<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-rumors-dallas-roster-dante-exum-nba-play-in-tournament');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks rumors: The unfortunate roster cut facing Dallas for play-in tournament');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Mavericks-news-Dante-Exum-suffers-hand-injury-vs-Rockets.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks rumors: The unfortunate roster cut facing Dallas for play-in tournament</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-31T10:55:33-07:00">March 31st, 10:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-01T14:15:28-07:00">April 1st, 2:15pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas Mavericks have emerged as a legitimate NBA Play-In Tournament contending team in the Western Conference. Dallas currently holds the No. 9 seed with a 37-38 record. If the Mavs clinch a play-in position, though, they will have a difficult decision to make.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/mavericks-news-dante-exum-injury-rockets">Dante Exum will miss the remainder of the season with a hand injury</a>. Meanwhile, two-way players Brandon Williams and Kessler Edwards have already used up their maximum amount of games with the Mavs this season. Dallas is unable to convert either players’ contracts to a standard NBA deal due to financial reasons.</p><p>According to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, though, <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/monday-best-around-the-league-trade?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=159710973&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">there may be a route</a> to having both Williams and Edwards available for a potential play-in tournament appearance.</p><p>In order for both to be available in the postseason, however, the Mavs would need to cut a different player. That player may be Dante Exum, according to The Stein Line.</p><p>“They’ll also need to create an extra roster spot to add both, which realistically can only be done by releasing Dante Exum after Exum sustained a season-ending broken left hand,” the latest article from The Stein Line reads.</p><p>Moving on from Exum would be a challenging decision to make, especially with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/mavericks-kyrie-irving-undergoes-successful-surgery-on-acl-tear">Kyrie Irving, who is dealing with an ACL injury</a>, expected to miss time next season. Exum, a 29-year-old guard, has played an impactful role with the Mavs in his two seasons in Dallas. He has dealt with injury trouble, though.</p><p>Exum was limited to 55 games played a season ago. In 2024-25, Exum has appeared in only 18 games. He missed the first three months of the year while recovering from a wrist injury. Exum returned and played fairly well before suffering the aforementioned hand injury.</p><p>Will the team consider cutting Exum? Only time will tell, but it would seemingly prove to be a necessary decision if the Mavericks want both Edwards and Williams available in the NBA Play-In Tournament.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks rumors: The unfortunate roster cut facing Dallas for play-in tournament

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-reacts-rumors-lebron-james-luka-doncic-trade-knowledge');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks’ Anthony Davis reacts to rumors of LeBron James’ Luka Doncic trade knowledge');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Mavericks-Anthony-Davis-reacts-to-rumors-of-LeBron-James-Luka-Doncic-trade-knowledge.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks’ Anthony Davis reacts to rumors of LeBron James’ Luka Doncic trade knowledge</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-28T15:55:21-07:00">March 28th, 3:55pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-29T09:02:37-07:00">March 29th, 9:02am</time><address><a>Quinn Allen</a>Quinn Allen is a Senior Associate Editor with ClutchPoints. He specializes mainly in soccer, basketball, and baseball. When Quinn isn't producing content for CP,  he's writing sports betting predictions for numerous sites across North America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/lakers-news-lebron-james-gives-human-reaction-to-luka-doncic-trade-shock">The Anthony Davis-Luka Doncic trade</a> shocked the NBA world in February. The Dallas Mavericks traded their franchise cornerstone, while the Los Angeles Lakers parted ways with LeBron James’ star running mate.</p><p>In a recent interview with Marc Spears of Andscape, AD was asked about what his relationship is like with Bron, considering they’re now on different teams. He also<a href="https://andscape.com/features/a-super-tight-bond-anthony-davis-trying-to-make-playoff-push-with-dallas-mavericks/" rel="noopener"> reacted to rumors</a> that The King was aware of the blockbuster deal before it came to fruition:</p><p>“Ain’t no change for me. It’s a business. People are saying that [James] knew [of the trade] because of the Marcus Morris [quote saying James knew] that comes out. [James] is saying he don’t. At this point, whether he knew or not or whoever knew, or it was quiet when [ESPN’s] Shams (Charana) dropped [the news], it doesn’t matter who knew. This s— happened,” Davis said.</p><p>“You can’t change like, ‘Oh, [James] didn’t know, well let’s change it.’ It’s no going back. But as far as our leadership, obviously, we were on the same team, so we talked all the time,” the Mavericks center continued. “But [the Lakers] are trying to make a push; we’re trying to make a push, so we don’t talk as much, but we still check in on each other. He texts me all the time.</p><p>[James’ chief of staff] Randy [Mims] hit me. Actually, they both just hit me. Vando [Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt] did. We still talk to those guys. I’ve been with [James] the longest, six-and-a-half years. We’ve been really close, but nothing has changed.</p><p>“Obviously, we don’t talk hang like we used to just because of the teams and stuff. But I’m sure we will get together over this summer and try to figure it out.”</p><p>After all, Davis and James played together for 6.5 seasons. AD is busy trying to find greatness with the Mavericks, but that’s not going to happen this season as they’re ravaged by injuries and out of playoff contention, although Dallas may make the Play-In Tournament. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-playing-tonight-dallas-magic-injury-report">The big man just returned from injury.</a></p><p>While the NBA is a business, these are human beings who build relationships. It’s refreshing to see that AD’s ex-teammates and colleagues are reaching out. And like he said, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Davis and LeBron link up in the summer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks’ Anthony Davis reacts to rumors of LeBron James’ Luka Doncic trade knowledge

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-rumors-anthony-davis-injury-return-is-imminent');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks rumors: Anthony Davis’ injury return is imminent');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Mavericks-rumors-Anthony-Davis-injury-return-is-imminent.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks rumors: Anthony Davis’ injury return is imminent</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-23T08:08:01-07:00">March 23rd, 8:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-23T08:26:42-07:00">March 23rd, 8:26am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Anthony <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-injury-update-pistons">Davis has been sidelined</a> since Feb. 8 in his debut game for the Dallas Mavericks with a left adductor strain, and everybody has been wondering <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/sources-the-anthony-davis-injury?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=159622833&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">when will he return to the court</a>.</p><p>It seems like that answer might be sooner than later, with it possibly being while the Mavericks are on the East Coast road trip, according to Marc Stein.</p><p>“A specific game for Davis’ comeback has not yet been locked in, sources said, but the nine-time NBA All-Star forward has progressed to the point that he is nearing clearance to be reinstated to the active roster after participating in five-on-five play twice this week with the Mavericks’ Texas Legends affiliate in the NBA G League,” Stein wrote.</p><p>The Mavericks have a back-to-back against the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, then play the Orlando Magic, and finish with the Chicago Bulls.</p><p>“A specific game for Davis’ comeback has not yet been locked in, sources said, but the nine-time NBA All-Star forward has progressed to the point that he is nearing clearance to be reinstated to the active roster after participating in five-on-five play twice this week with the Mavericks’ Texas Legends affiliate in the NBA G League,” Stein wrote.</p><p>There had been rumors that Davis may not return for the season, especially with the number of injuries the team has suffered, but they are still fighting to stay within the Play-In seeding for a chance to make the playoffs. With them currently being tied with the Phoenix Suns for the 10th seed, they’re going to have to win as many games as they can down this stretch.</p><p>Getting Davis back would be huge, but also Derek Lively II and Daniel Gafford, who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/mavericks-news-big-anthony-davis-dereck-lively-ii-daniel-gafford-roster-moves">have also been sidelined with injuries</a>. The Mavericks have shown some resiliency with most of their key players out, but every game matters at this point of the season if they want a chance at the playoffs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks rumors: Anthony Davis’ injury return is imminent

