1999-2000 Misc News

• 5/31 Michael Finley received 49 points in the All-NBA team voting [voting is done by 121 media members picking a 1st team (5 points), a 2nd team (3 points), and a 3rd team (1 point) by position (2 guards, a center, and 2 forwards)]. Finley finished just 4 points shy of making the All-NBA 3rd team (Stephon Marbury got the last guard spot with 53 points).
• 5/28 Dallas signed Don Nelson to a new 3 year, $15.3 million contract as coach and GM and an additional 3 year, $4.8 million as GM. This replaces his previous contract.
• 5/24 Dirk Nowitzki finished 2nd in the Most Improved Player award balloting. Dirk received 25 of the 121 media votes. Jalen Rose (Ind) won the award by receiving 32 votes.
• 5/21 As expected, Dallas neither moved up nor down due to the draft lottery and received the #12 draft pick.
• 5/16 Former Mav Leon Smith received 18 months probation, was fined $1,000 in restitution, ordered to continue receiving therapy, and ordered to stay away from his ex-girlfriend for at least 2 years as a result of a charge of criminal damage to property. The other charges against Smith were dropped. Smith damaged the ex-girlfriend's mother's car while in Chicago last December.
• 5/16 Don Nelson was on the radio today and said that Mark Cuban has asked him to return as coach. Nelson said that he and Cuban will get together to talk after the Lottery this weekend (when both will be back in town) and talk and then Nelson will decided if he will return as coach. I'd say it is almost certain Nelson will coach this team next season [as I expected, all he need was a month in Hawaii and away from the game to decide to return].
• 5/15 Colorado State named Bill Peterson as an assistant coach. Peterson had been a Mavs special assistant the past 2 seasons whose job was to help develop the younger players (specifically Bruno Sundov and Leon Smith).
• 5/9 Dallas named Sidney Moncrief as an assistant coach. Moncrief's specific duties have not been defined.
• 5/9 Michael Finley received 1 5th place vote in the MVP voting. The MVP was voted on by 121 media members who gave a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th place vote. Shaquille O'Neal (LAL) was the run away winner with 120 1st place votes.
• 5/4 Mavs owner Mark Cuban was featured on ABC's 20/20 Thursday night. A transcript of the show is at http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/2020_000504_billionaire_feature.html and the chat transcript Cuban did on ABCnews.com is at http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/2020_000504_markcuban_chat.html
• 5/4 Michael Finley received 2 2nd team All-Defense votes. The teams were voted on by the coaches (but couldn't select players on their own team) by selecting 1st team and 2nd team with 2 guards, 2 forwards, and a center on each team.
• 5/1 Cedric Ceballos finished tied for 3rd in the 6th Man of the Year award. Rodney Rogers (Pho) was the run away winner with 104 votes, Cuttino Mobley (Hou) received 7 votes, Ced and Tracy McGrady (Tor) each received 3 votes, Jerome Williams (Det) received 2 votes, and Marcus Camby (NY) and Predrag Stojakovic (Sac) received 1 vote each.
• 4/19 Dallas completed the 1999-2000 season with a record of 40-42!
• 4/18 Gary Trent served his 1 game suspension during the Lakers game. Trent was suspended for going into Golden State's locker room to confront Vonteego Cummings after Cummings was ejected January 25.
• 4/17 Dallas activated Gary Trent and placed Rodrick Rhodes on IR with a dislocated right index finger. Trent will not play in the last 2 games.
• 4/14 The NBA fined Shawn Bradley $10,000 and suspended him for 1 game for throwing a flagrant elbow at Walt Williams during Thursday's game vs Houston. Williams was also fined $5,000 and suspended for 1 game for throwing a punch in retaliation. Bradley missed the Seattle game due to the suspension.
• 4/13 Cedric Ceballos did not play in the Houston, Portland, LA Clipper, Denver, Sacramento, and Vancouver games due to a broken left pinky finger.
• 4/11 The NBA Board of Governors formally approved the sale of the Dallas Mavericks to Mark Cuban.
• Hot Rod Williams has canceled his back surgery that was scheduled for 4/12 and has not rescheduled it.
• 4/10 Dallas signed Rodrick Rhodes for the rest of the season and to a non-guaranteed contract for next season. The Mavs also placed Bruno Sundov on IR with a "strained lower back".
• 4/8 Congrats to the Wheelchair Mavericks for their 4th consecutive national title! They beat Illinois 69-51 to win the championship and Steve Welch was named MVP. The Wheelchair Mavericks are also the defending world champions.
• 4/4 Robert Pack underwent emergency root canal surgery. He was not at the Vancouver game.
• 3/31 The Mavs were official eliminated from the playoffs when Seattle clinched the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with their win over Sacramento.
• 3/30 Despite only being the 4th game after Nelson said he would be out 5 to 6 games, Cedric Ceballos played 10 minutes in the Portland game.
