12 Worst free agent signings in Mavericks history

6. Hot Rod Williams

The Mavs signed Williams to a three-year deal worth $6 million in the January of 1999. It was a lockout-shortened season, and Dallas had not reached the postseason since 1990. Hot Rod was 36 years old by the time he arrived, and the Mavericks were hoping that he would be a quality rotation big man.

The veteran only made it 25 games before suffering a back injury that ended his playing career. His production was significantly down as he averaged just 1.2 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game in his lone season in Dallas.

John Williams was a key piece on those Cavaliers teams in the late 1980s to mid-1990s. Hot Rod mostly came off the bench, but often played starters minutes. He just came to Dallas a bit too late in his career to make a massive contribution.

The Mavericks made this mistake again last summer when they signed JaVale McGee to a three-year deal, only to see him fall out of the rotation after just seven regular season games. Williams was not on a minimum contract, and he got taken out by injuries more than anything as the Mavs were his final NBA team.