Kelly Olynyk has been around the Spurs this offseason, and that could be a sign of where things are headed.
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the free agent big man has spent time in San Antonio and even worked out with some of his former Spurs teammates. Siegel also pointed out that Olynyk was a positive presence in the locker room last season, and said it wouldn’t be a surprise if the veteran forward/center winds up back with the Spurs as their 15th man.
If that happens, it may not come right away. San Antonio is only $2.15MM from the luxury tax line, and adding a free agent on a minimum deal would push the club into taxpayer territory with a cap hit of about $2.45MM.
There is a timing wrinkle here. The Spurs could add a 15th player and stay below the tax once November 11 arrives, though they may not be eager to wait that long. Another path would be to carry 15 players into the season, go a little above the tax line, and then work back under it with a move before the trade deadline.
Elsewhere in the Southwest, Dirk Nowitzki said he has had “discussions” with new Mavericks president Masai Ujiri about possibly returning to Dallas in some role. Nowitzki, who had pulled back from the organization during Nico Harrison’s time in the front office and reportedly disagreed with several decisions from that period, including the Luka Doncic trade, made the comments on a DLLS Mavs podcast.
He noted that he already has commitments as an analyst for Amazon Prime and with FIBA, along with board duties that keep him traveling, so nothing is close to happening. “Of course, I have my job as an analyst (for Amazon Prime) and FIBA, I’m on the board, so I travel a ton,” Nowitzki said.
“So there’s nothing really imminent in the near future. But I’ll always be a Maverick for life and I’d love to be around - and maybe one day even come around more and more, and maybe even have some input at some point.
… We’ll see what the future still holds.”
In Dallas, new head coach Dusty May had plenty to say about Kyrie Irving after seeing him work out this offseason. On 105.3 The Fan, May said he has been “blown away” by Irving, who is coming back this season from an ACL tear.
Per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal, May praised Irving’s preparation, attention to detail and IQ, and said, “We all know how talented Kyrie is with the ball in his hands. But to see his level of preparation, attention to detail, and IQ, it’s something that I’ve never seen at the level that he works at.
And I can’t wait for him to share that with the rest of our group, especially the young core that we have.”
The Mavericks and Rockets are also set to get an early start to camp because of their preseason exhibition games in Macao. Marc Stein of The Stein Line reported that Houston’s media day is scheduled for September 22, with Dallas following on Sept.
- The two teams will be allowed to open training camp nearly a week before the rest of the league.
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For a team trying to balance present-day competitiveness with long-term flexibility, patience matters. No deal is confirmed, and the picture could change as the season goes on, but the Mavericks do not have much margin for error if they rush into the wrong decision. The real challenge is finding the right timing, because the answers they need may look different later than they do today. [Read more 🡒]
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Leonards situation has only made that decision look more prudent. With the NBA handing down penalties tied to the Clippers salary-cap violations involving Leonard, the risk around him feels even more pronounced, and Dallas avoided getting tangled up in it. The Mavericks have instead continued leaning into a younger core and the sort of prospects that can grow with the team, which is the kind of patience that can matter just as much as any big-name swing. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Just Sent A Clear Message With This Long-Awaited Arrival
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For Dallas, the timing matters as much as the player. The Mavericks have been patient while Biberovic stayed overseas, but his long-awaited arrival also says something about where the organization sees its next layer of depth coming from. In a summer full of teams cashing in on old draft rights, Dallas is clearly signaling that this is the time to turn that planning into a real roster piece, even if the bigger question is how much more comes with it. [Read more 🡒]