The Dallas Mavericks, like most other NBA teams, are in the process of rounding out the backend of their roster as the free agent market thins out. Dallas is still reportedly in the market for a backup center like JaVale McGee, but have made no waves in the department recently. Instead they have gone out and added another shooting guard to the roster in John Jenkins, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas.
The deal between Jenkins and the Mavericks is reportedly a three-year agreement for the veteran's minimum. Jenkins' salary will reportedly be fully guaranteed in 2015-16 but only partially guaranteed in years two and three of the contract.
Jenkins was a highly-touted recruit coming out of high school as he ranked 29th in the 2009 recruiting class. Jenkins was a star at Vanderbilt, playing there for three years and averaging 16.9 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 44 percent from three-point range.
After his junior season Jenkins entered the NBA Draft and was selected 23rd overall by the Atlanta Hawks in 2012. Jenkins played a decent amount in his rookie season with the Hawks and was actually pretty effective, but as the team got better over the next couple of years his minutes started to decrease. He only played in 37 games over the past two seasons. In 98 career NBA games Jenkins is a 45 percent shooter from the field and a 38 percent shooter from three-point range.
Jenkins is a 6 foot-4 shooting guard whose defense needs work, but that type of efficiency from a shooting guard is hard to come by. For a guy that shoots a lot from the perimeter, Jenkins' percentages are extremely good. Although he only played in 24 games last season, Jenkins' PER was a 15.9, which is above average and probably means he deserved more playing time.
Jenkins is still only 24 years old and the Mavericks have to like what they see considering they fully guaranteed his salary for year one. He hasn't gotten much of an opportunity in the NBA to show that he can be a solid rotational player, but when he has played he's scored efficiently. This could be a sneaky, solid signing for the Mavericks, assuming Jenkins gets minutes and continues to put up the numbers he did in limited time with the Hawks.
