Maurice Ndour was one of the pleasant surprises from the NBA Summer League when he played for the New York Knicks team as he really impressed a lot of people. Ndour used his Summer League success to get a contract from the Dallas Mavericks with a lot of guaranteed money and he seems to have a pretty good shot to make the roster. Ndour is listed as a power forward but he has reportedly played some point guard at practice, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com.
Ndour is a 6 foot-9 forward that has a 7 foot-4 wingspan and a 9 foot-1 standing reach so the fact that he is playing point guard is definitely strange. Despite his unusual height for the position, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle reportedly said that Ndour did well with playing point guard. The versatility Ndour is showing in practice will only help him in his quest to make the team as a player that can play more positions is much more valuable than a player with one position.
The reason Ndour was asked to play point guard at practice was because Deron Williams is dealing with a calf injury. Williams is entering his first year with the Mavericks and is hoping a fresh start will help him rejuvenate his career but injuries have been an issue for him in recent years and they are already popping up this season.
Behind Williams on the point guard depth chart the Mavericks have Devin Harris, J.J. Barea and Raymond Felton so they seem pretty deep at the position on paper but Felton dealt with injuries all last season and the Mavericks may be forced to play two point guards at a time while Wesley Matthews works his way back from an Achilles tear.
Ndour is still unlikely to see any time at the point guard spot when the regular season begins but it doesn't hurt for the Mavericks to test it out. Ndour is one of those guys who was unheralded coming out of college and will do anything to earn a role in the league and that includes playing the point. It is unknown how long Williams' calf injury will keep him out but even if it's for an extended period of time Ndour is probably their fourth or fifth option to play point guard so this isn't a huge deal but it does show what kind of player Ndour is and that he is willing to do basically anything to make the team and get some playing time.