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-rumors-marc-stein-dumps-cold-water-kevin-durant-trade-pursuit');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks rumors: Marc Stein dumps cold water on Kevin Durant trade pursuit');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Marc-Stein-dumps-cold-water-on-Kevin-Durant-trade-pursuit.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks rumors: Marc Stein dumps cold water on Kevin Durant trade pursuit</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-10T15:26:53-07:00">March 10th, 3:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-10T15:27:14-07:00">March 10th, 3:27pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns (30-34) are battling the Dallas Mavericks (32-33) in the Western Conference standings, but could the superstar forward actually join forces with the team he is currently chasing? When Durant trade rumors first started swirling ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline, the Mavs quickly emerged as a possible landing spot. <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/monday-best-around-the-nba-trade?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=158783979&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">That might not actually be the case</a>, however.</p><p>“Dallas has been repeatedly described as a potential Durant suitor, before the deadline and since, but I continue to hear that reports of its interest have been overstated,” NBA correspondent Marc Stein reported on his substack. “The Mavericks, based on my best read, are not currently planning for a three-star construction.</p><p>“Securing Irving’s future as their backcourt anchor after stunningly surrendering Luka is a priority — Irving holds a $44 million player option for next season — and it is likewise obvious that Dallas would have to gut its depth to make a competitive trade offer for Durant.”</p><h2><b>The stars might not align for Kevin Durant and Mavericks</b></h2><p>Starting in 2027, the Mavericks will not have control over their own first-rounder for four straight years. Therefore, they likely lack the resources to pull off a Durant blockbuster. Despite recent reports, it is not certain if the all-time great scorer would be interested in going to Dallas. Leaving one murky situation for another might not be an ideal move for a 36-year-old. If Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving are healthy, the Mavs’ roster is dangerous, but that is a colossal “if.”</p><p>Durant already tried to form a super squad with Irving, and it ended on a rather turbulent note when the latter abruptly requested a trade. Both men have matured since their Brooklyn Nets days, though, which admittedly was not that long ago. They also might want to finish what they started, as people sometimes forget just how close they were to vanquishing the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.</p><p>There is also a world in which the Suns snatch 10th place from the Mavericks, carry themselves respectably in the playoffs and reaffirm their commitment to Kevin Durant. Such a scenario is still hard to envision at the moment, but the fog could clear if Phoenix starts to play closer to its talent level. The team has taxing road matchups against the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. Focus will be on finding a way to steal at least one win before returning to the Footprint Center at the end of the week.</p><p>Dallas, on the other hand, cannot afford to look into the future, no matter how much it wishes to escape the present. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-jason-kidd-unprecedented-injury-situation-suns">The absurdly shorthanded squad</a> must dig deep if it is going to have any chance of playing postseason basketball this year. Back-to-back games at the San Antonio Spurs awaits.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks rumors: Marc Stein dumps cold water on Kevin Durant trade pursuit

