Mavs Waive Cauley-Stein, Sign Chriss to 2-Year Contract

The fan vote only accounts for 25 percent of the total vote, but given how Morant has played this season for the surging Grizzlies, it wouldn’t be a shocker if these results hold up. Morant and Doncic can potentially work this situation out on Friday night, as the Mavs look to take down the Grizzlies on the road.

JAN 13 SHAQ GIVING UP ON KINGS?

On Thursday, Marc Stein reported that Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal has sold his interest in the Sacramento Kings.

The Kings have missed the playoffs for 15-straight seasons, which ties the NBA record for the longest postseason drought ever. At 17-27 nearly halfway through this season, it looks like the Kings could be on their way to breaking the drought record.

Shaq has thrown in the towel on the Kings, who obviously weren’t a very profitable investment. Will Sacramento finally blow things up before the February 10 trade deadline? We have less than a month to find out.

Buddy Hield, Richaun Holmes and even former Maverick Harrison Barnes would all fit in very nice to what the Dallas Mavericks are trying to build.

JAN 10 MAVS SIGNING CHRISS TO 3RD 10-DAY

The Mavs announced on Monday that they have requested waivers on two-way contract player JaQuori McLaughlin. This is the second two-way player Dallas has waived this season, with the first being Eugene Omoruyi.

The Mavs recently signed Theo Pinson to a two-way contract, so they now have another one open. Marquese Chriss has been in the league too long to be in consideration for a two-way contract, but maybe some roster gymnastics can be done here.

To keep Chriss on the main roster, perhaps the Mavs could waive Moses Brown, sign Brown back to a two-way contract, then sign Chriss to the regular roster. It’s tricky, but it could work.

JAN 10 MAVS SIGNING CHRISS TO 3RD 10-DAY

According to a report from Marc Stein, the Mavs are signing big man Marquese Chriss to a third 10-day hardship contract while Kristaps Porzingis remains in COVID protocols.

Although a guaranteed contract for the rest of the season would make the most sense for Chriss at this point, given his level of play, the Mavs must still be trying to run out ground balls with a potential trade that could open up a roster spot. Ultimately, though, Dallas will more than likely have to waive Willie Cauley-Stein to make things work out.

JAN 8 COUSINS TO DENVER - MAVS WERE INTERESTED?

After finishing up a 10-day contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, DeMarcus Cousins is signing another 10-day contract, this time with the Denver Nuggets, according to multiple reports.

A separate report from The Undefeated's Marc Spears claims that the Mavs "expressed interest in Cousins. If this report had come a few weeks back when Dallas was smuggling heavily due to injuries and COVID absences, perhaps we would give it a little more attention.

However, even if the Mavs did show some level of interest in signing Cousins, we believe the better idea here would be focusing on not letting Marquese Chriss, who is seven years younger than Cousins, fall through the cracks. The end of Chriss' second 10-day contract is coming up, and the Mavs will need to either waive a player on the current 15-man roster or make a trade in order to keep him.

Chriss is just 24 years old and has fit like a glove in Dallas so far, so there's no reason for the Mavs to jeopardize in our opinion.

JAN 8 MAVS TRYING TO KEEP CHRISS

According to a report from Marc Stein, the Mavs are ‘exploring ways’ to make roster room for 10-day big man Marquese Chriss. Like we stated in the previous update, a new Chriss contract seems imminent given how well he’s fit in with the rest of the Dallas roster.

Although waiving Willie Cauley-Stein would be the easiest way to make room for Chriss, perhaps the Mavs can instead formulate a trade of some kind to open up another roster spot while also best utilizing Cauley-Stein’s $4 million expiring contract.

JAN 8 MAVS SIGNING THEO PINSON TO TWO-WAY

According to a report by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Mavs are signing Theo Pinson to a two-way contract. Pinson had signed two 10-day hardship contracts with Dallas up to this point and showed some nice flashes on the court when getting a chance to play.

