Mavericks: Omar Samhan
Mark Cuban: Beaubois' injury not a concern
| PODCAST |
|---|
| Mark Cuban talks about making a play for the Rangers and Roddy B's status on The Ben and Skin Show.
Listen |
Beaubois broke the fifth metatarsal bone last week while training with the French National team for the FIBA World Championships later this month. Initial estimates were that Beaubois could miss up to three months. Mavs training camp opens in late September and the regular season starts in late October.
Mavs owner Mark Cuban, appearing Monday on the "Ben & Skin Show" on 103.3 FM ESPN, said he's not overly concerned because of the amount of time that remains until the start of the season.
"No, it wasn't a huge setback," Cuban said. "He broke his foot, he didn't have it amputated."
Cuban said he is also not concerned with Beaubois' progress at point guard despite what appeared to be a somewhat disappointing summer league in Las Vegas. Cuban said Beaubois will play better when surrounded by Jason Kidd, Caron Butler and Dirk Nowitzki as opposed to playing with a makeshift roster of guys who will mostly be headed overseas.
"Those guys are going to make a point guard look a whole lot better than Omar [Samhan]," Cuban said, referring to the Saint Mary's center who played on the Mavs' summer-league team and will begin his pro career in Lithuania.
Cuban hit on a couple of other subjects:
*The owner said he was excited about acquiring center Tyson Chandler in a trade: "We traded Matt [Carroll] and Eddie [Najera], two guys that barely got off the bench, for the starting center on Team USA," Cuban said. Chandler does appear to be a lock as the starting center for Team USA as it competes in the World Championships in Turkey beginning on Aug. 28. Cuban said Mavs head athletic trainier Casey Smith, a member of the Team USA medical staff, has reported that Chandler appears to have regained the explosion he had prior to ankle injuries that ruined the past two seasons.
*Cuban said rookie shooting guard Dominique Jones is in Dallas and working out. "We're excited about him," Cuban said.
*Regarding Nowitzki's new, four-year, $80 million deal, Cuban said his 7-foot forward was never about the money (he could have signed for as much as $96 million) and that they discussed ways to improve the team through a major trade. That didn't happen this summer, but Cuban said the two also discussed how the bigger deals typically happen near the trade deadline in February. The Mavs have made two big deadline deals over the past three seasons. "That’s when the over-the-top trades happen," Cuban said.
Big man Samhan headed to Lithuania
Samhan, who made a name for himself with a tremendous NCAA tournament with little-known Saint Mary's, and a light-hearted, self-promotional media blitz, signed, a two-year deal with a club in Lithuania.
"I've been Googling [Lithuania] for the last two days. It's actually not that much different," Samhan said. "They have a lot of similar foods and stuff like that, but definitely language is going to be a barrier and communication with coaches and teammates will be hard, but our point guard is American, so that will help."
Mavs owner Mark Cuban reached out to Samhan via Facebook to invite him on the team's summer squad and he's had a nice run in Las Vegas, averaging 10.5 points on 52.8 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots in 25.8 minutes a game through four summer-league games.
Samhan will play for the Mavs in Sunday's summer finale despite his new club asking him to sit it out. Samhan said he owed it to the Mavs to see through his commitment. Samhan said he's traveled to Australia once with Saint Mary's teammates who hail from there, but he's never voyaged to Europe. Mavs president Donnie Nelson, who has long-time relationships in Lithuania, assured Samhan it is the best move for his career.
"It's a little overwhelming," the 6-foot-11, 265-pounder said. "But, I'm excited."
Samhan leaves for his new home on Aug. 15. His contract has a buy out after the first year in case an NBA team comes calling. He said he's calling next season his red-shirt year.
"I didn't have any offers for guaranteed money [in the NBA]. A lot of people wanted me to come to training camp, but they couldn’t guarantee anything. And, if I did make a team, I wouldn't get playing time, I wouldn't get a chance to develop a ton," Samhan said. "So, it's going to give me a chance to go over there for a year or two and really develop as a player. I plan on coming back and being an NBA player for the next 10 years."
