Sep 30, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Maxwell Lewis (20) and guard Jalen Hood-Schifino (0) during media day at the UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Former Lakers, Mavericks wing signs with unexpected team

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Jul 25, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The NBA Summer League is over, so teams are using their remaining roster spots to sign the standouts from Las Vegas, mostly to two-way contracts. Players like PJ Hall have been picked up by the Memphis Grizzlies, while David Jones Garcia will stay with the San Antonio Spurs.

The Dallas Mavericks have one remaining two-way contract open after they signed undrafted free agents Ryan Nembhard and Miles Kelly in the hours immediately following the draft. Those two look like solid pick-ups, as they were the two best non-Cooper Flagg players on the team.

One player who will not be receiving the third two-way contract is Maxwell Lewis, who was probably the best player on the team not on a standard or two-way contract. Lewis averaged 12 PPG while shooting 42.9% from three-point range in his five games despite playing about 18 minutes per game.

Instead of parlaying that into another NBA opportunity, though, Tofas Bursa, a basketball club located in Turkey, announced that they have signed Lewis. Tofas Bursa finished fourth in the Basketball Super League last season, but lost in the quarterfinals of the postseason.

✍ NBA’de Los Angeles Lakers ve Brooklyn Nets formaları giyen 23 yaşındaki Birleşik Amerikalı forvet ile anlaşma sağladık! @maxwelll2002 #WelcometoFamily #WeStayTOGETHER #BirlikteZaferlere

https://t.co/WsE1wQCqie pic.twitter.com/OZd6R50Bvg
— TOFAŞ Spor Kulübü (@TofasSporKulubu) July 24, 2025

Lewis was the 40th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, going to the Los Angeles Lakers after a four-team draft night trade. The former Pepperdine product spent a season and a half with the Lakers, only scoring 15 points in 41 appearances before he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the Dorian Finney-Smith for D'Angelo Russell swap.

Lewis saw more opportunity in Brooklyn, averaging 5.3 PPG in 21 games for the Nets, but they decided not to bring him back since they had five first-round picks this year, and he was waived in late June.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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