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In recent weeks Donnie Nelson, GM of the Mavs, and Dell Demps, GM of the Pelicans, flew to Croatia to see Saric play. Despite the interest, Saric was concerned he wouldn't get playing time in the NBA or would spend all of his time in the D-League. ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Draft, Donnie Nelson, Dell Demps, Dario Saric 

Not one but four representatives from the Dallas Mavericks, including general manager Donnie Nelson, watched on Tuesday KK Cibona beating KK Cedevita (85-84) for the Croatian domestic league. And of course they had their reasons. Actually one, named Dario Saric. EuroHoops.net

Dallas Mavericks, Draft, Donnie Nelson, Dario Saric 

Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson recently joined Cory & Nathan on 105.3 The Fan. Here are some highlights: On if the Mavs would rather have an elite point guard or center: “Look, I don’t think there is any question if you look at some of the challenges we had last year, point guards are very unique, and it’s really hard to find those guys. That’s why we pulled out all the stops to try to get Deron Williams to come back home. Obviously, he opted to stay in New York. I don’t think there is any position as important as point guard regardless of what level you’re playing on. But hey, if you’re talking about the next if not equal, you talk about the big guy in the middle. You look back at history with Hakeem Olajuwon and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and you go right down the list, and it’s very difficult to go deep in the playoffs without an inside presence, defensively certainly so obviously, those are two key positions.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Deron Williams, Donnie Nelson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon 

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 

Donnie Nelson: “We’ve been spoiled with Jason Kidd and Steve Nash before, and I think the point guard position is just a really important one. I’d say that that’s up there. That’s no disrespect to anyone. Darren Collison did a terrific job with a tough situation, and we would certainly be open to the conversation of him coming back.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Darren Collison, Donnie Nelson 

The Mavs are still in search of a top-flight talent who will make Dirk Nowitzki the team's second-best player. But whether they can lure Dwight Howard, Chris Paul -- or any superstar -- to Dallas remains to be seen. "The challenge is the same annual things since I got here,'' said Donnie Nelson' the Mavs' presdient of basketball operations. "Whether it’s through the draft, trade or free agency, to get the most and right kind of talent and give the talent an opportunity to come together. "And hopefully there’s not too much change. But that’s part of our industry, especially with the new CBA (collective bargaining agreement).'' Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Donnie Nelson 

Nelson is sure the financial flexibility that the Mavs have will give them a leg-up towards finally landing that big fish. "We’ve got flexibility, and in the past we’ve been opportunistic and it’s played well for us,'' Nelson said. "We put two teams in the (NBA) Finals that shared only two common players (in Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry). "We’ve had a pretty good history of having flexibility and being opportunistic relative to putting teams together.'' Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Donnie Nelson 

Dallas GM Donnie Nelson insisted the Mavericks aren’t looking to make a deal, but league sources say differently. Not that Nelson is taking a gung-ho approach to the deadline. But he is secretly seeing what he might be able to accumulate via veteran forward Shawn Marion, according to sources. FOXSports Ohio

Dallas Mavericks, Trade, Donnie Nelson, Shawn Marion 

ben ... Three years from now is Darren Collison still starting at point guard for the Mavs? Eddie Sefko: Nope. I'm not even sure he's starting three games from now. If any of you believe the trade talk coming out of Mark Cuban, Rick Carlisle and Donnie Nelson, you don't know the decision-makers at the top of the organization. Anybody and everybody, save for Nowitzki and Brand, is available for the right price. But I don't blame the Mavericks a bit for playing hardball and demanding a hefty return for some of their best veterans. And if they don't get it, move along. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Trade, Darren Collison, Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson, Rick Carlisle 

But as far as Rick Carlisle is concerned, he doesn’t think the Mavericks are going to be players in the marketplace leading up to the deadline. Carlisle offered his opinion when the question of how much he hears when it comes to trade talk and whether he is involved in the final calls when it comes to talks or if owner Mark Cuban and president Donnie Nelson work together. “Sometimes yes, sometimes no,” Carlisle said. “Sometimes Mark and Donnie just pull the trigger on things and I don’t know about it. And sometimes they ask me. But that’s OK. The job description was made clear to me when I came here. Mark and Donnie do a lot of work to see what things make sense for us.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Trade, Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson, Rick Carlisle 

Q: Anything new on the trade front? Donnie Nelson: No. It’s a little bit before All-Star (break), and then of course (the deadline) after that. But you know us. We’re always going to be active. There’s certainly nothing to report. We like the boys in blue. We like the guys in our locker room. And we’re at a real critical point right now. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Trade, Donnie Nelson 

