Exit the DoJo: Mavs waive Dominique Jones

Another Mavericks first-round draft pick has been put out to the pasture. Dominique Jones, per the Mavericks and various reporters, has been waived on Saturday afternoon.

Dallas acquired Jones with the 25th pick in the 2010 draft, after purchasing it from Memphis. It was actually a pretty sweet deal for the Mavs, who's 27th overall pick of that year was New Jersey's after the Jason Kidd trade.

It quickly turned sour after that. Jones, from South Florida, was known as an attacking combo guard who could rack up the free throws and bully his way into the paint. He had decent defensive skill and flashed a generally high basketball IQ.

The Mavs tried to convert him into a point guard and Jones showed off some promising vision in the half court, a welcome surprise. An unwelcome disappointment, however, was that all the ability Jones showed in college in converting at the rim and making free throws completely vanished. The Mavs knew his jumper would need work, but he'd always be able to get to the basket.

Jones got to the basket. A lot. Except he also missed once he got there. A lot. According to NBA.com, Jones shot 46 percent from the restricted area this season, a rather putrid number, especially after the promising 59 percent he posted from that area last season. His rookie year he shot 30.8 percent from the restricted area.

The NBA game clearly frustrated and hampered Jones one true above average skill. He just couldn't adjust to the increased athleticism and length that the NBA game brought and Jones was normally denied in his many trips into the paint as a Maverick. His improved court vision couldn't save his awful career 36.6 percent field goal percentage.

Now Jones becomes another recent Mavericks draft bust, joining Maurice Ager, Nick Fazekas and soon to be Rodrigue Beaubois.

Here's a list of certain players drafted after Jones in the 2010 draft. Just so we can feel all warm and cozy:

26th overall: Quincy Pondexter, currently a useful back up guard/forward for Memphis

27th overall: Jordan Crawford, a crazed chucker in the vein of Nick Young -- he can win you a playoff game but lose you a series. He's currently driving Celtics fans happy/insane.

28th overall: Greivis Vasquez, currently third in the NBA in assists per game as the Hornets point guard.

40th overall: Lance Stephenson, starter for the Indiana Pacers, providing nice secondary ball-handling and defense for one of the East's best teams.

The funny thing about Jones was that he had some nice moments this season, including scoring 10 points, dishing out 5 assists and grabbing 4 rebounds in 103-95 win against Cleveland back in November. Jones actually had a higher PER than Mike James (12.5 to 7.19 for James). But again, his awful shooting allows teams to crowd the Mavericks shooters and he clogged up the Mavs floor spacing to an alarming degree.

Alas, we will no longer be able to watch Jones bounce a layup off the backboard and into the front court after a 1-on-3 fastbreak, or watch him miss two free throws after hurling himself to the rim. Sigh. I'll miss those heart-attacking enduing moments.

Rick Carlisle said the Mavericks will look at filling the vacant roster spot.

Amazingly, here's a DoJo Mavericks mix-tape that hilariously shifts halfway to South Florida highlights since I guess he ran out: