“That would be good. I’d come up here next year, give you a good two years, win a championship here and call it quits.”
News of the day For anybody who has concerns that the Mavericks are headed for a playing-time controversy in the backcourt, Avery Johnson shot that notion down quickly Wednesday. via Dallas Morning News
“In terms of his responsibility, we’ll have him leaning a little more toward the offense”
The first time he met Mark Cuban was the day of the draft. The Mavericks owner introduced himself, signed Paul Westphal’s contract and chatted for a few seconds. via Quick
“Going to college and being this and being that, then you come here and you’ve got all these other guys that are ahead of you and you’re still fighting for a spot, so it’s a whole different mental mind-set.”
DALLAS - Nick Fazekas doesn’t say much during practices. The Mavericks’ rookie scorer is trying to be seen, not heard as he feels his way through his first NBA training camp. via Reno Gazette-Journal
Josh Howard scored 18 points on six-of-nine shooting as Dallas routed San Antonio, 88-67, in preseason action. via Press of Atlantic City
“And hope it finally works out for us.”
The guy in the mohawk, that’s Devean George. The big dude dragging his injured shoulder, Erick Dampier. via Dallas Observer
“If nothing else, I feel like I can help these guys by banging on them, hitting them, making them tough”
Darvin Ham has won an NBA championship ring in Detroit and busted a backboard in college at Texas Tech. via Dallas Morning News
“We have to stay open-minded about that”
News of the day The Mavericks are counting their blessings in training camp because they have almost all of their players under long-term contracts. via Dallas Morning News
“We got a pretty serious evaluation. He fit the profile for what we were looking for as a backup power forward, and that’s why we went after him.”
DALLAS — Near the end of the Mavericks’ first scrimmage during their first practice of training camp Tuesday morning, coach Avery Johnson’s voice filled the basement practice gym at American Airlines Center.
‘You’re 6-foot-8, 260 pounds…’ Johnson cried, followed by precise orders directed at new power forward Brandon Bass, Johnson’s pick this season to fill the role of backup to Dirk Nowitzki.
‘He was telling me instead of running straight to the block, he said run under the rim and get better position,’ said Bass, who is listed at 240 pounds. ‘And when the guy pushes you out, you’re right where you want to be.’ Read more
“We saw glimpses of it last year. Hopefully, we can have a really good evaluation and we can get him going. The longer we have to wait on him in October, even though it’s early in the season, the more concerned that I’m going to get.”
News of the day The Fan Jam is tonight, and while the Mavericks expect newcomer Trenton Hassell to be in attendance, he will not play. via Dallas Morning News
“I’m going to monitor that part of our system more”
I’m a strong proponent of continuity. Ask my wife. We’ve been together 25 years and have kept the same daughter for nearly 17. via The Dallas Morning News
“I think everybody’s got us doing some major blow-up deal”
They peer out from the crater starting this week, when training camp opens in Dallas and the Mavericks go for redemption, for sure, and respect, maybe. via Sacramento Bee Newspaper
By JAN HUBBARD One morning last week, Donnie Nelson slipped out of bed at 3 a.m. to begin his never-ending quest of attempting to fine-tune his team.He checked e-mails, made a couple of phone calls to Europe , … via Star-telegram.com
“When I took over, all I talked about was getting to the Finals and winning a championship”
Avery Johnson doesn’t enter his third full season as coach of the Mavericks facing a crossroad, but facing a challenge. via NBA
“How are you not going to repeat last year’s playoff loss?”
The way last season ended with a first-round playoff loss to Golden State left Mavericks forward Josh Howard wondering. via Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“Devin, along with Josh [Howard], those guys will carry the baton for us into the future”
The Mavericks consider Devin Harris one of the cornerstones for their future. They proved that Wednesday by agreeing to a lucrative five-year contract extension with the 6-3 point guard. via Dallas Morning News