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/nba-rumors-mavericks-extensions-jimmy-butler-trade-talks');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: 2 Mavericks up for extensions after involvement in Jimmy Butler trade talks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/NBA-rumors-2-Mavericks-up-for-extensions-after-brief-involvement-in-Jimmy-Butler-trade-talks.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: 2 Mavericks up for extensions after involvement in Jimmy Butler trade talks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-03T14:30:31-08:00">March 3rd, 2:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-03T14:30:31-08:00">March 3rd, 2:30pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas Mavericks are still sorting through things after the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/lakers-luka-doncic-trade-nba-pissed-confused-month-later">major shakeup from the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade</a>, but they still believe that they can compete for a championship if they get healthy.</p><p>The Mavericks’ biggest asset at the moment is their size. Between Davis, Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington, the Mavericks have a towering front court that would give any team massive problems in a playoff series.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-shares-update-amid-recovery-injury">Davis, Gafford and Lively are all injured</a> right now, so that group may not be able to come together this season. Even if they do get healthy, the Mavericks will likely be too low in the standings to really make any noise in the postseason. However, Dallas can bring them all back in 2025-26 and make a run at the title.</p><p>Both Washington and Gafford will be on contract years next season, but both are <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-intel-jimmy-butler-trae-young-lamelo-ball-mark-williams-brandon-ingram-kyle-kuzma-raptors-wizards-76ers-mavericks/" rel="noopener">expected to negotiate contract extensions</a> this offseason after being involved in trade talks for Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.</p><p>“Washington ($14.15 million) and Gafford ($14.39 million) will be in the final season of their current contracts during the 2025-26 campaign,” Scotto wrote. “This offseason, representatives for Gafford (Klutch Sports Group) and Washington (LIFT Sports Management) are expected to engage in extension talks with Mavericks management, league sources told HoopsHype.”</p><p>Washington and Gafford have both been key role players for the Mavericks since Dallas traded for them at the 2024 deadline. Both immediately became key contributors for Dallas and were big reasons why the Mavericks were able to make a run to the NBA Finals last season.</p><p>Without Luka Doncic, both of those bigs will be expected to carry a heavier burden if the Mavericks want to go deep in the playoffs this year. Washington especially will be called upon in a big way due to his ability to shoot the 3-ball and score on the interior against smaller players.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/mavericks-news-dallas-hit-with-brutal-daniel-gafford-injury-update-before-all-star-break">Gafford is currently out with a knee injury</a> and isn’t slated to return for a while and Washington is dealing with an ankle sprain. As a result, the Mavericks are really shorthanded in the front court as they look to climb into the top six in the West.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: 2 Mavericks up for extensions after involvement in Jimmy Butler trade talks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/nba-rumors-mavericks-luka-doncic-bucks-timberwolves-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Mavericks’ reported Bucks, Timberwolves Luka Doncic talks get ‘brief’ update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Mavericks-reported-Luka-Doncic-talks-with-Bucks-Timberwolves-get-brief-update.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Mavericks’ reported Bucks, Timberwolves Luka Doncic talks get ‘brief’ update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-03T06:44:50-08:00">March 3rd, 6:44am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-03T06:46:47-08:00">March 3rd, 6:46am</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/lakers-news-what-made-jeanie-buss-so-proud-about-luka-doncic-trade">fallout from the massive Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade</a> is still taking place, which puts into perspective just how big of a deal that it was. The Mavericks acted quickly and quietly to move off of their young superstar in favor of a defensive anchor in the middle.</p><p>One of the biggest questions that remained coming out of the trade was why the Mavericks and general manager Nico Harrison would just send Doncic to the Lakers for a seemingly diminished return instead of shopping him and getting the maximum value back.</p><p>Rumors surfaced that the Mavericks may have also reached out to the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves to gauge their interest in a Doncic trade, and that <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/nearly-a-month-removed-from-the-nba?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=158244571&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">may be (sort of) true</a> according to NBA insider Marc Stein.</p><p>“I have naturally been asked by readers to respond to/expound upon recent reports that the Mavericks engaged in Luka Dončić trade talks with two other teams besides the Lakers,” Stein wrote. “Yet I can only expound on my own reporting on the trade, which has consistently informed that Dončić — by name — was only discussed with one team: The Lakers.</p><p>“The Mavericks’ talks with Milwaukee and Minnesota, as described to me, were very brief in nature and intentionally broad and vague … meaning they did not specifically identify Dončić.”</p><p>Of course, the chances that the Bucks or Timberwolves would have been willing to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo or Anthony Edwards seem low, especially because it would have been a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/lakers-news-luka-doncic-not-eligible-345-million-supermax-after-mavericks-trade">huge risk to assume that Doncic would want to re-sign</a> there. That is a risk that even the Lakers took, although it feels like a safer bet that he will want to stay in Los Angeles.</p><h2><b>How Mavericks, Lakers are playing since Luka Doncic trade</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Luka-Doncic.jpg"><figcaption>Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Davis trade hasn’t worked out yet for the Mavericks as the former Lakers big man got injured in his first start for Dallas. The Mavericks are waiting to get Davis, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively back from injury before they can see what they look like whole.</p><p>On the Lakers side, the early <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/lakers-news-luka-doncic-makes-encouraging-admission-after-29-point-night-vs-clippers">returns are very encouraging with Doncic in the lineup</a>. The Slovenian is still getting his legs back underneath him after returning from a calf injury but his contribution to winning is apparent.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/lakers-news-luka-doncic-gets-real-notion-los-angeles-target-back">Lakers have won six games in a row</a> with Doncic on the floor and have emerged as one of the true threats to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference. Los Angeles has a real shot to secure the No. 2 seed in the West and nobody will want to face a team with that kind of star power in a playoff series.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Mavericks’ reported Bucks, Timberwolves Luka Doncic talks get ‘brief’ update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/nba-rumors-why-mavericks-had-let-standout-signing-soon');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Why Mavericks had to let standout signing go so soon');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/NBA-rumors-Why-Mavericks-had-to-let-standout-signing-go-so-soon.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Why Mavericks had to let standout signing go so soon</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-03T06:33:50-08:00">March 3rd, 6:33am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-03T08:29:12-08:00">March 3rd, 8:29am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Moses Brown turned heads with his play <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-moses-brown-kyrie-irving-hornets">during his short second stint with the Dallas Mavericks</a>. Signed to a 10-day deal by the Mavs, Brown appeared in four games while wearing Dallas’ colors, and in those contests, he averaged 11.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks while shooting at an efficient rate of 72.3% from the field.</p><p>The Mavericks inked Brown to that deal because of their thin frontcourt rotation, which has been ravaged by injuries. While it would have been ideal for Dallas to get Brown another contract after his 10-day deal, the team needed to let him go <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/nearly-a-month-removed-from-the-nba" rel="noopener">because of salary cap reasons</a>, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.</p><p>“The Mavericks were forced to let Moses Brown go after just one 10-day contract because they cannot stay beneath the NBA’s first luxury-tax apron unless they keep the roster spot that belonged to Brown open from now until April 10,” Stein wrote in a recent “The Stein Line” piece.</p><p>It is also worth noting that the Mavericks could not ink Brown to another 10-day deal because he “has too much NBA service time to be eligible to sign one,” per Stein.</p><p>To help address their frontcourt personnel issues, the Mavericks decided to waive two-way player Kylor Kelley in order to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-dallas-kai-jones-clippers-center">open up a spot on the roster for Kai Jones</a>. At the moment, Kessler Edwards and Brandon Williams are the players on two-way deals with the Mavs, who are the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference standings with a 32-29 record through Sunday.</p><p>Before he was let go by Dallas, Brown posted a near double-double of 18 points and nine rebounds in just 22 minutes of action during a 132-117 home loss at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks last Saturday. Brown, a product of the UCLA Bruins, also racked up 20 points and 11 rebounds plus a pair of blocks in last Thursday’s 103-96 victory over the Charlotte Hornets in Dallas.</p><p>Brown played 26 games for the Mavericks in the 2021-22 campaign and has suited up for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers, Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers throughout his career in the NBA.</p><p>The Mavs are currently trying to keep their head above water <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/dallas-mavericks/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-shares-update-amid-recovery-injury">with a frontcourt that’s missing superstar big man Anthony Davis</a>, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. They will take the court next on Monday night when they face off against the Sacramento Kings.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Why Mavericks had to let standout signing go so soon

