West Notes: Suns, Jae Crowder, Timberwolves, Mavs

Suns

Point guard Chris Paul returned and the Suns were immediately blown ot of their own building by the Mavericks. But Paul indicated the Suns will just keep their heads up and move on to the next.

“Take our ass whopping and keep it moving,” Paul said, via Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic.

• With the Knicks making several players available, the Suns have reached out to gauge their interest in small forward Jae Crowder, sources told Hoops Wire. The Suns would most likely be interested in Knicks forward Cam Reddish, one source added.

Timberwolves

• The Timberwolves have officially signed forward Matt Ryan and waived shooting guard A.J. Lawson, the team announced in a press release.
• Ryan was waived by the Lakers last week. We have the details on his Timberwolves signing here.
• Along with that, the Timberwolves have signed guard Josh Minott to the Iowa Wolves of the G League, the team announced.

Mavericks

Coach Jason Kidd said that the Mavs are feeling better after getting a few wins under the belt recently.

“Anytime you win in this league, it’s hard to win in this league. They’re all satisfying. You sleep a little bit better [win you win],” Kidd said, via Dalton Trigg of SI.com. “There’s 82 of them. You aren’t going to go undefeated, but you get to learn about your team through this journey, and right now, you’re starting to see this team come together and believe.”

• The Mavs have discussed a trade for Pistons center Nerlens Noel, as we relayed here. They reportedly have made center JaVale McGee available.
• Multiple reports suggest the Mavs are on the lookout for a veteran center, particularly a rim protector. Noel fits such a description.