The Dallas Mavericks won’t have Willie Cauley-Stein when they enter the NBA’s bubble league in Orlando. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Cauley-Stein has decided to join the list of players who will not suit up when the league goes to Disney World, with Charania mentioning that his decision is driven by the fact that his partner is expecting a child sometime next month.
Mavericks center Willie Cauley-Stein has decided to sit out the resumed NBA season, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Cauley-Stein and his partner are expecting a newborn child in July.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2020
Cauley-Stein joined Dallas at the trade deadline following starting center Dwight Powell tearing his Achilles. In 54 games this season with the Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors, Cauley-Stein averaged 7.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 20.3 minutes per game.
This isn’t the only news about the Mavericks’ roster from Thursday. In a move that was floated earlier in the day by Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Charania reports that Dallas will add former Sixers guard Trey Burke to its bench.
Free agent guard Trey Burke has agreed to a deal with the Dallas Mavericks for the rest of the season, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2020
Burke would, theoretically, fill a role as a guard off the bench left by Jalen Brunson, who suffered a shoulder injury back in February and has already been ruled out of suiting up for the team in Florida. He’s also familiar with the Mavericks, having played for them in 25 games at the end of the 2018-19 season before departing in free agency. With Philly, Burke appeared in 25 games off the bench and averaged 5.9 points a night.
One would expect the Mavs to still be on the lookout for frontcourt help to try and fill the gap left by Cauley-Stein, so more transactions may be on the way in Dallas.