Former BYU point guard Kyle Collinsworth reached an agreement with the Dallas Mavericks to join their summer league team.
ALERT: Donnie Nelson tells https://t.co/NVriu7PM4m #Mavs will have Kyle Collinsworth (6-6 210 PG from BYU) for Summer League
— mike fisher ✭ (@fishsports) June 24, 2016
The Mavericks will participate in both the Las Vegas and Orlando summer leagues. The Orlando league begins on July 2 and runs through July 8, while the Las Vegas league starts on July 9 and runs through July 18.
Collinsworth left BYU as the program leader in assists and rebounds. He is second all-time in steals and owns the NCAA career record for triple-doubles with 12.
His size (6-foot-6, 210 pounds) makes him an interesting matchup for opposing point guards. But if Collinsworth hopes to crack the Mavs roster when the summer league is over, he’ll have to improve on his dreadful shooting percentage.
Draft analyst Jacob Eisenberg from DraftExpress.com said Collinsworth’s poor shooting could potentially doom his career.
“An average finisher, Collinsworth converted a dismal 46 percent rate of his attempts inside the paint for the season,” Eisenberg wrote. “While he does get to the line effectively (attempting 6.7 free throws per 40 minutes pace adjusted) he’s just a 65 percent free throw shooter and needs to rework his mechanics at the line, where he awkwardly stands on his tippy-toes as he releases the shot. He also has much to gain from adding a floater to his game. Per Synergy Sports Technology, Collinsworth hit on just 12-of-50 off-the-dribble jumpers in the half court last season.”
The bad news continues for Collinsworth as Eisenberg broke down more of his shooting woes.
“The poor finishing and free throw shooting offer serious problems for Collinsworth’s NBA credentials, but his perimeter shooting could be a deal-breaker,” Eisenberg wrote. “He projects as somewhat of a liability offensively beyond his passing and often sees defenders dare him to shoot by going under screens. Collinsworth’s jump shooting in general needs a massive overhaul. His release comes well after he’s already reached the summit of his jump and he regularly settles for off-balance shots. For the season, Collinsworth hit just 19-of-85 jump shots and didn’t draw a single foul on a shot outside of the paint. He’s made just 26 3-pointers in more than 4,000 total career college minutes.”
Collinsworth’s shooting struggles are well documented. The Provo native connected on just 8-of-34 3-pointers as a senior.
Still, there may be an opening for Collinsworth.
The Mavs currently have just two point guards on the roster, JJ Barea and Devin Harris. Deron Williams opted out of his contract, but may still re-sign in Dallas and Raymond Felton is an unrestricted free agent, but expressed interest in returning.
With a productive summer league, Collinsworth may find his way onto the main roster that is currently light on point guards.
Collinsworth and the Mavs will play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first game of the Orlando Summer league on Saturday, July 2 at 11 a.m. MDT.
