The 3 most underpaid Dallas Mavericks for next season

3. Derrick Jones Jr.

The Dallas Mavericks signed Derrick Jones Jr. to a one-year deal last week worth $2.7 million.

This deal is worth the veteran minimum, and Dallas should be excited that they landed a player of his caliber for that price. Last season for the Chicago Bulls, Jones Jr. averaged 5.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.5 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game. These stats may be underwhelming, but Jones Jr. was only playing 14.0 minutes per game, and he was making his presence felt on a nightly basis.

Jones Jr. is an elite wing defender and defends extremely well in open space. Dallas desperately needed a lockdown defender to come off the bench, and they got one in Jones Jr. He can guard multiple positions and takes pride in playing sound defense. Joones Jr. brings his all on that end of the floor, and fans should be excited to see what he can do.

Along with being a great defender, Jones Jr. is also a freak athlete and a great dunker. He immediately became the best dunker on the team, and he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 2020.

Jones Jr. will be a deadly lob target for Luka Doncic in transition, and Dallas will need him to bring great value in the minutes that he's given as they are low on defenders off the bench.