Matthew Cleveland

Mavericks Sign Dalano Banton To Exhibit 10 Contract

12:51 pm: It’s an Exhibit 10 deal for Banton, confirms Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal.


10:43 am: The Mavericks have signed free agent swingman Dalano Banton, the team announced today (via Twitter). In order to create room on the roster for Banton, Dallas waived camp invitee Matthew Cleveland, whose contract was fully non-guaranteed.

While details of Banton’s deal aren’t yet known, it will likely be non-guaranteed too, with Exhibit 9 and perhaps Exhibit 10 language.

Banton, who will turn 26 next month, was the 46th overall pick in the 2021 draft and has played in 216 regular season games for Toronto, Boston, and Portland over the past four seasons. In 2024/25, he made a career-high 67 appearances, averaging 8.3 points, 2.4 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .391/.324/.728.

Banton reportedly auditioned for multiple NBA teams this summer, including Golden State and Indiana, while also drawing overseas interest.

It’s possible Banton will have an opportunity to compete for a spot on the Mavericks’ regular season roster, battling with Brandon Williams ($200K partial guarantee) and Dennis Smith Jr. (non-guaranteed contract) to become the club’s 15th man. However, given that he’s being added to the preseason roster a week after training camp got underway, that might be a long shot.

If Banton’s deal does include an Exhibit 10 clause, he would be a candidate to join the Texas Legends, the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, assuming he’s waived in the next couple weeks. That could put him in position to earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 with the Legends while making his case for a promotion to the NBA.

Mavericks Sign Matthew Cleveland, Moussa Cisse

The Mavericks have officially signed guard/forward Matthew Cleveland and center Moussa Cisse, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). Both players went undrafted in June.

While the terms of their deals weren’t disclosed, Cleveland and Cisse almost certainly signed Exhibit 10 contracts. In fact, Cisse’s Exhibit 10 agreement was reported last month, shortly after the draft ended.

Exhibit 10 contracts are non-guaranteed minimum-salary deals that entitle players to bonuses worth up to $85,300 if they’re waived before the regular season and spend at least 60 days with their team’s G league affiliate. They can also be converted to two-way deals before the regular season begins, and Cisse, at least, is expected to have the opportunity to compete for a two-way spot in Dallas.

Cleveland played his last two college seasons at Miami after spending his first two years at Florida State. In 2024/25, he averaged 17.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game with a .511/.382/.776 shooting line in 29 outings for the Hurricanes.

Cisse, meanwhile, started and ended his college career at Memphis, sandwiching stints with Oklahoma State and Ole Miss. The Guinean big man blocked 1.7 shots per game in 150 career college contests despite averaging fewer than 20 minutes per game.