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/nba-rumors-mavericks-timberwolves-luka-doncic-anthony-edwards-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Mavericks asked Timberwolves about Luka Doncic-Anthony Edwards trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mavericks-asked-Timberwolves-about-Luka-Doncic-Anthony-Edwards-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Mavericks asked Timberwolves about Luka Doncic-Anthony Edwards trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-28T05:56:55-08:00">February 28th, 5:56am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-28T05:56:55-08:00">February 28th, 5:56am</time><address><a>Tim Crean</a>Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined ClutchPoints in 2022. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL, NBA, soccer, sports media, and more. As a longtime self-professed sports junkie, it is a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York and when he’s not enjoying a round of golf he's probably coaching youth soccer or flag football. You can catch all of his sports-related musings on Twitter at @twcrean.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Waking up to news of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/nba-players-lose-it-over-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-trade" rel="noopener">Luka Doncic trade on Feb. 2 shocked the NBA world</a>. But before <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/lakers-news-rob-pelinka-thought-nico-harrison-joking-luka-doncic-trade">Nico Harrison made the league-altering deal with the Los Angeles Lakers</a>, he reportedly did call one other team. However, when the Dallas Mavericks general manager reached out to the Minnesota Timberwolves about Anthony Edwards, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6166120/2025/02/28/luka-doncic-lakers-timberwolves-trade/" rel="noopener">they quickly said no</a>.</p><p>“While this spicy what-if scenario never gained any traction, league sources tell The Athletic that the Mavericks and Timberwolves informally discussed the prospect of swapping Doncic for 23-year-old, three-time All-Star Anthony Edwards in the weeks before the Lakers deal went down,” NBA insider Sam Amik revealed.</p><p>“More specifically, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison reached out to the Timberwolves and asked if there was any chance they’d be willing to trade Edwards,” Amik continued. “He was promptly told no. The Timberwolves, league sources say, were stunned that Dallas was contemplating parting ways with Doncic.”</p><p>This isn’t the first <a href="https://woelfelspressbox.com/2025/02/bucks-rejected-mavs-overtures-for-antetokounmpo/" rel="noopener">report of this rumor</a> to hit the internet. Longtime Wisconsin-based NBA reporter Gery Woelfel had in it a Feb. 11 piece about the Milwaukee Bucks rejecting a Luka Doncic trade involving Giannis Antetokounmpo.</p><p>Ultimately, this report does seem to dispel the notion that Harrison only went to his longtime professional acquaintance, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, with the Doncic deal. However, informally inquiring about two of the league’s biggest, most entrenched superstars (and one of the youngest in Edwards’ case) and then quickly settling for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round pick is still not good business.</p><p>For anyone not following the fallout from the Luka Doncic trade, the Lakers are 7-2 since acquiring the Slovenian superstar, while the Mavericks are 5-4, including a 107-99 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday night. Also, Davis is out injured and possibly done for the season with a left adductor strain suffered in his one and only game played for his new team.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Mavericks asked Timberwolves about Luka Doncic-Anthony Edwards trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/dallas-mavericks/nba-rumors-mavericks-didnt-like-lazy-luka-doncic-drank-beer-smoked-hookah');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Mavericks really didn’t like how ‘lazy’ Luka Doncic drank beer, smoked hookah');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mavericks-really-didnt-like-how-lazy-Luka-Doncic-drank-beer-smoked-hookah.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Mavericks really didn’t like how ‘lazy’ Luka Doncic drank beer, smoked hookah</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-26T08:46:32-08:00">February 26th, 8:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-26T09:09:04-08:00">February 26th, 9:09am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Luka <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-relieved-first-mavericks-revenge-game">Doncic played against the Dallas Mavericks</a> for the first time since being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, and he made sure to remind his former team what he could do. The Lakers won 107-99, and Doncic finished a triple-double with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists.</p><p>People are still trying to figure out why the Mavericks and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison made such an extreme move when it seemed like it didn’t need to happen. But apparently, there were a few things that they had seen from Doncic <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6160980/2025/02/26/luka-doncic-lakers-mavericks-nico-harrison/?source=user_shared_article&amp;utm_content=buffer941b6&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer" rel="noopener">they didn’t like</a>, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick.</p><p>“Make no mistake, the people who witnessed Doncic’s last days in Dallas do not paint a flattering portrait of the 25-year-old’s professionalism,” Amick wrote. “They call him lazy; they talk about the weight issues that were such a frequent frustration within their walls.</p><p>“They mention the social habits that <i>The Athletic</i> has reported on — such as a taste for beer and hookah — which have been a point of concern for NBA types since he was a 19-year-old star for Real Madrid who was entering the NBA Draft; they predict his basketball demise, highlighting a health history that, as some see it, will likely lead to catastrophe in the next five years or so.”</p><p>Though Doncic may have been partaking in those activities, he seemed prepared for every game he played in and never took off a possession.</p><h2>Luka Doncic, Lakers get win over Mavericks</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Luka-Doncic_6b5ced.jpg"><figcaption>Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It was a great game for Luka Doncic as he was able to defeat his former team, and afterward, he <a href="https://x.com/mcten/status/1894626736538526154" rel="noopener">said that it was weird</a> playing against the Mavericks.</p><p>“Sometimes I didn’t know what I was doing [out there] … I am just glad it’s over,” Doncic said via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.</p><p>The pregame was really interesting. As Doncic was warming up and on the sidelines, Nico Harrison sat back and watched. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-nico-harrison-admission-revenge-game-mavericks">Doncic noted that he didn’t see Harrison</a>, and it seemed like he was more focused on what he had to do to get prepared for the game.</p><p>Throughout the game, Doncic stared down the Mavericks’ bench after he made a big play, and it was their first time being on the receiving end of him doing those things. As the Lakers are rolling during this part of the season, the Mavericks are trying to stay afloat as they’ve taken injury hits in their frontcourt.</p><p>It wouldn’t be a surprise if Doncic came out to dominate the Mavericks every time he played them for the rest of his career, and honestly, you can’t blame him.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Mavericks really didn’t like how ‘lazy’ Luka Doncic drank beer, smoked hookah

