C.J.

Williams

Williams will attempt to earn a roster spot at camp, but the chances of him making the team are slim.

They were down with the G League, but they may stay up now that Robert Covington (knee), Jeff Teague (foot) and Derrick Rose (elbow) are out for the year. Plus, Tyus Jones is a little banged up, so that will be something to see.

The former N.C. State guard went undrafted in 2012 and played in France last season. Williams will be the 20th and final player on the Mavs’ training camp roster, but he’s not expected to make the team.

Just as we wrote at the time he was signed, Williams was not expected to make the Dallas roster.

Williams signed a similar deal with the Mavericks last September but did not make Dallas’ opening day roster. He ended up playing 50 games, including 39 starts, for the Mavs’ D-league affiliate, averaging 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Williams is not expected to make the Clippers 15-man roster this season, and will likely head to the G-League.

Williams rose to semi-prominence as a starter earlier in the season -- in 14 previous starts, he averaged 8.4 points, 1.1 triples, 1.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks. The defensive stats are promising but his role is built on quicksand -- the moment Tyrone Wallace (G League), Avery Bradley (groin) or Danilo Gallinari (hand) return, he’ll vanish from sight.

It sounds like Tyrone Wallace is out of days on his two-way deal, so it may be up to Williams to hold down the fort until that gets figured out. Williams has a couple bright spots this year, but there’s no need to add him unless he shows up tonight.

The G-League season is over, so a lot of two-way players are getting called back up. If the Clippers make the playoffs, they’ll need to sign these guys to new contracts if they want them to be eligible to play.

Williams was replaced by Sindarius Thornwell to begin the second half, and Thornwell finished with four points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals over 18 minutes. Neither of these guys has a consistent enough role with the Clippers to be worth dealing with in fantasy hoops.

Both Williams and Tyrone Wallace deserve long-term deals, but it’s a bit surprising to see the Clippers lock up Williams first. Williams has made 36 appearances this season, averaging 5.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.6 triples in 18.0 minutes. He’s a nice player for the end of their bench, but he’s well off the fantasy radar.