Mavericks cut James, keep Villanueva

The Dallas Mavericks made their final cuts in advance of Tuesday’s regular season opener against the San Antonio Spurs by releasing center Bernard James, guard Doron Lamb and forward Ivan Johnson.

The Mavericks decided to keep forward Charlie Villanueva on the roster.

James has a $915,243 contract — most of it guaranteed — for this season. Villanueva’s $1.3 million deal is non-guaranteed.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has said he would sacrifice a guaranteed deal if he believed another player was more deserving of the roster spot.

The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reported that Cuban likes the offense Villanueva provides, pointing to an Oct. 12 preseason game against the Indiana Pacers in which Villanueva scored 16 points in 11 fourth-quarter minutes as Dallas won by eight points.

“He’s been instant offense,” Cuban said. “When you score 16 points in a quarter on like eight shots, that’s ridiculous. In the NBA anybody can get hot. But that’s who he is.”