpley had a rare combination of strength and speed that made him one of the best athletes of his era.

The Dallas Mavericks handled the Nets in Brooklyn Monday. And in that victory, their living legend kept rising on a historical level. Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting on forward Dirk Nowitzki, who continues to move up the all-time NBA scoring list:

Dirk Nowitzki labored offensively all night – until he decided it was time to ice the game. It was absolutely fitting that Nowitzki passed Moses Malone for seventh place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with a 3-pointer in the final minute of overtime. Think about that. Of the nearly 4,000 players who have ever slipped on an NBA jersey, only six have scored more points than Nowitzki. The list is a bunch of one-name wonders: Kareem, Mailman, Kobe, Michael, Wilt and Shaq. And then Dirk. Simply remarkable.

Here’s the Dallas Morning News blog reporting on the Mavs:

With every passing game, things get a little more normal for Rondo and his new teammates. He’s now had four games with the Mavericks and the Mavericks haven’t exactly set the world on fire – beating a Lakers’ team without Kobe Bryant and a San Antonio team without all five starters. But progress is measured in small increments and Rondo actually looked comfortable against the Lakers. Not just because he had a season-high 21 points, but he picked his spots correctly, hit 10-of-17 shots and also had seven assists to go with eight rebounds.

“He’s starting to run a great show,” said Dirk Nowitzki. “He’s starting to understand when he needs to be aggressive, when to shoot when they go under (the screens) and he’s obviously got the great passing gene that you need as a great point guard. So I think he looks pretty sharp and we got to get used to each other even more as the competition gets stiffer.”