The Mavericks announced Thursday that they have re-signed Theo Pinson, the swingman who became known in the playoffs as a huge morale booster and one of the few players in NBA history to force a turnover without playing in a game.
The 6-5 Pinson played 19 games for the Mavericks last season, averaging 2.5 points in just under 8 minutes per game.
But his biggest contributions came in the playoffs. As a player on a two-way contract, he was not eligible to play in the postseason, but he was a great influencer from the sidelines. He quickly ingratiated himself with teammates and all of them believe that Pinson’s contributions will be far more tangible on the court in the coming season.
In Game 2 at Golden State in the Western Conference finals, he was yelling from the sideline in a white shirt and the Warriors’ Steph Curry, thinking Pinson was a home uniform with a white jersey, sent a pass to Pinson on the sideline.
That was one of the plays that got the Mavericks fined for “bench decorum.” But any coach would gladly pay for a well-timed turnover.
The bottom line is that Pinson is exactly the kind of player you want on your team near the end of your bench. If he makes his way up the ladder to a bigger role than that, it’s all gravy.
Below is the Mavericks’ release announcing the signing.
MAVERICKS SIGN THEO PINSON
The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed guard/forward Theo Pinson. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Pinson (6-5, 212) returns for his second season with Dallas after he joined the club midway through the 2021-22 campaign. In 19 games for the Mavericks last year, he averaged 2.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game. Pinson scored a season-high 16 points (5-5 FG, 4-4 3FG, 2-2 FT) in the team’s regular-season finale against San Antonio on April 10.
The Greensboro, North Carolina, native originally signed a pair of 10-day contracts with Dallas under the COVID-related hardship allowance (12/20/21 and 12/31/21), before signing a two-way contract with the club (1/10/22).
In 87 career games with Brooklyn, New York and Dallas, Pinson has averaged 2.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 8.7 minutes.
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