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/nba-rumors-lebron-james-dirk-nowitzki-luka-doncic-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: How LeBron James impressed Dirk Nowitzki after Luka Doncic trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/How-LeBron-James-impressed-Dirk-Nowitzki-after-Luka-Doncic-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: How LeBron James impressed Dirk Nowitzki after Luka Doncic trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-25T09:52:32-08:00">February 25th, 9:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-25T09:53:00-08:00">February 25th, 9:53am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/lakers-news-mavericks-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-trade">Los Angeles Lakers-Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic-led trade</a> shocked the entire sports world. The deal even <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/mavericks-news-dirk-nowitzki-reaction-luka-doncic-trade">surprised Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki</a>. According to a <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43941254/inside-first-weeks-los-angeles-lakers-luka-doncic-era" rel="noopener">recent report</a> from Dave McMenamin of ESPN, however, LeBron James impressed Nowitzki following the trade.</p><p>James worked out in a gold No. 77 shirt before Luka’s first game with the Lakers. The workout and gesture reportedly caught Nowitzki’s attention.</p><p>“And Dirk Nowitzki, who attended the Lakers game against the Jazz that night to support his former Mavs teammate, noted James wearing the No. 77 shirt, sources said, recognizing the significance of an all-time great such as James showing deference to Dončić,” McMenamin wrote in a recent ESPN article.</p><p>Nowitzki is still planning to support Doncic despite the trade. With that being said, Dirk has made it clear that he is not a Lakers fan. Dirk spent his entire career in Dallas and he still supports the Mavs.</p><p>Nowitzki was reportedly impressed by LeBron James’ move, though. LeBron is arguably the greatest player of all-time, yet he has been willing to share the spotlight with Doncic.</p><p>Luka established himself as a superstar in Dallas. Doncic even has a case for being regarded as the best player in today’s NBA, although Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may have something to say about that. Still, Luka is unquestionably one of the best players in the league right now.</p><p>It goes without saying, but LeBron James knows a thing or two about greatness. He understands the pressure of being a superstar at the NBA level. Perhaps James can help Doncic on his NBA journey.</p><p>The two are looking to lead the Lakers to a deep postseason run. On Tuesday, however, their primary focus will be on playing against Doncic’s former team, the Mavericks. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 PM EST in Los Angeles.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: How LeBron James impressed Dirk Nowitzki after Luka Doncic trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-mavericks-never-offer-luka-doncic-345-million-contract');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Mavericks were ‘never’ going to offer Luka Doncic $345 million contract');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NBA-rumors-Mavericks-were-never-going-to-offer-Luka-Doncic-the-345-million-supermax-contract.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Mavericks were ‘never’ going to offer Luka Doncic $345 million contract</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-17T09:11:01-08:00">February 17th, 9:11am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-17T09:11:01-08:00">February 17th, 9:11am</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Even weeks after the news dropped, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-what-nico-harrison-told-morning-after-luka-doncic-trade">Luka Doncic trade is still absolutely stunning</a>, even after watching the Slovenian superstar suit up for the Los Angeles Lakers a few times. Day by day, more information trickles out about what led the Mavericks to this bombshell decision.</p><p>Mavericks general manager <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-nico-harrison-boos-smu-pittsburgh">Nico Harrison spearheaded the trade talks</a>, and Doncic’s conditioning and the unwillingness of the Mavericks to pay him a supermax contract were two big obstacles that led to the trade being made during this season.</p><p>Of course, refusing to offer a player of Doncic’s caliber a supermax deal is a major shock, but Harrison was dead set in his ways with those negotiations. Doncic would have been eligible to earn a total of $345 million on his next deal in Dallas, but that was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6137644/2025/02/17/luka-doncic-trade-lakers-mavericks-nico-harrison/" rel="noopener">never going to happen</a> according to Christian Clark, Fred Katz and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic.</p><p>“The Mavericks were never going to offer Dončić that mega deal, league sources said,” the trio wrote. “And a general manager identifying one star to trade, negotiating with only one GM he knows and trusts and targeting only one player who he’s worked with before and whose character he can vouch for — just as Harrison did with Dončić, Pelinka and Davis — was no accident.”</p><p>Doncic is not eligible for that massive extension anymore. Instead, he will be forced to settle for more than $100 million less if he does choose to sign for four years with Los Angeles. Doncic could also sign a shorter extension this offseason to try and earn a supermax deal sooner.</p><p>The Anthony Davis experiment in Dallas didn’t get off to a great start, as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-anthony-davis-surgery-update-mavericks-breathing-sigh-relief">former Lakers star was injured in his first game</a> with Dallas and has not played since. Davis is expected to miss an extended period of time, so the Mavericks will have to sneak into the playoffs shorthanded. However, Max Christie looks like a great addition and has already shown off some of his two-way chops with some shot creation mixed in.</p><p>Even if Davis and Christie pan out in Dallas, it still feels highly unlikely that the two of them reach the same level of production that Doncic has the chance to achieve in Los Angeles. If the Mavericks don’t come out of the next few years with a championship, this will be a failed move by Harrison and the rest of the front office.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Mavericks were ‘never’ going to offer Luka Doncic $345 million contract

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-mavericks-ben-simmons-clippers-contract');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Mavericks held Ben Simmons buyout interest before Clippers contract');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mavericks-held-Ben-Simmons-buyout-interest-before-Clippers-contract.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Mavericks held Ben Simmons buyout interest before Clippers contract</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-14T11:59:28-08:00">February 14th, 11:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-14T12:12:35-08:00">February 14th, 12:12pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-news-is-ben-simmons-playing-vs-heat-latest-update-buyout-speculation">Brooklyn Nets and Ben Simmons previously agreed to a contract buyout</a>, which led to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-news-la-officially-announces-ben-simmons-signing-in-buyout-market">Simmons signing with the Los Angeles Clippers</a>. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, league sources said that the Dallas Mavericks <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/the-anthony-davis-injury-latest" rel="noopener">were interested in pursuing</a> Simmons before he signed with the Clippers.</p><p>Simmons is now in LA so the Mavs will look in a different direction. Dallas could have certainly used a player such as Simmons right now given all of the injuries on the roster, however.</p><p>Center has been hit the hardest by injuries lately, as Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II and Dwight Powell are all currently out. 6’7″ Kessler Edwards has been playing the center position in recent action as a result.</p><p>“They got me listed as a center on the box score, I can’t believe it… I got a lot of help from my teammates,” Edwards <a href="https://x.com/JoeyMistretta_/status/1890253672090882155" rel="noopener">told reporters</a> following the Mavericks’ 118-113 victory against the Miami Heat on Thursday. “Coach is just guiding me through it every game.”</p><p>Simmons is a point guard but he has played forward in the past. At 6’10”, he may have even played some center for the Mavs given their current injury situation.</p><p>Dallas will likely consider all of their options at the position moving forward. Davis, Lively and Gafford may all miss extended periods of time, and there is no timeline for Powell’s injury return. Edwards deserves credit for embracing his role, but the Mavs need to add more size.</p><p>Kylor Kelley, a two-way player, is also an option. He is a true center at 7’0″, but he has only appeared in a total of seven NBA games. The Mavericks could use a player with more NBA experience.</p><p>Dallas heads into the All-Star break with a 30-26 overall record. The Mavs are in eighth place in the Western Conference standings.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Mavericks held Ben Simmons buyout interest before Clippers contract

