DHJ Quick Take: Mavericks Sign Jett Howard, Waive Tyler Smith
The Dallas Mavericks waived two-way wing Tyler Smith on Monday to sign former first-round pick Jett Howard, days after adding Zaccharie Risacher in a three-team trade with Atlanta.
- Who is Jett Howard? He’s a 6-foot-8 wing and the 11th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft who spent three seasons with the Orlando Magic before hitting free agency.
- Why did the Mavericks waive Tyler Smith? Smith and newly acquired Zaccharie Risacher are both 21-year-old wings, and Dallas appears to have viewed that as positional overlap.
- How did Howard perform last season? He posted career highs of 5.5 points and 1.6 rebounds on 41.8% shooting from the field and 37.2% from three.
- What’s Howard’s connection to Dusty May? Howard played his lone college season at Michigan under his father, Juwan Howard, giving him a tie to May and fellow Wolverine Morez Johnson Jr. in Dallas.
- What’s next? The Mavericks’ roster picture should come into sharper focus when training camp opens in September.
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks waived 21-year-old wing Tyler Smith on Monday, freeing up Dallas’ final two-way roster spot to sign Jett Howard.
The move comes in the wake of a larger trade, as Dallas sent Ryan Nembhard and a future second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade that brought Zaccharie Risacher to Dallas.
Dallas Mavericks Sign Jett Howard
Howard played one season with the Michigan Wolverines before being taken with the 11th pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. In 133 games across three seasons with the Orlando Magic, Howard has averaged 4.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in 11 minutes per game.
Last season was a career-best for the 6-foot-8 former first-rounder. His 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 41.8% field goal shooting and 37.2% three-point shooting in 2025-26 were all good for career highs.
Before the season, though, Orlando declined Howard’s fourth-year team option, making him an unrestricted free agent once the Magic’s campaign came to an end. Despite flashing the shooting upside that made him a lottery pick, Howard’s streaking efficiency and defensive limitations made the 22-year-old expendable for Orlando.
With the Mavericks, Howard will join head coach Dusty May and recent first-round pick Morez Johnson Jr., furthering Michigan’s connections in Dallas. During Howard’s time with the Wolverines, he played under his father and NBA veteran, Juwan Howard.
In his lone season in Ann Arbor, Howard was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team and received Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors.
Howard joins John Poulakidas and the 48th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Tobi Lawal, as the Mavericks’ two-way players.
Tyler Smith Gets Waived After Summer League
Drafted with the 33rd pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Smith played his rookie season with the Milwaukee Bucks. There, he played 23 games, averaging 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per contest.
Smith was cut by the Bucks shortly before the 2025-2026 season. That December, he signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets, but was waived a month later without appearing in any games for the team.
On February 28, Dallas and Smith agreed to a two-way contract, where he would finish the season.
Across 12 games with the Mavericks, Smith produced averages of 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game. With increased opportunity in his short stint with Dallas, Smith’s shooting efficiency dropped across the board despite recording higher counting stats.
After shooting 48% from the field in Milwaukee, Smith shot just 42% with the Mavericks. His three-point shooting efficiency dropped from 43.3% to 28.6%, as well as his free-throw shooting, which fell from 75% to 66.7%.
In this year’s Summer League, Smith played in three of Dallas’ five games. He played 10 minutes off the bench in the Mavericks’ opener, tallying 7 points and a rebound on 2-for-5 shooting. In the next contest, Smith’s minutes rose to 18 and he increased his numbers to 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
Against the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder in Dallas’ third and fourth games, however, the Mavericks benched him and he did not see the floor.
Smith and Dallas closed Summer League play against the New York Knicks, where he played his best game of the summer. In 22 minutes of action, Smith nailed three 3-pointers en route to 21 points, 4 rebounds and an assist on 5-of-12 shooting.
Three days later, the Mavericks waived Smith and signed Howard.
More Mavericks Coverage on Dallas Hoops Journal
- Sources: Dallas Mavericks Trade For Zaccharie Risacher In Three-Team Trade Sending Luguentz Dort To Atlanta Hawks
- Sources: Dallas Mavericks Match New York Knicks’ Offer Sheet, Keep Moussa Cissé
- ‘An X-Factor Out There’: Darin Green Jr.’s 21 Points Power Dallas Mavericks Past New York Knicks 110-88 To Close Summer League
- ‘Doing Whatever The Game Requires’: Dallas Mavericks Beat Oklahoma City Thunder 97-87 As Sergio De Larrea Dishes 14 Assists
- Miami Heat Have ‘Strong Interest’ In Dallas Mavericks’ Klay Thompson
- Dallas Mavericks Officially Sign Tarik Biberović After Six-Team Trade
- ‘He Plays So Hard On Both Ends’: Ryan Nembhard Details Morez Johnson Jr.’s Standout Two-Way Impact
- ‘We’re Excited About Kyrie’: Dusty May Likens Kyrie Irving Workout To Watching Picasso Paint
