Getty Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks have signed 6’8 forward Chris Silva to a 10-day contract, according to their official PR Twitter account.
Silva is a 26-year-old big man who went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft before being picked up by the Miami Heat. He spent a year and a half in Miami before being traded to the Sacramento Kings during the 2020-21 season. The Heat dealt Silva and Maurice Harkless to the Kings in exchange for Nemanja Bjelica.
By the 2021-22 season, Silva was once again a free agent before signing on with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He wouldn’t last long in Minnesota and went on to sign a 10-day deal with the Heat, re-joining the team that picked him up after the draft.
In total, Silva has appeared in just 69 NBA games and has played 7.7 minutes per contest. The big man has averaged 2.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game on 60.6% shooting from the field.
Silva’s G League stats are a bit more impressive. He’s spent this year as a member of the College Park Skyhawks – the Atlanta Hawks’ G League side. In total, he’s appeared in 11 games, starting 10 of them, and has played 22.4 minutes per contest. Silva averaged 14.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on 58.6% shooting from the field.
The signing comes less than 24 hours after Luka Doncic’s absurd performance against the Detroit Pistons, in which he piggy-backed the Mavericks to a much-needed victory. A loss would have marked their fourth in the last five games and brought their record down to .500.
Against the Pistons, Doncic finished with a game-high 53 points (the most in Mavericks history in a non-overtime game), eight rebounds, five assists, and two steals on 17-of-24 shooting from the field and 5-of-11 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
It seems unlikely that Silva earns much playing time in a frontcourt with Dwight Powell, Christian Wood, and Dorian Finney-Smith, but considering JaVale Mcgee’s struggles, Davis Bertans’ inconsistencies, and Maxi Kleber’s injury, Silva could have a chance.
Spencer Dinwiddie Discusses Luka Doncic Issues
Doncic’s effort against the Pistons is a microcosm of what’s been going on for the entire season. He has been putting up ridiculous numbers, and the media has constructed a narrative where he’s put on a pedestal, and the rest of the roster has been cast off to the side.
During an appearance on the Outta Pocket podcast, Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie discussed the difficulties of playing with Doncic and having to deal with the narratives that come with it.
“Luka is obviously far and away our superstar, and we have other guys who are good players obviously,” Dinwiddie said. “But because there’s not another superstar, it’s not apples to apples, it’s always gonna be Luka and the boys. So you just got to be mentally tough and be built for that off the court, because like I said, on the court he’s going to make it a lot easier.”
Mavericks Linked to Fred VanVleet Trade
While Dinwiddie and the rest of the Mavericks’ may struggle with the narratives surrounding Doncic, that doesn’t mean they are going to stop. Dallas is still reportedly involved in plenty of trade rumors leading up to the February 9 trade deadline.
In fact, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, they are one of the teams involved in potential Fred VanVleet trade talks with the Toronto Raptors.
“Either the Raptors and VanVleet will extend their marriage, or the team will look to get value for him in a trade before the deadline,” Pincus wrote. “If it’s the latter, several playoff contenders (at least teams that consider themselves playoff contenders) would have interest, such as the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards. So, too, would the Orlando Magic, per multiple NBA sources.”