Q: Do you anticipate making a deal? Donnie Nelson: It’s hard to say. I don’t think this team needs more change, unless there’s good reason for it. We’ve got nine new faces and Dirk’s kind of been in and out of the lineup. We need to really kind of settle things down if we’re going to make a solid run at this thing. We’ll be opportunistic and educated on what’s going on out there, and if there’s something that’s an over-the-top-type move, you know us, we’re not afraid to pull the trigger around here. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Trade, Donnie Nelson 

Q: Do you think Memphis’ trade of Rudy Gay is an indicator of the new collective bargaining agreement and the financial climate? Donnie Nelson: I think that’s kind of testament to the belt-tightening that Mark’s been predicting for a while. That’s a reality that’s coming up. So you’ll definitely see teams that are looking to be more flexible. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Trade, Rudy Gay, Donnie Nelson 

Donnie Nelson: We’ve had a special run. We’re fighting to protect that. I think it’s a product of the West being so top to bottom thick. I’d love to petition the commissioner to slide over to the Eastern Conference for a couple of years. That might be nice. Are we concerned? Yes. Because we’re used to performing at a high level. Mark starts off every discussion and meeting with ‘championship.’ The good news is we’ve done it twice. Those two teams, in 2006 (and 2011) were completely different teams. You talk about re-dos. And so, with Mark’s creativity and ability to have flexibility in the marketplace, I think we’ve gained the trust of our fans over a period of time. We’re going to get back there. With Mark, my bet is it’s going to be sooner rather than later. But there’s no guarantees. That’s why every year, we try to put ourselves in position to make deep playoff runs and compete. Because once you get in the playoffs, anything can happen. And that’s our focus this year. We’re certainly fighting for our playoff lives, we understand that. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Trade, Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson 

"I don't think this team needs more change unless there's good reasons for it,'' said Nelson, the Mavs' president of basketball operations. "We've got nine new faces and Dirk (Nowitzki) kind of in the lineup, then out of the lineup, then in the lineup. "We need to really kind of settle things down if we're going to make a real solid run at (the playoffs). We'll be opportunistic and educated on what's going on out there and if there's something that's an over the top type move, you know us, we're not afraid to pull the trigger around here.'' Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dallas Mavericks, Trade, Donnie Nelson 

Dwain Price: Donnie Nelson, the prez of basketball operations for the #Mavs, said he expects Dirk Nowitzki to spend the rest of his career with the Mavs. Twitter @DwainPrice

Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki, Donnie Nelson 

Rick Carlisle was a Pacers assistant at the time. Soon after Cuban’s purchase, Indiana came to Reunion Arena. “They (the Mavericks) were going through a tough period and I remember talking to Donnie Nelson before the game – he was one of the assistant coaches,” Carlisle said. “I just asked him, I said, ‘Have you met the new owner?’ He said, ‘Yeah, we met him.’ He said, ‘I think it’s going to be great. It’s going to be great for the city and great for the franchise.’ “It certainly turned out to be that way. A lot of the rest is history and now we’re trying to rebuild the championship team, which is work.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson, Rick Carlisle 

Mark Cuban talked about his ownership style before the Dallas Mavericks played the Celtics on Wednesday. “It won’t be long before everyone thinks I’m a moron and [the media] is telling me to get away from the team and hire another general manager to help Donnie [Nelson],” said Cuban. RealGM

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson 

Rick Majerus' solitary season on an NBA bench in 1986-87 was spent as a Milwaukee Bucks assistant to head coach Don Nelson and sidekick to then-Bucks assistant Del Harris. Nelson and Harris quickly became two of Majerus' closest friends in the game. The longtime college basketball coach's passing Saturday was thus felt deeply in Dallas, where the Nelson-and-Harris tag team remains firmly entrenched after they reunited with the Mavericks from 2000 through 2007 alongside current Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson. ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Coaching, Donnie Nelson, NCAA, Don Nelson, Del Harris, Rick Majerus 

Said Harris on Sunday: "Rick will be known by his friends and those players who followed him closely by one short sentence: He cared. "Regardless of how demanding he was, Rick proved his love for friends and players past and present in a myriad of ways. I have recorded and saved voicemails he has sent me and my son Dominic has saved encouraging letters Rick sent him from years past. Obviously I could go on and on. "He had tons of friends (in the game). He was totally dedicated to his family, particularly caring for his mother after his father died. He called me the brother he never had and I suspect he used that expression a lot." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Coaching, Donnie Nelson, NCAA, Don Nelson, Del Harris, Rick Majerus