11 Players the Dallas Mavericks held onto for too long

3. Randy White

Nine All-Stars came out of the 1989 NBA Draft, and the Mavericks missed on seven of them with the eighth overall pick. Instead, Dallas selected White, who had a phenomenal college career at Louisiana Tech and drew comparisons to fellow alum Karl Malone.

White never lived up to the hype. He spent a forgettable five years in Dallas where his defense was porous and his offensive game was non-existent. White averaged 7.4 and 4.9 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game and barely shot over 40 percent from the field. The Mavs finally released him in Sept. of 1994 after the 6’8 forward showed little improvement.

Dallas made the playoffs in White’s first season, but he was not part of the rotation. They won 74 games combined over the next four years, and the 6’8 forward was doing nothing to change that. His poor shot selection, negative assist-to-turnover ratio, foul issues, and subpar defense were contributing factors to losing.

The Dallas Mavericks should have cut bait after Randy White shot under 40 percent from the field in each of his first three seasons. His minutes and production were not improving, and he was nearing his 25th birthday. It was clear that White would never live up to the hype, and Dallas needed to move on.