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“I was looking forward to (playing point guard), splitting some reps with Ryan (Nembhard),” Flagg said. “It’s new for me, bringing it up, having that full-court pressure a bunch. Obviously, I’m not in full game shape. I’m a little tired, but (I’m) just dealing with that. It was fun experimenting and trying to do different things.” “He didn’t score the ball really well,” Nembhard said of playing with Flagg. “It wasn’t his night, but the gravity he has, it helps guys get good looks. He’s super talented.” Expect plenty more “Point Flagg” this season based on everything the Mavericks’ coaching staff has said. Flagg will suit up again on Saturday, as the Mavericks face the San Antonio Spurs and No. 2 pick Dylan Harper in Las Vegas. “I was a little nervous but excited,” Flagg said. “Just happy to be here. It’s a dream come true. Just trying to enjoy the moment.”
League sources say that the Mavericks also have interest in re-signing guard Dante Exum, who becomes a free agent Monday. But signing Russell or any other veteran guard with their taxpayer midlevel exception would take Dallas' roster to a full 15 standard contracts. There won't be room for Exum if the Mavericks get to 15.
A source told the Sun-Times that Karnisovas and his front office would have offered anyone and everyone on the roster had they been notified by the Mavericks that Luka Doncic was available in February, but even then, it wouldn’t have been better than what the Lakers gave the Mavericks. It’s the same situation for Antetokounmpo. If the Thunder or the Rockets want to add Antetokounmpo, they have better talent and draft assets than the Bulls. The only benefit the Bulls would get out of a Giannis deal is to get him out of the East.
In a matter of a week, the Mavericks saw their public perception zoom up to full-scale optimism, which was a huge leap from where they were, which was somewhere south of subarctic relations with their fans. The change has been easy to spot, especially for those who work in the organization. CEO Rick Welts has seen the difference just walking around the office, through the ticket-selling department and even while out in public. “Our lives today have no resemblance to the way our lives were before last week,” Welts said, referring to the NBA draft lottery in which the Mavericks got lucky and received the No. 1 pick, who will be Duke sensation Cooper Flagg. “It’s really quite extraordinary. Just walking around town. Getting high-fives from the doormen at my apartment building when they were looking away when I’d walk by before.”
The stakes Monday were no less than franchise-altering. Cooper Flagg, the Duke star, has been the consensus top player in this draft class for the last year and is a rare talent. At 6-foot-9, he has the potential to be a dominant two-way forward for years to come. Those years will likely be spent in Dallas. It’s an audacious sentence to write, one that would have served as a comical aside if it had been predicted just hours earlier. The Mavericks, for reasons karmic and rational, were a least likely option to land Flagg. Those in the lottery room could barely believe it either. Incredulity was a common response. Many in the building agreed it was the most bizarre lottery they could remember. When the lottery drawing was televised on ESPN, with the people inside the room already aware of the results, there was laughter when the broadcast announced that the Mavericks had moved into the top four. It still barely seemed real.
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Marc Stein: The Mavericks say in a statement that Blackman -- whose No. 22 was retired in March 2000 -- was chosen "due to his impactful leadership for the franchise through the decades, both on and off the court." @MikeACurtis2 first reported Dallas picked Blackman as its front-facing lottery rep.
While few know the cold nature of the business of sports better than Jones, the news of Luka Dončić getting traded was so shocking Jerry Jones said his wife -- like many Mavs fans -- cried when she found out Luka had been sent to Los Angeles: “Well I am a fan of the Mavericks — big fan of the Mavericks — and consequently a big fan of Luka," Jones said. "The world knows that I've got my hands full thinking about what we think about over here, much less trying to figure out [anything else]. I look at the Mavericks through a very much entertainment eye. I know Luka was a personal friend and watched a lot of games with us and would hope that he would watch more games with us as we go along, know his family pretty well and his support staff pretty well.”
Rudy Gobert. When it was pretty obvious that he wanted to spend his whole career in Utah, but when it was pretty obvious that might not be the way that thing was going that last year, Dallas was at the top of his kind of silent list of preferred destinations. And there was a time where Mark Cuban and Nico Harrison were both very interested in that idea.” The Mavericks knocked the Jazz out of the playoffs that year. Jason Kidd was not so excited about the idea of having Rudy Gobert. They couldn’t have outbid the Timberwolves anyway, but then the Mavericks came around on this: ‘Yeah, we’ll get half the production on 20% of the salary.’ And they gave JaVale McGee 20% of the salary.
Washington had been using the Bible app in recent years as his primary religious source. That changed when he found his old Bible at his home in Charlotte the night before the Mavericks lost to the Charlotte Hornets 110-105 on Jan. 20. Since then, the former Hornets star said he has been taking his Bible wherever he goes on the road with the Mavericks. He said he recently read Genesis and Romans and is reading motivational scriptures his Bible recommends based on his emotion at that time. It is not uncommon to see his Bible sitting in his locker on game day. “I just felt the need to just bring with me every day,” Washington told Andscape. “I know [God is] with me every step of the way, but he’s definitely here more now. Just being in the word more, I just feel like it just opens up everything just in life. I’m just so much happier and I just feel a lot better about myself…
The Mavericks trailed the Los Angeles Clippers 108-83 with just over two minutes left inside Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Mavs guard Jaden Hardy drove to the basket and ended up taking an awkward step as he passed the ball back out to a teammate. Hardy was seen wincing in pain while grabbing at both his right ankle and knee. Dallas trainers had to carry him off the floor and into the locker room. Hardy exited the contest with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists off the Mavericks’ bench.
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Luka, by superstar standards—was there some maintenance involved? Absolutely. But is he the highest-maintenance superstar in the league today? No. And as I said, ask Miami if they would’ve rather dealt with Luka or Jimmy Butler over the first few months of this season. And the thing with these guys having their own body teams or medical squads—or however you want to say it—that’s not unusual. It’s been an issue with Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers. It was an issue with Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz. In this case, it was an issue with Luka and the Mavericks—but that's also after the Mavericks got rid of the people in the health and performance group that Luka did know, that he did like, that he did respect—most importantly, that he did trust.
Behind-the-scenes dialogue between the Mavericks and the city of Dallas about potential sites for a new arena has intensified in recent days. It’s also no longer behind the scenes. “The Mavericks have called the City of Dallas home for the last 45 years,” City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said Tuesday in a statement to The Dallas Morning News. “We are committed to the long-term relationship we have established with them and are working closely with team officials to keep them in Dallas — where they belong.”
But Doncic enjoyed working with those two. And the Mavs replaced them with European staffers who were handpicked by Doncic and too friendly with the All-Star to get him to work. They struggled to keep Doncic disciplined, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, and it progressed to the Mavericks trading their franchise player amid concerns about, among other things, his long-term health. After a year off, Smith joined the Knicks before this season. The Knicks also hired another former member of the Mavericks’ training staff, Heather Mau, the team’s senior athletic trainer. According to sources, Mau works closely with Jalen Brunson. They also worked together when they were both in Dallas.
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