Dallas Mavericks: Was Isaiah Roby the correct 15th man for the roster?

The Dallas Mavericks announced a few weeks ago that they were signing Isaiah Roby as the final man on the roster. Was this the right move for the Mavs?

Shortly after the 2019 NBA Draft, many Dallas Mavericks fans were left scratching their heads as the Mavs braintrust elected to skip out on some bigger names from the draft pool in order to select Isaiah Roby out of the University of Nebraska. I was particularly disappointed with this selection, but am still happy to eat my words if things change.

Since selecting Roby, there have been a few flashes of excellence mixed in with an abundance of expected rookie level play. His time during the NBA Summer League was average at best and it was clear that he was barely within the top 5 players on the Mavs team full of guys just trying to make an NBA roster.

A lot of that can be contributed to the new rules and style of play that the NBA brings. Josh Reaves clearly adapted to the game quicker than Roby, but the other guys who were doing better have been playing by the NBA rules for some time. That can definitely play a part.

I was very skeptical at first about the Roby pick, but I don’t think the Mavs were completely wrong in giving him that 15th roster spot. Giving up on a newly drafted rookie would certainly be more questionable than picking him in the first place. Roby may have been a better fit with a two-way deal, but overall it is no big deal that he ended up getting that final spot on the roster.

Some people were worried when his contract details came out, but after seeing it broken down, there really is not that much to worry about. Roby was initially billed as the highest paid 2nd round pick in the draft, but it really isn’t that much money. The contract was designed to be front loaded because the Mavs simply had extra money to spend.

The final two years on Roby’s deal would be on the minimum scale and are non-guaranteed years, which is not out of the norm by any means.

My only hope is that the Mavericks take the steps necessary to give Roby every opportunity to succeed. He is a freakish athlete with a ton of upside that could be really good if he can refine it and find a shooting stroke to work with. There is no reason to believe that he is incapable of developing into a worthy role player.

Time is the big thing right now. I am happy to give time to the 15th man on the roster if it could mean getting a guy that is worth having around. Look what happened with Ryan Broekhoff. I’m not sure that Roby is going to be that good, but he’s definitely worth taking a chance on.

Although I would have liked the Mavs to bring back Devin Harris just because of all the time he has spent giving his all in a Mavs uniform, I think the decision to go a little younger was a good one and the right call by the Mavs. They may have still messed it up in the draft, but they got it right after that.