DALLAS — In an instant Rodrigue Beaubois’ time as a Dallas Maverick may have come to an end.
Showing signs of stardom his rookie season when he dropped a career-high 40 points in 30 reserve minutes against the Golden State Warriors on March 27, 2010, and doing so again when he totaled 16 points off the bench in the finale of the Mavericks’ first-round playoff series defeat in five games at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs later that year, Beaubois would find his first four seasons unfulfilling after being hampered by injuries.
Requiring surgery to repair a broken left foot twice, Beaubois would fail to live up to high expectations set for him while finding himself in and out of Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle’s rotation. Then, almost as fast as it began, Beaubois’ tenure in Dallas — like his 2012-13 season — may have come to an end after going down in the first half of the Mavs’ 107-101 home loss to Oklahoma City on March 17 due to a left second metacarpal fracture.
“I don’t know what to say,” Carlisle said at the time of the injury before Beaubois underwent successful surgery three days later. “I feel very bad for him. He had been putting the work in and obviously was playing well and this was a game where we needed him. He’s had some bad luck with injuries. … I just hope he can get back.”
But Beaubois wouldn’t get back before the end of the season. Now, the oft-injured guard enters free agency uncertain of his future.
Appearing in 45 games this season, Beaubois finished averaging a career-low 4.0 points on 36.9 percent shooting from the floor and 29.2 percent from 3-point range in only 12.2 minutes an outing. The 25-year-old also again showed glimpses of becoming a valuable contributor for the Mavericks, scoring a season-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting in just 16 minutes of action against the Spurs in a 113-107 home loss on Jan. 25.
And although he hoped to make a return to the lineup if the Mavs were to have made it to a 13th straight appearance in the playoffs, the young floor general will now hit the open market unaware of where he will call home next season.
“I feel bad for the kid,” 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki said while lending support to his young teammate. “It’s just sad. It’s just so many injuries. I mean, he’s been here four years and he missed a lot of action. He broke his foot twice and dislocated numerous fingers. He had to battle through that and then finally breaks his hand. It’s tough. We feel bad for him, but he’s a good kid and he’ll stick around.
“The good thing is when you break your hand you can still work out and run and stay in shape. This is obviously a big summer for him. He’s a free agent. He obviously wants to stay in the league and have a long career. Hopefully he can get healthy and we’ll see where he winds up next year.”
Share and comment