Summer League breakout may have just forced Mavericks to sign former Laker

Maxwell Lewis just showed the Mavericks exactly why they should keep him around.

Will Miller

LeBron James, Maxwell Lewis / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks suffered another casualty to their Summer League roster in their fourth game in Las Vegas versus the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday evening, as Ryan Nembhard sat out of the contest alongside Cooper Flagg, who was already announced to be resting for the rest of his time in Vegas.

This gave Dallas and Summer League head coach Josh Broghamer the opportunity to get a better look at the offensive repertoires of some of the other players on the team, as sharpshooter Miles Kelly and third-year wing Maxwell Lewis led the way for Dallas in the contest. While Kelly has had an impressive Summer League up to this point, Lewis had looked frantic offensively for most of Summer League, as he struggled shooting the ball, and his drives looked pre-determined compared to taking what the defense gave him.

However, Lewis completely flipped the script versus the 76ers, as he looked much more comfortable creating off-the-dribble en route to 23 points off 10-20 shooting and 3-8 shooting from outside. Being one of the only players on the roster with actual NBA experience after playing with the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets in the last two seasons, it was expected Lewis would be one of the better players on this roster, and he may have just earned himself and exhibit-10 or two-way deal with the Mavericks based off this one performance alone.

Mavericks should try and sign Maxwell Lewis to an E-10 or two-way deal

Lewis is a rangy and wiry wing with decent strength, as he's been a pesky on-ball defender throughout his time with the Nets and through this Summer League, but some semblance of an offensive game was finally seen from lewis on Wednesday after a rough start in Summer League, as he was attacking off closes-outs, draining 3-pointers, and even making a few tough buckets in the in-between game.

Besides maybe Jordan Hall, Lewis impressed the most out of any Maverick at Summer League, barring Flagg and the two-way guys, and he or Jamarion Sharp are easily the most likely candidates to get the last two-way spot this upcoming season if Dallas is looking to promote from within. Lewis brings some chaotic, but good energy to the game on the defensive side of the ball as well, and he's a player who could one day become a versatile 3-and-D wing if he hones in on his development.

Because of Sharp's size and rim presence as well as the fact there are other players from Summer League Dallas' front office may be looking at to fill their last two-way spot, it would be surprising if Lewis earned a two-way before training camp, as that might take another showing of this caliber in Dallas' final Summer League game on Friday versus the Orlando Magic.

However, Lewis at least earned a training camp invite (exhibit-10) from the Mavericks because of his previous NBA acumen and this one dynamic performance, so it will be interesting to see if Dallas' front office tries to bring him into training camp or not, as he'd be the perfect type of player at the back half of the rotation if someone like Olivier-Maxence Prosper gets traded.

Lewis hasn't shown some absurd level of potential in Summer League, but he's proved to be a worthy flyer that's still only 22 years old, and he was playing a decent role for the Nets toward the tail end of last season, so the Mavericks shouldn't let him enter another team's training camp if at all possible.

Will Miller

Will Miller is a senior contributor and is in his second year with The Smoking Cuban. Will has been following the Dallas Mavericks for over a decade and is currently working on getting a Bachelors in Science in Sports Journalism from the University of North Texas, as he is also covering sports for the North Texas TV station. While Will is opening up his coverage to cover other sports for UNT, basketball and the Dallas Mavericks are his true passion and he hopes to continue writing and producing Mavericks related content as his career continues. Will has very solid in-game analysis and knowledge about the intricacies of the game, and has a very broad understanding about the NBA as a whole. Going forward Will is looking to be more expansive in his coverage of the Mavericks beyond writing as well. Outside of writing about the Mavericks, Will enjoys hanging with friends, going to the gym, and watching other sports and live events.