• Congrats to Robert Pack who was one of the 7 nominees for the J. Walter Citizenship Award for this season.
• 3/27 Cedric Ceballos did not play in the LA Clippers, Utah, Washington games due to a broken left pinky finger.
• 3/25 Don Nelson says that he wants Cedric Ceballos to sit out at least 5 games (but he won't put him on IR) to give Ceballos' broken left pinky finger a chance to heal.
• 3/23 New owner Mark Cuban announced that he will keep Don Nelson as GM and Terdema Ussery as president for next season.
• 3/15 Dallas name Gar Heard as assistant coach. His job of special assistant will involved helping the big men work on defense. Heard was signed to a 2 year contract.
• John Williams is scheduled to undergo back surgery April 11.
• 3/14 Dallas named Brad Davis as assistant coach. Davis is a special assistant and his job will be to help the guards work on defense. Davis will continue his job of color commentator for Mavs home games on the radio for the rest of the season. The Mavs had offered this position to Derek Harper, but he decided to stick with his business side job with the Mavs. Davis was signed to a 2 year contract.
• 3/13 Dallas named Del Harris as assistant coach. Harris was given the title of defensive coordinator and will join Kiki Vandeweghe in sitting behind the bench during games. Harris was signed to a 3 year contract. [Teams are limited to a maximum of 3 assistants sitting on the bench during games (and the Mavs already have Donnie Nelson, Scott Roth, and Charlie Parker as assistants).]
• 3/11 The Mavs have offered Del Harris the position of defensive assistant coach. Harris is considering the offer and attended the Phoenix game. He watched the game, took some notes, went into the tunnel during halftime [don't know if he talked to Nelson during halftime], and left after the 3rd quarter.
• 3/11 Dallas retired Rolando Blackman's #22 during halftime of the Phoenix game. Congrats Ro!
• 3/9 Cedric Ceballos did not play in the Minnesota game due to a sprained left pinky finger.
• 3/8 Dallas released Dennis Rodman. [Yes!]
• 3/7 Cedric Ceballos played limited minutes in the 2nd half of the Seattle game after spraining his pinky finger.
• 3/7 Don Nelson did not coach in the Seattle, Sacramento, or Phoenix games due to the flu.
• 3/2 Shawn Bradley did not play and Don Nelson did not coach in the New Jersey game due to the flu.
• 2/29 Shawn Bradley did not play in the Philadelphia game due to the flu.
• 2/28 Shawn Bradley missed the 2nd half of the Boston game due to the flu.
• 2/26 Michael Finley played in the Utah and Denver games despite suffering from the flu.
• 2/25 The NBA fined Dennis Rodman $3,500 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection from Thursday's Utah game.
• 2/24 Dallas activated Robert Pack and placed Bruno Sundov on IR with a strained lower back.
• 2/21 Shawn Bradley missed the Toronto and Indiana games due to blurred vision.
• 2/16 Robert Pack practiced with the team for the first time since he was injured 2 months ago. He'll likely be activated sometime next week.
• 2/16 The NBA fined Dennis Rodman $10,000 and suspended him for 1 game for failing to leave the court in a timely manner and berating the refs following his ejection from Tuesday's Dal-Mil game.
• 2/13 Congrats to Michael Finley who had a very nice showing in limited minutes for the victorious West team in the All-Star game. Finley had 11 points on 5-6 FG in 10 minutes.
• 2/12 Congrats to Dirk Nowitzki for finishing 2nd in the 3-point shooting contest. Dirk had the most points in the first round with 18 and had 11 points in the finals [Jeff Hornacek won with 13 points]. Hubert Davis finished 6th in the contest with 14 points in the 1st round. Dirk also had 17 points and 6 rebounds in the Rookie game. His 1998 rookie team lost to the 1999 team 83-92 in overtime.
• 2/7 The NBA named Michael Finley Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 6. Finley averaged 26.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 6.3 assists as Dallas went 3-1. Way to go Fin!
• 2/4 Dallas officially released Leon Smith.
• 2/3 Dallas signed Dennis Rodman for the rest of the season. Rodman's 1st game will likely be Wednesday vs Seattle.
• 2/1 Dallas has reached an agreement to buyout Leon Smith's contract. The Mavs will pay Smith's contract over a period of 10 years.
• 2/1 Congrats to Michael Finley who was named as All-Star reserve for the All-Star game to take place February 13 in Golden State!
• 1/31 Derek Harper was formally introduced as vice president of business relations.
• 1/28 Dallas signed Damon Jones for the rest of the season.
• 1/27 The NBA announced the fines and suspensions from Tuesday's Dal-GS game. Mark Davis was fined $7,500 and suspended for 1 game for picking up and throwing Shawn Bradley. Bradley was fined $3,000 for his involvement in the incident. Vonteego Cummings was fined $7,500 for his flagrant foul on Steve Nash. Gary Trent was fined $10,000 and suspended for 1 game for going into Golden State's locker room to verbally confront Vonteego Cummings. Trent, who is on IR, will serve the suspension after he is activated.