Uneven Roddy comes through in clutch
With Mavs coach Rick Carlisle watching, Beaubois lobbed a perfect inbounds pass with 0.3 seconds left in the regulation to J.R. Giddens, who leaped to snare the pass and scored to force overtime. Beaubois then nailed a double-clutch 3-pointer from the wing and topped it off with a floating jumper for the game-winner and the team's first celebration in three tries.
Beaubois finished with 15 points and seven assists, but he had eight fouls (10 is the limit). He was just 6-of-14 from the field, but he did nail 3-of-5 from the 3-point line.
Overall, it was a somewhat shaky performance. On one sequence, Beaubois twisted his ankle, shook it off, and then drove through the lane out of control only to land face-first on the baseline. He had a team-high six turnovers in 30 minutes of action.
Giddens, a second-year pro out of New Mexico led the Mavs with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. SMU's Mo Faye had nine points and 11 rebounds. Omar Samhan had nine points and nine rebounds, and Harvard guard Jeremy Lin put in eight points, including a pretty, left-handed lay-in as he used his body to create contact and draw the foul.
The squad gets a couple days off in the desert before resuming play Thursday night against No. 1 pick John Wall and the Washington Wizards.
But it wasn't enough for the Mavs' summer league squad to beat the Rockets.
Roddy B lit it up for 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting in the Mavs' 87-78 loss Saturday night. He had four assists and four turnovers.
The turnover total is still too high, but that's the sort of line expected out of Beaubois in the summer league after he showed flashes of brilliance as a rookie. It's certainly better than the 3-of-16, six-turnover stinker he had in the summer league opener.
Undrafted big man Omar Samhan (17 points, 8-12 FG, six rebounds) also had an encouraging performance. He won the individual matchup with Houston's Jordan Hill, the eighth overall pick in the 2009 draft.
Smiling Samhan ready for hard summer
First-round draft pick Dominique Jones was also a big attraction and Harvard point guard Jeremy Lin drew a crowd as he tries to become the first American-born Asian player to make it in the NBA.
However, one of the more intriguing players to watch during the five-game Summer League (Friday-July 18) will be 6-foot-11 Omar Samhan. The charismatic traditional center doesn't possess great athleticism and despite averaging 30.5 points on 75 percent shooting against Richmond and Villanova in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament, teams still weren't biting in the draft.
He averaged 23.1 points and 10.9 rebounds during his senior season in which he led Saint Mary's to its first Sweet 16.
"After the draft, I was super disappointed. I was pissed off; thought I should have got drafted, didn't, and I have something to prove," Samhan said. "The next day I get a Facebook message from [Mark] Cuban. He's like, 'What are you doing? Do you want to come to Dallas.' I said I'd love to."
Samhan is tall, but his 265-pound physique isn't exactly revealing of his strength. Ask about his qualities in terms of making it in the NBA and you get answers as if asking about a blind date that your buddy knows has a great personality, but, well, might fall somewhere south of a 10.
"First and foremost, great attitude, great attitude about basketball, about life," Mavs player development coach and summer league head coach Monte Mathis said. "He's an energetic guy, he's a gym rat, he loves to be on the court, he loves to be coached. You never have to kick him in the butt to get him going because he's always got an energy about himself."
And now for the actual basketball skills part: "But, he can shoot the ball. He's got skills for a big guy and I think he's going to be fun to watch, also, during summer league."
Fun and entertaining. Samhan wears a thin beard that outlines his face that always seems to be in smile mode. But, he knows how to work. He lost 50 pounds during his time at Saint Mary's and developed his skills to the point where he went from basically unrecruited to becoming a dominant low-post scorer. He is intriguing because he does play a traditional center, back-to-the-basket game, but he doesn't have the athleticism that could doom his hopes of playing in the NBA.
He also knows the Mavs' center position is in flux. Brendan Haywood is an unrestricted free agent and Erick Dampier is on the trading block. As far as Samhan is concerned, anything can happen.
