Former Portland Trail Blazers guard Dalano Banton received interest from teams overseas this offseason, but ultimately held out in an attempt to continue his NBA journey. That bet on himself has paid off as he'll get an opportunity with the Dallas Mavericks. Banton has signed with the Mavericks' G League affiliate, NBA insider Marc Stein reported on X.
Banton was relatively productive in his past two seasons with the Blazers, providing them with microwave scoring and playmaking as a combo guard off the bench. During that time, he proved to be worth the low-risk flyer Portland took on him, acquiring him from the Boston Celtics for a heavily protected second-round pick.
Last season, Banton averaged 8.3 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.0 rebounds on 39/32/73 shooting splits. At just 25 years old, he ideally would have stuck around in Portland a bit longer. But unfortunately, the Blazers' roster was full after adding Blake Wesley, a former first-round pick by the San Antonio Spurs in 2022. Because of Banton's NBA experience, he was also ineligible for a two-way spot.
Mavericks take a worthwhile gamble on Dalano Banton
Stein mentions that "Dallas' roster is realistically full," but they were wise to add Banton to the G League roster nevertheless. Portland also moved on from Jabari Walker, who agreed to a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this offseason. Those are two steals for the 76ers and now the Mavericks, as both Banton and Walker are NBA-level players signing for deals below their value.
It was less surprising in Banton's case, as despite the talent, he's a murky fit with NBA rosters. He's not a traditional point guard due to his score-first nature, but is also someone who is at his best with the ball in his hands. He's shot 30.4% from beyond the arc since entering the league in 2021, making it even harder to play off the ball effectively. Because of these limitations as a tweener guard, it's understandable that Portland decided to take its roster in another direction this summer.
At media day, Chauncey Billups talked about revamping the Blazers' offense this season, emphasizing more overall movement. Portland's offense was way too stagnant, and moving on from the ball-dominant Banton should help address that issue.
Still, Blazers fans are going to miss the rollercoaster experience that comes with watching Banton play. He can be frustrating at times, but there's no denying that when he's on, he's really on. Banton singlehandedly won Portland a few games the past two seasons with electric fourth-quarter performances. That alone is worth the Mavericks taking a chance on Banton to see if they can get him to flip that switch more consistently.