Willie Cauley-Stein re-signs with Dallas Mavericks

Former Wildcats star Willie Cauley-Stein will stay in Dallas for at least one more season. The center signed a two-year deal with the Mavericks that has a team option on the second year, Shams Charania reports.

Cauley-Stein initially signed with the Warriors last offseason before being dealt prior to the trade deadline for a second-round pick. Prior to the postseason, he played just 13 games, starting two of them. He averaged 5.2 points per game and shot 69 percent from the field.

A solid center option, Cauley-Stein was primarily known for his defense at Kentucky. A top-ten pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, he hasn’t really blossomed into the dominating rim protector the Kings, who drafted him half a decade ago, hoped he would be.

Having jumped from Sacramento to Golden State and now staying in Dallas, the 7-footer has proven that he can provide value as a backup center. His best season in Sacramento, Cauley-Stein averaged 12.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

Boban Marjanovic is a utility center on the team as well. They’ll both be battling for minutes behind Kristaps Porzingis, a player with a track record of lengthy injuries throughout his career.

Shooting 61 percent from the line throughout his career, Cauley-Stein has been a liability at times given his lack of shooting. That’ll be a huge area that he needs to work on in order to solidify himself a spot in the Mavericks rotation.

A playoff team last season and run by the up-and-coming superstar Luka Doncic, the Mavericks should be able to become one of the most feared teams in the Western Conference, if they aren’t already.