If the Mavs are keeping Pinson around, then you'd think the next news we get is big man Marquese Chriss getting a new contract for the rest of the season.

JAN 8 LUKA QUESTIONABLE, KP OUT VS. BULLS

The Mavs announced on Saturday afternoon that Luka Doncic (ankle sprain) is 'questionable' to play against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday when Dallas tries to extend its season-best win streak to six games.

Kristaps Porzingis (NBA health and safety protocols) and Willie Cauley-Stein (personal) will remain OUT.

JAN 8 IT GOODBYE 

Isaiah Thomas' 10-day contract with Dallas expires before the Mavericks' next game Sunday … and too bad it couldn’t have been more fun while it lasted.

Thomas' brief Mavs moment will then come to an end, league sources tell Marc Stein.

Thomas, the long-time NBA standout trying to re-start his career, was part of a flurry of recent Dallas signings ignited by a COVID outbreak. But he could only play in one game as a Maverick before he was forced to enter the league's health and safety protocols.

JAN 3 PORZINGIS IN PROTOCOLS

The Mavericks say Kristaps Porzingis has entered the league's health and safety protocols. He was sidelined for Dallas' previous outing for rest. 

Over his previous four outings, Porzingis averaged 27.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. He was finding a rhythm just as Luka Doncic was returning from the protocol. 

DEC 30 IT TO COVID 

The Mavericks say Isaiah Thomas has entered the league’s health and safety protocols after just one game with Dallas.

The Mavericks, who have utilized an NBA-high 24 players this season, say Thomas joins Trey Burke, Luka Dončić, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, Brandon Knight, Boban Marjanović and JaQuori McLaughlin in protocols and thus will be part of that large group that is out of the Friday game at Sacramento.

• Jared Allen, Defensive End – 2004-07 Kansas City Chiefs, 2008-2013 Minnesota Vikings, 2014-15 Chicago Bears, 2015 Carolina Panthers
• Willie Anderson, Offensive Tackle – 1996-2007 Cincinnati Bengals, 2008 Baltimore Ravens
• Ronde Barber, Cornerback/Safety – 1997-2012 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Tony Boselli, Offensive Tackle – 1995-2001 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2002 Houston Texans (injured reserve)
• LeRoy Butler, Safety – 1990-2001 Green Bay Packers
• Devin Hester, Punt Returner/Kick Returner/Wide Receiver – 2006-2013 Chicago Bears, 2014-15 Atlanta Falcons, 2016 Baltimore Ravens
• Torry Holt, Wide Receiver – 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars
• Andre Johnson, Wide Receiver – 2003-2014 Houston Texans, 2015 Indianapolis Colts, 2016 Tennessee Titans
• Sam Mills, Linebacker – 1986-1994 New Orleans Saints, 1995-97 Carolina Panthers
• Richard Seymour, Defensive End/Defensive Tackle – 2001-08 New England Patriots, 2009-2012 Oakland Raiders
• Zach Thomas, Linebacker – 1996-2007 Miami Dolphins, 2008 Dallas Cowboys
• DeMarcus Ware, Linebacker/Defensive End – 2005-2013 Dallas Cowboys, 2014-16 Denver Broncos
• Reggie Wayne, Wide Receiver – 2001-2014 Indianapolis Colts
• Patrick Willis, Linebacker – 2007-2014 San Francisco 49ers
• Bryant Young, Defensive Tackle/Defensive End – 1994-2007 San Francisco 49ers

DEC 29 PM

The Dallas Mavericks have two more players entering health and safety protocols on Wednesday — Boban Marjanovic and recently signed Brandon Knight. As a result of this development, Dallas is signing veteran guard Isaiah Thomas, who will be in uniform by the time the Mavs take on the Kings tonight, according to reports.

DEC 22 NOON

The Dallas Mavericks are signing nine-year veteran guard Brandon Knight to a 10-day hardship exception contract according to a report from ESPN.

