Inside Report: Mekel's 'swag' steals spotlight in summer league practice
DALLAS — Although it is just his second day on the job, newly-signed point guard Gal Mekel is already making a great impression on his Dallas Mavericks teammates and coaching staff as they prepare for the Las Vegas Summer League.
Officially signing the two-time Israeli MVP early Thursday, the Mavericks were then treated to a show on the practice court as the 25-year-old floor general tries to adjust to the NBA game. And with a quiet confidence about him, Mekel is quickly making that transition look seamless.
“He’s a good player. You can tell he knows how to play basketball. He has that Euro swag about him, like (Manu) Ginobili, so he won’t back down from anybody,” second-year swingman Jae Crowder said while assessing Mekel’s game.
“[Mekel] practiced a little bit yesterday, but today he really got into it,” big man Bernard James added. “You know, he’s got that Euro game. He hit me with like a crazy behind-the-back pass yesterday off of a screen-and-roll. I’m not really used to being around guards that can do that, so I’m actually looking forward to being on the same team as him.”
Fresh off leading his Maccabi Haifa team to the Israeli championship in his fourth professional season, Mekel will now try to take his skills to the next level in the league. Doing so, however, will first start with a crash course in Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle’s system during summer-league play.
"First of all, you need to explain to me what does a Euro swagger mean?” Mekel joking asked. “I think that was the type of game that I was used to playing -- a lot of pick-and-rolls, a lot of movement, a lot of sharing the ball. I mean, I’m happy that I’m bringing something different than what guys are used to seeing over here.”
“He’s an experienced player that has done some great things internationally,” Carlisle added after working individually on Mekel’s outside jumper following Thursday’s practice. “You know, Maccabi Tel Aviv had won the Israeli championship 36 out of 40 years, and two of the four times that they’ve lost Gal Mekel was the best player on those two teams, so that’s saying something. We like what we’ve seen of his career, and here we’re working to help him get better at some things that he’s going to need to do better in the NBA.”
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