Vegas action begins Monday afternoon.
Basketball returns to Las Vegas this week. After the NBA canceled its annual Summer League tournament last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all the teams and media are back in the desert.
The Dallas Mavericks begin their weeks-long run in Vegas on Monday afternoon. They take on the Philadelphia 76ers in the first of four scheduled games. While some of the names on the roster are familiar—Josh Green, Nate Hinton, Tyrell Terry—fans might not have an in-depth knowledge of the rest of the players. As such, here is a brief rundown of the Mavericks’ Summer League roster, coached by new assistant Greg St. Jean.
LJ Figueroa
The 6-foot-6 Oregon Duck transfer went undrafted this summer but makes his NBA debut with the Mavericks Summer League team. During his senior season, he averaged 12.3 points, six rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.6 steals in 26 games. Figueroa has played internationally with the Dominican Republic in 2016 and 2019.
Robert Franks
This is Franks’ second trip to the desert. The 6-foot-7 forward played three games with the Charlotte Hornets in Las Vegas after going undrafted in 2019. He later signed a two-way contract with the team before being cut in early 2020. He later signed a series of 10-day contracts with the Orlando Magic. In seven games, he averaged 6.1 points and two rebounds.
Josh Green
Fresh off his bronze medal winning performance with Australia at the Tokyo Olympics, Green joins the Mavericks in Vegas. While he didn’t see a lot of playing time in his rookie season, the 6-foot-6 Green started five of the 39 he appeared in. He averaged 2.6 points and two rebounds. Green should be a standout on the Summer League team.
Nate Hinton
Hinton signed a two-way contract with the Mavericks last summer after going undrafted in 2020. The 6-foot-5 Houston Cougar appeared in 21 games last season and averaged two points in 4.4 minutes per game. Along with Green and Terry, Hinton has some of the most NBA experience on the team.
Feron Hunt
Hunt is a local product, having attended Southern Methodist University in the posh Dallas suburb of University Park. During his junior season, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 11.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and shot a career-high 56 percent from the floor.
Carlik Jones
The 6-foot-1 guard played his senior year at Louisville after transferring from Radford. At Louisville, Jones was named the All-ACC First Team selection and the 2020-21 AP ACC Rookie of the Year. He averaged 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 19 games. He shot 40.2 percent overall and 32.1 percent from downtown.
Eugene Omoruyi
After transferring to Oregon for his senior season, Omoruyi finished his collegiate career earning high honors. He started all 28 games and averaged a career-high 17.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. The 6-foot-6 forward shot 47.3 percent overall and 37.6 percent from deep, helping him be named to the All-Pac-12 First Team.
EJ Onu
Onu is a blocking machine. At Shawnee State, the 6-foot-11 center averaged 16.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and an NAIA-leading 4.5 blocks per game his senior year. In 2021, he was an NAIA champion, First Team NAIA All-American, and the Mid-South Conference Player of the Year. During his career, he became Shawnee State’s all-time leader in blocks, totaling 529 in four years.
Tariq Owens
Owens is another player with some NBA experience. He signed with the Phoenix Suns in 2019 and again in 2020 on a two-way deal. He appeared in three games with the Suns during the 2019-20 season and averaged 1.3 points and one rebound. The 6-foot-10 forward from Texas Tech has spent most of his professional career in the G League with the Northern Arizona Suns and Long Island Nets. In the G League Bubble with the Nets, he averaged 8.6 points, three rebounds, and 1.4 steals in nine games.
Devonte Patterson
This isn’t Patterson’s first rodeo with the Mavericks. The team brought in the 6-foot-7 forward on an Exhibit-10 contract as part of their training camp roster prior to the start of the 2020-21 season. The two-time First Team All-SWAC player scored three points and had an assist in six total minutes in two preseason games. Not only that, he has a long history with Mark Cuban.
“He has length, athleticism, can shoot the ball, and defend,” Cuban told MMB last year. “He was the SWAC Player of the Year. We think he has a shot to make it.”
Devontae Shuler
Playing four years at Mississippi, the 6-foot-2 Shuler produced an impressive resume. He appeared in 124 total games, starting 99. During his senior season, he averaged team highs in points and assists, 15.3 and 3.3, respectively. He was also named First Team All-SEC by the conference coaches and awarded the Howell Trophy, an honor presented to the best collegiate basketball player in the state of Mississippi.
Tyrell Terry
Dallas drafted Terry with the 31st overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-2 point guard appeared in 18 games and averaged one point and 1.1 rebounds in 5.1 minutes. Although he was known for his shooting prowess at Stanford, he shot just 31.3 percent and missed all seven of his three-point attempts.
Dallas Mavericks Summer League Schedule
- Monday, August 9: vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 3 p.m. CT (NBA TV)
- Wednesday, August 11: vs. Utah Jazz, 8 p.m. CT (NBA TV)
- Saturday, August 14: vs. Denver Nuggets, 2 p.m. CT (NBA TV)
- Sunday, August 15: vs. Sacramento Kings, 2 p.m. CT (ESPN 2)
All games will also stream on Mavs.com.
We discuss the end of free agency for the Dallas Mavericks here. If you want to listen to the podcast in your favorite app, go search Mavs Moneyball Podcast and subscribe. Again, here’s the direct link and you can also click on the embedded player below.
Leave a Reply