The 30-year-old guard has played for five teams during his career, and his last NBA stint was for the Detroit Pistons during the 2019-2020 season.

UPDATE: Knight is now official as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Knight, who played for Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd as a member of the Bucks in 2014-15, was with the G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce. He was taken eighth overall by Detroit in the 2011 NBA Draft and went on to earn NBA All-Rookie First Team honors for the Pistons in 2011-12.

Knight will wear No. 20 for the Mavericks.

DEC 22 AM

The Dallas Mavericks are signing Texas Legends guard Carlik Jones to a 10-day hardship exception contract, according to a report by The Athletic.

The 6-foot point guard has averaged 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in 10 games for the Legends so far this season while shooting nearly 45-percent from the field.

Jones also flashed potential for the Mavs in Summer League play, so it was probably only a matter of time before he got a call-up in one form or another.

DEC 21 PM

On Tuesday, Mavs shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols. As a result, Dallas has signed Charlie Brown of Delaware’s G-League team to a 10-day hardship contract.

Yes, Charlie Brown. And we’re not trying to be insensitive about the seriousness of the situation; call it “gallows humor” and recognize “Peanuts” as being in the spirit of the season.

Anyway, the Mavericks now how four players total in the league’s health and safety protocols.

DEC 21 AM

After Maxi Kleber was added to Covid protocols, the team is signing George King from the G-League's Agua Caliente Clippers to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception.

DEC 20 PM

Maxi Kleber was added to the list of Mavs players on the Covid protocol list. He joins Reggie Bullock and Josh Green, who were added earlier on Dec. 20. 

DEC 20 AM

The Mavs are making two roster moves to add healthy and available bodies. Coming aboard are Marquese Chriss (read more here) and Theo Pinson (read more here).

Additionally, along with Reggie Bullock and Josh Green, Dallas has two assistant coaches on the COVID list ... and in-house questions, posed by coach Jason Kidd, about whether LeBron James' Lakers triggered it all.

DECEMBER 19, 2021 4:00 PM UPDATE:

As of today, there are 71 NBA players who are currently in the league's health and safety protocols. Here is the list of players by team who are out due to Covid as of today:

Hawks - Trae Young

Celtics - Al Horford, Grant Williams, Jabari Parker, Josh Richardson, Sam Hauser, Juancho Hernangomez, Brodric Thomas

Nets - Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, LaMarcus Aldridge, Bruce Brown, DeAndre Bembry, James Johnson, Paul Millsap, Day'Ron Sharpe, Jevon Carter

Bulls - Zach LaVine, Ayo Dosunmu, Troy Brown, Alize Johnson

Cavs - Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens, Dylan Windler, RJ Nembhard

Mavs - Reggie Bullock, Josh Green

Nuggets - Michael Porter Jr., Bol Bol

Warriors - Jordan Poole

Clippers - Marcus Morris

Lakers - Malik Monk, Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard, Austin Reaves, Avery Bradley, Kent Bazemore

Grizzlies - Ziaire Williams

Heat - Caleb Martin

Bucks - Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, Wes Matthews, Donte DiVincenzo

Timberwolves - Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Anthony Edwards, Taurean Prince

Knicks - RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, Miles McBride, Kevin Knox, Quentin Grimes

Magic - Mo Bamba, Terrence Ross, RJ Hampton, Moritz Wagner, Ignaz Brazdeikis

76ers - Shake Milton, Andre Drummond, Georges Niang

Kings - De'Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell, Marvin Bagley III, Terence Davis, Alex Len, Louis King

Raptors - Gary Trent Jr., Pascal Siakam, Dalano Banton

The NBA announced today that these five upcoming games have been canceled due to teams having a shortage of available players:

Sunday, December 19 - Nuggets at Nets, Cavs at Hawks, Pelicans at 76ers

Monday, December 20 - Magic at Raptors

Tuesday, December 21 - Wizards at Nets

This brings the total of postponed NBA games to seven this season. Last season, the league postponed a total of 31 games.