• 1/26 Dallas signed Greg Buckner for the rest of the season.
• 1/25 Dallas plced Gary Trent on IR with a strained left groin.
• 1/24 Gary Trent is out indefinitely with a strained left groin.
• 1/23 With the win in Detroit, Don Nelson has 900 career coaching wins. He joins Dick Motta (935), Red Auerbach (938), Bill Fitch (944), Pat Riley (972), and Lenny Wilkens (1165) as the only coaches with 900 or more coaching wins.
• 1/23 Gary Trent (strained left groin) did not play in the Detroit game. His injury will be evaluated today.
• 1/22 Gary Trent re-aggravated his strained left groin in the 1st quarter of New Jersey game when he was fouled on a break (no call, of course) and only played 9 minutes in the game. Steve Nash returned to action in the New Jersey game, but only played 6 minutes.
• Derek Harper has agreed to a position in the Mavs' marketing department.
• 1/19 With the win in Washington, Don Nelson has 899 career wins as a coach.
• 1/19 Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) did not play in the Washington game. He may return to action for the New Jersey game. Gary Trent played in the Washington game and Cedric Ceballos played in the Washington game despite suffering from the flu.
• 1/18 Dallas signed Damon Jones to a 2nd 10-day contract.
• 1/17 Gary Trent (strained left groin) and Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) did not play in the Houston, Portland, Golden State, Portland, or Atlanta games. Both may return for Wednesday's Washington game.
• 1/15 Dallas signed Greg Buckner to a 2nd 10-day contract.
• 1/14 The paperwork has been finalized regarding Mark Cuban's purchase of the Mavs. Reports are that he is purchasing as much as 70% of the team. The sale still has to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors, but is expected to pass without any problem.
• 1/14 Dirk Nowitzki has also been selected to participate in the NBA 3-point shootout. Dirk is shooting 40.6% from beyond the arc.
• 1/14 Kevin McCarthy has been replaced as Reunion PA announcer by Billy Hayes. McCarthy had been the PA announcer since 1980. [Boo, hiss for the change!!!]
• Dirk Nowitzki has been selected to play in the NBA Rookie Game on February 12. Due to the lockout and there not being an All-Star weekend last season, this season's Rookie Game features the 1998 rookies vs the 1999 rookies.
• Hubert Davis has been selected to participate in the NBA 3-Point shootout. Hubert currently leads the league in 3-point shooting with 51.5%.
• 1/7 The NBA fined Don Nelson $10,000 and suspended him for 1 game for bumping the ref and his confrontation with Karl Malone following his ejection in Thursday's game vs Utah where he was complaing about Malone kneeing Shawn Bradley. Malone was also fined $10,000 for the confrontation with Nelson and for throwing an elbow at Bradley earlier in the game.
• 1/7 Leon Smith has been released from the psychiatric ward nad has headed to Houston where he will continue to receive consuling, guidance, and workouts which the NBA Players Association will be supervising. Reports are that the Mavs and the Players Association on working on a buyout of Smith's contract, which would make him a free agent.
• 1/6 Gary Trent (strained left groin) and Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) did not play in the Utah game. Shawn Bradley left the game midway through the 3rd quarter with an abdominal contusion after being kneed by Karl Malone, but returned to action in the 4th quarter.
• 1/6 Dallas signed Greg Buckner to a 10-day contract.
• 1/5 Dallas released Rick Hughes and Damon Jones. Both had unguaranteed contracts and the guaranteed contrct date is Jan. 10. The Mavs expect to re-sign Jones to a 10-day contract when he clears waivers in 48 hours.
• 1/4 Gary Trent left the Denver game early in the 4th quarter with a strained left groin and Dirk Nowitzki left the game midway through the 4th with food poisoning (he was throwing up).
• 1/4 Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) did not play in the Denver, Toronto, LA Lakers, Sacramento, Phoenix, Miami, Minnesota, or Vancouver games.
• 1/4 Mark Cuban has signed a letter of intent to purchase a majority share of the Dallas Mavericks for a reported $280 million. The deal still needs to be finalized and must be approved by the NBA.
• 1/3 Reports are circulating that Mark Cuban has reached an agreement with Mavs owner Ross Perot to purchase the Mavs for $280 million. It will be March before the deal becomes finalized as the NBA Board of Governors have to approve the deal. Cuban is a big sports fan and a Mavs season ticket holder with seats next to the Mavs' bench. [Congrats, Mark, on getting your dream!]
• 12/29 Dallas activated Erick Strickland. The had an open active roster spot, so no other move was needed.
