Mavericks release JaVale McGee

The Mavericks officially released the former Warriors fan-favorite.

The Dallas Mavericks have officially waived center JaVale McGee. Not too long ago, McGee was a fan-favorite with the Golden State Warriors, revitalizing his career with the Dubs after he had been on the fringes of the league. McGee will be available to be claimed by any team off waivers before becoming a free agent, but with more than $11.7 million in guaranteed salary remaining on his contract, he will almost assuredly go unclaimed. Dallas is using the waive-and-stretch provision to spread McGee’s remaining cap hit over the next five seasons.

McGee began his NBA career back in 2008 when he was drafted by the Washington Wizards with the 18th overall pick out of the University of Nevada-Reno. McGee immediately became a prominent member of Washington’s rotation and was their starting center by his third season. However, following a trade to the Nuggets in 2012, McGee saw his playing opportunities dwindle.

After brief stints with the 76ers and Mavericks, McGee was out of the league and signed a non-guaranteed contract with Golden State to compete for the final spot on the team’s roster in the 2016-17 season. McGee won the job by a mile and emerged as a consistent contributor across two seasons with the Warriors. McGee rarely received a heavy workload from Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, averaging fewer than 10 minutes per game, but he was a consistent contributor.

Following his role on back-to-back championship teams, McGee signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he would play for two seasons and win his third career NBA title. In the three seasons since, McGee has averaged 7.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 13.6 minutes per game between stints with Dallas, Cleveland, Denver, and Phoenix.