Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 70 – NBA Blog

Mark Cuban seeks change to rule on basket interference

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has lobbied the league to immediately begin making basket interference situations in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime reviewable after such a play worked against the Mavs in their 112-108 overtime loss Sunday to the Los Angeles Lakers.

It appeared that Lakers forward Matt Barnes touched a Pau Gasol 3-point attempt from the corner as it neared the cylinder with 3:49 to go in overtime. Barnes’ hands then came down on the rim and then he and Gasol instantaneously waived their arms in the air to suggest that Barnes did not make contact.

The basket was ruled good and the Lakers took a 103-101 lead.

“Any potential basket interference in the last two minutes of a game or overtime should be reviewed,” Cuban said he wrote in his email to the league. “I didn’t bring up that play up at all.

“You’ve got to make that reviewable. You have to ask them to change the rule.”

— Reported by Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas

Mavs recall Kelenna Azubuike from D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have recalled guard-forward Kelenna Azubuike from the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Azubuike (6-5, 215) was signed as a free agent by the Mavericks on March 23 and immediately assigned to the Legends. During his time in Frisco, he appeared in seven games and averaged 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per contest.

Dallas Mavericks to let Lamar Odom sit out rest of season

Lamar Odom’s brief and bumpy ride with the Dallas Mavericks has come to an abrupt end.

The Mavericks and Odom spent Easter Sunday working out a parting, according to sources close to the situation, that frees the struggling Odom to leave the team immediately without actually being released.

“The Mavericks and I have mutually agreed that it’s in the best interest of both parties for me to step away from the team,” Odom said in a statement to ESPN.com.

“I’m sorry that things didn’t work out better for both of us, but I wish the Mavs’ organization, my teammates and Dallas fans nothing but continued success in the defense of their championship.”

Sources said Monday that Odom’s departure will be immediate and that the Mavericks intend to simply list him as inactive for the rest of the season instead of outright releasing him, leaving open the possibility that they could still trade him after the season in conjunction with the draft. Any team that has Odom on its roster as of June 29 must buy him out by that date for $2.4 million or otherwise accept responsibility for the full $8.2 million that Odom is scheduled to earn in 2012-13.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

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Grizzlies take big early lead, hold off Mavericks

Rudy Gay scored 25 points, Zach Randolph added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies built a big early lead and held on to beat the Dallas Mavericks 94-89 on Saturday night.

Gilbert Arenas added 14 points and made three 3-pointers, while Mike Conley finished with 12 points for Memphis, which won its second straight and seventh in the last nine games.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Brandan Wright added 16 points. Vince Carter had 14 points, while Shawn Marion finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the Mavericks’ second straight loss.

Memphis led 29-10 after one quarter and moved two games ahead of Dallas for fifth place in the Western Conference, also claiming the head-to-head tiebreaker by winning the season series 2-1.

The Mavericks weathered an early 20-point Memphis advantage and pulled close midway through the third period.

— Reported by the Associated Press

NBA considers selling ad space on jerseys

In an attempt to generate more revenue, the NBA is pondering the idea of placing ads on the jerseys of every player from the 30 teams.

This transition could create approximately $31.18 million in revenue in TV exposure alone.

The NBA Board of Governors will meet next month to discuss the possibility of adding advertising on jerseys.

The idea has been met with much support from players and coaches.

Meanwhile, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban also said it’s an idea whose time has come.

“I’ve been trying to tell [the NBA],” Cuban said. “If someone wants to give us $10 million, I’ll make it happen.”

Cuban believes NBA commissioner David Stern can be convinced that putting ads on jerseys is a viable concept for the league.

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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Rudy Fernandez needs back surgery, will miss rest of season

Denver Nuggets guard Rudy Fernandez will require surgery on his lower back and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season.

Fernandez, 26, missed 12 games this season due to a lower back strain, and the injury recently flared up against Dallas on March 19, prompting further evaluation and more diagnostic testing. A date for the surgery has yet to be scheduled.

In 31 games for the Nuggets this season (one start), Fernandez averaged 8.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.03 steals in 22.9 minutes. He was acquired by Denver, along with Corey Brewer, from Dallas in exchange for a future second-round pick on Dec. 13, 2011.

Mavericks waive forward Sean Williams

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have requested waivers on forward Sean Williams.

Williams (6-10, 235) played eight games with the Mavericks after signing as a free agent on Dec. 21. In those appearances, he averaged 3.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 8.1 minutes while shooting .750 (12-16 FGs) from the field and .833 (5-6 FTs) from the free throw line.

Williams also saw considerable time assigned to the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League. He played 24 games with 23 starts for Texas and averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.54 blocks and 1.0 assist in 28.5 minutes while shooting .496 (132-266 FGs) from the field and .766 (85-111 FTs) from the free throw line.

The Mavericks roster now stands at 14 players.

Dirk scores 27, Mavs beat Spurs

No matter who or how many San Antonio Spurs were on Dirk Nowitzki, or how much they pushed, prodded or swatted at the 7-foot All-Star, he kept making big plays for the Dallas Mavericks.

“He probably doesn’t get enough credit for being the competitor that he is, and for being so tough-minded,” teammate Lamar Odom said of Nowitzki. “There’s nothing soft about Dirk. He’s tough.”

Nowitzki scored 27 points, fought for loose balls and screamed out in exhilaration several times as the defending NBA champion Mavericks won 106-99 over the Southwest Division-leading Spurs on Saturday night for their third consecutive victory.

After winning at home against Washington and Charlotte, the NBA’s two worst teams, beating San Antonio was much more impressive, even if the Spurs were playing the second consecutive night. Dallas never trailed and the only tie was at 2-all.

“It was a playoff battle. Anytime we see the Spurs it’s a fun game, great atmosphere, both teams really trying to get the win. As expected, it was a physical game,” Nowitzki said. “They went small some, tried to mix it up. At the end they were double-teaming some. I thought as a team, we always made the right play, find the open guy. That was definitely big.”

— Reported by Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press

Brendan Haywood out at least 5 games with injury

The Mavericks are going to be without Brendan Haywood again for a while.

Coach Rick Carlisle said Friday that the veteran center will miss at least the next five games because of a sprained right knee he suffered in Thursday night’s game against Charlotte.

The next five games are against San Antonio, at Denver, home against the Lakers, at San Antonio and at Houston. Haywood’s first game back could be March 27 at home against Houston.

Haywood missed four games last week because of a sprained left ankle.

— Reported by Carlos Mendez of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Mavericks recall Sean Williams from D-League

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have recalled forward Sean Williams from the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League.

Williams (6-10, 235) has played seven games with the Mavericks after signing on Dec. 21. In those appearances, he averaged 4.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 9.0 minutes while shooting .750 (12-16 FGs) from the field and .833 (5-6 FTs) from the free throw line.

On March 13, Dallas assigned Williams to the Legends, but recalled him after center Brendan Haywood suffered a right knee sprain on March 15 against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Williams has played 24 games with 23 starts for Texas and averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.54 blocks and 1.0 assist in 28.5 minutes while shooting .496 (132-266 FGs) from the field and .766 (85-111 FTs) from the free throw line.