• 12/29 Former Mav Derek Harper submitted his retirement papers yesterday to the NBA. Harper retires after a 16 season career, of which 11.5 seasons were spent in Dallas. He was traded from the LA Lakers to Detroit this summer and refused to report to Detroit. He is expected to join the Mavs in the front office.
• 12/23 Leon Smith has been order by the court to basically stay out of Chicago (except for court appearances) and to stay away from his ex-girlfriend. The judge ruled that Smith can not be in Chicago for more than 24 hours at a time and must be escorted by a representative of the NBA Players Association when he is in Chicago. The judge also rescinded the warrant for arrest for Smith violating bond by leaving the city. After the hearing, Smith returned to Dallas and the psychiatric ward he has been in for a few weeks. Smith's next court hearing in Chicago is February 3.
• 12/20 Steve Nash had the cast removed from his right ankle and a walking boot was placed on the foot. He is expected to be out 2 more weeks.
• 12/19 Dallas released Randall Jackson.
• Steve Nash will have the cast removed from his right ankle on Monday. It will still probably be about a week before he returns to action.
• 12/18 Dallas activated Randall Jackson and placed Robert Pack on IR with a sprained right ankle.
• 12/17 Robert Pack is out indefinitely with a 2nd degree sprained tendon in his right ankle.
• 12/16 Robert Pack suffered a sprained left wrist, a sprained right foot, a bruised right knee, and a welt over his left eye in the 3rd quarter of the New York game on a flagrant foul by Larry Johnson. X-rays were negative.
• 12/14 Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) did not play in the San Antonio game. Gary Trent returned to action in the San Antonio game and Dirk Nowitzki played despite rolling his left ankle prior to the game.
• 12/11 Gary Trent (slightly torn left hamstring) and Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) did not play in the Phoenix game.
• 12/8 Gary Trent (slightly torn left hamstring) and Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) did not play in the Utah game. Robert Pack only played in the 1st quarter as a precautionary matter due to is sore right groin.
• 12/7 Gary Trent (slightly torn left hamstring) and Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) did not play in the Vancouver game.
• 12/6 The Mavs suspended indefinitely without pay Leon Smith.
• 12/6 Steve Nash will be out at least 2 weeks after receiving another cortisone injection in his sprained right ankle and having the ankle placed in a cast.
• 12/6 A judge in Chicago has issued an arrest warrent for Leon Smith. Smith checked himself into a psychiatric ward in a Dallas hospital over the weekend. Smith's bond slip from Friday stated that he was not to leave the area, thus the arrest warrent for for leaving Chicago without permission. Smith's laywer said that he would try to get a court order blocking the arrest warrent and arrange for Smith to turn himself into the Chicago police.
• 12/5 Robert Pack (strained right groin), Steve Nash (sprained right ankle), and Gary Trent (slightly torn left hamstring) did not play in the Chicago, Minnesota, or Milwaukee games.
• 12/3 Leon Smith's troubles continue as he was again taken into custody on Friday, this time he was accused of vandalizing a car belonging to his ex-girlfriend's mother. The mother's new car was rammed and all the windows were smashed out. Smith was released on bail and has to appear in court again on Monday.
• 12/3 Leon Smith turned himself in to the Chicago police and he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault. Smith had appread at his ex-girlfriend's high school yesterday and told her that he would kill her brother if she told her brother about his visit and then produced a gun. The girl fled and reported the incident to school authorities and the police.
• 12/2 Dallas signed Damon Jones to a 1 year, non-guaranteed contract and placed Randell Jackson on IR with a deep thigh bruise.
• 12/2 With all the injuries (especially John Williams and Erick Strickland), the Mavs have received and injury exception (permission to carry 4 players on IR) and are expected to placed Randell Jackson on IR and sign guard Damon Jones later today. Jones will be available for tonight's game. Jones was released by Golden State a two days ago.
• 12/2 Steve Nash is in Dallas to receive an MRI on his sprained right ankle and will miss the Chicago game. Robert Pack is also in Dallas and will miss the game.
• 12/1 Dallas activated Gary Trent and placed Erick Strickland on IR with a sprained left shoulder. Trent is still not ready to play and will be out for at least another week. (The move took place as part of the Mavs' receiving an injury exception from the league.)
• 11/30 Steve Nash played limited minutes in the New York and Cleveland games due to his sprained right ankle.
• 11/30 Robert Pack did not play in the Cleveland, New York, or Chicago games due to a strained right groin.
• 11/29 Erick Strickland suffered a sprained sternoclavicular joint in his left shoulder during the 1st quarter of the New York game when he went diving for a loose ball and will be out at least 6 to 8 weeks.
• 11/24 Cedric Ceballos (flu), Steve Nash (sprained right ankle), and Robert Pack (strained right groin) did not play in the Houston or Orlando games.
• 11/20 Cedric Ceballos (flu) and Steve Nash (sprained right ankle) did not play in the San Antonio game.
• 11/19 Steve Nash received a cortisone injection in his right ankle and will miss the San Antonio game.
