Mavericks' path to sign Vsevolod Ishchenko has a complicated roadblock

After an impressive five-game run in Summer League for the Dallas Mavericks, many Mavericks fans want to see Vsevolod "Seva" Ishchenko on a two-way contract for the Mavericks next season, but there is a roadblock to making this happen. Dallas can't buy out the 21-year-old from Russian club Lokomotiv Kuban unless they plan on signing him to a standard deal, yet they currently don't have any standard roster spots available.

NBA rules prohibit the Mavericks from aiding Ishchenko in a buyout just to sign a two-way contract, as many Mavericks fans online were wanting the organization to cut John Poulakidas en route to making Ishchenko Dallas' final two-way player.

Mavericks can't buy out Seva to sign him to a two-way deal

All this being said, this doesn't mean Ishchenko won't be joining the Mavericks next season in some capacity, but the road to joining Dallas won't be easy for the youngster. Ishchenko and his team would have to buy out his contract from Lokomotiv Kuban on their own accord if he were to want to sign a two-way contract in Dallas, which isn't an easy ask for a younger player who doesn't have the financial stability compared to most players in the NBA.

If Dallas opted to cut someone else to sign Ishchenko to a standard deal and buy him out from his club, this is also a workaround that could bring him to Dallas. However, that possibility seems unlikely, barring a stellar training camp and preseason from Ishchenko, as he's still relatively unproven coming from overseas and being a late second-rounder.

Ishchenko's energy and versatility on defense were extremely noticeable during Summer League, and there's no doubt he has the tools to become an NBA rotation player if he continues to put in the work. However, he still has much to prove in terms of being effective on a real NBA court, so this isn't a situation where the Mavericks are going to fight tooth-and-nail to bring him over to the U.S. before he's actually proven what he can do against real competition.

Mavericks likely won't rush a decision on Ishchenko before training camp

The most likely outcome here is that Dallas treats this situation fluidly as they head into training camp and preseason. Perhaps Ishchenko and his team raise the funds to buy him out from his contract at Lokomotiv Kuban by themselves, or Dallas buys him out from his deal to sign him to a standard deal if he has an impressive training camp and preseason, but it would be surprising if there's any movement on Ishchenko's next step before the end of summer.

Ishchenko's two-way potential was on full display in Las Vegas, but there's no doubt the Mavericks have higher priorities they still need to tackle this summer than ensuring he has a guaranteed deal before training camp.

Dallas has a huge imbalance of wings on the roster right now, multiple veteran players that have been in trade rumors for months, as well as a clear lack of guard play on their roster currently, so it will be interesting to see the order of operations for any other moves the front office has in the tank before training camp.

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