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-anthony-davis-surgery-update-mavericks-breathing-sigh-relief');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Anthony Davis surgery update will have Mavericks breathing sigh of relief');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Anthony-Davis-surgery-update-will-have-Mavericks-breathing-sigh-of-relief.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Anthony Davis surgery update will have Mavericks breathing sigh of relief</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-12T10:10:12-08:00">February 12th, 10:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-13T15:31:30-08:00">February 13th, 3:31pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Anthony <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-fans-going-bonkers-after-anthony-davis-has-huge-1st-quarter-in-mavericks-debut">Davis’ debut with the Dallas Mavericks</a> was all smiles for most of the game as he put up 26 points and 16 rebounds, but then he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-injury-scare-dallas-debut">went down with an adductor strain injury</a>. That injury could cost Davis to miss a lot of games, but the good news for now is that he won’t need surgery, according to ESPN’s Tim McMahon.</p><p>“The expectation is Anthony Davis will not need surgery to treat this adductor strain. It’s a rest &amp; rehab type of situation. … The anticipation is that [AD] will be back in a Mavericks uniform at some point this season,” McMahon said on ESPN.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"The expectation is Anthony Davis will not need surgery to treat this adductor strain. It's a rest &amp; rehab type of situation. … The anticipation is that [AD] will be back in a Mavericks uniform at some point this season."<a href="https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@espn_macmahon</a> on AD's status.<a href="https://t.co/EEs65KaveK">pic.twitter.com/EEs65KaveK</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1889727500319609017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>There were rumors that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-fans-already-panicking-anthony-davis-injury-debut">Davis would have to settle for surgery</a> and possibly miss the remainder of the season, but that option isn’t on the table. Hopefully, the Mavericks will be able to get him back sometime before the playoffs, so they can make a run.</p><p>As of now, things are not going well in the frontcourt for the Mavericks, as Davis, Daniel Gafford, and Derek Lively are all expected to miss extended time.</p><p>The Mavericks showed what they could be capable of when Davis is on the floor, and he dominated the game on both sides of the ball in his debut. He also was able to slide to the four position, which is what he’s been desiring since his time with the Lakers. Davis is most dominant when he’s playing alongside a center.</p><p>Now, the Mavericks will have to find a way to stay afloat with most of their frontcourt hurt, and Kyrie Irving will have to do most of the heavy lifting for the team. When they didn’t have Luka Doncic for the month due to injury, they were able to keep stacking wins, and the hope is that they can do the same in this situation.</p><p>For now, players such as PJ Washington will have to step up.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Anthony Davis surgery update will have Mavericks breathing sigh of relief

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-anthony-davis-confident-signing-long-term-mavericks-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Anthony Davis confident about signing long-term Mavericks extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NBA-rumors-Anthony-Davis-confident-about-signing-long-term-Mavericks-contract-extension.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Anthony Davis confident about signing long-term Mavericks extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-10T11:40:36-08:00">February 10th, 11:40am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-10T11:40:36-08:00">February 10th, 11:40am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Dallas Mavericks’ new power forward Anthony Davis is reportedly confident about his long-term stability with his new team. Despite <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-injury-update-dallas-debut">Daivs’ injury setback after making his Mavericks debut</a>, the nine-time All-Star sees a bright future ahead in Dallas.</p><p>Davis is <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43764432/inside-most-chaotic-transformational-nba-trade-deadline-los-angeles-lakers-history-lebron-james-luka-doncic" rel="noopener">confident</a> he’s on pace to strike a long-term deal with the Mavs, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.</p><p>“As painful as it was for many in the organization to bid farewell to Davis — he was universally well-liked — he joined a contender with capable centers who will allow him to play at the 4, a coach in Jason Kidd who was an assistant on the Lakers 2020 championship team, and a GM in Harrison who worked closely with him as his brand manager when Harrison was at Nike,” McMenamin reported.</p><p>“Plus, being on the same timeline as the 31-year-old Irving, Davis believes he will be there long enough to put down roots and sign a contract extension, sources said.”</p><p>Daivs finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks in Mavericks debut in 31 minutes in his Mavericks debut. Dallas defeated the Houston Rockets 116-106. However, Anthony exited the game with a left adductor strain, and is <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1888776138878513639" rel="noopener">expected</a> to miss several weeks, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.</p><p>https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1888776138878513639</p><p>While the Lakers have seemingly found their next face of the franchise, the Mavs’ process of implementing their’s could be put on hold for up to one month before the defending Western Conference champions approach the postseason.</p><h2><b>What Mavericks GM Nico Harrison ‘insists’ about Anthony Davis</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mavericks-forward-Anthony-Davis.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Mavericks GM <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-mavericks-nico-harrison-insists-anthony-davis">Nico Harrison holds Anthony Davis in high regard</a>. It’s without a doubt one of the biggest factors into why he traded superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. In exchange for his former franchise player, Harrison believes Davis’ talents are closer to Doncic’s level than some may be willing to admit.</p><p>Harrison <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/luka-doncic-traded-one-week-later?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=156801471&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">views</a> Davis as a top-10 player, per NBA insider Marc Stein.</p><p>“Sources familiar with Harrison’s thinking insist that he regards Davis, like Doncic, to be an unquestioned member of the league’s top 10 players when he is healthy,” Marc Stein reports.</p><p>He also revealed that Lakers superstar LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul, was shocked when he learned about the trade, but moreso of its timing, and that Doncic was included.</p><p>“This one was a shock,” Paul said. “The timing of it was a shock, who was involved was a shock, [but] the destination was not a shock, just based upon the relationship. AD has been someone that Nico has coveted since he got the job, so that’s not a shock to me.”</p><p>The Lakers and Mavs will face off on February 25.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Anthony Davis confident about signing long-term Mavericks extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-mavericks-nico-harrison-insists-anthony-davis');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: What Mavericks GM Nico Harrison ‘insists’ about Anthony Davis');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/What-Mavericks-GM-Nico-Harrison-insists-about-Anthony-Davis.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: What Mavericks GM Nico Harrison ‘insists’ about Anthony Davis</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-09T15:44:02-08:00">February 9th, 3:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-09T15:44:02-08:00">February 9th, 3:44pm</time><address><a>Ryan Bologna</a>Ryan Bologna is an author at ClutchPoints. He studied journalism and communication at UConn.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas Mavericks and general manager Nico Harrison made the shocking move to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package that was headlined by Anthony Davis ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. The deal made it apparent how Harrison values Davis, and we now have more details on <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/luka-doncic-traded-one-week-later?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=156801471&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">how he is viewed</a> by the Mavericks general manager.</p><p>“Sources familiar with Harrison’s thinking insist that he regards Davis, like Doncic, to be an unquestioned member of the league’s top 10 players when he is healthy,” Marc Stein reports.</p><p>It is not surprising to hear that Harrison thinks very highly of Davis, given that he was willing to part with Doncic to get him on the Mavericks’ roster. Harrison also cited defense as a reason for making the deal shortly after the transaction was agreed upon.</p><p>Harrison’s supposed view that Davis is a top-10 player in the NBA when healthy is not exactly an unpopular one. Many, and perhaps most fans, would agree that he is. However, Davis is 31 years old, in comparison to Doncic being 25. The move is clearly made with a win-now mindset, hoping that Davis raises the Mavericks’ championship ceiling in the short term. It was a large price to pay, as the Mavericks now will not be able to build around Doncic for the next decade. The long-term future is much less clear.</p><p>As far as Davis’ end, his agent, Rich Paul was surprised at the timing and for whom his client was traded for. However, he was not surprised at the destination, as he has known that Harrison has coveted Davis for a long time.</p><p>“This one was a shock,” Rich Paul said, via Marc Stein. “… The timing of it was a shock, who was involved was a shock, [but] the destination was not a shock, just based upon the relationship. AD has been someone that Nico has coveted since he got the job, so that’s not a shock to me.”</p><p>The Mavericks picked up a 116-105 win over the Houston Rockets in Davis’ debut with the team, in which he only played for 31 minutes to an injury scare. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-breaks-silence-injury-scare-dallas-debut">Davis insisted that he was fine</a> after the contest however. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-wild-luka-doncic-franchise-club-debut">Davis was highly effective</a> in his minutes, showcasing the upside the current team now has.</p><p>Up next for the Mavericks is a home game on Monday against the Sacramento Kings.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: What Mavericks GM Nico Harrison ‘insists’ about Anthony Davis

