Dallas Mavs Sign Tony Bradley Ahead of Preseason Finale vs. Detroit Pistons

Ahead of Friday's preseason finale against the Pistons, the Mavs announced officially signing free agent center Tony Bradley.

DALLAS — Ahead of the Dallas Mavericks' preseason finale against the Detroit Pistons on Friday, the team announced the signing of free agent center Tony Bradley. 

The type of contract Bradley signed with the Mavs is an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell DallasBasketball.com. Dallas already has 15 players signed to the active roster, with Markieff Morris being the only player with a meaningful amount of compensation being non-guaranteed. Morris' deal comes with $200,000 of his near $3.2 million for 2023-24 being guaranteed until his salary becomes fully guaranteed if he remains on the roster past Jan. 10, 2024. 

Bradley, 25, is a 6-foot-10 center with a staggering 7-foot-5 wingspan. The physical intangibles he provides were intriguing to NBA scouts when he entered the NBA in 2017. However, he has proven unable to carve out a consistent role with a team in six seasons. 

Bradley was selected with the No. 28 overall selection in the draft. He was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Utah Jazz on draft night and spent the first three seasons of his career as a member of the Jazz. 

The Jazz selected Bradley intending to be an "anticipatory draft pick" by Utah's then-general manager Dennis Lindsey, who currently is involved in the Mavs front office. The goal for the Jazz was to utilize the G League early in Bradley's career for him to develop into a key player down the line.

Tony Bradley during a pre-gme workout with the Chicago Bulls

“I feel like I never really got a shot to prove that I could be on the floor,” Bradley told The Salt Lake Tribune back in 2018 about his time in Utah. “They already had a plan for what they wanted to do. I’m not complaining; I’m just trying to learn and show that I belong. I’m just trying to work.”

During the six seasons Bradley has played in the NBA, he's had stints with the Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Chicago Bulls. He most recently was a member of the Bulls before being waived on Feb. 21. He appeared in only 12 games last season and remained unsigned until reaching an agreement on a contract with the Mavs.

Bradley has played 179 career NBA games, averaging 4.4 points and 4.1 rebounds. The most games he's played in a single season was 58 in 2019-20, averaging 11.4 minutes per game. He's only played even a quarter of a team's games within a single season in one other campaign, which was in 2021-22 when he played 55 games with the Bulls.