MAJOR REPORT: Kai Jones Signing With Mavericks Rival In 2025 NBA Free Agency? Mavs Rumors

MAJOR REPORT: Kai Jones Signing With Mavericks Rival In 2025 NBA Free Agency? Mavs Rumors

Is the dream dead of Kai Jones returning to the Mavericks? Welcome in to the show. Jeffrey Cooperstein here with you guys. Hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday so far. I know Mavericks fans really like Kai Jones and they wanted him to return to the Mavericks roster for the 2526 season, but it sounds like that is not going to happen. Jones worked out with the Miami Heat yesterday and recent reports as early as just 30 minutes ago. Jones is still in Miami throughout the rest of the week and the Heat are heavily considering bringing him in for their training camp and preseason. There were also reports out of Europe that Jones could be headed over to Italy potentially on a professional contract as well. So, it seems like the Mavericks are not going to have Kai Jones back this season. We kind of already knew this already given the Mavericks roster construction, but when you look at what Jones did for the Mavericks this season, it was very impressive. And you could argue that this was the best stretch of basketball he played in his young NBA career. The former first round pick out of Texas, dealt with some off-the-court issues as well. In addition to being a very raw prospect in 12 games with the Mavericks, averaged over 11 points, six boards, very high field goal percentage, obviously on limited attempts and a small sample size, and had 1.6 stocks, which is steals and blocks combined per night in his 12 appearances with Dallas. And the reason that this kind of is complicated is because Jones is ineligible for a two-way contract. He has at least four years of service time in the NBA, meaning he is no longer eligible to be on a two-way, which he was last year with the Mavericks. And if he were eligible to sign a two-way, the Ma he would already be on the Mavericks because the Mavs do have one open two-way roster spot. We’ll talk about the guys who could fill that here in just a moment. But all in all, I think if there was an open roster spot for Jones, I’d be down. I think he showed me enough that I I do believe that he could play a role in this league. But unfortunately, you already have 16 guys under contract. You’re already going to have to make a roster move before the start of the season to clear that spot so you can go in with 15 guys. So, right now, it’s just not realistic that Kai Jones returns to Dallas. And the same goes for Kesler Edwards, unfortunately, who played admirably for the Mavericks, who spent most of his uh season last year at the center spot despite being just 67. He pretty much played a role that no other wing was asked to play. Edwards was someone who the Mavericks tried to get under contract for the rest of the season. They just couldn’t end up doing it. And I loved Kesler Edwards and what he brought to the Mavs, but he also will not be available to the Mavericks on a two-way contract due to his service time as well. And the two-way contracts that the Mavericks currently have is Ryan Nemhard out the rookie out of Gonzaga and Miles Kelly, the rookie out of Auburn. Both of these guys were signed uh as undrafted free agents. They both uh heavily featured for the Mavericks in the 2025 NBA summer league. And Nemhard was at the point where he played three games. And the Mavs coaches saw enough to where he didn’t even play in the final two games of the Mavericks summer league. So they really like Ryan Nemhard. I think they like Miles Kelly as well. Both of these guys could see action for the Mavericks this season. And they’ll see plenty of action in Fris as well with the Legends. Like I said earlier, there is a two-way roster spot open for the Dallas Mavericks. So, let’s talk about some of the potential candidates that they could potentially have in uh in-house already as we’ve seen all these guys here in the summer league. So, we’ll start with Jamarian Sharp, the 75 big man out of Old Miss who I really really like and I think is someone that could potentially play a role in the league. We’ve talked about his shot blocking ability multiple times here on this channel. And when you’re 75 and can block shots, I think you have a path to NBA playing time. Wouldn’t mind him nabbing that final two-way spot. Max Lewis has played in this league before. He played in 28 games last year with the Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets. So, keep an eye on him. Jordan Hall was someone who really impressed me in the summer league. Liked his playmaking ability and his size as well. good vers uh versatile defensive player on that end. I really think Jordan Hall could be someone that the Mavericks look at if they’re trying to add another defensive versatile athletic wing. Musa Cece, a big man who I think will really be battling with Jamaran Sharp in all honesty in training camp and the preseason for that final two-way spot. I liked what Cece brought off the bench in the summer league for the Mavericks as well. So keep on the lookout for that big man battle between Sharp and Cece. And then Matthew Cleveland out of Miami who was also on the Mav summer league team. He could be someone they look at for that final two-way spot. But if I had to guess, I would say it’s between Jamarian Sharp and Musi. So keep an eye on those two guys specifically. I also like Jordan Hall. I don’t think Maxwell Lewis is going to be someone they end up looking at, but I think that it’s going to end up being Jamarian Sharp, the 75 big man formerly of Old Miss. He was with the Mavericks last season as well in the summer league and preseason. played a lot for the legends in the G-League. I think this time Sharp wins that battle and gets the two-way spot with the Mavericks. I want you guys to shout him out though. Name someone the Mavs should sign for that last two-way contract. Do you think it should be Jamarian Sharp? Do you think it should be Moose the Cece? Let me know down there in the comment section. If it’s someone I haven’t even mentioned, put his name down there. And also, I want to ask you guys to please like the video if you haven’t already. It’s a free and super easy way to help out the channel. The more likes we get, the more views we get, the more subscribers we can bring to the channel, and we can make this the biggest Mavs community out there on YouTube. So, hit that thumbs up icon if you haven’t already. My goal is to get to 200 likes here on today’s show. Coming up next here on Mavericks Today by Chat Sports, I wanted to just chop it up here in the summer when there’s not much to talk about. I wanted to debate who is the best player on the Mavericks right now. Could it be Anthony Davis? Is it Kyrie Irving? We’ll talk about it here in just a moment, but we have a really cool opportunity for you guys right now. When you go to chatsports.comdavis, you can get your Anthony Davis jersey today. Once again, chatports.com/davis. When you use that link, Fanatics will send us a part of the proceeds as well. So, you’re helping the channel while also getting yourself an Anthony Davis jersey. He might be the face of the franchise right now alongside Cooper Flag. And with three years left, this jersey will be good for a long time. So, go get yourself an AD jersey right now at chatsports.com/davis. That link is in the comments and description of today’s show. Shout out. Go get yourself an AD jersey today. All right, so let’s take a look between Kyrie and Anthony Davis. I think these are undisputed your number one, number two players here on the roster. Maybe when it’s all said and done this season, it could be Cooper Flag, but I’m going to go with the guys who are future Hall of Famers. They both had really good seasons last year, albeit in limited time as Kyrie missed the final 30 games of the year after he tore his ACL. Anthony Davis was limited to just 51 games as well. And you can see the goddy numbers they put up. They average the exact same amount of points. They obviously get it in different ways where AD is more of a physical presence down low. Kyrie, what a very shifty guard who can create his own shot. Uh Kyrie also a bit better of a playmaker at 4.6 six assists per game, which his number was a little low last year because his usage rate had to come up and he had to handle the ball a little bit more and try to create shots on his own. But Kyrie also a deadly three-point shooter at over 40%. Anthony Davis, not a great career three-point shooter, just 28% last year, but his field goal percentage up at almost 52% as well. Both of these guys are fantastic, and I just kind of want to break down what each of them bring to the table. As for Kyrie Irving, he’s the unquestioned leader of this squad. When the Mavericks need a boost, when they need a word of advice, when they need some encouragement, it’s Kyrie Irving that is bringing it. And when you think of Kyrie’s career, you really wouldn’t have thought of him as an unquestioned leader. But he certainly is that for the Mavericks. And even when Luca was here, Kyrie was the guy that Luca turned to for advice and for guidance. So Kyrie certainly is the leader of this squad. And I think he brings more value than Anthony Davis from a ball handling standpoint as well as Kyrie is the runner of the team. He is the floor general. He is the one getting the Mavericks into their offense. He’s the one creating shots for others. And I believe that Kyrie is the most valuable player on this team, which is a damn shame that he’s going to miss the first half of the season, at least while