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-mavericks-security-related-threat-luka-doncic-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Mavericks dealt with ‘security-related threat’ after Luka Doncic trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mavericks-dealt-with-security-related-threat-after-Luka-Doncic-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Mavericks dealt with ‘security-related threat’ after Luka Doncic trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-09T15:00:12-08:00">February 9th, 3:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-09T15:00:12-08:00">February 9th, 3:00pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The last week has been a whirlwind for the Dallas Mavericks since <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-espn-move-luka-doncic-debut">trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers</a> for Anthony Davis. General manager Nico Harrison has dealt with all of the backlash possible, the Mavericks fans have stood outside of the arena and protested, and the Mavericks have moved forward with Davis and Max Christie in the rotation.</p><p>In wake of the trade, more details are coming out about just how much backlash Harrison has gotten for dealing the team’s beloved superstar. Security concerns arose surrounding the protests at the arena, and there was <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/luka-doncic-traded-one-week-later?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=156801471&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">reportedly a threat</a> to the Mavericks main offices according to NBA insider Marc Stein.</p><p>“Sources tell The Stein Line that the organization has been wary of the heightened emotions all over town since last Monday, when team employees received word from team counsel Sekou Lewis about a ‘security-related threat’ to the Mavericks’ main offices,” Stein reported. “Employees were told that a security assessment found that ‘there is no indication of immediate risk’ but were also offered the option of working at home.”</p><p>Harrison also did not speak at the introductory press conference for Davis, Christie and the newly-acquired Caleb Martin, presumably because of the same security concerns from the protests and the threat to the office. He has not been seen publicly since the press conference to address the trade immediately after it happened.</p><p>Mavericks fans are understandably upset about the team trading away a player that took them to the NBA Finals last season and seems to be the type of superstar that can keep you in title contention for the next decade or so, but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-laundry-list-nico-harrisons-negative-luka-doncic-beliefs-emerges">Harrison thinks that this trade for Davis gives Dallas the best chance</a> to win in the present.</p><p>Despite an injury in the second half that now appears to be minor, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-wild-luka-doncic-franchise-club-debut">Davis’ debut with the Mavericks</a> went about as well as Dallas could have hoped. The former Lakers star finished the game with 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, giving Mavericks fans hope that maybe this team can compete for a title this season with Davis and Kyrie Irving leading the way.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Mavericks dealt with ‘security-related threat’ after Luka Doncic trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-laundry-list-nico-harrisons-negative-luka-doncic-beliefs-emerges');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Laundry list of Nico Harrison’s negative Luka Doncic beliefs emerges');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Laundry-list-of-Nico-Harrisons-negative-Luka-Doncic-beliefs-emerges.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Laundry list of Nico Harrison’s negative Luka Doncic beliefs emerges</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-09T14:54:13-08:00">February 9th, 2:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-09T14:54:13-08:00">February 9th, 2:54pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Just over a week ago, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-mark-cuban-breaks-silence-luka-doncic-trade">Dallas Mavericks shook up the NBA landscape</a> by <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-governor-implies-luka-doncic-didnt-fit-culture">trading Luka Doncic</a> to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for a package centered around Anthony Davis. Mavericks fans were quick to vilify team general manager Nico Harrison, who was the mastermind behind the deal which was one of the most shocking moves in NBA history.</p><p>Much has been made about Harrison’s alleged motives for moving on from the future Hall of Famer, with questions about Doncic’s conditioning and durability coming to the forefront.</p><p>Now, NBA insider Marc Stein is <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/luka-doncic-traded-one-week-later?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=156801471&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">shedding additional light</a> on exactly what went into Harrison’s decision.</p><p>Evidently, Harrison and the Mavericks were considered that Doncic “would not improve his commitment to conditioning or his off-court dietary discipline… would not improve as a leader or culture-setter…Would not improve his well-chronicled comportment issues with referees…  and Would not be able to stay healthy as he got older… and thus could not, after the Mavericks and Dončić grappled with these issues since Harrison arrived in June 2021, be given the five-year supermax deal worth nearly $350 million that he was expecting in July,” Stein reported on his Substack.</p><h2><b>A shocking decision</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mavs-fans-protest.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>To be sure, there were legitimate questions about Luka Doncic’s conditioning, his volatile relationship at times with NFL referees, and injury history, which was growing so far this season.</p><p>However, there is no precedent in NBA history for a team trading its 25 year-old franchise cornerstone, fresh off of an appearance in the NBA Finals, even for a player as great as Anthony Davis.</p><p>The fact that the Mavericks parted ways with Doncic before the New Orleans Pelicans moved on from Zion Williamson or the Houston Rockets with Jalen Green is truly shocking, and it would appear that the only way Dallas could possibly justify this decision is by winning the NBA Finals this season, and potentially next year as well.</p><p>The good news for Mavericks fans is that the team they have now figures to be a defensive juggernaut with plenty of offensive firepower in Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. However, whether that was worth trading a future decade of prosperity with Doncic is highly questionable at best.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Laundry list of Nico Harrison’s negative Luka Doncic beliefs emerges

