Dallas Mavericks Waive Forward After Summer League Mishap

The Dallas Mavericks concluded their 2026 NBA Summer League last Friday with a 3-2 record. It was one of the more fun Mavericks Summer League teams in recent memory, as players like Sergio De Larrea and Vsevolod Ishchenko had noteworthy performances.

However, one of the big storylines coming out of Summer League was the lack of Tyler Smith. He was expected to be a major part of the rotation and possibly even a starter.

However, he wasn't that impactful in the first and second games coming off the bench, didn't play at all in the third and fourth games, and then looked quite uninterested in the final game, even if he was productive.

It came out of a story via Noah Weber of The Smoking Cuban that Tyler Smith was late to a film session while in Las Vegas, and it was clear after that he wasn't trusted by the staff.

With that, it's no surprise that Michael Scotto of HoopsHype revealed that the Mavericks had waived Smith from his two-way contract, giving them an opening.

Smith averaged 4.7 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 12 appearances with the Mavs last season, as he didn't sign his two-way contract until late in the year.

This is another bump in the road for Smith, who was the 33rd overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. However, he only spent one season there before being waived ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Smith signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets in December, but was only there for about a month, then signed with the Mavs in late February.

Apr 8, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Tyler Smith (23) against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mavericks Have Intriguing Decision Ahead of Them for Open Two-Way

The Dallas Mavericks have a few different options that they could explore to fill this open two-way spot.

The first, and the one everyone will be looking at, is Vsevolod Ishchenko. He was the 56th overall pick of the most recent draft and has yet to sign any contract with the Mavs yet, but he was impressive in the Summer League.

Dallas may want to see him against a higher level of competition in Europe next year, but with the promise he showed in the Summer League, bringing him over now is absolutely an option.

They could also use the spot to provide depth to their shallow backcourt. They just traded away Ryan Nembhard and could decide to leave the spot open to see who gets waived elsewhere.

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