Mavericks sign Center from Lakers G-League affiliate amid injury predicament

Dallas adds some frontcourt depth after Maxi Kleber's injury.

Oct 4, 2024; Palm Desert, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Kylor Kelley (50) defends against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half at Acrisure Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks were in need of some frontcourt depth, as Maxi Kleber fractured his foot in Saturday's loss to the Boston Celtics. That joined a rash of injuries to the Center rotation, as Dereck Lively II has a stress fracture in his ankle and could be out until the playoffs, and Dwight Powell has a hip strain but hasn't had a timeline announced yet.

In an effort to give the team another capable body at center behind Daniel Gafford, Dallas made a series of moves on Sunday afternoon, releasing Jazian Gortman from his two-way contract and signing Kylor Kelley to a two-way deal.

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Kelley is a 7'0" center who has been bouncing around the G-League and some other professional leagues since he went undrafted out of Oregon State in 2020. He's most recently played for the South Bay Lakers, the LA Lakers' G-League affiliate, but has also been with the Maine Celtics, Raptors 905, and Austin Spurs in the G-League since 2021. His other stops include the Calgary Surge of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, the Bakken Bears in Denmark, and the London Lions of Super League Basketball.

Some thought the Mavericks would call up Jamarion Sharp, who played with the team in the summer league and preseason, but they chose to go with Kelley instead. Kelley was averaging 9.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, and 1.7 BPG with South Bay before getting picked up by the Mavs. His passing upside likely intrigues Dallas, as their offense features a lot of dribble hand-offs.

He'll see pretty significant playing time immediately unless we see P.J. Washington get some minutes as a small-five.

Gortman's tenure in Dallas comes to an unfortunate end after shining in the preseason, but he hasn't seen any minutes recently despite all of the injuries, while the other two-way signees, Kessler Edwards and Brandon Williams, have. He appeared in 16 games this season but hadn't played for the Mavs since January 3rd before Saturday's loss, a game he saw just two minutes of playing time.

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