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-mark-cuban-stop-nico-harrison-trading-luka-doncic');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: ‘Stung’ Mark Cuban tried to stop Nico Harrison from trading Luka Doncic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/NBA-rumors-Stung-Mark-Cuban-tried-too-late-to-stop-Nico-Harrison-from-trading-Luka-Doncic.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: ‘Stung’ Mark Cuban tried to stop Nico Harrison from trading Luka Doncic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-09T14:38:51-08:00">February 9th, 2:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-09T14:39:12-08:00">February 9th, 2:39pm</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban is rumored to <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/luka-doncic-traded-one-week-later?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=392205&amp;post_id=156801471&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=39f60&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email" rel="noopener">have tried too late</a> to stop the team from trading Luka Doncic, per The Stein Line Substack account. Cuban reportedly reached out to team general manager Nico Harrison to try and stop the deal.</p><p>It is reported that by the time Cuban even found out about the trade, it was too late to stop the train from running down the track. He was apparently not approached for advice by the team’s governors.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-mark-cuban-deflects-blame-dallas-luka-doncic-trade">Cuban famously deflected blame for the deal</a> in interviews since the Mavericks traded Doncic to the Lakers. The move has unleashed a torrent of anger in Dallas from fans, who have protested the deal outside the team’s arena.</p><p>Cuban is no longer a majority owner of the team, although he does consider himself a fan. The governors of the team are the Dumont and Adelson families. Cuban is a minority owner.</p><h2><b>Nico Harrison gambled when dealing Luka Doncic from the Mavericks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Nico-Harrison.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The fate of Harrison’s tenure with Dallas rests on how this trade works out. It was clearly a bold move, and one that will have repercussions. Harrison will either become unemployed in the next few years, or heralded as the best GM in the NBA.</p><p>In return for Doncic, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-nico-harrison-backlash-luka-doncic-trade">the Mavericks received big man Anthony Davis</a>. Davis is known as one of the best defensive players in the league, as he blocks shots like a madman. Davis already posted a double-double for the Mavericks in a game against the Houston Rockets, although he left early due to an injury.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-espn-move-luka-doncic-debut">Doncic has yet to play his first game for the Lakers</a>, although it’s believed he will suit up Monday against the Utah Jazz. Time will tell how this works out for all involved, but Cuban will clearly be watching closely.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: ‘Stung’ Mark Cuban tried to stop Nico Harrison from trading Luka Doncic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-dallas-releases-statement-amid-relocation-rumors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mavericks release statement amid relocation rumors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mavericks-news-Dallas-releases-statement-amid-relocation-rumors.jpg"></figure><h1>Mavericks release statement amid relocation rumors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-07T18:02:06-08:00">February 7th, 6:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-07T18:02:39-08:00">February 7th, 6:02pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-luka-doncic-conspiracy-theory-bill-simmons-make-sense-trade">Dallas Mavericks had to clear the air regarding rumors</a> of them relocating to another state.</p><p>Following the ground-breaking trade that sent star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, people involved with the Mavericks organization have been concerned with the long-term future of the franchise in Dallas.</p><p>This <a href="https://x.com/TheSteinLine/status/1888005891380679156" rel="noopener">prompted a statement</a> from the Adelson and Dumont families, per Tim Cato of DLLS Sports.</p><p>“The Adelson and Dumont Families have already started and are committed to investing and building in Dallas/Ft. Worth. The families have absolutely no plans to move the team out of North Texas,” Cato reported.</p><p>Some Mavericks fans believe in a conspiracy theory that the owners are interested in moving the franchise to Las Vegas. Basketball analyst Bill Simmons even gave his thoughts on the theory.</p><p>“I love this one that the owners always wanted the Vegas team and their eventual goal is to basically flip franchises, move Dallas to Vegas so they can have their whole casino thing,” Simmons said. “The expansion team that was going to go to Vegas will be the Dallas team, they’d pay whatever. The first way to do this was to basically to torpedo the Mavericks franchise relationship with their fans by trading Luka Doncic. I have no notes, that’s one of the best conspiracy theories I’ve ever heard.”</p><h2><b>What’s next for Mavericks following trades</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Dallas-Mavericks-1.jpg"><figcaption>Jerome Miron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Whether they stay in Dallas or make a relocation to Las Vegas, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-anthony-davis-dallas-debut-rockets">Mavericks are starting a new era of basketball</a>.</p><p>Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and Caleb Martin present themselves as newcomers to the Mavericks organization. Davis stands out as the key piece to the team’s attempt at a title run this season, looking to return to the NBA Finals for the second straight year.</p><p>Dallas has a 27-25 record, putting them at the eighth spot in the Western Conference standings. They are 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers and two games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves.</p><p>The Mavericks prepare for their next matchup, hosting the Houston Rockets on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mavericks release statement amid relocation rumors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-mavericks-rockets-viewed-as-kevin-durant-offseason-trade-suitors');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Mavericks, Rockets viewed as early Kevin Durant offseason trade suitors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mavericks-Rockets-viewed-as-early-Kevin-Durant-offseason-trade-suitors.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Mavericks, Rockets viewed as early Kevin Durant offseason trade suitors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-07T12:49:25-08:00">February 7th, 12:49pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-07T12:49:25-08:00">February 7th, 12:49pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kevin-durant-trae-young-futures-after-trade-deadline-siegels-scoop">Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets have emerged as potential trade suitors for Kevin Durant</a> this offseason, according to NBA insider Brett Siegel. In a recent report, Siegel cited league sources who stated that both teams had inquired about Durant in the week leading up to the trade deadline and are expected to remain interested if he becomes available this summer.</p><p>Durant, 36, is in his 17th NBA season and remains one of the league’s premier scorers. He is currently <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3202/kevin-durant" rel="noopener">averaging</a> 26.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 52.4% from the field and 39.4% from three-point range across 39 games. However, despite his strong individual performance, the Phoenix Suns have struggled to find consistency in the Western Conference. The team currently holds a 25-25 record, placing them ninth in the standings.</p><p>Siegel’s report indicated that Durant grew frustrated with his name appearing in trade rumors leading up to Thursday’s deadline. League sources believe <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/suns-news-kevin-durant-time-coming-to-end-brian-windhorst">teams are starting to sense his time with the Suns may be coming to an end</a>.</p><h2><b>Mavericks, Rockets positioned as potential landing spots if Kevin Durant seeks trade</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Kevin-Durant-35-stands-on-the-court-before-the-start-of-the-game.jpg"><figcaption>© Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>If Durant were to request a trade this offseason, the Mavericks and Rockets would be among the most intriguing landing spots. In Dallas, Durant would reunite with Kyrie Irving, one of his closest friends, after their brief stint together with the Brooklyn Nets. Additionally, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, who made a significant “win-now” move by <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-mavericks-luka-doncic-anthony-davis-trade">trading Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis</a>, would likely pursue another high-profile acquisition to solidify the team’s championship aspirations.</p><p>The Rockets, on the other hand, present a compelling case as a rising contender in the Western Conference. Houston currently holds a 32-19 record and sits in fourth place, a significant improvement from last season’s 41-41 finish. With Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, and the emergence of Amen Thompson, the Rockets have built a young, dynamic core that could benefit from Durant’s veteran presence and championship experience.</p><p>Houston also possesses a wealth of draft capital and young assets, making them a strong candidate to present Phoenix with a competitive trade package. With the Suns in need of long-term stability, a potential deal with the Rockets could offer a mix of promising talent and future flexibility.</p><p>With the season ongoing, speculation around Durant’s future in Phoenix continues to grow. The Mavericks and Rockets are closely monitoring the situation and could aggressively pursue the former MVP if he becomes available this offseason.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dallas
Mavericks RUMORS

DALLAS

MAVERICKS

DallasMavericks RUMORS

DALLAS

MAVERICKS

Dallas
Mavericks RUMORS