• 11/19 Gary Trent is in Cleveland getting a 2nd opinion on his strained left hamstring. He is expected to be out 2 more weeks.
• Leon Smith is in New York under the care and supervision of the NBA player assistance program.
• 11/17 Rick Hughes missed the Houston and Charlotte games due to the flu.
• Randall Jackson has been out for a while with a bruised right thigh.
• 11/15 Mavs' rookie Leon Smith was charged with criminal mischief and placed in the psychiatric ward of Parkland Hospital Sunday night. Smith had thrown a rock at the back window of a friends car and the friend called the police. When the police arrived, they found Smith unconscious on the floor and had green war paint on his face. The friend said that Smith had taken about 250 aspirin. As the police were taking Smith to the car, Smith said according to the police report that "he was an Indian and was fighting Columbus." The charge of criminal mischief carries a maximum fine of $500.
• 11/11 Dallas placed Leon Smith on IR with a strained lower back and activated Bruno Sundov.
• 11/4 Dallas released Kebu Stewart and signed Rick Hughes.
• 11/3 Apparently Kebu Stewart has decided he no longer wants to be a part of the team. Stewart cleaned out his hotel room and is back home in California. The Mavs will probably release Stewart and then sign Rick Hughes. Hughes is a 6-9, 235 forward who was released by Utah at the roster reduction date [and Utah is one of the few teams that does not stash players on IR].
• 11/3 Dallas signed Leon Smith to a 3 year, $1,450,960 contract with a 4th year worth $933,835 at the teams option [80% of the scale for the #29 draft pick]. The Mavs had wanted Smith to spend a year in the CBA or IBL, but Smith felt he is ready for the NBA. The Mavs had to extend the 80% offer in July to retain their rights to Smith. As the Mavs had only 11 active players, no other roster move was needs to fit Smith on the roster.
• 11/2 Kebu Stewart was missing for the Golden State game and the Mavs have not heard from Stewart as to where he is or why he missed the game.
• 11/1 Dallas signed Randell Jackson to a 1 year, non-guaranteed contarct.
• 11/1 Dallas released Ira Bowman and Greg Buckner.
• 11/1 Dallas placed Gary Trent (torn left hamstring), Hot Rod Williams (sore back), and Bruno Sundov on IR.
• 11/1 The Dallas Morning News is reporting that the Mavs will sign Randall Jackson when he clears waivers later today. Jackson was released by Washington last week. He will likely replace Kebu Stewart on the roster.
• 10/31 Steve Nash, Shawn Bradley, and Michael Finley are all practicing with the team and should be able to play on opening night (but there are some questions as to how many minutes they will be able to play).
• 10/29 Dallas released Jason Sasser and Kevin Ollie.
• 10/29 Steve Nash re-aggravated his strained tendon in his right ankle during practice and is now questionable for the season opener.
• 10/29 Dirk Nowitzki has missed the past two practices with bone spurs in his left ankle.
• 10/26 Dallas finished the pre-season with a record of 2-5.
• 10/26 After the Milwaukee game, Dallas released Charles Shackleford.
• 10/26 Shawn Bradley (lower back strain), Steve Nash (sprained right ankle), Michael Finley (bruised right heel), Gary Trent (torn left hamstring), and Robert Pack (sore ankle) did not play in the Milwaukee game. Pack's not playing was purely a precautionary move.
• 10/26 Before the game, Dallas signed Ira Bowman to a 1 year, non-guaranteed contract.
• 10/25 Shawn Bradley (lower back strain), Steve Nash (sprained right ankle), Michael Finley (bruised right heel), and Gary Trent (torn left hamstring) did not play in the Orlando or Charlotte games.
• 10/23 Dallas signed Charles Shackleford to a 1 year, non-guaranteed contract.
• 10/22 Bad news. Gary Trent will be out 2 to 4 weeks with a slight tear of his left hamstring. He will miss the start of the season.
• 10/21 Gary Trent pulled his left hamstring at the end of the Toronto game.
• 10/21 Shawn Bradley (lower back strain), Steve Nash (sprained right ankle), and Michael Finley (bruised right heel) did not play in the Toronto game.
• 10/19 Shawn Bradley (sore back), Steve Nash (sprained ankle), and Hubert Davis (flu) did not play in the Milwaukee game. No official word yet on how long Nash will be out, but Don Nelson said it will be a few weeks. Michael Finley did not play in the 2nd half of the game due to plantar fasciatis in his right heel. Erick Strickland dislocated his left pinky finger (he is a lefty) at the end of the 2nd quarter, but continued to play.
• 10/17 Steve Nash left the Detroit game midway through the 2nd quarter with a sprained right ankle. He will not play in Tuesday's game vs Milwaukee and will be re-evaluated when the team returns to Dallas on Wednesday.