he’s rehabbing that torn ACL. You can’t understate Kyrie Irving’s importance to this Maverick squad, which is why it is paramount that this team treads water until the February trade deadline, which is right around when Kyrie will return from injury. Hopefully, D’Angelo Russell can pick up some of the slack there, but I’m not banking on it because D’Angelo Russell has a history of inconsistency in the league. Now, there’s been a couple of seasons where he’s played really well, and I’m hoping that the Mavericks can get that D’Angelo Russell as opposed to the D’Angelo Russell who shoots less than 40% from the field and right around 32% from three and doesn’t do a whole lot playmaking wise. Kyrie, the most valuable player on the team in my opinion, but that’s not to discount Anthony Davis whatsoever. We still know that AD is one of the best defensive players in the NBA. When you put him out there, he si simply changes games. He also adds to that with his rebounding at almost 12 rebounds a night as well. I really love what AD brings on the defensive end of the floor. And also when he’s healthy on the offensive end, he’s an unstoppable force going forward once he gets the ball, whether it’s whether it’s facing up, whether it’s in the post, he does have a bag there and he can get to the basket pretty much whenever he wants to. What the one thing I don’t like about Anthony Davis’s game is when he settles for those 15 to 20 foot jump shots. You just can’t be taking those, especially when you have the body, the frame, and the ability of AD to get to the rim basically at will. Unless it’s like Giannis or Bam Adabio guarding Anthony Davis, he’s going to get whatever he wants. I’d like to see a little more consistency from the three-point land from AD. But in all all in all, he’s an extremely valuable player that hopefully can stay healthy for the Mavericks this entire season because Lord knows they’re going to need it with uh with the absence of Kyrie, their unquestioned leader spiritually here on the squad. These guys are also two unquestioned Hall of Famers, by the way, like Anthony Davis, a 2020 NBA champ with the Los Angeles Lakers, multi-time gold medalist for Team USA. Kyrie Irving as well. One of the best players that we’ve ever seen in this league. Maybe simply the best ball handler we have ever seen in the NBA. A 2016 NBA champ hit one of the most famous shots of all time in NBA history. These guys will have their names immortalized at the Nay Smith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame over there in Springfield, Massachusetts. And it is a pleasure that the Mavericks get to have both of them on the roster here at the same time. I wish it they would be a little more in their prime than they are where Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving both are probably on the tail end of those primes. Even though they’re still very very good players, they’re going to need them both for the Mavericks to make a run here at the championship this season and in the future to try to bring along Cooper Flag in order to bring in the new generation of Mavericks players. So, I’ll ask you guys again, who is better? I’m going to lean Kyrie Irving just because I think his skill set brings more value to the table than Anthony Davis. The NBA today is a shot creation league. It’s a make or miss league. Kyrie Irving makes a lot of incredibly difficult shots. He is one of the best small guard finishers this league has ever seen. His layup package is insane. His ball handling ability is second to none. And his leadership skills are something that the Mavericks desperately, desperately need. So, I would lean Kyrie Irving. I wouldn’t blame you whatsoever though if you went with Anthony Davis. So, I’ll ask you guys here to end today’s show. Who is the better player? If you think it’s Kyrie Irving, go ahead and type Ki. If you think it’s Anthony Davis, type AD down there in the comment section. That will do it for today’s show, guys. Appreciate you for tuning in to Mavericks Today by Chat Sports. The schedule is officially released on Thursday, so we’ll have all the details from that as well. And of course, if any Mavs news drops, you know where to find it.

Mavericks rumors on 2025 NBA Free Agency focus on Kai Jones who is reportedly working out for the Miami Heat amid potentially going over to Europe. Jones spent part of the 2024-25 NBA Season with the Mavericks on a two-way contract. Since Mavs GM Nico Harrison can’t sign Jones to a two-way contract due to his service time, the Mavs roster moves to sign Jones would be too complicated to make since there are already 16 guaranteed players on the roster. Should the Mavs make room to sign Kai Jones? We discuss on this episode of Mavericks Today by Chat Sports!

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