"I complement someone like Dirk a lot because he's more of an outside 4 [power forward], doesn’t bang as much, so I kind of do the dirty work and he can score. It's a good tradeoff," Samhan said. "Obviously, I've got to climb a lot. It's a challenge I think is doable. It's a tough spot, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. So, I just got to gut it out and hope Cuban believes in me, hope Donnie Nelson believes in me the way I believe in them."
Samhan should see plenty of playing time in Vegas. The only other center on the roster is 7-foot-4 Moussa Seck, a 220-pound developomental player the Mavs have been working with for a couple of years.
Mavericks release Summer League roster
Mavs taking 7-4 Senegalese project to Vegas
The team will, of course, be headlined by Roddy Beaubois and first-round draft pick Dominique Jones.
But, of neck-craning interest will be 7-foot-4 project Moussa Seck, a native of Senegal, who was with the Mavs last summer, but was so inexperienced as basketball player, didn't play. Seck will be joined by Saint Mary's big man -- in stature and personality -- 6-11 Omar Samhan.
Another attention grabber is Harvard point guard Jeremy Lin, who is attempting to become the first American-born Asian player to make it in the NBA.
Second-round pick in 2008 Shan Foster, who has been playing overseas, will also play on the Summer League team.
A group of players, many with local ties, will be trying out for the squad Monday and Tuesday at the American Airlines Center. They include:
G, Jermaine Beal, 6-3 (Vanderbilt, from DeSoto)
F Roderick Flemings, 6-5 (Hawaii, from DeSoto)
G, Kelvin Lewis, 6-4 (Houston, from North Crowley)
G, Jamel White, 6-4 (Texas Wesleyan)
F, Zivonko Buljan (TCU)
F, Mouhammad Faye (SMU)
F, Eric Tramiel (North Texas)
F, Andre Emmett, 6-5 (Texas Tech 2004, played in Europe, S. America)
F, Larry Owens, Oral Robers (Tulsa, played in D-League)
G, Tony Crocker (Oklahoma)
G-F, Derrick Byars (Vanderbilt)
G, Dwight Lewis, 6-5 (USC)
Saint Mary's jovial big man on his way
The 7-footer led Saint Mary's to the Sweet 16, where Baylor and No. 6 overall draft pick Ekpe Udoh (Golden State) dismantled the Cinderella Gaels. Samhan averaged 30.5 points on 75 percent shooting in those first two games. Samhan worked for the Mavs on Tuesday.
The Mavs will hold an invitation only mini-camp for undrafted players Monday and Tuesday. Harvard point guard Jeremy Lin is expected to be there and move on to Vegas with the Mavs.
Summer League runs from July 9-18.
Baylor Bears guard Tweety Carter looks like he will join the New Jersey Nets' Summer League squad.
Final Mavs prospects get workouts today
The Mavs own the 50th pick overall unless they make a play to move up. While a center and an athletic swingman might be of highest priority, Mavs vice president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said that when picking so late, it becomes all about the player, and not the position.
"At 50, you can't get locked into positions or anything like that," Nelson said. "You've got to take the best available name on the board."
These six just might be there:
Omar Samhan, 6-11, 265, Saint Mary's
Notes: A traditional center with post moves and scoring touch, he averaged 22.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocks a game as a senior. His goofy, magnetic personality helped him become a national sensation during the NCAA tournament after averaging 30.5 points on 75 percent shooting in the first two rounds to get the Cinderella Gaels into the Sweet 16.
Jerome Randle, 5-10, 160, California
Notes: The point guard averaged 18.6 points and 4.3 assists as a senior. While short in stature, Randle is an excellent jump shooter and was adept at hitting contested jumpers. He drained 40.4 percent of this 3-point attempts and shot 45.7 percent from the floor. He averaged 35.0 minutes a game. Randle is considered a sleeper by some.
Magnum Rolle, 6-10, 200, Louisiana Tech
Notes: He spent two years at LSU, had trouble earning playing time and transferred. As a senior, he averaged 13.9 points and 8.4 rebounds. Mostly a catch-and-finish offensive player who could serve as a rebounder and defender in the NBA as he develops an offensive game.