• 10/17 Hubert Davis (flu), Michael Finley (bruised heel), and Kevin Ollie (flu) did not play in the Detroit game. Davis and Ollie did not travel with the team for the short road trip.
• 10/16 Hubert Davis (flu) and Kebu Stewart (stomach virus) did not play in the Charlotte games.
• All Mavs home games this season are being broadcast in Spanish on KESS 1270 am.
• 10/15 Dallas released Zendon Hamilton and Ben Davis.
• Ross Perot said that Derek Harper's #12 and Mark Aguirre's #24 will be retired in 00-01 and 01-02. [Note: Hubert Davis currently wears #24. I'd guess that Harp's number will be retired next season and Aguirre's the following season.]
• 10/14 The Mavs held an open scrimage and it resulted in a 97-97 tie on Cedric Ceballos' putback with 2 seconds left. For the white team, Ceballos had 29 points, Gary Trent had 21 points and Steve Nash had 13 points. For the blue team, Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points, Michael Finley had 18 points, Shawn Bradley had 15 points, and Robert Pack had 14 points.
• #22 will finally be raised to the rafters. The Mavs announced that they will retired Rolando Blackman's #22 during halftime of March 11's game vs Phoenix. Hurray for Ro!
• 10/12 Hot Rod Williams will be out at least 3 weeks due to his bad back. He received the first of 3 steriod injections in his spinal column.
• 10/12 Robert Pack has resumed practicing with the team.
• 10/11 Robert Pack has missed the last 4 practices due to a mildly sprained right hamstring. He is missing the practices as a precaution, not as a necessity.
• 10/8 Dallas released Anthony Miller.
• 10/7 Dallas signed Kebu Stewart to a 1 year, non-guaranteed contract.
• John Williams has not participated in training camp due to back spasms.
• The NBA has granted the Mavs an extension for their qualifying offer to Leon Smith. The qualifying offer of about $1.45 million (80% of the rookie scale for the #29 pick) has been extended through the end of the regular season. With that extension, Smith has apparently agreed to play this season for a team with the CBA or IBL and will join the Mavs near the end of the season (and receive a full salary for this season).
• Training camp started October 5.
• 10/4 Greg Buckner underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove loose cartilage and will be out 6 weeks.
• Congratulations to Hubert Davis who got married August 7!
• During the summer, the Mavs hired Gregg Elkin as Director of Basketball Communications and Dawn Holgate as Corporate Communications Manager to fill in the vacancies in the media department. Greg Anderson received a promotion to Vice President of Marketing & Communications and is the head of the department.
• You can now purchase tickets (regular season or preseason games) for the 99-00 season. Tickets can be purchased at the Mavs' box office at Reunion, Ticketmaster outlets, or by calling 214-373-8000 or 972-647-5700.
• 10/1 Dallas signed Kevin Ollie and Ben Davis to 1 year, non-guaranteed contracts. [Note: of the training camp invitees, both Ollie and Jason Sasser have played for the Mavs before (briefly).]
• 9/29 TRADE: The Mavs traded Chris Anstey to Chicago for a 2000 2nd round draft pick. Anstey had some conflicts with Donnie Nelson during the summer leagues and spent a good portion of last season in Don Nelson's doghouse. But the public statements for the trade were that the team had no playing time for Anstey with Nowtizki, Ceballos, Trent, Rooks, and Bradley under contract - and add to that Leon Smith and he probably wouldn't have seen any time. Because the Mavs did not take on any salary in return, the Mavs have a $1.1 million (Anstey's 99-00 salary) trade exception where they can take on $1.1 million more in salary than they trade away. [Note: the exception can only be used in a trade (can't be used to sign) and expires 9/29/2000.]
• 9/29 The Mavs have signed Jason Sasser, Anthony Miller, and Zendon Hamilton to non-guaranteed (training camp) contracts.
• 9/28 Apparently Leon Smith is going to forgo the Mavs' wishes and report to training camp. The Mavs had wanted Smith to play this season in Europe or the new IBL. To retain their draft rights to Smith, the Mavs had to make a required tender (qualifying contract) to Smith by July 15 of 80% of the contract scale for the #29 pick (about $1.45 million for 3 years).
• 9/16 Ansu Sesay was arrested for possession of 2.6 grams of marijuana - a class B misdemeanor that carries a maximum fine of $2,000 and 180 days in jail. The Mavs said that they had decided the day before not to invite Sesay to training camp. Sesay was a second round draft pick for Dallas in 1998 (#30) and blew out his right ACL during training camp last season. He was on IR for all of 98-99. The Mavs were discouraged with Sesay as he did not show up for or participate in the Mavs's summer league games.
• 9/15 The Mavs have reached a settlement with Bruno Sundov's former team, Split Croatia. Split had contended that Sundov was still under contract with them and the NBA rules would not allow the Mavs and Sundov to have contact until the dispute was settled. Thus, Sundov, who the Mavs have under contract for one more season, was not allowed to participate in the Mavs' summer games.
