The Dallas Mavericks have taken a low-risk swing on Jett Howard, signing the former No. 11 overall pick from the 2023 NBA Draft to a two-way contract. It is the kind of move that does not change the front of the roster overnight, but it does give Dallas another guard option and a chance to see whether Howard can become more than a one-dimensional bet on shooting.
Howard arrives in Dallas after three seasons with the Orlando Magic, who selected him with the No. 11 overall pick after his one season at Michigan. This summer, Orlando parted ways with him, and now the Mavericks are using one of their available two-way roster slots to bring him in. That makes the deal simple to understand: Dallas gets a player with first-round pedigree, while Howard gets a new path after an uneven start to his NBA career.
Why this move makes sense
Coming out of Michigan, Howard was viewed as a three-point specialist, but his NBA three-point percentage has been lower than the college mark that helped build that reputation. His college number was nearly 37 percent, while his NBA rate sits at 32.6 percent. That gap matters because it explains both the appeal and the risk here. The appeal is obvious: if Howard’s shooting translates better in a new setting, Dallas may have found a useful piece at very little cost. The risk is just as clear: if the shot does not improve, the profile stays narrow.
Still, the structure of the transaction limits the downside. A two-way contract is exactly the sort of mechanism teams use for development and evaluation, and the Mavericks had one two-way slot available. Howard can now split time between the Mavericks and the Texas Legends, giving Dallas a look at him in both an NBA environment and a developmental one. For a team searching for inexpensive upside, that is a sensible place to take a chance.
The bigger question is not whether Howard once carried first-round value. It is whether Dallas can help him turn that value into something more dependable. If the shot comes around, the signing looks smart in hindsight. If it does not, the Mavericks will have spent little to find out. In that sense, this is exactly the kind of move that can quietly matter later, even if it barely registers now.
