HoopsHype.com Rumors

Ran into Dirk Nowitzki at the Mavericks' offices and guess what? He must have secretly liked that beard because the scraggly growth is back. Not in the small-birds-could-live-in-there quantity that his facial hair grew to during the Mavericks' vow to not shave during the season until they got back to .500. But there was significant growth. It just proves he's like every other man and doesn't like to shave when he doesn't have to. He had just returned from a Caribbean trip and was looking tanned, by the way. And fit, by the way. Upon his return, Nowitzki is already on his off-season maintenance program. He wants no repeat of the last two seasons physically, so he's doing the right things. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki 

The Mavericks' next order of business is to get ready for the draft lottery and president Donnie Nelson, who will represent the team in New York for the lottery along with longtime assistant GM Keith Grant, has a plan for the lottery. "I'm going to wear the same outfit I wore for Game 6 in Miami," he said, referring to the night that the Mavericks won the title against the Heat in 2011. "Same boots. Same shirt. Same cologne. Everything." Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Draft, Donnie Nelson 

Only five men in the history of the NBA have done it, but with a strong close to his career 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki could be poised to join that exclusive brotherhood before his playing days are done. In the annuals of the league’s scoring ranks only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain have ever amassed at least 30,000 points in their illustrious careers. But, after becoming just the 17th member of the 25,000-point club on April 14 with 19 points in a 107-89 road win in New Orleans, Nowitzki could be positioned to be the first European to reach the rarest of milestones. “It’s tough. I mean, I don’t know how much time it takes for me to get five (thousand), but I’m going to be around,” Nowitzki said after becoming only the ninth player in league history to score 25,000 points while also collecting 9,000 rebounds in his career. NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki 

“Yeah, I mean, it would sound nice, but I don’t know if that would be something that would keep me going on one leg at 41,” Nowitzki joked as he shifted his focus from that mythical 30,000 figure. “If it’s not fun anymore to drag around just to get to 30, I don’t think that’s what I’m about. If it comes in the next couple of years, that’ll be great. But if not, that’s fine, too. You know, I play to win here my last couple of years. I have one more year on my contract and then I’m 36. Probably sign one more deal and then just probably wind it down, so we’ll just have to wait and see how long it goes. But as long as I feel like this, I can still feel like I can play some decent basketball and contribute to a good team, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens this summer.” NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki 

LaMarcus Aldridge: Happy for coach Kaleb Canales! Great things happen to great people. Twitter @aldridge_12

Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Coaching, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kaleb Canales 

Meyers Leonard: Tough to hear that Coach Kaleb is heading to Dallas next year. He was a great coach and a hard worker. Wish him nothing but the best. Twitter @MeyersLeonard11

Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Coaching, Kaleb Canales, Meyers Leonard 

Statement from Rick Carlisle: "On April 16th Jim O'Brien informed me that he would be retiring from coaching when our season was over. Jim said he loved working in the Mavs organization, but being away from family made his decision easy. I consider Jim O'Brien a great basketball man of high integrity and thank him for everything he taught me, my staff and our players this past season. We are fortunate that Kaleb Canales became available and had interest in joining the Mavs organization. Kaleb has worked for the Portland Trailblazers organization in multiple capacities for the last 9 years, and brings great knowledge, enthusiasm and work ethic to the Mavs. He will join Monte Mathis and Tony Brown on the bench and take over in Coach O'Brien's capacity of coordinating our offense." Facebook.com

Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Coaching, Kaleb Canales, Jim O'Brien 

Assistant coach Kaleb Canales is leaving the Trail Blazers to take a coaching position on the Dallas Mavericks, The Oregonian has learned. Oregonian

Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Coaching, Kaleb Canales 

Tyson Chandler doesn’t regret that the Knicks wore ‘funeral’ black to Game 5 and said the Mavs did it when they won the title in 2011. “We did that every single time we had a close-out game in Dallas,” Chandler said. “There was nothing to look back on. It just reminds you of what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s nothing against the Celtics. It’s something we were doing as a team. It wasn’t meant to offend anybody or anything like that. It was meant to motivate guys in the locker room.” Sulia

Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Tyson Chandler 

On Collins coming out: Mark Cuban: “I think it sets a platform for any athlete in any professional sport to realize that, hey, you can be you. It’s acceptable to come out and to be yourself.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Jason Collins 

On whether he thinks others will come out: Mark Cuban: “Yes. No question about it. I just think it’s a very Darwinian business. Literally, right? Either you win or you lose and I think the support elements are there at such a younger age and there aren’t the phobias.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Jason Collins 

On if Collins comes to him and says he wants to play for the Mavericks. Mark Cuban: “Fine. If you can play, you can play. End of story.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Jason Collins 

Mark Cuban: “Look, I’m not going to get into particulars. We’re going to be opportunistic and try to improve the team. I don’t see us signing just one-year deals anymore. I think we want to grab onto some people to be a part of a longer term solution and see what happens. … We won a championship with a ton of last-year guys. It wasn’t the contracts. Guys played hard, we just didn’t play well together. Like I said before, our basketball IQ wasn’t where it needed to be and it wasn’t about contracts.” NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Owners 

Mark Cuban: “We’re not going to make a financial commitment just to make a financial commitment and say, ‘Look what we did.’ I mean, if there’s nobody there to sign that helps us, we won’t sign anybody and tell everybody exactly why we did what we did and deal with consequences. But we think there will be at least some guys there that we think can help us in one way or another, and we’ll see who they are and what we can do.” NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Owners 

Seeing his team fall 10 games below .500 on Jan. 9 after also beginning the year without Nowitzki for the first 27 games, Brand would assist the Mavs’ veteran leaders in staging a late-season rally to get back into the playoff conversation before finishing up by breaking even at 41-41. Now, Brand hopes to continue calling Dallas his home as the Mavericks’ front office tries to build a team capable of competing in the Western Conference. “You know, free agent-wise, of course I’d like to be back,” Brand said. “Like I said, .500 for this organization, that’s definitely a failure. I don’t want to be a part of that. It left a bad taste, so I definitely want to be here on a winning team and try to rectify what happened this season if possible." NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Elton Brand 

Jae Crowder: I WISH I COULD'VE PLAYED IN THE NBA BACK WHEN FIGHTS WERE TECHNICALS NOT EJECTIONS.. LOVE HARD FOULS Twitter @CJC9BOSS

Dallas Mavericks, Jae Crowder 

J.R. Smith was serious, but had a hard time keeping a straight face during exchanges about Jason Terry. Still, Smith, who was suspended for Game 4 after throwing an elbow at Terry, got his message across. Smith was asked what he thought about how Terry played in Game 4. “Who?” Smith said. Jason Terry. “I don’t even know who that is,” Smith replied. Are you concerned he might to try get under your skin in Game 5? “Who?” Smith said. Jason Terry: “Who’s that?" Smith said. "I don’t know who that is. I’m sorry.” Sulia

Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, JR Smith, Jason Terry 

Eric Pincus: Mitch Kupchak asks spokesman John Black if should defer any Lakers amnesty questions to @Mark Cuban Twitter @EricPincus

Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Mitch Kupchak, Mark Cuban, John Black 

Dwain Price: "If guys can play, they can play. I don't think it’s a problem." - #MavsC Elton Brand on #Wizards C Jason Collins admitting that he's gay Twitter @DwainPrice

Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Elton Brand, Jason Collins 

We can only speculate what his role would be in Chicago next season if he resigns with the Bulls, which will have Derrick Rose back, but you can expect a number of other teams to consider Robinson on a multi-year deal. Teams like Dallas and Detroit could be in the market for a veteran guard who can handle the ball and score, but that will be much clearer after the NBA draft in June, when Trey Burke and Michael Carter-Williams are expected to both be selected in the first 14 picks. Other teams like Portland and Phoenix with money to spend and the need for guard depth could also be suitors. ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Free Agency, Nate Robinson