• From the "You've got to be kidding" department: The Mavs have hired Kiki Vandeweghe as a part-time assistant to help supervise conditioning and to work with the Mavs' big men during training camp. Vandeweghe was the Mavs' first ever draft pick (#11 in 1980) and refused to play for the Mavs and was, thus, boo'ed everytime he came to Reunion.
• 9/1 The Mavs re-signed A.C. Green to a 3 year contract (only the first year worth $1.7 million is guaranteed) so that they could trade Green to the LA Lakers for Sean Rooks and a 2000 2nd round draft pick. Rooks will earn $1.9 million in 99-00 and is signed through the 02-03 season.
• 8/27 Dallas re-signed Gary Trent to a 2 year, $4.2 million contract (the Mavs' $2.1 million exception).
• 8/27 Dallas re-signed Cedric Ceballos to a 2 year, reported $7.4 million contract (the Mavs have Bird rights for Ceballos and, thus, aren't restricted by the salary cap to sign him).
• 8/25 Mavs free agent Samaki Walker has signed a 2 year, $5.67 million contract with a 3rd year worth $3.24 million at the team's option with the San Antonio Spurs. Walker was signed to the Spurs' $2.7 million injury exception they received for Sean Elliott (and the exception was to expire today).
• 8/24 The Mavs have handed out a number of promotions/new jobs in the front office. Greg Anderson was named vice president of marketing and communications, Cheryl Karalla was named senior executive assistant, George Killebrew was named vice president of corporate sponsorships, Steve Letson was named vice president of operations and arena development, Jay McKim was named vice president and chief financial officer, Buddy Pittman was named senior vice president of human resources, and Mark Andrew Zwartynski was named vice president of ticket sales and technology.
• I wasn't going to report this as I deemed it as non-news, but since not everyone saw the retraction (and in a case of lousy reporting [ignoring the lousy reporting in not investigating the story first], not every place that had the orginal report also had a retraction)... If you saw the report about "Dallas Maverick Robert Pack" being arrested in New York for violating a court order against his ex-girlfriend, then you should know that the report was incorrect. A man claiming to be Robert Pack was arrested for the charge, but it was _not_ the Mavs' Robert Pack, who was in Dallas at the time of the arrest. Apparently the man has been using Pack's identity for about a year and has been a nightmare for Pack and has now succeeded in dragging Pack's name through the mud.
• The Mavericks signed 3 year contract deal with channel 49 to broadcast games. 49 will broadcast 30 games for the 99-00 season. Fox Sports Southwest will continue to broadcast games for the Mavs. Channel 39 had been the Mavs' home for the past 3 seasons.
• 8/9 Yet another member of the Mavs' media department is moving on. J.J. Carter is leaving the Mavs to join the Detroit Pistons as Director of Media Relations. He had been with the Mavs for 3 years. Good luck JJ!
• After years of turning down the great opportunity by claiming he wanted to spend time with the family, Shawn Bradley has finally agreed to attended Pete Newell's Big Man's camp in Hawaii. The camp teaches players tricks of the trade such as how to best post up and good footwork. Leon Smith is also scheduled to attend the camp. The camp starts August 16.
• Dallas signed Greg Buckner to a 1 year contract. Buckner was drafted in the 2nd round by Dallas last year, played the 98-99 season in the CBA, and has been playing for the Mavs in the summer leagues. The contract is not guaranteed (he still has to try to earn a roster spot in training camp).
• 7/28 Leon Smith is in Chicago to terminate his status as a ward of the state. He will likely miss the rest of the Mavs' summer league play due to working out the legalities.
• The Mavs results for the Rocky Mountain Revue Summer League:
  • July 31 Dallas 95, Utah Jazz 75
  • July 31 Minnesota Timberwolves 84, Dallas 75
  • July 29 Dallas 96, Denver Nuggets 78
  • July 28 Dallas 91, Phoenix Suns 74
  • July 27 Portland Trailblazers 87, Dallas 73
  • Mavs players stats
• The NBA has released the 1999-2000 schedule. The Mavs 99-00 schedule
• The Mavs results for the Fila Summer League:
  • July 25 Dallas 95, Team USA 89
  • July 24 Dallas 108, Ukraine 89
  • July 23 Cleveland Cavaliers 104, Dallas 88
  • July 22 Dallas 112, Orlando Magic 109
  • July 21 Milwaukee Bucks 108, Dallas 104
  • July 19 Dallas 103, Portland Trailblazers 97
  • July 18 Dallas 112, LA Lakers 94
  • July 16 Dallas 127, Golden State Warriors 91
  • July 15 Dallas 107, Vancouver 105
  • Mavs players stats from the Fila League
• 7/19 Fila Summer League notes from while I was gone [taken from the Dallas Morning News]: Leon Smith was kicked out of Wednesday's (7/14) practice for failing to obey instructions during a defensive drill. Donnie Nelson was ejected from the Portland game July 19 in the 2nd quarter (it's quite unusual to get ejected from the summer league games). Chris Anstey missed 9 days with a sprained toe. [Note: a player has an unlimited about of fouls during the summer league - they do not foul out after receiving the 6th foul.]
