The Dallas Mavericks did not promise Charlie VIllanueva anything but an opportunity to compete for a roster spot when he signed for a non-guaranteed contract this summer. Villanueva, who has been in the NBA for nine years, saw his once promising career crumble in his brief stint with the Detroit Pistons. Now, he gets another shot to revive his career with the Mavericks who have witnessed Villanueva's unique traits as a shooting big man.
"You've got to guard Charlie when he walks in the tunnel," coach Rick Carlisle said, right after Villanueva knocked down 22 of 25 3-point attempts in a post-practice shooting drill per ESPN. "He can flip in shots from 35 feet. He's one of those guys with uncommon range and quickness of release."
What the Mavs are truly after in Villanueva, though, is his ability to play the stretch power forward position and possibly become the main back up option when their super star Dirk Nowitzki takes a breather. That role would have been given to Rashard Lewis before the Mavs discovered he was injured.
Villanueva gave the Mavs a sneak peak of his unique abilities during Tuesday's 111-108 loss to the Houston Rockets in their preseason opener. During that preseason game, Villanueva managed to put up some decent numbers scoring 13 points in just 14 minutes. He was 4 of 8 from the floor, including 3 of 6 from behind the 3-point line.
And while he was bad defensively - fouling out in his brief moment in the court - the Mavs were still impressed with what they saw in the Dominican Republic native, per Star Telegram.
"He can score and he can shoot it, that's his gift, that's his skill," coach Rick Carlisle said. "I'd like to see him do a better job defensively, particularly in the post where he got hurt, particularly late in the game. And I think he's capable of doing that. But he did some good things."
And Villanueva wants to be with the Mavericks. He revealed on Star Telegram that he considered signing with the Los Angeles Clippers, but just felt a better vibe from the Mavericks' front office. He also revealed that he is not taking advantage of his opportunity in training camp to showcase himself to other teams and land a much better deal saying "My mentality is here".
Hopefully, Villanueva gets a roster spot from the Mavs and becomes a legit stretch power forward to back up Dirk in the coming season.
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