Will Mavericks Regret Letting Guard Walk in Free Agency to Warriors?

Former Dallas Mavericks guard Brandon Williams signed a one-year, $2.4 million contract with the Golden State Warriors this offseason.

It's fully non-guaranteed, though $1.4 million of it would be guaranteed if he's still on the roster on opening night, and then would become fully guaranteed on January 10th.

The Warriors have 15 players on standard contracts and don't have much wiggle room financially, so unless they make a trade, Williams should be with them moving forward.

It was reported that the Mavericks had some interest in bringing Williams back early in the offseason, but Williams going to Golden State on a non-guaranteed deal would seem to disprove that.

The Mavericks are still a little weak in the backcourt, so it would've made sense to bring Williams back. He had a career year last season, averaging 13.0 PPG and 3.9 APG.

Stephen Curry thought that Williams was a good enough player to personally recruit him to the Warriors, so why didn't the Mavericks bring him back? Could they come to regret this decision?

Apr 3, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Brandon Williams (10) makes a jump shot during the game between the Mavericks and the Magic at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mavericks Betting on Brandon Williams Not Being a Winning Player

The Mavericks, who are now led by team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz, likely believe that Brandon Williams is the classic empty-stats player. While he has had his exciting bursts over the last few seasons, the Mavericks have been a bad basketball team.

What's hurting Williams most is his lack of a three-point shot. He was the third-worst shooter in the NBA last year among anyone with more than 100 attempts from deep, and he doesn't bring anywhere near the level of defense that Dyson Daniels and Amen Thompson do; they are the only two worse than him.

The Mavericks are getting Kyrie Irving back from injury this year, but they only have Marcus Sasser and rookie Sergio De Larrea behind him. While that room has a lot of potential, especially De Larrea, that depth could be a major concern entering the season.

Williams could've given them at least a spark off the bench. They would've needed to create another roster spot to make it work, and that, combined with his lack of three-point shooting, made it easier to move on.

It already took Klay Thompson giving back nearly half of his salary to agree to a buyout with the Mavericks to get down to 15 roster spots, and it would've been even harder to find another opening.

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