Mavericks news: Kemba Walker unaware of interest in 2019, has 1st practice, more

The Dallas Mavericks cleared cap space to target Kemba Walker in the summer of 2019. The four-time All-Star was one of the best available free agents, and the Mavs believed they have a serious shot at landing him, but he ultimately signed with the Boston Celtics.

Walker just signed a one-year non-guaranteed contract with the Mavericks. He is not the same player they were targeting in 2019, but the organization is hoping he give them a playmaking and scoring boost off the bench. Walker won’t be the player that pushes Dallas over the top, but he could be an impactful signing.

Walker had his first practice with the Mavericks on Nov. 30, and afterward, he met with the media for the first time where the six-foot point guard admitted he did know of the team’s interest in 2019. Read his quote below.

"Yeah, I heard that yesterday. I didn’t know."

Walker continued by saying that he is in Dallas now and that he is hoping to make things work in his new situation.

More Mavericks news

Fans also got their first glimpse of Kemba on the floor wearing Mavericks gear. See the video the team dropped from his first workout below.

Walker has been working out in Orlando and trying to stay ready. He noted in his press conference that he doesn’t think that he is “too far off”, but he would not offer a timetable on when he would be ready to play for the Mavericks. The six-foot point guard could not hide his excitement about being back in the NBA and playing in Dallas.

NBA news

Shams Charania dropped the biggest league-wide news of the day when he noted the start date for the 2023-2024 season would be Oct. 24, 2023, and the regular season finales would take place on April 24, 2024. That is a slightly later start to the season, but the headlining news was about a potential schedule change.

If the league adopts the mid-season tournament commissioner Adam Silver has been pushing for, each team will only have 80 regular season games scheduled. The final two would be announced after eight teams advance to the knockout stage of the tournament. The mid-season tournament has not been fully adopted yet, but it is expected to be approved.

There are still a ton of questions about the mid-season tournament, but it should be something that excites fans. The new idea adds one more thing for the Dallas Mavericks to compete for, and MFFLs know Luka Doncic loves to win. Stay tuned for all the latest on the team and the mid-season tournament.