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Las Vegas • Becoming a legitimate NBA prospect is almost always contingent on having a definitive position on the floor. And if you can play more than one position, all the better. But if you are saddled as a "tweener," someone who is stuck without a position, that can hurt your chances at the league.
Such is life for former BYU Cougar Kyle Collinsworth.
Nobody knows quite what Collinsworth is, when it comes to his NBA projections. At 6-foot-8, he's certainly one of the most versatile players in the game. A triple-double machine at BYU, Collinsworth has the ability to play as many as four positions.
But without a consistent jumper, Collinsworth, the former Provo High superstar, has a lot to prove. The good news? The Dallas Mavericks are providing him with that proving ground this week at the Las Vegas Summer League. The door is open for him to make an honest attempt at forging an NBA career.
He plans on taking advantage of that opportunity.
"Just playing to my strengths, getting into the lane, hitting floaters and getting guys shots," Collinsworth said. "I just have to make good plays and not worry about what people think of me as a player. I have to let my play take care of that."
This is the doubt Collinsworth has faced his entire basketball career. But that doubt is what fueled him at BYU, where he became one of the best small forwards in the country by his senior season. It could be easy to look at what he doesn't do, in terms of shooting the ball from the perimeter, or possessing the quickness and athleticism that others have at the NBA level. But Collinsworth has long felt that his skill level mitigates his weaknesses.
He knows he can swing through at least three positions on the floor. He has proved he can handle the ball, pass it, get his teammates easy shots and use his footwork to score in the paint. He has always been a good rebounder, from high school through college. The question is, can he figure out a way to survive at the NBA level? Especially the new aged NBA, which increasingly becoming a shooters' league?
The Mavericks seem to appreciate Collinsworth's unique set of abilities. They've played him at point guard this week, allowing him to run the offense and have the ball in his hands. That's perhaps the best way to play him. And to Collinsworth's credit, this week he's done a good job of staying in front of opposing point guards. He was particularly good at this last Saturday against the Miami Heat, consistently shutting quicksilver playmaker Briante Weber off from getting into the lane.
His defense and playmaking have been good. Still, Collinsworth will have to prove he can score and make shots at the NBA level. The questions about his jumper are one of the major reasons he went undrafted. But if he can improve there, he could give himself a solid shot to stick on a roster.
"He's always been a very good all-around player and we recognize that," Mavericks summer league coach Jamahl Mosley said. "He's a combo guard who can play a little bit of everything, and he's someone who can change the game up for us. We want to see how he does at this level, but I think he's going to be OK. We want to get him some experience at the point, where he's going to get some NBA pressure. He's handled himself pretty well to this point."
The good news for Collinsworth: Dallas has already extended him a training camp invite, which means all of his eggs aren't in the summer league basket. By going to training camp, he figures to get a longer look from the team during the preseason. Collinsworth said he will spend the remainder of the summer in Dallas training and working with the coaching staff.
With the departure of Chandler Parsons, Harrison Barnes is the only small forward on the roster. There are three wing players total on the team, which means the numbers could work in Collinsworth's favor. Teams will typically carry as many as five wings on a 15-man roster.
Even with what could be in front of him, Collinsworth knows he has a lot of work to do. He has to finish the week strong, and figure out a way to make a good impression in training camp. It's a tedious process, but considering the potential reward, Collinsworth knows it's a chance worth taking.
"It's just about learning constantly," Collinsworth said. "I have to watch the whole game, see it, take mental notes, figure out what I need to work on and what I do well and build on that. I want to work as hard as I can and take it day-by-day. I just have to learn from everything that I do and consistently get better from it."
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Kyle Collinsworth file
• Kyle Collinsworth is the NCAA's all-time triple-double leader for a season (six) and a career (12). He wasn't chosen in the NBA draft, but quickly came to an agreement to play summer-league ball with the Mavericks.
• Collinsworth scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in Monday's loss to Toronto.