NBA Notes: Mavericks, Khris Middleton, Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, Suns

Mavericks

Khris Middleton isn’t thinking about a buyout. At least not yet.

Middleton, acquired by Dallas as part of the Anthony Davis deal, said Tuesday that he hasn’t had any conversations with the Mavericks about a possible buyout and isn’t pushing for one.

“Nah, not yet,” Middleton said when asked if he’s spoken to management about the rest of his season. “We haven’t got to that point. Don’t know that we will. But my focus right now is just playing basketball.”

That lines up with Dallas’ approach. League sources told Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal that the Mavericks prioritized adding Tyus Jones at the deadline because of his ability to organize an offense and lighten the load for everyone else.

The goal, per Afseth, isn’t to overhaul the offense — it’s to steady it.

Clippers

Kawhi Leonard is on board with the reset.

Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said Leonard understood the necessity behind the team’s deadline moves, even the painful ones.

“Kawhi’s a very bright guy,” Frank said. “He understands in order to be sustainable, you have to make some really, really hard and difficult decisions.”

Frank added that the organization still views Leonard as central to what comes next, while acknowledging more work is ahead — via trades, free agency, or the draft.

The toughest call was moving Ivica Zubac.

Frank admitted he informed Zubac before the deal that another team was pushing hard and said he was “kind of hoping” the offer wouldn’t reach the Clippers’ threshold. It did. Zubac later returned to the facility to say goodbye.

“There were a lot of tears,” Frank said. “It’s hard because we all know what Zu means to us.”

Suns

For Jalen Green, the battle is mostly internal right now.

Green played just his sixth game of the season Saturday, logging 17 minutes in Phoenix’s loss to Philadelphia as he continues to work through lingering hamstring issues.

He told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic that rebuilding trust in his body is the biggest hurdle.

“There’s still some trust factor,” Green said. “But that’s going to come with time. Playing and being unconscious and forgetting about injuries.”

That part, he knows, can’t be rushed.