Dallas Mavericks Blog – Page 81 – NBA Blog

Rudy Fernandez to stay with Mavericks

The Forth Worth Star-Telegram reports:

The Spanish sports site Marca.com has reported that swingman Rudy Fernandez, acquired by the Mavericks in a draft-day trade, will honor his NBA contract and stay with Dallas rather than sign a lucrative contract overseas with Real Madrid.

Fernandez is scheduled to earn $2.18 million next season and would be a restricted free agent the following season with an option for $3.18 million. Fernandez, who was born in Spain, was being courted by Real Madrid with a six-year contract reported to be worth close to $4 million a year.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

NBA says NYTimes.com blog was based on inaccurate info

The following is an official release from the NBA:

The information from Forbes that serves as the basis for this article is inaccurate and we do not know how they do their calculations. Forbes does not have the financial data for our teams and the magazine’s estimates do not reflect reality.

Precisely to avoid this issue, the NBA and its teams shared their complete league and team audited financials as well as our state and Federal tax returns with the Players Union. Those financials demonstrate the substantial and indisputable losses the league has incurred over the past several years.

The analysis that was posted this afternoon has several significant factual inaccuracies, including:

“(The NBA) is a fundamentally healthy and profitable business”

• The league lost money every year of the just expiring CBA. During these years, the league has never had positive Net Income, EBITDA or Operating Income.

“Many of the purported losses result from an unusual accounting treatment related to depreciation and amortization when a team is sold.”

• We use the conventional and generally accepted accounting (GAAP) approach and include in our financial reporting the depreciation of the capital expenditures made in the normal course of business by the teams as they are a substantial and necessary cost of doing business.

We do not include purchase price amortization from when a team is sold or under any circumstances in any of our reported losses. Put simply, none of the league losses are related to team purchase or sale accounting.

“Another trick…moving income from the team’s balance sheet to that of a related business like a cable network…”

• All revenues included in Basketball Related Income (“BRI”) and reported in our financial statements have been audited by an accounting firm jointly engaged by the players’ union and the league. They include basketball revenues reported on related entities’ books.

“Ticket revenues… are up 22% compared to 1999-2000 season”

• Ticket revenues have increased 12% over the 10 year period, not the 22% reported.

“17 teams lost money according to Forbes … Most of these losses were small…”

• Forbes’ claim is inaccurate. In 2009-10, 23 teams had net income losses. The losses were in no way “small” as 11 teams lost more than $20M each on a net income basis.

“The profits made by the Knicks, Bulls and Lakers alone would be enough to cover the losses of all 17 unprofitable teams.”

• The Knicks, Bulls and Lakers combined net income for 2009-10 does not cover the losses of the 23 unprofitable teams. Our net loss for that year, including the gains from the seven profitable teams, was -$340 million.

“Forbes’s estimates — a $183 million profit for the NBA in 2009-10, and those issued by the league, which claim a $370M loss…”

• Forbes’s data is inaccurate. Our losses for 2009-10 were -$340 million, not -$370 million as the article states.

“The leaked financial statements for one team, the New Orleans Hornets, closely matched the Forbes data…”

• This is not an accurate statement as operating income in the latest Forbes data (2009-10) is $5M greater than what is reported in the Hornets audited financials.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Will Mavs search for a backup power forward?

Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas reports:

A summer ago the Dallas Mavericks made hard pushes for free-agent power forwards Al Harrington (chose to sign with the Denver Nuggets) and Udonis Haslem (re-signed with the Miami Heat).

Obviously, a guy named Dirk Nowitzki has the position pretty well locked down, but could the Mavs again be in the market for more of a traditional power forward — perhaps a Carl Landry, Chuck Hayes or short-time Mav Kris Humphries — to back up Dirk? Remember, for much of the season small forward Shawn Marion shifted between the two forward positions.

Or, did the little-used, yet ever-ready Brian Cardinal, also a free agent, secure his return to the team next season and potentially bigger minutes after filling such a vital role in the NBA Finals?

For starters, scratch high-priced free agents like Kenyon Martin and David West off the wish list. The Mavs will not be dipping into the deep end of that pool, and there’s obviously no reason for entrenched starters to join Dallas.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Coach Jim Cleamons takes job in China

Xinhua reports:

Former Los Angeles Lakers’ assistant coach Jim Cleamons had been hired by the Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) on Sunday, local reports said.

Guangsha’s general manager Ye Xiangyu told media that Cleamons had arrived in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on Saturday.

“There were several offers from teams of the National Basketball Association (NBA), but Mr. Cleamons finally chose the Guangsha,” Ye said.

Dallas Mavericks exercise options on Rodrigue Beaubois, Dominique Jones

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have exercised contract options for guards Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Beaubois (6-2, 182) played just 28 games for Dallas in 2010-11 after missing 54 with a fractured left foot. He averaged 8.4 points, 2.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game in his second season.

Jones (6-4, 215) averaged 2.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 7.5 minutes in 18 games as a rookie. He also made 10 appearances for the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League and averaged 18.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals.

Mavs guard Rodrigue Beaubois undergoes surgery on left foot

Dallas Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois underwent surgery today on his left foot. The procedure was to address lingering symptoms from an injury sustained last summer while training with the French National Team.

He is expected to make a full recovery.

Beaubois (6-2, 182) played just 28 games this season after missing 54 with a fractured left foot. He averaged 8.4 points, 2.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game.

Dallas Mavericks championship parade cost Mark Cuban $341,000

The AP reports:

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has received a bill for the cost of a parade honoring the NBA champions, which he has pledged to pay out of his own pocket.

