Mavericks waive player with guaranteed contract to add Charlie Villanueva to roster
Oct 26, 2014, 10:00 AM EDT
Indiana Pacers v Dallas Mavericks When the Mavericks announced their final cuts in advance of Tuesday’s regular season opener against the defending champion Spurs, one name on the list was a bit of a surprise.
Bernard James, Doron Lamb and Ivan Johnson were the odd men out, but James had a $915,243 contract for the upcoming season, almost all of which was guaranteed.
Mark Cuban said he wouldn’t be afraid to eat a guaranteed deal if he felt another player was more deserving of that roster spot, and he was true to his word, choosing Charlie Villanueva and the scoring he could potentially provide as a replacement for James.
From Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram:
In an Oct. 12 game against Indiana, Villanueva played all 11 of his minutes in the fourth quarter and contributed 16 points and four rebounds during the Mavs’ 106-98 victory.
In that game Villanueva was 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line.
Even owner Mark Cuban, who repeatedly said he would eat a guaranteed contract if it made his team better, was impressed with what Villanueva accomplished against the Pacers.
“He’s been instant offense,” Cuban said. “When you score 16 points in a quarter on like eight shots, that’s ridiculous. In the NBA anybody can get hot. But that’s who he is.”
Villanueva’s deal is for $1.3 million, but is non-guaranteed, so if he ends up not being of value down the road, it may not ultimately cost the Mavericks that much.
But it’s nice to see a team choosing performance over finances, even if this is only a small example of that.
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- 00maltliquor - Oct 26, 2014 at 10:49 AM
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This is hardly a hit to Cuban, or any owner for that matter! Let’s see some team cut a guy with 6,7,8 mill per on his contract for a guy set to make 1.3 on an ungarunteed contract. THEN we would have a story and something to talk about!! This ain’t nothing.
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- twinfan24 - Oct 26, 2014 at 12:01 PM
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Well, if any owner would do it, I think Cuban would be near the top of that list.
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- pillsbury13 - Oct 26, 2014 at 10:08 PM
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The Mavs paid Lamar Odom $3.4 million when they released him.
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- onlyavoice - Oct 26, 2014 at 1:48 PM
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After the Pistons stint I figured Charlie was done.
I guess Dumars & his revolving circus of coaches couldn’t bring out Charlies best
& SVG didn’t want to try either.
Mavs are going to be very good this season.
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- 00maltliquor - Oct 26, 2014 at 3:22 PM
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It’s a difference, Chuckie V has some worth as your 15th man making vet minimum, not as some guy making an eight figure salary barely coming off your bench. Two entirely different things.
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- imakcds - Oct 26, 2014 at 5:57 PM
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I thought Villanueva looked fat last season.
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- ebecks34 - Oct 27, 2014 at 11:20 AM
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Last season?
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- turkbox420 - Oct 26, 2014 at 6:34 PM
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Charlie Villanueva is the missing piece to help us win a ring said no one ever.
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- 2drunk2dunk - Oct 26, 2014 at 7:51 PM
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anthony davis needs to hook villanueva up with some brow!
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- elcaminobilly - Oct 26, 2014 at 10:26 PM
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Villanueva suffers from a disease where he has absolutely no hair on his body whatsoever.
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- ebecks34 - Oct 27, 2014 at 11:11 AM
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Ask Garnett about that.
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- ebecks34 - Oct 27, 2014 at 11:19 AM
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It’s true, ask Garnett about that.
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- money2long - Oct 27, 2014 at 1:55 PM
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And he still has a better hairline than lebron.
