According to the Shams, the Mavericks are currently short of manpower, with Exum suffering a broken left hand and no date set for his return. In addition, salary expert Bobby Marks added that the Mavericks’ two current two-way contracts, Edwards and Brandon Williams, are nearing their playing caps.
Specifically, Kesler-Edwards is currently available for only three games, while Brandon Williams has six games left. Under the rules of two-way contracts, such players are in principle G-League players, and while they are also eligible to play in NBA games, they can only play a maximum of 50 games in a season and cannot participate in the playoffs.
However, despite the limitations, the two two-way contract players still played a big role in the Mavericks’ game against the Rockets, with Williams finishing with a team-high 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting in 26 minutes off the bench and adding four rebounds, two assists and one steal. Edwards, on the other hand, started 34 minutes and finished with 12 points, six rebounds, one steal and four blocks despite a lower shooting percentage (4 of 10).
The two players’ outstanding performance has certainly injected new vitality into the Mavericks, but it has also left the team’s management with a difficult problem: how to maximize the ability of these two players in the limited number of games? Given how few games they have left, the Mavericks may need to consider using both players more carefully in the next few games to avoid wasting their valuable appearances.
In addition, the Mavericks, also need to solve the problem of manpower shortage as soon as possible. Whether it’s through trade, free agency or another young player, the Mavericks need to find players who can fill a hole in their roster as soon as possible to ensure they can remain competitive for the rest of the season.
