The JaVale McGee Signing Was a Swing and Miss

JaVale McGee is being waived just a year after he signed a 3-year contract worth 17.2 million with the Mavericks – Ouch.

This is the second time the Mavs have waived McGee, doing so in 2016 as well.

I can see what general manager Nico Harrison was thinking with this signing, but it did not pan out. McGee had been a nice role player for championship teams on the Warriors and Lakers in previous seasons. I thought he could serve a valuable role, being a defensive presence and filling a void the Mavs had at rebounding. They were very average in those areas the year before, and he was a nice compliment at the center to the offensive-minded Christian Wood. McGee would go on to play in 42 games last season, only 8.5 minutes a game, and averaged just 4.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and a career-worst 0.6 blocks per game.

He’s had a long career, and I’m not sure what he has left in the tank.

JaVale perhaps could see the writing on the wall and that he would not be a part of the rotation and subsequently asked to be waived to see if another team was interested. It was a mistake signing, but the Mavs front office is doing the right thing by moving on now. In the NBA, it is usually best to do right by the player. You don’t want to upset a veteran like JaVale McGee, who has played for a lot of organizations and played with a lot of star players, to start bad-mouthing the Mavericks.

You also don’t want to upset his agent, who is sure to represent other players you could have an interest in down the road. The downside to this move is that since the Mavs are stretching his contract, he will count against the Mavs salary cap til 2028.

By waiving McGee, the Mavs will clear just enough cap space to bring in veteran forward Markieff Morris on the veteran minimum.

Morris was brought over from Brooklyn in the Kyrie Irving trade, so he has some familiarity already.

I’m not entirely sure if he would be a part of the rotation, but I think he brings more value than McGee, at the very least. He can shoot decently and is a big-bodied forward, much like Grant Williams. The frontcourt most are projecting will be Grant Williams and Dwight Powell starting, with Maxi Kleber, Richaun Holmes, and first-round pick Dereck Lively II coming off the bench.

I think Morris and Derrick Jones are interesting end-of-the-bench options for Jason Kidd to use, but the reality is if those guys are playing a lot of minutes, something has gone terribly wrong for this team.