Mavericks' no-brainer decision makes their Brandon Williams stance crystal clear

The Dallas Mavericks didn't trumpet the decision from the mountains. They didn't paste it all over social media. They didn't ride stallions through the streets of Dallas to ensure everyone knew. Yet quietly, they made an important decision on Wednesday to keep Brandon Williams in a Mavericks uniform, hopefully for a very long time.

The path that Williams has taken into the NBA has been a circuitous one. After playing for the Arizona Wildcats, the 6'1" point guard went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft and entered the G League. COVID protocols gave him a few 10-day contracts, but he didn't make a real impact on the league.

After two seasons in the G League, the Dallas Mavericks signed him to a two-way contract in December of 2023. It was in his second season with the Mavs that he began to break out, showing real flashes and becoming an important part of the Mavericks' rotation after they lost Kyrie Irving to injury. That led to the Mavericks offering him a full roster spot at the end of the 2024-25 season.

This season Williams has settled in as the all-time backup point guard; he is better than veteran D'Angelo Russell, but not quite as great of a fit as rookie Ryan Nembhard. For a player on a minimum deal, that's a steal, and well needed as the Mavericks' transactions as of late have been a mixed bag.

Williams is not large but plays bigger than he is, attacking the rim and creating shots for himself and others. His 3-point shot has largely been MIA all season, but he did hit the shot of his career on Tuesday night to take down the Sacramento Kings, catching a pass from Cooper Flagg and burying the triple.

Brandon Williams could have been waived

Yet for all that Williams has been a clever find for the Dallas front office, his place on the roster came with real uncertainty this season. He signed a two-year contract in April that was only guaranteed for $200,000 at signing. Another $650,000 guaranteed on Opening Night, when the Mavericks went through some roster gymnastics to carve out space to keep Williams and sign Dante Exum.

Would Dallas keep Williams, or would another opportunity present tiself where they would trade him or waive him? The latter option seemed inexplicable, but they didn't have any other paths to clearing money outside of a trade. Waiving Williams was on the table, even if it seemed like a no-brainer to keep him around.

That option, as unlikely as it was, is now completely off the table. All contracts in the NBA become fully-guaranteed on January 10th, and players have to be clear of waivers for that not to take effect, so the functional dealdine is January 7th. Wednesday's deadline came and went, and Williams is now fully guaranteed to stay with the Mavericks.

If he can rediscover his 3-point shot, he has a chance to sign a mid-tier contract this summer and continue his NBA dream. If he can't shoot, however, then the possibility of the Mavericks moving on in the face of Nembhard and Kyrie Irving being in place is possible. A lot of money may be on the line for Williams down the stretch of this season.

What's not on the line is this year's money. The Mavericks made their stance on Brandon Williams crystal clear: they want him around.