Mavericks revive forgotten Swiss Army knife in surprise signing

The Dallas Mavericks finally caught some sort of break on Thursday afternoon, as it was announced the Mavericks will be signing Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to a 10-day contract via one the hardship exceptions granted from the NBA due to Dante Exum and Dereck Lively II both having season-ending injuries.

Dallas was limited in terms of their space to use these exceptions due to being so close to the second apron, but 10-day contracts are the most inexpensive contracts in the league, so the Dallas was able to make it work. After not making the cut onto Dallas' main roster following an impressive preseason and training camp with the Mavericks, Robinson-Earl signed with the Indiana Pacers, appearing in 17 games this season before getting cut.

Robinson-Earl struggled with his efficiency on a league-worst Pacers team, but he's been playing phenomenal for Dallas' G-League affiliate after joining the Texas Legends in this past month. In 11 games for the Legends this season, Robinson-Earl averaged 19.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game with shooting splits of 52.2/34.7/94.4.

Mavericks sign JRE to 10-day thanks to hardship exception

While creating the space to sign Robinson-Earl for the rest of the season will likely hinge on what Dallas does ahead of the trade deadline, the 25-year-old is certainly a viable candidate to join the Mavericks for the rest of the season if they create the space eventually. Robinson-Earl is a versatile bigger-bodied wing, as he's improved his dribble-drive game immensely after coming into the league as an undersized five-man.

He's not the most prolific defender in the world, but he's quick enough to stay with bigger wings, and brings Dallas a punch of offense at the four spot that they desperately need given P.J. Washington's inconsistency recently. Washington has dealt with many ankle issues this season, so this isn't to say Robinson-Earl is better than him whatsoever, but he gives Dallas a great backup option to Washington, as well as a plug-and-play starter if Washington is out at all.

Given all of Dallas' injury woes at center as well as the fact Anthony Davis could be traded, Robinson-Earl can also be a floor-stretching center for Dallas if they are running thin on big men during games, as this could give Dallas a fun small-ball offense, even if they'd suffer defensively due to Robinson-Earl's moderate rim protection.

Mavericks fans and analysts didn't know exactly how Dallas would make use of their hardship exceptions, but Dallas was clearly smart to file for them given the ability to sign someone like Robinson-Earl to a 10-day.

Hopefully, Robinson-Earl's time in Dallas isn't condensed to these 10-days, as they could idealistically sign him to another 10-day, then for the rest of the season if they create the space and he's playing well, but we'll have to see if he plays as promising as he did in preseason for Dallas before anything.