The Mavericks already had 15 players – the regular-season roster limit – with guaranteed contracts when they signed Charlie Villanueva to a non-guaranteed deal.
Dallas apparently intrigued Villanueva, who also reportedly had an offer with the Clippers, a team with an open roster spot.
But when he arrives at Mavericks training camp, he’ll find an even more crowded field of players trying to break onto the roster.
Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
https://twitter.com/DwainPrice/status/5 ... 2862683136
To clarify, a team must sign a player to an NBA contract to bring him to training camp. So, Liz has an NBA contract. It’s just likely fully unguaranteed or maybe barely guaranteed. That way Dallas can waive him before the regular season with no or minimal penalty.
Liz just played in the World Cup for the Dominican Republic, a team dominated by Francisco Garcia, which should say something about the squad’s caliber. The Dominicans went 2-4 in the tournament, and Liz ranked fourth on the team with 6.5 points per game.
But he made 11-of-23 3-pointers (49 percent), and he shot 39 percent in Venezuela last year and 37 percent in Puerto Rico the year prior. Maybe that single dimension gets him to the NBA.
All said, it will be difficult for Liz to supplant a Maverick with a guaranteed contract, let alone the other players – Villanueva, Ivan Johnson and Eric Griffin – also trying to make the team without a guaranteed deal. Most teams will favor the players they already have to pay, though maybe Dallas eats the salary of Ricky Ledo or Gal Mekal.
I just wouldn’t count on that.
http://bleacherreport.com/tb/ddYfQ?utm_ ... -mavericks
