Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 78 – NBA Blog

J.J. Barea wants to remain a Mav

Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas reports:

Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea, a first-time free agent whenever the NBA lockout is lifted, strongly believes he will be back to defend the franchise’s first championship.

“If you want to go by percentages, I think 75 percent I’ll be back in Dallas and 25 percent something else happens,” Barea said, now back home in Puerto Rico after a bid to qualify for the 2012 Olympics fell painfully short with a semifinals loss to host country Argentina at the FIBA Americas Tournament. “… My first option is going to be Dallas.”

That comes as little surprise. Immediately after Barea helped the Mavericks capture the title with a fearless postseason run that surely worked to increase his value on the free agent market, Barea said his loyalty belongs to Dallas, the team that signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Northeastern five years ago.

In a typical year, Barea likely would have locked up his future two months ago, since free agency normally begins on July 1. However, this year that was the date that NBA’s collective bargaining agreement expired, the owners locked out the players and league business ceased.

Future of Dirk Nowitzki on Team Germany star is uncertain

Mark Woods, special to ESPN.com, reports:

Dirk Nowitzki, as proud a German as he is a Maverick, will listen to his gut but also to his body. This summer has underlined his physical limits. He will rest up now to prepare for the NBA season, when it comes. The defense of the title will take top priority.

There is no urgent rush to confirm or reject Bauermann’s prediction. Germany, already grateful, will give him all the time he needs to decide on whether this really was the end of the road.

“I don’t know,” Nowitzki admitted after the game. “I’ll just have to wait and see what the future brings. The fans have been great. I’ve met so many great people over the years. The journalists have been great to me.

“Basketball’s given me a lot of great memories.”

Ones which will live long in the mind in Germany and beyond.

Jason Kidd gets married, hopes for 2-3 more NBA years

The Dallas Morning News reports:

Mavericks guard Jason Kidd married long time girlfriend Porschla Coleman on Saturday night.

Kidd posted pictures of the ceremony on his Twitter account

After 17 seasons in the NBA and three trips to the Finals, Kidd finally added a championship ring to his resume with the Mavericks in July.

The future Hall of Famer turns 39 next March.

After winning the title, Kidd was asked how many years he has left in him.

“With this group, hopefully another two or three,” Kidd said. “I feel great, and being around younger guys and working on my game, and them believing in me, helped me compete every day.”

Dirk Nowitzki, Germany bounced from EuroBasket

The AP reports:

After an off night by Dirk Nowitzki, Germany is out of the European Championship. And that means the NBA finals MVP will not be at next year’s Olympics.

Nowitzki’s poor shooting doomed his country to an 84-75 loss against Lithuania on Sunday. Germany missed out on a spot in the quarterfinals of the continental tournament and a chance to qualify for the London Games.

Germany needed to win by 11 points to advance, but never came close. Nowitzki was limited to 16 points on 4-for-17 shooting, and Lithuania made it to the knockout round.

“It’s my fault. I was not in condition to play a good tournament,” said Nowitzki, who led the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA title last season.

Bruce Pearl chooses working for wholesale grocer over Texas Legends

Former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl has turned down owner Donnie Nelson’s offer to coach the D-League Texas Legends, citing a desire to remain with his children and enter the private sector in Knoxville.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported early this afternoon that Pearl accepted a job as vice president of marketing with Tennessee-based wholesale grocer H.T. Hackney Co.

The company’s chairman, Bill Sansom, formerly sat on the board of trustees at Tennessee, which fired Pearl in March after he admitted misleading NCAA investigators who were looking at recruiting irregularities at the school.

“I’ve known Bruce Pearl for years — his leadership, competitiveness and understanding of marketing is a great fit for our organization,” Sansom said in a statement released by the company.

— Reported by Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News

Forward Sean Williams to sign in Israel

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

After an All-Star season with the Texas Legends, Sean Williams is headed to Israel.

