Dallas Mavericks should consider Ding Yanyuhang for a two-way contract

After spending the previous season with the G-League’s Texas Legends, Ding Yanyuhang has a chance to get a two-way contract.

It must’ve been a long time since hearing that name. Just last year, Ding Yanyuhang signed a preseason contract with the Dallas Mavericks. He had the chance to join the few Chinese players to play in the NBA.

Yanyuhang didn’t get much time with the Mavericks in the NBA preseason. He only played one game with them, and in 8 minutes of action, scored 1 point off of a free throw.

After the preseason ended, the Dallas Mavericks waived Ding from the roster. However, his time in Dallas was not over as Rick Carlisle announced that Ding would play for the Texas Legends this season.

Unfortunately for Ding, a knee injury limited his playing time with the Legends. Back in February, it was reported that Ding underwent knee surgery and was not expected to play the rest of the season.

Unfortunately, Ding hardly got to play for the Legends last season, but it doesn’t mean the Mavs should give up on the Chinese prospect. With expectations that there will be open spots for the team’s two-way contracts, Ding should get offered the deal.

Two-way contracts mean that a player spends time during the season with the NBA team’s G-League affiliate, and has a chance to spend at most 45 days with their NBA team. For the 25-year old Yanyuhang, this should be a perfect opportunity. He would be able to play with the Mavericks and learn with the Texas Legends.

As of now, there haven’t been any talks of filling up the two-way roster spots, but the Mavericks should take it into consideration. In his last season with the Shandong Golden Stars of the Chinese Basketball Association, Ding averaged almost 26 points per game in 37 minutes of action over 45 games.

The Dallas Mavericks are going to be using each and every roster spot as a chance to play in the playoffs. Two-way contracts may not have a large impact on a team, but the Mavericks should take a chance on Ding Yanyuhang.