The Dallas Mavericks plan to sign Jarrod Uthoff to a deal for the remainder of the current season.

Dallas will let Manny Harris return to the Texas Legends of the D-League.

Both players were on 10-day contracts with the Mavericks.

Rick Carlisle was asked to theorize why offense has been up around the NBA this season.

The NBA has reached a point where the game has evolved to include more perimeter shooters and a faster pace of play following rule changes.

"My belief is that we've entered a new era of high skill level Sixteen years ago, when I first came into the league, they had just changed the rules," said Carlisle. "You could have two guys guarding a guy that didn't have the ball. You could play zone defense as long as you stayed within the rules, stuff like that.

"And everybody was worried about what was gonna happen to scoring. And the group that put it together, led by Jerry Colangelo, really felt that these rules would increase ball movement and if there was a necessity to move the ball, it would become a greater necessity for all players on the floor to have skill. Otherwise, it would be difficult to hide guys that couldn't shoot. 

"And so, initially there were a lot of skeptics that believes, 'Hey, this is gonna bring the game to a screeching halt. There just aren't enough skill guys.'

"But the reason it was done was to change the culture of player development at the grassroots level. And so, the people coaching grade school, middle school, AAU would have to recognize the importance of being able to shoot, being able to get the ball in the basket. And again, there were a lot of people - there was a lot of eye rolling and 'Yea, right! That's gonna change!'

"Well, it's changed. It's taken time, but how many teams have got a guy at the 4 that can't make an outside shot? I'm not necessarily saying a 3, but an outside shot. You look at the teams that can play big. (derrick) Favors makes mid-range shots. Who else? These guys, (Taj) Gibson can shoot mid-range shots. He's taken a few 3s.

"You know, so anyway, I think that's your answer. If you have more skilled guys and there's a big emphasis on the analytics of pace, scoring's gonna go up. Scoring's gonna go up. So, I don't know what you're gonna hear people clamoring for next. But in the end, what you're gonna get, in my estimation - the Finals last year, the deciding game of the Finals was in the high 80s, low 90s. And so, when it counts, and you get in situations where you're at seven games, and there's familiarity, and you've got the best offensive and defensive teams out there, scoring's not gonna be going crazy."

The Dallas Mavericks have signed guard Manny Harris and forward Jarrod Uthoff to second 10-day contracts. 

Harris (6-5, 185) has appeared in three games for Dallas this season, averaging 2.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game.

Uthoff (6-9, 220) has seen action in two games for the Mavericks this year and has logged a total of 5 minutes.

Mark Cuban is now a veteran NBA owner, purchasing the Dallas Mavericks 17 years ago. Since Cuban bought the Mavericks, 16 of the 30 teams have changed ownership hands.

When Cuban arrived in the NBA, he was a younger owner with a set of ideas that disturbed their status quo. Cuban frequently engaged in attention seeking behavior (Google: Ed Rush, Dairy Queen) while also helping to modernize their business such as making the conditions for players significantly improved.

"It was a whole lot more fun when I was the young guy screwing everything up," said Cuban. "But (the establishment) listened to me and I guess I molded them into what I wanted (laughs). So now that there’s nothing new to change and I don’t have any reason to complain, it’s all good. I didn’t adapt to them, they adapted to me. I was a bully, my way or the highway."

The Mavericks started the season slowly but have rebounded to compete for a playoff spot.

"We’ve basically gone through a rebuild in one season," said Cuban. "It’s a credit to Rick (Carlisle, the Mavericks coach) but also everyone on this team. There’s still a lot more to do. Nobody’s writing us in for The Finals this year. Our guys really worked hard, as hard or harder than any team in the league. Look at Miami. They’ve undergone a lot of changes too, much like we have, and they just play harder. I remember the Celtics after they traded off Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and they tried to find themselves and they did that by playing their asses off. That’s who we are now. Teams kind of look at our talent and don’t know what to expect but it’s hard to keep up with us when you go 15 deep with guys playing hard. It’s our calling card. I love it."

The Dallas Mavericks plan on signing Manny Harris to a 10-day contract.

Harris has averaged 26.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 39.2 minutes per game this season with the Texas Legends.

Harris last played in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 13-14 season.

The Dallas Mavericks will sign Jarrod Uthoff to a 10-day contract.

Uthoff has been playing for Fort Wayne in the D-League. For the season, Uthoff is averaging 10.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in 23.9 minutes.

Uthoff went undrafted in 2016 out of Iowa.

Dirk Nowitzki scored his 30,000th point in the NBA with 10 minutes and 58 seconds remaining in the second quarter of Tuesday's game. Nowitzki entered the game needing 20 points to reach the milestone.

Nowitzki joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain as the other members of the 30,000 club.

Nowitzki's teammates and owner Mark Cuban mobbed him during a timeout while the American Airlines Center crowd gave him a roaring standing ovation. 

"It's been sort of surreal -- 30,000 is amazing, a lot of points," Nowitzki said. 

"Obviously, every milestone makes you reflect a little bit, reflect on people who helped you, been with you all this way, from all the coaches and Cuban and all the teammates I had, the fans that went with me through thick and thin.

"It's been an amazing ride, and hopefully a couple of more baskets are coming and then it's time to ride off into the sunset."

Mark Cuban continues to discount the play of Russell Westbrook.

Cuban said Sunday that the MVP battle is a "toss-up" between Houston's James Harden and Cleveland's LeBron James, with San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard also deserving of mention in the conversation.

Cuban was then asked where Westbrook is in his consideration for MVP.

"He's not," Cuban said.

Cuban acknowledges that Westbrook is "an amazing athlete" who is the "most explosive" player in the league and has the "best motor."

"The criteria hasn't changed," Cuban said. With a wry smile, he added: "And if I changed my mind, it would ruin all the fun for you guys."

Cuban has consistently said in the past that he doesn't consider Westbrook to be one of the NBA's superstars.

Dirk Nowitzki intends to play next season at the age of 39.

"I think so ... unless something drastic changes here in the next few weeks or the last few weeks of the season, which I don't anticipate.

"I said last summer: I signed a two-year deal [and] that obviously meant I want to play for two more," Nowitzki continued. "I want to complete that deal.‎"

Playing in 2017-18 would give Nowitzki an even 20 seasons in the league with the Mavericks, which would tie Bryant's record run with ‎one franchise.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ Dario Saric and the Dallas Mavericks’ Yogi Ferrell were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in February.

Saric, the 12th pick in NBA Draft 2014, led all rookies in scoring (17.0 ppg) and ranked second in rebounding (7.9 rpg) for the month.  Among Eastern Conference rookies, he was first in minutes (30.1 mpg), tied for second in steals (1.0 spg) and third in assists (2.8 apg).  The 22-year-old forward from Croatia scored in double figures in 11 of 12 games during February, including five appearances with at least 20 points.  Saric recorded four straight point-rebound double-doubles from Feb. 13-25, capped by a 19-point, 15-rebound, five-assist performance in a 110-109 loss to the New York Knicks on Feb. 25.

Ferrell, who was not selected in NBA Draft 2016, paced all Western Conference rookies in scoring (12.0 ppg), assists (4.7 apg) and minutes (31.5 mpg) in February.  He led all rookies in three-pointers made (21).  The 23-year-old guard was playing on a 10-day contract when he equaled an NBA rookie record with nine three-pointers on his way to scoring 32 points in Dallas’ 108-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 3.  Four days later, the Mavericks signed him to a multiyear contract.  Before joining Dallas, Ferrell played 10 games with the Brooklyn Nets and 18 games with the NBA Development League’s Long Island Nets.