Sources with knowledge of the big man’s plans told ESPNDallas.com that Williams has agreed to a contract with Israeli club Maccabi Haifa, which has been trying feverishly to capitalize on the NBA lockout by signing players with NBA experience.

Williams’ deal, according to one source with knowledge of the terms, includes an out clause that would enabled the 24-year-old to return to the NBA when the lockout ends and if he gets an NBA offer.

Houston lands 2013 NBA All-Star Game

Mark Berman of My Fox Houston reports:

NBA sources told FOX 26 Sports the Houston Rockets and the City of Houston landed the NBA All-Star Game in 2013. The game will be played at Toyota Center on Feb. 17, 2013. NBA All-Star week will be Feb. 15-17. The Rockets and Toyota Center also hosted the game in 2006.

Click2Houston reports:

The entire NBA All-Star Weekend will be in the Bayou City from February 15-17, 2013. Hilton Americas Marketing Director Janice O’Neill-Cox spoke with Local 2 Sports Wednesday afternoon, saying, “We played a key role in working with the league to make sure availability was in place. It’s a big boost for our city to land the game, and we’re excited about it.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: I don’t get why Houston is getting the game again. They just had it in 2006. Meanwhile, other teams haven’t hosted it in a long time. Also, Madison Square Garden renovations will be mostly complete in time. And the new Brooklyn Nets arena will exist by mid 2012. Unusual call to send the big weekend back to Houston so soon.

Tyson Chandler takes big loss on Chicago-area home sale

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Former Chicago Bulls center Tyson Chandler who was part of this year’s NBA title-winning Dallas Mavericks team, has taken a huge loss on his 20-room, brick-and-limestone mansion in north suburban Northfield, selling it for $2.1 million.

The 7-foot-1 Chandler, 28, took one of the biggest housing losses of any area celebrity in recent years, selling his mansion for slightly more than half of what he paid for it in mid-2006. As the Red Eye newspaper reported in September 2006, Chandler paid $4 million for the mansion — just weeks before he was traded to the New Orleans Hornets after five seasons with the Bulls.

Chandler first listed the three-story mansion in 2007 for $4.99 million, and over the years reduced his asking price many times. Its final asking price was $2.895 million.

Custom-built in 2004 and covering about 11,000 square feet, the six-bedroom mansion has six full baths, two half baths, three fireplaces, a two-story great room, custom travertine and walnut floors, chef’s kitchen with a large breakfast room, wine cellar, a home theater, an exercise room, spa, mudroom, four-car garage, and a first-floor master suite with a large onyx bath. The mansion is on a 0.91-acre parcel.

Dirk Nowitzki will not consider overseas offers until after European championships

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

There have been offers from China, feelers from teams around Europe and, of course, aggressive interest from Bayern Munich and other top clubs in his native Germany.

But Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki isn’t ready to think about playing abroad in the event of an extended lockout.

Two weeks into his training for the upcoming EuroBasket tournament in Lithuania with the German national team, after a month of championship celebrations that he says went by way too fast, Nowitzki told ESPNDallas.com in a phone interview Thursday that he plans to wait until after the European championships before he thinks seriously about playing in a foreign league.

Spending the week in Berlin to combine a commercial shoot with private training sessions with longtime mentor Holger Geschwindner, Nowitzki said: “I’m going to play the Euros and then see where the lockout is after that. Until then, I’m not going to look at playing anywhere else.”

The EuroBasket tournament runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 18.

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Shawn Marion turns down offer to appear on Dancing With the Stars

TMZ reports:

Dallas Mavericks star Shawn Marion isn’t taking any chances with the NBA lockout — in fact, he just turned down “Dancing with the Stars” … to make sure he’s free to practice with his team this fall.

Sources close to Shawn tell TMZ, “Dancing” sent him an official offer to appear on the show, but the NBA champ wants to make sure he’s 100% available in case the lockout ends early … so it’s a no go.

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