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Can John Jenkins Finally Get Career Going with Mavericks?

Jay Knodell|

Mavericks could provide John Jenkins an opportunity to really get career underway

The Dallas Mavericks reached an agreement with free agent shooting guard John Jenkins on Monday, adding some youth and floor stretching ability to the roster to backup new acquisition Wesley Matthews, still recovering from a ruptured achilles, and veteran Devin Harris.

RealGM reporter Shams Charania broke the news:

Jenkins, out of Vanderbilt University, was one of the best shooters available in the 2012 NBA Draft, leading the Atlanta Hawks to select him with the 23rd pick overall. Twice in three college seasons Jenkins hit at least 100 three-pointers, leading the nation with 134 his junior year. He shot almost 44% from deep during his career with the Commodores.

But after a solid rookie campaign under head coach Larry Drew – 61 games, 14.8 minutes, 6.1 points, 38.4% 3P – a regime change, injury problems, and playing for one of the top teams in the eastern conference stifled the growth of the first round talent.

In 2013-14, Jenkins’ first year under new head coach Mike Budenholzer, he played in just 13 games and registered only 158 minutes. He spent time in the D-League, and after experiencing issues with his back after being recalled was shut down to undergo surgery.

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Jenkins spent more time in the D-League this past season, unable to crack the rotation of the East-best Hawks behind sharpshooter Kyle Korver and defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha. Jenkins played just 37 games in two seasons under Budenholzer.

So the question now becomes: Can Jenkins finally get his career going in a new setting with the Dallas Mavericks?

He’s in a good position to do so.

The Mavericks already have one of the best shooting guards in the league in Matthews, but he’s coming off of a significant injury and though the recovery progress seems to be going well we don’t know for sure if he’ll be ready to roll come opening night. Even if he is, Matthews probably won’t be playing big minutes right off the bat.

If Jenkins comes in and plays well early he has a good shot at earning himself the first real rotation spot of his career. And he could be a great fit in Dallas’ scheme. He’s been an efficient scorer in limited minutes – posting a true shooting percentage of .629 in 2014-15 and shooting 37.5% from three-point range in his three-year career – and is good in spot up situations as well as shooting while coming off of a screen.

He showed a lot of that here against the San Antonio Spurs, scoring 23 points back in 2013:

Jenkins doesn’t create much for himself – 41 of his 49 made field goals in 2014-15 were assisted – but he has NBA talent and at only 24-years old still possesses untapped potential. In the right situation he could finally make the most of his abilities and get his career off the ground, and Dallas looks like a great place to do it.

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