Dallas Mavericks to Sign P.J. Dozier of South Carolina

The Dallas Mavericks added to their training camp on Thursday as they are lining up to sign undrafted guard P.J. Dozier to a partially guaranteed deal.

Armed with another two-way roster spot and a final regular season roster spot, the Dallas Mavericks look to have some competition take place this coming fall in training camp.

After bringing in German big man Maxi Kleber and Gian Clavell, Dallas added another name to their training camp list as they grabbed a guard from the Lakers Summer League team that was hidden behind the bigger names.

P.J. Dozier is a 6’6″ guard out of the University of South Carolina with a 6’11 wingspan according to DraftExpress. Athletically and physically, he’s exactly what you want in a young prospect.

Even though he went undrafted on draft night, Dozier was projected by many to be a second round pick.

Draft Express had Dozier as their 52nd ranked prospect heading into the draft while The Ringer had Dozier a bit higher at 42.

Dozier made his presence known this past season when he was part of the two-headed monster with Sindarius Thornwell on a South Carolina team that surprised everyone by making it to the Final Four after impressive wins against Duke (2), Baylor (3) and Florida (4).

"“Former South Carolina Mr. Basketball, out of Spring Valley High School, P.J. Dozier turned down scholarship offers from Michigan, North Carolina, Georgetown and Louisville, electing to stay in home and play under Head Coach Frank Martin.” – Source: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/P.J.-Dozier-7268/ ©DraftExpress"

By electing to go to the lesser known South Carolina, Dozier might have taken some spotlight off of his career, but he made up for it come tournament time.

In his sophomore season at South Carolina, Dozier averaged 14 points a game on 28 minutes a night. But it’s his defensive game that could be intriguing at the next level.

"“From a physical standpoint, Dozier has an elite set of tools that allow him to impact the game in a variety of ways, most notably with his versatility on the defensive end. At the 2017 NBA Combine, Dozier measured just under 6’7 with shoes, weighed in at 201 pounds, and posted a wingspan of 6’11.” – Source: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/P.J.-Dozier-7268/ ©DraftExpress"

After Dozier went undrafted, he came on board with the Los Angeles Lakers’ Las Vegas Summer League team where he only played a couple of games due to a lingering ankle injury. Also, he was stuck behind a Lakers Summer League team that was “loaded” in comparison to Summer League talent and would go on to win the Las Vegas Summer League title.

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Now, after coming out of Summer League, the Dallas Mavericks are jumping at the opportunity to add a player that was projected by many to hear his name called on draft night.

This is exactly the type of player Dallas needs to target for their remaining training camp invites.

Dallas, like some other teams around the league, decides to sign players to partially guaranteed deals as they lock them into training camp in the fall. He will come in right away and compete for an open two-way roster spot or potentially the last regular season roster spot.

Dozier’s size and athleticism brings intrigue at 20 years old for the back court. Even though he needs improvement on his offensive game, this is exactly the type of flyer guy that Dallas needs to target.

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I like Dozier’s early chances of impressing the brass in Dallas this fall.