Inside his newest NBA rumor round-up for The Stein Line (Substack hyperlink), Marc Stein reiterates a report he printed on Twitter earlier this week, writing that the Mavericks are “more and more thought to be the favorites” to signal level guard D’Angelo Russell.
Dallas will probably be restricted to providing free brokers the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception, and Stein suggests Chris Paul shall be one other Mavs goal utilizing that MLE. Nonetheless, there’s a rising perception that Paul would need to play someplace nearer to his residence in Los Angeles if he continues his profession, Stein explains.
In the meantime, whereas the Mavericks nonetheless have curiosity in re-signing him, there’s an opportunity {that a} roster crunch might spell the top of Dante Exum‘s time in Dallas. Assuming Brandon Williams – who’s on a non-guaranteed contract – is retained, the Mavs could have 14 gamers on normal contracts even earlier than including a free agent level guard.
In keeping with Stein, a handful of EuroLeague groups – together with Anadolu Efes, Fenerbahce, and Partizan Belgrade – are focused on making an attempt to lure Exum again abroad. However the former No. 5 general decide continues to be centered on making an attempt to stay within the NBA even when there’s no pathway again to the Mavs for him, Stein writes.
Right here’s extra from Stein:
- Offering updates on a few well-liked Mavericks assistant coaches, Stein says the Nuggets are actually among the many groups with curiosity in hiring Jared Dudley away from Dallas, becoming a member of Memphis and Cleveland, whereas the Magic proceed to placed on a “full-court press” within the hopes of poaching God Shammgod from Jason Kidd‘s workers.
- Regardless of rumors and hypothesis in latest weeks suggesting that the Sixers explored the prospect of shifting off Paul George‘s contract and buying and selling down from No. 3 within the draft, a league supply conversant in the crew’s pondering known as that “nonsense,” in keeping with Stein. Jake Fischer reported a number of weeks in the past that Philadelphia wasn’t making an attempt to eliminate George utilizing that lottery decide.
- Though they’d curiosity in Masai Ujiri earlier of their entrance workplace search, the Hawks aren’t anticipated to circle again now that the longtime Toronto govt is out of labor, Stein says. One supply near the method tells Stein that Atlanta is working beneath the belief that common supervisor Onsi Saleh would be the crew’s head of basketball operations for the foreseeable future.
