Dallas Mavericks: Summer league squad moves to 3-1 with win over Croatia

The Dallas Mavericks summer league team has gotten off to a good start and looks like a team that could potentially produce some future NBA talent.

The NBA summer league in Las Vegas has become a really exciting event over the past couple years and the Dallas Mavericks have done fairly well. Last year was the first year where all 30 teams had a summer league team and it was a huge success. After preliminary play, the 30 teams are seeded and each one of them gets a chance to win the tournament.

Last year, there were a ton of upsets in the tournament. Of the 30 teams, only 5 finished preliminary play with a 3-0 record, but 3 of those 5 teams were ousted by the 2nd round. In fact, of the 14 first round games player, 9 of them resulted in an upset. This goes to show that you have to play your best games during the tournament or nothing else matters.

The Mavs were not one of the undefeated teams, but they were upset in the first round as the 9-seed. With a goal to improve on that this year, the Mavs have just finished the preliminary games with a 3-1 record after wins over Brooklyn, Houston and Croatia and a tough comeback loss to Sacramento.

The team has been led by Cameron Payne who has been in the NBA since the 2015-16 season, playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls and, most recently, the Cleveland Cavaliers. He finds himself now fighting for a contract. In three summer league games, he has likely earned a spot with someone.

That is even more evident considering he did not play at all in today’s game. The speculation currently is that he has an offer on the table and no longer has to risk playing in summer league.

Aside from Payne, the Mavs have also gotten a lot of good play from former team member, Antonius Cleveland and rookies Isaiah Roby and Josh Reaves. All three of these guys are fighting for a potential two-way contract or even the final roster spot for the Dallas Mavericks.

Josh Reaves has been the most impressive of the three so far in my opinion. His shooting, playmaking and defense have all been good and his decision making has been better than expected at this point. If I was selecting the final roster spot from this summer league team, he would be my pick.

Then there is Antonius Cleveland. Cleveland had a 10-day contract with the Mavericks in the 2017-18 season and although he did not shoot the ball well, he was long and athletic and played good defense. An injury sidetracked his time with Dallas, but his play this summer could definitely warrant a two-way contract going forward.

Lastly, Isaiah Roby has been a solid player for the team this summer. He has had some really good moments on both offense and defense, including a solid 9 point effort on 4-4 shooting in today’s game. Roby looks like he will probably have a spot with the Mavs in some capacity this year, but still has a lot of room to grow. His length and ability at this point are both good signs going forward.

The Mavs summer league team is looking good so far. With preliminary play done for Dallas, next up is the tournament. They may be without Cameron Payne going forward, but this team can still make a splash against the rest of the NBA’s summer league teams. Stay tuned for an update on when the next game will be played.