On July 22, the Dallas Mavericks signed undrafted Colorado State guard and 2017 Mountain West Player of the Year Gian Clavell to a partially guaranteed minimum deal.
During his redshirt senior season, Clavell averaged 20.4 points per game while shooting 43% from the field and 39% from three. Primarily a score-first guard, Clavell only averaged 1.7 assists per game in 2017. His assist to turnover ratio during his last year at Colorado State was actually negative at 1.7 assists to 2.0 turnovers per game. Although his passing and ball security leaves a lot to be desired, he earned Mountain West All-Defensive team honors in 2017 by averaging 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest. His favorite move might be the step-back, which he goes to multiple times in the highlight video below.
Clavell joined the Miami Heat during the NBA Summer League and in Las Vegas, playing five games averaging 12.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 24 minutes per game. After struggling in Orlando he found his stroke in Las Vegas, shooting 45% from the field and 40% from three. Staying on par with his college days, the 6′ 4” guard only averaged 1.4 assists to 1.2 turnovers in Vegas. His weakness is obviously finding his teammates without turning the ball over, a problem that will probably drive coach Rick Carlisle crazy as he has historically held his guards to a higher standard of ball security than most.
Exhibit 10 Contract
The Dallas front office deserves a round of applause for the way they have handled this offseason. The signing of Clavell is just another example of smart and savvy moves Donnie Nelson and Mark Cuban have made (and have not made) during an offseason that has featured superstars moving teams via trade and free agency.
Per Adam Johnson, Clavell and the Mavs agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract that allows the Mavs to convert his contract to a two-way deal if they choose to do so (more on the NBA’s new two-way deals here). It is important to note that if they choose to convert his deal to a two-way then they will be out of two-way deals for the 2017-2018 season. This flexible contract also allows the team to designate Clavell as an affiliate player, which would put him in the G-League for the year playing for the Mavs affiliate Texas Legends. Dallas now has a super flexible contract with a young guard that can without a doubt score the ball. This flexibility can come in handy later on when the team is deciding who will be on their NBA roster after the preseason training camp.
It appears it's an exhibit 10 deal which can convert to a two-way if Mavs choose. Or team can designate him as affiliate player.
— Adam Johnson (@AdamJ_NBAGL) July 23, 2017
Guards for Days
Reading through Twitter the general consensus regarding this deal is: Why?
The Mavs have enough guards. That thought is a valid one, as the Mavs now have seven guards on the roster with Clavell. However, earlier this week Dallas waived Nicolas Brussino and have now essentially filled his spot with Clavell. Although Brussino played at the forward position, the Mavs thought he could be a ball handler/play maker type forward. Dallas will now give Clavell the opportunity to fill Brussino’s void but at the guard spot instead. Clavell is only 3 inches shorter than Brussino and arguably shoots just as well. Not to mention, the Mavs love to find “diamonds in the rough”, just as they did with undrafted guard Yogi Ferrell and undrafted forward Dorian Finney-Smith. We will see if Clavell sticks after the preseason training camp, which will likely be determined on how well he can share the ball and keep his turnovers down.
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