Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 78 – NBA Blog

Mark Cuban decides Mavs players will get championship rings, not some alternative

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, after careful deliberation, has decided that the Mavericks will receive championship rings for their title that was won in June.

By “careful deliberation,” we mean it probably came after one night of partying with the players after the Miami series. Back when those things were legal.

As you recall, Cuban had an off-the-cuff remark after the championship series against Miami that he thought rings had become too old-school for this day and age.

— Reported by Eddie Sefko of Dallas Morning News Blog

InsideHoops.com editor says: Mavs players would have probably revolted had they not gotten a conventional championship ring. Now they can breathe easy.

Mark Cuban will consider a Mavs TV network

The Lakers are going to have their own network, why not the Mavericks?

That’s the feeling from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who spoke to Multichannel News.

When asked about creating a Mavs network, Cuban said, “Yeah of course, when my deal is up. Absolutely. I think Time Warner [Cable] is kind of our incumbent [in the Dallas area] and HD Net is not on Time Warner. So will I package the two to get one? Absolutely.”

It likely wouldn’t happen soon. The Mavericks have a deal with Fox Sports Southwest through the 2016-17 season.

The Lakers and Time Warner Cable reached a deal in February launch two regional sports TV networks that will carry all locally available Lakers games, including one in Spanish. The networks are scheduled to begin in time for the 2012-13 season.

— Reported by the Dallas Morning News

Lockout may affect Dallas Mavericks trip to White House

Had there been no lockout or at least a quick solution, the Mavs might have been making plans to spend the afternoon of Oct. 21 at the White House for their championship visit. The Mavs were supposed to be Washington D.C. that night to face the Wizards in a preseason game. Of course, as the lockout dragged on there were no plans made for the big event for obvious reasons.

It certainly would be a shame if the lockout ruined any chance for the Mavs to pose with President Obama. The regular-season schedule has the Mavs playing at the Wizards on Jan. 10, the first night of a scheduled back-to-back that finishes in Boston.

— Reported by Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas

NBA postpones training camps, cancels October 9-15 preseason games

The NBA announced today that player training camps for the 2011-12 season have been postponed indefinitely because a new collective bargaining agreement has not been reached with the National Basketball Players Association. Training camps were scheduled to open on October 3.

In addition, the league canceled all preseason games scheduled from October 9 through October 15.

“We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. “We will make further decisions as warranted.”

Read NBA fan reaction or share your views in this basketball forum topic.

Rudy Fernandez signs with Real Madrid in Spain during NBA lockout

The AP reports:

Dallas Mavericks forward Rudy Fernandez has signed with Real Madrid’s basketball team during the NBA lockout.

Madrid says Fernandez has agreed to play in Spain during the labor negotiations. The deal includes an option for Fernandez to play with Madrid once his contract with the NBA champions ends.

Dallas acquired Fernandez in June after three seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.

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