Mavericks' dream Summer League script just got shredded by brutal injury luck

With the No. 51 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks selected Melvin Ajinca from France. Dallas had to trade up seven spots to grab Ajinca, and the Mavs decided to utilize him as a draft-and-stash player for the next year. Ajinca spent the past year playing for LDLC of the EuroLeague, and Mavs fans were ecstatic to watch him in Summer League this year playing alongside players like Cooper Flagg, Miles Kelly, and Ryan Nembhard.

Despite the excitement surrounding Ajinca entering this week, he has missed all three Summer League games so far with a groin injury, destroying the perfect chance to see where he's at on his development arc. With Dallas having one open two-way spot, which they will likely take into training camp, it seemed like Ajinca was going to be in a good place to prove he deserves to be considered for this two-way deal, and his journey to making the Mavs' official roster may unfortunately have to wait a few months until he is fully healthy.

After Monday's game against the Charlotte Hornets, Mavs Summer League head coach Josh Broghamer listed Ajinca as "day-to-day" for the time being, and there have been no official updates on the Mavericks' end regarding his availability for the remainder of Summer League, as Dallas plays the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday and a fifth opponent over the weekend.

Melvin Ajinca misses out on Summer League with groin injury

On Tuesday, Broghamer said that Ajinca did some spot shooting and running during practice, but with him not going through full workouts, it feels like his availability for either of the two remaining Summer League games is in doubt. Ajinca would need to quickly ramp up to be able to play tomorrow or this weekend, and the risk of him playing in a Summer League game highly outweighs the reward.

Before Summer League began, Broghamer seemed excited about the opportunity to coach Ajinca, as he noted that he came into camp "bigger and stronger" this time around, but fans may not get to see him suit up as a Maverick until training camp.

Last season for LDLC, Ajinca averaged 5.4 points per game while shooting an incredible 42.7 percent from downtown and 90.9 percent from the free throw line. Ajinca's 3-point shooting took a major jump compared to the season prior, as he shot 30.9 percent from three in the 2023-24 season, showing how hard he has been working since being drafted.

Ajinca feels that his strongest areas of improvement over the last year were his 3-point shooting and defense, and if he can carry his hot shooting from the EuroLeague into training camp and preseason, Mavericks fans will be thrilled. Adding some more wing depth on the roster wouldn't be a bad idea, especially since they could end up trading Olivier-Maxence Prosper to make room for Dante Exum.

As things stand now, the Mavericks have Nembhard and Kelly signed to two-way deals, and the recipient of that third spot remains unknown. With the performances that we've seen thus far at Summer League, it seems like the player who will receive this may not even be on the roster yet.

Ajinca may end up being in the hunt for this final two-way spot if he can put together a strong preseason and training camp, but he lost the chance to get a head start thanks to a nagging groin injury.