Josh Green might not be back in uniform this weekend against New Orleans or Oklahoma City.
But it was clear on Friday that he’s not far off from getting back into action.
Green went through contact drills in three-on-three and one-on-one scrimmage sessions as the Mavericks had a practice that primarily was devoted to film-watching.
But Green, who has missed the last 14 games with a right elbow sprain, worked extensively with Jaden Hardy, AJ Lawson and Theo Pinson, among others, in a spirited half-court session.
“I feel good,” Green said. “I started with contact the last two days. It’s been tough because we’ve had so many games and there’s not so many practice days. So I’m just going to continue with this, see how the elbow feels, put it in situations that (simulate games) and see how it goes.”
Green said there’s no exact timetable for his return.
“I’m just making sure I’m doing the right things for the team, communicating with the training staff and keep getting treatment,” he said.
Green’s injury happened in the Milwaukee game on Dec. 9. In the 10 games before his injury, Green averaged 9.2 points and shot 44.8 percent from three-point range while playing 23 minutes per game.
He said he knew something wasn’t right the minute he suffered the injury.
“In the first half, I kind of got a steal out of bounds, a deflection and my arm kind of got arm-locked by Grayson Allen,” Green said. “I kind of got stuck and it hurt a lot. I couldn’t really shoot too much in the second half, so I tried to get to the basket as much as I could. And I wanted to finish the game out. It’s better now than the end of the season.”
The Mavericks have been without Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber, too. But neither of them appears as close to returning as Green.
Said coach Jason Kidd: “We have Josh working, playing one on one with contact, so that’s a good sign. Maxi was out there moving a little, too, so a lot of good things for us on the floor.”
WALKER WAIVED: The Mavericks on Friday waived Kemba Walker, whose contract would have become fully guaranteed over the weekend.
The move leaves the Mavericks with 14 guaranteed contracts, plus two-way players McKinley Wright IV and AJ Lawson, whose deals will become guaranteed on Jan. 20.
The move with Walker opens up a roster spot, should the Mavericks want to convert Wright, who has been in the rotation during the rash of injuries lately, to a guaranteed, minimum contract.
It also opens up the possibility of watching the waiver wire and perhaps adding somebody who is let go this week and possibly could help the Mavericks.
“You’re always looking at the waiver wire to see if you can better the team,” Kidd said. “That’s what management will be doing to see who is let go here in the next couple of days for tax purposes or just making moves.”
The 6-0 Walker signed on Nov. 29 and played nine games (one start) for the Mavericks, averaging 8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 16 minutes per game. Those numbers were skewed a bit by the 32-point showing he had with five rebounds and seven assists in his start Dec. 17 at Cleveland.
“Kemba did everything we asked,” Kidd said. “He was an incredible pro in that locker room. There’s no telling if our paths probably could cross again in the future, 10 days. But right now we’re looking at the roster spot with flexibility. Maybe there’s someone else out there that we might take a look at first.”
NBA teams could begin signing players to 10-day deals on Thursday.
BULLOCK’S STRUGGLES: Reggie Bullock has shot 4-of-18 from three-point range in the last four games he’s played (one inactive).
This traditionally has been the time of year when his three-point shot heats up.
“We believe that he’s going to make them,” Kidd said. “That’s just who he is as a shooter. We all believe that the next shot is going in and he needs to take more of them.
“You can’t turn down open threes. You got to work through it as a shooter. You got to get the minutes and you got to take the attempts.”
ALL-STAR VOTING: The first round of fan balloting for the NBA All-Star Game next month in Utah has Luka Dončić second among Western Conference guards behind Golden State’s Steph Curry.
Dončić had nearly 2.4 million votes. Curry had just over 2.7 million in backcourt voting for the West. LeBron James leads the West frontcourt with an NBA-most 3.168 million.
Fans account for 50 percent of the vote to determine the All-Star starters with NBA players and a media panel accounting for 25 percent each.
The next fan update will be on Jan. 12. Voting ends on Jan. 21.
BRIEFLY: The Mavericks play New Orleans at 7 p.m. Saturday and then are at Oklahoma City Sunday evening at 6 p.m. Dončić, who has played a slew of minutes during the seven-game win streak that ended Thursday against the Celtics, could be in line for a rest in one of those games. When asked if Dončić was under the weather in the Boston game, Kidd said: “He was in good spirits. It was a physical game (against Boston). I didn’t think he was sick, but he could have a cold.” In regard to deciding about a rest regimen for Luka, he said: “We talk to Luka and look at scenarios with the schedule. We’re asking him to do a lot.” . . . Regardless of when Luka plays, Saturday will be another instance of he and New Orleans’ Zion Williamson not seeing each other on the court. The pair haven’t played in a game against each other in two seasons.
Twitter: @ESefko
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