Report: Dallas Mavericks officially sign lockdown defender to contract

Austin McGee

Alabama v Mississippi State / Carly Mackler/GettyImages

A month ago, it was reported that the Dallas Mavericks had signed former Texas A&M guard Dexter Dennis to an Exhibit 10 contract. Today, the signing was made official by a post on Twitter by Mavs PR.

Dennis played five seasons of college basketball, four with the Wichita State Shockers, and one with the Texas A&M Aggies. Dennis holds career averages of 9.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game.

Dennis made a name for himself on the defensive end throughout his collegiate career. He is a great athlete with an exceptional frame. Dennis measures at 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, with a massive 6-foot-11 wingspan.

Report: Mavericks officially sign lockdown defender to contract

On the offensive end, Dennis never played with much efficiency, but he certainly looked to score. Throughout his collegiate career, Dennis held averages of 37.3 percent from the floor and 33.6 percent from beyond the arc. However, Dennis did shoot an above-average 76.7 percent from the free-throw line.

The former Aggie didn't show much creation with the ball in his hands but looks like a worthwhile contributor as a spot-up shooter and transition scorer. While playing for the Orlando Magic in the NBA Summer League, Dennis threw down plenty of highlight dunks.

Dennis averaged 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and a steal per game while playing for Orlando. Additionally, Dennis demonstrated improved efficiency. He slashed a 42.4/35.7/75.0 shooting split during Summer League play.

The Mavericks will enter training camp with 21 players on the roster. As for Dennis, he'll certainly face an uphill battle to make the Dallas roster. Nevertheless, the Mavs are in need of defense, and Dennis projects as a potentially impactful defender in the NBA.

If Dennis continues to display efficient shooting, as he did in the Summer League, he might be considered for Dallas' final two-way contract.

But, Dennis will likely spend the majority of the season with the Mavs G-League affiliate, the Texas Legends, to prove his worth in the NBA unless he has an incredible showing at training camp.

Training camp begins for the Mavericks on September 27 and media day is on September 29. Following training camp, Dallas will play their first preseason game in Abu Dhabi on October 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Stay tuned as we'll continue to keep you updated on Dexter Dennis' NBA journey and the Dallas Mavericks' roster moves throughout training camp.

Austin McGee

Austin McGee is a Senior Contributor for The Smoking Cuban. He was previously the Site Expert at Dunking with Wolves and at Pippen Ain't Easy. Austin began his sports writing career in 2022 and has covered the Dallas Mavericks ever since. His work has been featured on Yahoo! Sports and Bleacher Report. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, going to the cinema, and playing basketball.