Dallas Basketball

Why A.J. Lawson Should Receive Two-Way Contract from Mavs

The Mavs need to invest in younger players with their two-way contracts … something they haven’t done over the last few years.

Dalton Trigg

The Dallas Mavericks haven’t had the best time in Las Vegas Summer League play so far when it comes to wins and losses, as they’ve lost all three contests heading into Thursday night’s matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Jaden Hardy, who the Mavs drafted with the No. 37 pick after making a trade with the Sacramento Kings, has shown some exciting flashes of what he can become, but he’s also struggled with his efficiency. Hardy is averaging 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists, but he’s shooting just 34.7 percent from the field and committing 4.7 turnovers per game as well.

The Mavs have plenty of time to develop Hardy, as they recently signed him to a three-year deal. However, Dallas should also be paying attention to another young talent on their Summer League roster that hasn’t been secured yet — A.J. Lawson.

The former South Carolina Gamecock has been the Mavs’ most impressive prospect in Vegas, as he’s averaging 17.7 points and seven rebounds per game while shooting 54.3 percent from the field, including 52.6 percent from deep.

Not only has Lawson been an effective offensive threat, but he’s also shown potential on defense as well. He’s 6-6 with a 6-7 wingspan and is already able to navigate through screens well despite his slender frame.

Lawson fits the mold for what the Mavs are looking for from their wing positions — the Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock types. Before Summer League began, there were rumors that Dallas might be close to landing a two-way contract with 26-year-old Tyler Dorsey. But after Lawson’s inspiring play in Vegas, giving a two-way contract to him instead would appear to be an easy decision.

Unless the Mavs are able to get back their 2023 first-round pick that was traded to the New York Knicks in the 2019 Kristaps Porzingis deal, it’s going to be hard for them to get their foot in the door on big trade opportunities. Since Dallas currently doesn’t have a first-round pick in next year’s draft, they must take a chance on younger prospects with their two-way contracts. Lawson is 21 years old and will turn 22 on Friday.

Let’s see how the Mavs decide to play this. You can catch Dallas’ game against Milwaukee on ESPN tonight at 7 p.m. central time.

You can follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter at @dalton_trigg

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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