Brian Zoubek, 7-1, 250, Duke
Notes: Injuries stunted him early in his career and it took until his senior season for him to even be mentioned as a possible draft pick. One of the best offensive rebounds in college basketball last season, most of Zoubek's points came off second chances. He's tough and sturdy and could aid a team in need of board help.
Tommy Mason-Griffin, 5-11, 170, Oklahoma
Notes: There's plenty of curiousity surrounding his decision to leave school after his freshman season. Short and pudgy, he averaged 14.1 points with 5.0 assists, though, Mason-Griffin might be best remembered for his facebook announcement about entering the draft: "it's a official dat i am leavin skool...." He likely won't be drafted.
Andrew Ogilvy, 7-0, 240, Vanderbilt
Notes: The Australian who goes by A.J. (Andrew James) averaged 13.4 points and 6.2 rebounds as a junior. Strangely, his points have decreased from 17.0 as a freshman and his minutes have decreased from 27.6 as a sophomore to 23.2 last year. Scouts wonder if he's rugged enough to play against NBA power forwards and centers.
Saint Mary's center is happy-go-lucky load
In the first two rounds of the tournament, Samhan averaged 30.5 points and shot 75 percent from the field, with almost everything coming in the lane. He destroyed Villanova in the second round to the tune of 32 points on 13-of-16 shooting. His size, production and magetic personality made him an instant media darling.
Stew Milne/US PresswireOmar Samhan led the West Coast Conference in scoring (20.9 ppg), rebounding (11.0 rpg) and blocks (94) this season, making him the first player to lead the conference in all three categories since Bill Cartwright at San Francisco in 1978.The beautiful part of Samhan's game is that he is a traditional center without the modern-day athleticism. He's the rare player today who loves to play in the post. Since losing 40 pounds from his 300-pound frame when he arrived on campus, Samhan has matured and developed an array of post moves. He can use both hands and his work ethic is credited with turning him from an unknown player at a tiny private school in Northern California to having a bona fide shot at playing in the NBA.
Samhan will be in Dallas on Tuesday as one of six players expected to work out for the Mavericks on the final day of workouts.
The Mavs pick 50th in Thursday's draft -- barring making a move up earlier in the second round or into the first round. The Mavs could very well be in need of a center. Brendan Haywood will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and the Mavs will look to trade Erick Dampier and his non-guaranteed, $13 million contract. Dampier could still find his way back to the team, but Dallas will be in need of a backup if Haywood signs elsewhere.
Samhan led the West Coast Conference in scoring (20.9 ppg), rebounding (11.0 rpg) and blocks (94) this season, making him the first player to lead the conference in all three categories since Bill Cartwright at San Francisco in 1978. Samhan was one of just two Division I players to average 20 points and 10 rebounds this season.
But, because he is not as athletically inclined as NBA teams might like, Samhan very well could be waiting around when the Mavs choose at No. 50.
103.3 FM ESPN PODCASTS
Play Podcast ESPN's Stephen A. Smith chimes in on the Dallas Mavericks' season, their free agency plans and more.
Play Podcast Mike and Mike join Ben and Skin to discuss Jerry Jones' window and the Mavs future. They don't see Dirk Nowitzki leaving even if the Mavs miss out on the dream of Deron Williams or Dwight Howard.
Play Podcast Mavs F Dirk Nowitzki says he's too old to stay with a rebuilding franchise but couldn't imagine himself leaving the city of Dallas.
Play Podcast Is the Dwight Howard to the Mavs dream alive? Dwight still wants out of Orlando and it could open the door for the Mavs to put a proposal together.
Play Podcast Mavs guard Delonte West dishes on his desire to return to the Mavs, his relationship with Lebron James and how he ended up hanging out with Dez Bryant over the weekend.
Play Podcast Ben and Skin discuss the three most important figures for the Rangers, Mavs, and Cowboys. Who is the most vital to the ultimate success of each organization?
TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Dirk Nowitzki
|
|||||||||||
| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | S. Marion | 7.4 | ||||||||||
| Assists | J. Kidd | 5.5 | ||||||||||
| Steals | J. Kidd | 1.7 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | B. Wright | 1.3 | ||||||||||