City officials determined the cost of the June 16 downtown celebration came to $340,947. City spokesman Frank Librio said Thursday the bill was sent straight to Cuban, who has agreed to pay promptly.

According to the city’s summary sheet, the largest expense, at $270,715, was for the 540-strong police presence.

Three-team trade sends Raymond Felton to Blazers, Rudy Fernandez to Mavs, Andre Miller to Nuggets

The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired guard Raymond Felton from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for guard Andre Miller, while sending Rudy Fernandez and Petteri Koponen’s NBA rights to Dallas as part of a three-team trade. The Trail Blazers selected guard Nolan Smith with the 21st overall pick in the first round, and guard Jon Diebler with the 51st overall pick in the second round.

Portland also acquired the draft rights to Jordan Hamilton (taken 26th overall) and Tanguy Ngombo (taken 57th overall) from Dallas for Fernandez and Koponen. Hamilton’s rights were then sent to Denver as part of the Felton trade and Portland is currently in discussions to trade Ngombo’s rights.

“I want to acknowledge our basketball personnel staff for their hard work and thorough preparation for tonight’s NBA Draft,” said Trail Blazers Owner Paul Allen. “I thought it was a very good night for the Portland Trail Blazers and our fans.

“I also want to thank both Andre Miller and Rudy Fernandez for their contributions to the team these past few seasons and wish them all the best for the future.”

Felton, 26, has career averages of 13.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.46 steals in six seasons with Charlotte, New York and Denver.

The North Carolina product averaged career highs in points (15.5), assists (8.3) and steals (1.67) last season while ranking in the NBA’s top-10 in both assists and steals per game.

“When you get two players who have won national championships at the collegiate level, you know you’re bringing in winners,” said acting General Manager Chad Buchanan. “Both Raymond and Nolan are as competitive as it gets, and we’re excited to call them both Trail Blazers.”

Smith, 22, played four seasons at Duke, where he was a member of the 2010 NCAA Championship team and named consensus First Team All-American, ACC Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP as a senior in 2011. He posted a career-high 20.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists his senior 2010-11 season.

Diebler, 23, averaged 10.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 41.6 percent (374-for-900) from 3-point range in four seasons at Ohio State. He finished his four-year career as the Big Ten’s all-time leader for career 3-pointers.

“We really value Raymond’s leadership on the court and in the locker room,” said Head Coach Nate McMillan. “Not only can he shoot the ball with range, he has an excellent pick-and-roll game.

“Nolan proved he is a team-first player when he stepped in for Kyrie Irving at Duke this year. We really like his up-tempo style and the way he competes on the defensive end of the floor.”

Miller, 35, averaged 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.27 steals in two seasons with the Trail Blazers. Portland signed Miller as a free agent in 2009.

Fernandez (6-6, 185) is a three-year veteran who was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 24th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. His draft rights, along with James Jones, were traded to Portland for cash considerations.

The Palma de Mallorca, Spain native has appeared 218 career games (9 starts) with the Trailblazers and holds career averages of 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 24.1 minutes per game. As a rookie, Fernandez set an NBA record with 159 three-pointers and competed in the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest and the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge.

The 26-year-old (4/4/85) shooting guard has seen action in 18 postseason games averaging 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting .423 from behind-the-arc. Six of those postseason games came against the Mavericks in the opening round of the 2011 Playoffs.

Koponen (6-4, 195) is a native of Helsinki, Finland and was originally the 30th overall selection of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Portland acquired the rights Koponen from Philadelphia for the 42nd pick, Derrick Byars, and cash considerations.

Koponen spent the 2010-11 season playing for Solar Bologna in Italy. He competed in 33 games and averaged 12.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

“We could not be happier with the additions of Rudy Fernandez and Petteri Koponen,” Mavericks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson said. “Rudy is an athletic, young, exciting player with significant upside. His international and postseason experience will prove to be very valuable. Petteri is a young combo guard who was a first round selection in 2007 and is developing nicely in Europe.”

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Dirk Nowitzki may join German national team this summer

The Dallas Morning News reports:

Dirk Nowitzki is considering joining the German national team this summer to help their chances of qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Nowitzki told ESPN 103.3 FM on Tuesday that he would decide within a few weeks.

Germany must finish among the top six of the 24 teams at the EuroBasket tournament to be eligible to qualify for the next Olympics.

Pat Riley says LeBron James does not need a go-to move

Does an NBA superstar need some sort of clearly-defined go-to move? A first-option offensive maneuver that the player almost always tries to execute before he allows the defense to force him to try something else?

Pat Riley says no. Not if a player’s entire game is one giant go-to entity of sheer awesomeness.

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

As difficult as the ending was for the Miami Heat just over a week ago, coming up two victories short against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, the Heat’s president said Tuesday he does not envision the need for dramatic changes.That includes the need for LeBron James to reinvent himself, as some have suggested.

“He’s got a go-to game. He doesn’t have to have a go-to move,” Riley said during an informal season-ending media session at AmericanAirlines Arena. “I mean, I love reading all the people who’ve never coached in their life, that all of a sudden became experts about he needed a ‘go-to.’ He’s got a go-to game.

“He knows what he needs to do to get better as a player. He’s 26 years old and I think there’s another huge upside for him.”

LeBron is definitely capable of scoring at will when he actively and aggressively attacks the rim. But when he just stands outside like he did for stretches of the Finals? Not so much.

What’s your opinion? Read fan reaction and discuss it in this forum topic.