Mavericks Cut Piece of Anthony Davis Trade, Sign Standout Undrafted Rookie

The Dallas Mavericks wanted to convert one of their two-way contracts to a standard NBA contract, hoping they could free a roster spot at the trade deadline. That didn't happen, even after trading four players, including Anthony Davis, to the Washington Wizards at the deadline.

They received four players back in that deal: Khris Middleton, Marvin Bagley III, AJ Johnson, and Tyus Jones. With Sunday's deadline to buyout players looming so they can still be eligible to sign elsewhere, the clock was ticking in order to create a spot.

The decision was reached to waive Tyus Jones early Saturday morning, and with that open spot, the Mavericks have converted Ryan Nembhard to a standard two-year NBA contract, per Marc Stein and Shams Charania.

The Dallas Mavericks are signing two-way guard Ryan Nembhard to a new two-year contract, Todd Ramasar and Jaafar Choufani of Life Sports Agency tell ESPN. Nembhard brought a spark on his two-way deal, averaging 9.9 points, 6.1 assists and 44.4% 3-point shooting in 17 starts. pic.twitter.com/GFPhSy8rkb
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 28, 2026

Nembhard had an outstanding 8-game stretch in December, where he averaged 12.9 PPG and 7.1 APG. However, he's a smaller guard, and opposing teams started to pick on him. He's only 5'11" (and even that might be generous), which is a big reason why he went undrafted, but he's an outstanding playmaker and can really help the Mavs' offense, which has put up some points recently.

It was reported earlier in the season that the Mavericks had told Nembhard that they planned to convert him to a standard contract when the opportunity arose. He was reaching the end of his two-way eligibility, so he needed to be converted soon, and we finally saw it happen.

Waiving Tyus Jones was an interesting decision, as they went out of their way to get him at the trade deadline. The Anthony Davis deal originally included Malaki Branham, but one of the last deals of the deadline was sending Branham to the Charlotte Hornets for Jones, who just took on two second-round picks from the Orlando Magic to take on his contract. Jones was making more than Branham, and the Hornets waived Branham soon after the deal, but the Mavs didn't receive any additional compensation for taking on Jones' contract.

Jones only played 8 games with the Mavs, averaging 3.9 PPG and 3.8 APG.

Feb 27, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Tyus Jones (1) brings the ball up court past Memphis Grizzlies guard Walter Clayton Jr. (4) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Could Another Buyout Be Coming for the Mavericks?

A lot of the buyout rumors with the Dallas Mavericks revolved around veteran Khris Middleton, who could be a valuable piece to a contending team. It seems like he's leaning toward staying in Dallas, though, as he's comfortable with Jason Kidd as his head coach.

However, the Mavericks have another two-way player they'd like to convert in Moussa Cisse, and he is also nearing the end of his two-way eligibility.

Seeing who the Mavericks add with the newly opened two-way spot will be interesting to watch, too.

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2025-26 season

Follow MavericksGameday on Twitter and Austin Veazey on Twitter