The Dallas Mavericks’ 2024-25 season has been hampered by injuries, and head coach Jason Kidd recently gave an honest answer about the team’s injury woes. In response to the Mavericks’ increasing number of injuries, the team announced that they had made a roster move in the form of a two-way contract.

The Mavericks announced that they signed Kylor Kelley from the G League to a two-way contract, and in a related roster move, they waived Jazian Gortman to clear space. Kelley joins Brandon Williams and Kessler Edwards as the Mavericks three two-way contract players.

The team’s frontcourt has taken a heavy hit in recent weeks with multiple injuries. Dereck Lively II is currently out due to an ankle injury, and during the Mavericks’ loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday, backup center Maxi Kleber left the game early with what was later diagnosed as a foot injury.

After making a run to the NBA Finals last season on the heels of the PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford trades, the Mavericks have been struggling this season. They are currently 24-22 and in 11th place in the Western Conference standings.

Kylor Kelley’s addition to the Mavericks

Oregon State Beavers forward Kylor Kelley (24) is fouled by California Golden Bears forward Andre Kelly (22) during the second half at Haas Pavilion.
Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images
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Kelley joins the Mavericks having spent the beginning of this season with the South Bay Lakers in the G League. On a two-way contract, he will be limited to only 50 NBA games, and will not be eligible for the playoffs unless his contract is converted to a standard deal. Being on the active roster, but not playing, still counts towards the 50-game maximum.

Kelley’s first NBA experience came ahed of the 2019-2020. After going undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, he signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the San Antonio Spurs. He was most recently in training camp with the Los Angeles Lakers.

During the regular season portion of the G League schedule, Kelley appeared in nine games for South Bay, at a little over 24 minutes per game. He had been averaging 9.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocked shots with splits of 64.5 percent shooting from the field and 66.7 percent shooting from the three-point line.

Kelley is a rim-running big man who is active around the basket on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. He’s a 7-footer who plays with a lot of energy and has yet to get his shot in the NBA. Given the Mavericks’ frontcourt injuries, it’s possible that he gets into the rotation from the get-go.