Things didn't work out for 21-year-old power forward Tyler Smith in the NBA Summer League. On Monday night, he was waived by the Dallas Mavericks, and the last two-way deal went to former Orlando Magic forward Jett Howard. It's another athletic forward in Masai Ujiri's system who cherishes athletic forwards who can space the floor.
Howard takes the final two-way spot from John Poulakidis and Tobi Lawal. Both players have a decent opportunity to see real playing time this season, thanks to Poulakidis' hot shooting and Lawal's ultra-athletic skill set.
Howard is a 6-foot-8 forward from Michigan, but he doesn't have any ties to Dusty May, as Howard left Michigan before May got there, and Howard actually played for his dad, Juwan, who also played for the Mavericks in the early 2000s. He joins a Mavericks team that is heavy on forwards, and it has Ujiri's philosophy written all over it.
Masai Ujiri loves athletic forwards who have athleticism and lengthy defense
It was Kawhi Leonard and then Scottie Barnes. Now, we're not saying Howard is on that level yet, but the identity of a forward like Howard is an immediate attraction to someone like Ujiri, who loves someone with Howard's skill set.
He's a perfect match for today's 3-and-D player. The three-year man from Michigan shot nearly 42 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range, and was a near 95 percent free-throw shooter. It's nice to have a clutch free-throw shooter like that, but we're not going to see too much of him if he's on a two-way deal. Howard also averaged 5.5 points last season.
He played behind too many players on the Magic's depth chart, and he'll join a Dallas team with the same expectations, but comparing Howard and Smith is a drastic difference when we break it down.
It was supposed to be a summer to remember for Smith, who's a young, athletic forward expecting more time this upcoming season, but he had some off-court trouble this summer.
According to Noah Weber of The Smoking Cuban, FanSided's Dallas Mavericks basketball page, Smith was pulled from the starting lineup when he missed a film session. Not the news you want to hear for someone who's trying to prove themselves for more minutes, but at the end of the day, he ended up getting waived.
It's not a penalty worth getting kicked off the team for, but Howard comes in as a three-year pro already.
Howard is still a project in the making, but he already has way more true NBA experience than Smith, and this is a signing that has Ujiri's print all over it.
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