Jett Howard signing leaves Mavericks fans hoping for one more move

The Dallas Mavericks have officially signed Jett Howard to a two-way deal, waiving Tyler Smith in the process. While Mavericks fans should be excited about Howard's upside as a shooter on the wing, there's still one more move that fans have been hoping for this offseason: signing Vsevolod Ishchenko to a two-way deal.

The young wing stole the show for Dallas during Summer League due to his physicality, hustle, defense, and feel for the game, and Mavs fans have been lobbying for the 21-year-old Russian forward to get a contract with Dallas. Mavericks fans have wanted him to be on the team's roster, either on a two-way contract or a standard deal, over the last week or so, and Dallas still has a few avenues that they can explore to expedite his development.

There are still ways to get Ishchenko on the Mavericks

While signing Howard certainly complicates things, as it seemed like Ishchenko could be a candidate to take Smith's roster spot if they cut him, it's not impossible for the Mavs to get him to the NBA this season.

At the very least, they could pursue a buyout with Lokomotiv Kuban to get Ishchenko to the G League. He likely wouldn't be making as much playing for the Texas Legends as he would playing in Russia, but this could be a move that Dallas targets if they believe he can develop enough to be on the roster ahead of next season. This would also potentially give him the chance to come to training camp with the Mavericks, allowing him to fight for a roster spot with some of the other young players.

Dallas could also gauge how he compares to established NBA talent if they invite him to training camp.

Mavs' path to get Ishchenko to Dallas next season just got narrower

This would be appealing for Ishchenko if Dallas can offer him a promise that he would be on a two-way contract before next season, but they can't offer him a two-way deal outright right now without waiving someone else.

After signing Howard, all of the Mavs' two-way roster spots are filled. John Poulakidas, Howard, and Tobi Lawal are all under contract for next season. All three players provide specific skills that Dallas needs, and it seems unlikely that Howard or Lawal is waived. Dallas drafted Lawal in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, and just signed Howard today, meaning that the best way to get Ishchenko on the roster would be to waive Poulakidas.

This would be an extremely risky move, as Poulakidas was the Mavericks' best shooter to end last season, but it's a move they could explore if they believe Ishchenko has more long-term upside.

Mavericks fans should be excited about Howard, the No. 11 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, but this doesn't mean that they're ready to give up on Ishchenko just yet. Dallas will still have his draft rights, meaning he can continue to develop overseas next season, but many Mavericks fans are still hopeful that the team can find a way to get him on the roster, or at least to the United States, for next season.

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