• Cedric Ceballos is playing for the NBA Pros team in the Fila Summer League. His numbers from the games.
• Steve Nash played for the Canadian team in the Americas Olympic tournament. Canada received a berth for the 2000 Olympics for finishing 2nd in the tournament. Nash was named as MVP of the tournament. He averaged 12.2 points on 50% FG, 51% 3-pointers, and 84.6% FT, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in 31.3 minutes. His numbers from the games.
• Bruno Sundov is no longer allowed to have contact with the Mavs, including playing in the mini-camp and summer league, due to the European team Split Croatia claiming that they have a contract with Sundov that predates Sundov's contract with the Mavs. The NBA has strict rules about teams not signing players who have contracts with FIBA teams. Until the conflict can be resolved (it's going to court in Croatia), Sonduv can not play for the Mavs. He may, though, join an independent team for the summer leagues.
• 7/6 Camp notes: High Schooler Leon Smith got off to a bad start when he either walked off the court or was kicked out by Donnie Nelson (who was running the session) near the end of the afternoon session. Nelson told the players that they would have to run another set of sprints becuase Assane Ndiaye didn't complete the sprint in time. Smith responded with, "Why don't you run it?" The Morning News reports that Nelson told Smith that he would have to run two more sets and then Smith stormed off the court while the Star Telegram reports that Nelson kicked Smith out of the session. Both Nelsons met with Smith and talked to him between the afternoon and evening sessions. Smith apologized to the team and coaches prior to the evening session. Ansu Sesay was not present for the start of camp. He may show up later in the week. Dirk Nowitzki is scheduled to return from Europe on Wednesday and will then join the camp. Nowitzki had been playing in the European Championship. Greg Buckner is not in camp and is expected to join the team for the summer leagues.
• The Mavs roster for the mini-camp to take place July 6-13.
• 6/30 The NBA draft took place. The Mavs started with the #36 and #40 picks, but did not finish there. The Mavs traded the #40 pick and their 2000 2nd round draft pick to San Antonio for the rights to #29 Leon Smith (San Antonio picked him at the Mavs' request). The Mavs selected Wang Zhi-Zhi with the #36 pick. The Mavs want Smith, a high school player, to play in Europe next season, and Zhi-Zhi has a multi-year committment with his Chinese team.
• The Mavs will be having a mini-camp July 5-13 at the Baylor/Tom Landry Center for the players who will participate in the summer league (Dirk Nowitzki will miss part of the mini-camp due to Germany's play in the European Basketball Championships). The Mavs are sending teams to the Long Beach league July 14-25 and to the Rocky Mountain Revue (Salt Lake City) July 26 - August 2.
• Dirk Nowitzki played for Germany in the European Basketball Championships. Germany finished in 7th place out of 16 teams in the tournament. His numbers from the games.
• 6/16 Former Mav assistant (87-93) and interim coach in 92-93 Gar Heard has finally got a long overdue chance to be a head coach again. Washington named Heard as head coach.
• Chris Anstey played for the Australia national team this summer. His numbers from the games.
• 6/11 Mavs Director of Communications Tony Fay resigned so that he could form his own media relations and marketing firm (M-Streets Media, Inc). He had been with the team since the 1987-88 season where he started as a media intern.
• 6/10 The NBA fined Dallas $25,000 for salary cap violations. The Mavs had given free agent to be Gary Trent and 5 members of his family an all-expense paid trip to Maui in what Don Nelson openly called a recuiting trip. Nelson said that he was unaware of the salary cap violation and the NBA said that they needed to set a precedent so that such trips/gifts do not become common. Sacramento was also fined $25,000 for giving 10 of their players an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas to celebrate their season.
• It seems that Chris Anstey's injuries are far less severe than initial thought. There was no ligament damage and he will be able to continue playing for Australia this summer.
• 5/27 Chris Anstey was injured playing for Australia Thursday night. He has ankle and knee damage (not the ACL) but the severity is not yet known. Initial examination shows severe bruising and soft tissue damage to the knee. [Thanks to Warick for the info.]
• I guess the lookout is a distance memory for the Mavs' front office as they increased the most of the ticket prices. Here's the new prices for 99-00:

              98-99      99-00
              $180       $200
              $120       $150
              $100       $120
               $70        $85
               $52        $57
               $42        $45
               $35        $35
               $30        $35
               $27        $27
               $21        $21
               $15        $15
                $9         $8
  

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  Patricia Bender
  pbender@eskimo.com
  Not affiliated with or representing anyone besides myself.